Senior’s 400 hurdle run, two gold medals and a silver help the Bulldogs win their third straight Mercer County title.
By:Tim Falls
Miriam Khan’s best race at the Mercer County high school track championships might have been the 400 hurdles.
The Hopewell Valley senior finished first in two other events for her first Mercer County titles and claimed second in the 100 hurdles by matching a school record, but it was her fourth-place finish in the 400 hurdles that showed just how talented and devoted an athlete Khan could be.
The 400 hurdles was the last race in hectic harried day for Khan.
The senior, who will attend Boston College in the Fall, might have opted to max out her eligibility by competing in the long jump, but Khan knew she was needed in the 400 hurdles.
"Trenton had three girls in the intermediate hurdles," said Khan. "I needed to break them up."
Considering Khan had already sprinted through several races, trials and finals, stopping Trenton from scoring with all three runners was a pretty tall task.
Khan took fourth in the 400 hurdles in 1:06.42, while Trenton’s Janica Austin took second in 1:04.62 and Edris Dickson came in fifth in 1:06.71.
Khan’s fourth-place finish helped Hopewell Valley take its third straight Mercer County Championship. The Bulldogs scored 97.25 while Trenton trailed with 93 points for second place.
"In this meet the intermediate hurdles were probably the hardest for me," said Khan. "I had just run five races. Usually the 200 is the hardest. It’s a sprint like the 100 but you have to go all out the whole time. If there was some time between the 200 and the intermediate hurdles I know I could have done better."
While Khan might have been able to rack up more individual success by limiting her races, her efforts were focused on achieving glory for the team.
"I’m just glad I helped," said Khan. "I went into the intermediate hurdles to break them up. I did what I had to do."
Khan did not have much time between any of her races, but knew it was her role as a senior leader.
"I knew it was going to be a full day," said Khan. "I was fully loaded. Experience counts a lot in track. I’m a senior so I have the experience. I ran four races and then did the 200 and intermediate hurdles back to back. They couldn’t ask a freshman to do that. It’s just too much."
Khan proved it was not too much for her by winning two of her four events.
The Hopewell Valley senior took first in the 100 dash in 12.25 seconds, just five minutes after taking second place in the 100 hurdles.
Khan claimed the 200 as well with a winning time of 24.82.
Khan’s 14.94 in the 100 hurdles tied a Hopewell Valley record in the event. West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Holland Thomas finished first in the event in 14.51.
Hopewell Valley counted on Khan to do well in her four races, and she did not let the team down.
"I had to do four events, but I was really in six races," said Khan. "The 100 and 100 hurdles I had to do twice, the trials and the finals. I had to stay focused on one race at a time. I got nervous if I thought about the whole day. When I was waiting for a race, I just tried not to think about the other races I had to run."
Khan tried to block it out, but it was a performance her teammates won’t forget.
Hopewell Valley’s Julie Alexander also had a busy day. Alexander claimed second in the 400, fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 100.
Hopewell Valley’s 4×400 relay team took fourth in 4:07.83.