Hopewell Valley indoor track
By: Jim Green
Last year officially was a fluke.
The Hopewell Valley Central High School girls indoor track team proved it is without question the top squad in Mercer County, dominating the county championships Sunday at Widener University one year after finishing two points behind West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the team standings. The Lady Bulldogs blew the competition away, scoring in eight of nine events to rack up 83 points, leaving second-place Ewing (39) far in its rearview mirror, while the defending champion Pirates came in sixth.
The county championship completes a perfect trifecta for Lady Bulldogs, who last month won both the Group II relays and Group II individual state titles. It also is Hopewell’s second county title in three years.
"Obviously, states are top on our list," Hopewell coach Aaron Oldfield said. "We didn’t win it (the county meet) last year. We kind of wanted to let the county know Hopewell’s still around."
The major difference between last season and this was the presence of top gun Emily Sherrard. After missing last year’s meet while recovering from an injury, Sherrard came back with a bang, capturing the 800-meter run (2:19.99) and the 1,600 (5:19.73) and taking part in the winning 4×400 relay team (4:08.49).
"She makes our job very easy," Oldfield said. "Everybody else just feeds off her energy. Megan Fitzpatrick (who won the 3,200) is good friends with Emily, and she goes to Emily for a lot of advice. Emily’s such an asset, not only directly, but indirectly."
Had the Lady Bulldogs desperately wanted the county title last season, Sherrard might have been able to run. If she had, needless to say, the Lady Bulldogs probably would be in possession of a three-peat.
"We probably should have won it last year," Oldfield said. "We didn’t really go after it aggressively. Emily didn’t run at all, and we finished two points behind. If she runs in anything, obviously, she’s going to score those points."
Sherrard, though, did not use that as motivation this season.
"I didn’t really think about that," she said. "I don’t want to have any regrets. I just ran hard like I normally do."
While Sherrard’s presence put Hopewell over the top, she certainly had plenty of support. Natalie Mapp won the 400 (59.41) and took third in the 55 (7.51), while Miriam Khan came in second in the 55 (7:39) and third in the 55 hurdles (8.91). Khan, Mapp and Jackie Barrett joined Sherrard on the relay squad. Fitzpatrick emerged with a win in the 3,200, as did Sarah Gustafson, who had a third-place finish in the 800. Allison Fletcher provided Hopewell with balance, taking sixth in the shot put at 30-1 ¼.
"People have heard the names Natalie Mapp, Emily Sherrard and Miriam Khan over and over," Oldfield said. "Sarah took third, and that was a tremendous effort. They (Gustafson, Fitzpatrick and Fletcher) are all underclassmen. They’re just getting a ton of experience. It was nice that we scored in eight of nine events."
Sherrard was excited that Fitzpatrick was able to capture her first county title.
"I couldn’t be happier for her," Sherrard said. "It was great that she could do that, because she has worked really hard."
The leader, as always, was Mapp, who continues to rack up championships as her career winds down.
"She’s got an awesome résumé," Oldfield said. "I was saying to our assistant coach Mike Hammill, it was her (Mapp’s) last indoor championship. It’s the sad thing about a senior. It’s her final run. We’re going to try to give her as many memories as possible. That’s another reason we were trying to win. She was disappointed last year that we didn’t win it."
Mapp’s teammates were motivated to make sure Mapp went out a county champion.
"It was real important for everyone, especially Natalie," Sherrard said. "We were all ready to come back, especially after last year."
Oldfield, though, did not think his team was pushing overly hard because it did not win last year’s county title.
"We were just kind of business as usual," he said. "We haven’t been on the track in three weeks. We could have run Natalie, Emily and Miriam in more events. We were using this as a training opportunity more than anything else. It was more of an opportunity to get on the track and race because we haven’t done that in a while."
The Lady Bulldogs now will turn their attention to the Meet of Champions, which will be held Feb. 27 at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gymnasium. Sherrard, Mapp, Khan and pole-vaulter Kristen Volpe each qualified for the state finals by placing in the top six of their respective events at the Group II Championships.
Hopewell then begins preparing for its main focus the national high school indoor track championships, which will be held in Maryland in early March. The sprint medley relay team of Barrett, Khan, Mapp and Sherrard will be competing, as will Sherrard in the mile and Mapp in the 400. The same sprint medley relay team finished seventh at nationals last spring one spot shy of a medal.
"The Meet of Champions is in Princeton, which is traditionally a slow track," Oldfield said. "The next night we’re going to Easterns at the Armory (N.Y.) and then try to finish the season at nationals on a high note.
"At nationals, our ultimate goal is to finish top six and become All-American. Last year we took the same four girls and took seventh. They’re really anxious."