WW-PN track fourth, look for bigger spring
By: Justin Feil
One year ago, the West Windsor-Plainsboro North boys’ indoor track and field team made a big jump to win the Mercer County Championship.
It was the Knight girls’ turn this year as they moved up from last year’s ninth-place finish to come in fourth behind powerhouses Hopewell Valley, Trenton High and Notre Dame at Widener University on Sunday.
"They competed great," said North head coach Brian Gould. "I was really happy with what I saw."
Added Knight bronze medalist Ashleigh MacIntosh, "I ran it last year and my times weren’t half as good. Our girls’ team has improved in leaps and bounds. We weren’t even considered to place in Mercer County, and now we were fourth. We’re really happy with that.
"We broke over 30 school records this year. We had a pretty good season. Hopefully it will carry on to next year. We have a lot of good freshmen and sophomores that will come out. Hopefully we can win it next year."
There is certainly a lot of promise. Holland Thomas was a winner in the 55-meter hurdles for the Knights. The junior, who broke the school record with her 8.64 timing, will be a favorite next year, but still has the Meet of Champions left in her winter season.
MacIntosh came out of pack of four girls tied for the fourth-best time coming into the meet to finish third in the 55-meter dash in a school-record 7.64 seconds. The senior won’t have a chance to return next year but certainly enjoyed the way she finished her season.
"I just went into it really determined," MacIntosh said. "I wanted to finish the season overall well. It’s my last winter track season. I wanted to end it well. I was concentrating on my form today.
"Since the beginning, I’ve been working on my form. It was horrible at the beginning of the year. I feel really accomplished getting a third place. I came a long way. I was really excited with the way it ended. My 200 time wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I’m going to go into the spring hoping to do better."
Trish Reilly was another Knight athlete who moved way up in the standings in her events, and she’s just a freshman. Reilly entered the meet with the 10th-best time in the mile and finished sixth even after running in the unseeded heat. She had the ninth-fastest two-mile time, but shaved 30 seconds off her seed time to finish third in a school-record 12:03.24.
"I felt pretty good after the mile," said Reilly, who ran 5:40.85 in her first race Sunday. "I had a nice break. I was able to cool down and warm up again. I felt pretty good going into the two-mile. I was well rested. I just figured it was one of our last meets of the season so I’d give it everything I had."
Amy Farkas was fourth in the shot put for the Knights while Jade Phame tied for fourth in the high jump. The girls’ 4×400, keyed by a strong lead leg by Chelsea Walters, capped off the meet with a fourth-place showing in a school-record 4:26.93.
"We’re very happy with way they competed," Gould said. "Hopewell is loaded. Notre Dame has an All-America girl. They came in with some desire. I think we put our team on the map. Most of them are coming back next year. The captains did a great job of motivating the girls and working toward those goals."
West Windsor-Plainsboro South was eighth. Sammy Howell was third in the high jump and Kelsey O’Connor was fourth in the mile and fifth in the 800 meters. Cindy Barclay was sixth in the 800. O’Connor, Barclay, Howell and Joni Roberts were third in the 4×400 relay.
"It was a good effort for our girls," said Pirate coach Todd Smith. "We’re in a rebuilding mode. If we get some other girls back in the springtime, we should be able to accomplish some more things."
Princeton High finished just behind the Pirates in ninth. The Little Tigers’ Libby Bliss was second in the 400 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. Bliss, Olivia Johnston, Cat Kehrt and Kristine Rafferty were fifth in the 4×400.
"There were a lot of good efforts," said PHS coach John Woodside. "We had a couple just out of the money who ran well. We had a lot of late-season injuries, but it’s been a good conditioning season going into the spring. We are hoping for a lot better results in the spring when we get a lot more girls out.
"We did what we were expected to do. We came down to get more race experience. We got that going into the spring."