Senior captain helping young North cross country
By: Justin Feil
HOPEWELL Julia Xu has been a perfect captain for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ cross country team.
The Knights are young this season, and it’s part of their struggles. But Xu is living proof that things can only get better and is trying to ensure that things will improve for the Knights. Her times and her experiences have definitely gotten better in her three years of running at North. Xu kept running after a traumatic first trip to Holmdel Park.
"I was a sophomore and I was running in ‘The Bowl,’ and a girl right in front of me threw up," said Xu, who is a senior now. "I saw the ambulance coming and everything. Then I was going on a downhill and I tripped over a branch and rolled down the hill. It couldn’t possibly have been worse."
Xu calls on her experiences often when she’s talking to her less experienced teammates. Even if the team doesn’t have as much success this season, Xu is ensuring they’re setting the base for future performances.
"I think this year is going pretty well," she said. "We got a lot of new girls out for the team. There’s a lot of potential for this team.
"I’ve run three years. I can help them, especially with the anxiety every running gets before a race. I can explain that once the gun goes off, it’s all over. Plus, I know all the courses and I can help them out, and let them know where they can run fast and where’s a good spot to pass people. And we’re trying to do a lot of bonding stuff."
The Knights have remained close-knit as they’ve gained experience as a group. WW-P North just missed a win over Ewing at Washington Crossing Park on Tuesday, falling 28-29. They also lost to Princeton High School.
"I think they ran well," said Knights head coach Bill Mealy. "They knew what we had to do and just missed. Julia was right about where she should have been. We were competing mostly with Ewing. We’ve run against Hopewell, West Windsor South and now Princeton. Ewing, they’re the first team we could compete with, that we had a chance to beat. We were really close."
Xu did her part, finishing third overall in the race behind PHS’ Molly Lynch and Susanne Hansen. The three significantly gapped the field.
"When we start looking at where we needed to race," Mealy said, "we said Julia needed to go out with the leaders. If she wants to run well, she has to run with those girls."
Races are a rarity for Xu because they give her someone to push her. It’s harder for her to find that with the Knights as the team’s top runner by a good margin.
"She’s still improving," Mealy said. "The thing is when we do workouts, she’s out by herself. She’s got her drive and she has to do it. It helps if there are some people that can run with you."
Added Xu: "The meets are good. There’s a different excitement. I have more people I can look at. It takes your mind off it, but you don’t want to pay too much attention to them. The last meet, I followed a group down the wrong path and I lost two seconds for a personal best. I made up for it today."
Xu ran her last scholastic race at Washington Crossing on Tuesday, and finished with a personal record of 20:53. She’ll lead the Knights into the Shore Coaches Invitational at Holmdel Park on Saturday. She’s looking for a better finish there than last year, and certainly a better experience than her first trip to Holmdel as a sophomore.
Xu has come far since that traumatic experience. She has grown into a top caliber runner in the county as well as an experienced leader for a young Knights squad. She has grown more dedicated each successive year. This winter, she plans to give up fencing for WW-P North’s new program to concentrate on track. It shows just how far she has come in three years.
"I know she’s trained harder and running better," Mealy said. "Each year, she’s gotten more vocal. Her first couple of years, you didn’t know she was around. She’s our captain and she’s doing a good job of it."

