By: Justin Feil
The Shores Coaches Invitational is a first chance for the Princeton High cross country team to see how it will stack up against the state at famed Holmdel Park.
Princeton High School has plenty to build on after finishing third behind Voorhees and Moorestown in the girls’ C Division race. The Little Tigers were led by Molly Lynch, who was 13th in her first race at Holmdel. Cranbury’s Susanne Hansen was 26th.
"We had a game plan," said PHS head coach Jim Smirk. "We’ve been talking a lot about executing our game plan on race days, talking about developing athletes physically, but adding that flair of competitive training. Part of that is going to big meets and racing good teams. Within dual meets, a lot comes down to doing things against individuals. When you get to the championship part, it’s not only knowing individuals, but knowing the team.
"I thought we did well. To a girl, we talked about what their race strategy was and they did it. We had a good day."
The Little Tigers are set up for quite a showdown in a week with the unbeaten Hopewell Valley girls. Hopewell averaged 20:26 per runner while the Little Tigers averaged 21:35 for their top five runners.
"Everyone knows we’ve come to the realization there are only two unbeaten teams in the CVC," Smirk said. "If either team is going to win, they’re going to successfully complete their race strategy without making mistakes. We’re finally to the point where we can come up with a race strategy and come up with the ability to execute it.
"With the pack we have, if we all race together, we’re going to be a tough team. If we don’t, it’s a different look. It’s big for us. We have Molly Lynch and Susanne Hansen, who are strong runners. We don’t have that girl in the 19:30s. Our runners, all the way down to seven, have to do what they’re designed to do."
Led by the 20th-place finish of Jeff Wray, the PHS boys were 10th in the C Division. The Little Tigers averaged under 18 minutes per runner in their top five, and raced without two of their regulars.

