By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
There has been no shortage of talent when it comes to boys cross country in Mercer County, and this year appears no different.
Once again, it looks like the teams from the Packet area will contend for titles at the county, sectional and state levels.
Princeton High returns Alex Roth to the fold. The senior is the top returning finisher from last year’s Mercer County meet, where he finished third. Roth is one of six members of last year’s top seven who are back this year. Princeton underclassmen William Hare and Alex Ackerman were also top 20 finishers at the Mercer meet last year.
They will be joined by newcomer Acascio Pinhiero, a transfer from the Wilberforce School who will be eligible after sitting out 30 days as a transfer.
West Windsor-Plainsboro High South has a slew of newcomers that should contribute this year. Depth will be a key to the success of the Pirates.
The returning group is led by Dexter Benkhard, Alex Petri, Ryan Joseph, Tim Magoun, Josh Forrest, Justin Lopez and Jake Williams. Newcomers are Sameer Das and Kevin Hudson.
“The team has a nice blend of newcomers and veterans,” South coach Kurt Wayton said. “It’s an interesting mix of kids. If things go really well we could be a contender into November.”
The Pirates swept their opening meet on Tuesday. Petri was first overall followed by Joseph, Magoun. The three finished within seven seconds of each other. Lopez and Andrew Ma rounded out the top five.
WW-P North is deep and experienced and poised for a strong season. The Knights return Matt SantaMaria, Atharv Kulkarni, John Mundia, John Logan, Shaun Robinson, Vincent Chan, Sagas Doshi, Kenta Cojerian, Evan Francis and Evan Hughes. Th top newcomers are Vedang Ladf and Stanley Jian.
“We lost three of our top returners from last season,” North coach Brian Gould said. “Mercer County is loaded with talent again this year. This group is dedicated and determined. I’m excited to see them compete.”
Kulkarni was the Knights top finisher on Tuesday, fourth overall.
Montgomery returns one of the top runners in the state in Ajay Sarathy. The Cougars also return Robert Tidona and Dillan Spector, while several underclassmen are expected to move into bigger roles this year. That group includes Harry Guold, Austin Fan and Jeff Meyer, who are all currently in the top seven.
“This year we have high expectations for the team,” Montgomery coach Tim Bartholomew said. “They worked hard all summer and are putting in some great miles during the season. We hope to place high in all of our meets and to get out of a very challenging section.”
The Hun School finished fifth in the Newark Academy Invitational to open the season last weekend. Martin Adams was sixth overall to lead the Raiders, while Thomas Hopkins finished 10th.
Returning varsity members of the team include Hopkins, Alexander Ill and Paul Argiriou. New to the team is Martin Adams.
