Final girls cross country Fab 50 for 2024: No. 1 stays firm, but major moves follow
Here are the Mercer County girls who made NJ.com’s final ranking of the Top 50 individuals:
#3 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.)
#13 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.)
#14 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.)
#26 Grace Hegedus (Princeton, So.)
#31 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, Sr.)
#43 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Jr.)
#49 Eowyn Deess (Princeton, So.)
Villa Walsh repeats Non-Public B Girls Tournament winners; Dudley finishes first
The Villa Walsh girls topped Wilberforce for the Non-Public B title. After the race, Villa Walsh’s top runner, Blythe Dudley, was very complimentary of the Wolverine ladies: “The last few years I’ve been here, it’s been either them for Non-Public B or us. They are such nice girls, always say hi to us, always say good luck to us, but there’s that friendly small-Catholic school rivalry, so we appreciate them.”
Girls cross-country: Non-Public B championship preview, 2024
NJ.com predicts Villa Walsh to win the Non-Public B girls championship over Wilberforce. They say that the Wolverines’ Laura Sallade (one of four “Runners to Watch”) and Adeline Edwards can challenge Villa Walsh’s top two, but “they’ll need their No. 3 through No. 5 runners to outlast Villa Walsh’s pack, who has been extremely reliable in team competitions this year.”
Boys cross-country: Non-Public B Championship preview, 2024
NJ.com picks Princeton Day to win the Non-Public B boys championship over main contenders Moorestown Friends, Rutgers Prep, St. Rose, Wilberforce. The Grayson McLaughlin and Edward Letko are two of five “Runners to Watch,” and Alexander Chia and Michael Zhou can place in the Top 15.
Meet N.J.’s most underrated boys and girls cross country runners in 2024
NJ.com selected the 7-8 most underrated runners from every group. Here were their picks from Mercer County, who each got a short write-up:
Emilia Wroblewski (Allentown, Sr.)
Rosemary Warren (Princeton, Fr.)
Alaina Sabo (Notre Dame, Fr.)
Stella Blanchard (Wilberforce, So.)
Silas Allevik (Hopewell Valley, So.)
Tarun Kovoor (Notre Dame, Sr.)
Boys & girls cross-country Fab 50s, Oct. 17: Championship season forces major shift
Here’s who made NJ Advance Media’s list of top 50 NJ runners. Note that these rankings were published before the CVC Championship.
#7 Allison Lee (WW-P North, Jr.)
#29 Grace Hegedus (Princeton, So.)
#35 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, Sr.)
#36 Kajol Karra (Princeton, Jr.)
#38 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, Sr.)
#45 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, Jr.)
#28 Shravan Pradeep (WW-P South, Sr.)
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 14th
MileSplit's latest girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (up from #5)
#6 Middleton South (down from #4)
#7 Manalapan (no change)
#8 Freehold Township (no change)
#12 Rumson-Fair Faven (up from #13)
#17 Colts Neck (up from #18)
Bub. Hopewell Valley (down from #20)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro North (no change)
Bub. Wilberforce (down from #17)
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 7th
MileSplit's latest girls rankings include the following teams from Mercer County and NJ Central groups:
#3 Princeton (up from #5)
#4 Middleton South (up from #4)
#7 Manalapan (down from #6)
#8 Freehold Township (down from #7)
#13 Rumson-Fair Faven (up from #16)
#17 Wilberforce (down from #13)
#18 Colts Neck (down from #15)
#20 Hopewell Valley (up from NR)
Bub. West Windsor-Plainsboro North (up from NR)
Girls New Jersey Top 20 Cross Country Teams - October 2nd
MileSplit NJ's girls rankings have two local schools in the top 20:
#5 Princeton (up from #9)
#13 Wilberforce (no change)
Who is N.J.’s top senior girls cross country runner? Make your vote here!
Vote for a Mercer County girl as the top senior XC runner in the state! Nominees include Zhu Chinchalkar (West Windsor-Plainsboro North), Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley), Adeline Edwards (Wilberforce), Teagan Walker (Ewing), and Emilia Wroblewski (Allentown).
Girls cross country Top 20, Sept 30: Signature wins lead to some notable changes
NJ.com published its team rankings early this week. Here are Mercer County's ranked girls teams:
#4 Princeton (up from #5)
#13 Wilberforce (no change)
#14 Hopewell Valley (no change)
#16 West Windsor-Plainsboro North (no change)
Girls cross-country Top 20, Sept. 27: No new teams, but plenty of movement
Four Mercer County girls teams are in NJ Advance Media's top 20 this week:
#5 Princeton (up from 6)
#13 Wilberforce (no change)
#14 Hopewell Valley (no change)
#16 West Windsor-Plainsboro North (no change)
Girls cross country Fab 50, Sept. 26: Who is surging ahead of a pivotal Week 4?
Here are the Mercer County girls in NJ Advance Media's top 50 this week:
#8 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North)
#13 Allison Lee (WW-P North)
#34 Grace Hegedus (Princeton)
#35 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley)
#39 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce)
#42 Adeline Edwards (Wilberforce)
Fast times, division titles headline Week 3's standout cross country performances
Claire Dumont won her first gold medal as No. 12 Hopewell Valley girls dominated at the TCNJ Invitational. Kajol Karra and No. 6 Princeton girls made an impressive season debut at the Jerry Hart Invitational, averaging 19:19 and scoring 20 points over No. 13 Wilberforce.
Boys & girls cross country Top 20s, Sept. 20: Title contenders start to surface
Four Mercer County girls team are in NJ Advance Media's top 20 after Week 2:
#6 Princeton (no change)
#13 Wilberforce (up from #14)
#14 Hopewell Valley (down from #13)
#16 WW-P North (up from #17)
Boys & girls cross-country Fab 50s, Sept. 19: A wave of fresh talent emerges
Lots of Mercer County girls in NJ Advance Media's ranking of the state's top 50 individuals after Week 2:
#7 Zui Chinchalkar (WW-P North, up from #9)
#13 Allison Lee (WW-P North, up from #14)
#24 Grade Hegedus (Princeton, up from #26)
#32 Izzy Meth (Lawrence, down from #31)
#39 Claire Dumont (Hopewell Valley, down from #37)
#42 Laura Sallade (Wilberforce, down from #41)
#43 Adeline Edwards (Wilberforce, no change)
On the boys' side is #47 Luke Ferrer (WW-P North, down from #43).
West Windsor-Plainsboro North duo leads the field at the Thompson 2 Miler
West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Zui Chinchalkar and Allison Lee won the senior and junior races, with Lee also taking the day’s top time. After the race, they spoke about the confidence they have from having raced at Thompson Park so often and from knowing the course well. Mercer County also got 3rd place finishes from Laura Sallade (Wilberforce) in the junior race and Risha Rao (West Windsor-Plainsboro South) in the sophomore race.
Girls Preseason Top 20 New Jersey XC Team Rankings 2024
Mercer County puts four girls teams in the top 20:
#7 Princeton, with a returning Holmdel average time of 20:51 (1-5 split of 2:19)
#11 Hopewell Valley, with a returning Holmdel average time of 20:54 (1-5 split of 2:23)
#13 Wilberforce, with a returning Holmdel average time of 21:03 (1-5 split of 2:58)
#15 West Windsor-Plainsboro North, with a returning Holmdel average time of 21:07 (1-5 split of 3:44)
Boys cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Non-Public B
Wilberforce is presented as the the favorite. Wilberforce is led by sophomores Micah Brox and Elias Edwards (who went 6-7 at last year’s state meet) and gets solid depth from Phillip Schidlovsku, Henry Jepson, and John David.
Princeton Day is in the next tier down (with Montclair Kimberley but behind Wilberforce). Grayson McLaughlin and Edward Letko were top-10 at the state meet last year, Luke Notle and Harrison Bagga are in the top 50 returners, and Charles West rounds out their top 5.
Girls cross-country preview, 2024: Teams to watch in Non-Public B
Wilberforce fell one point short of a state title last year (despite Laura Sallade and Adeline Edwards racing with injuries), but their the favorite to win their third title in four years. They return six varsity runners and will likely end up being even better than they were a year ago. Those top returners include Sallade, Edwards, Eve Szeliga, Gwen Mersereau, Stella Blanchard, and Allison Martin.