By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The Central Jersey Group IV sectional girls cross country meet was the perfect example of how every runner can make a huge difference.
When the dust had settled last Saturday at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, just seven points separated the top four teams from each other in the standings.
The Hillsborough, Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro South and South Brunswick girls were separated by just seven points for the top four spots. The Little Tigers finished with 95 points, which were just two behind Hillsborough, while the Pirates finished with 99 points. South Brunswick had 100 points. Montgomery finished eighth.
Princeton was led by Annie Walker, who finished ninth. Izzy Trenholm finished 11th and Chloe Taylor was 12th. Annefleur Hartmanshenn finished 15th and Juliet Malkowski was 48th to round out the top five for the Little Tigers.
“I really didn’t have any idea about how close we were to winning the entire section until the end of the race when I realized Chloe and Izzy were right there with me,” said Walker, who finished in 19:28. “We had a tight pack to have that far up in the meet. After the race I was looking in the chute and saw they were right there and I thought this was possible.”
In the end, Hillsborough edged the Little Tigers for the team title. But Princeton showed it is capable of running with the very best teams.
“So far it has been we have a pretty strong 1-2-3-4,” Walker said. “We’re working to get the gap from four to five closer. Those girls are working extremely hard. I feel like we are ready for states. We have a freshman (Erica Oake) in top seven and she had come along great. We also have Lauren (Cleary) and Juliet , who is only in her second season of cross country.”
Princeton has been solid at the top of the lineup this season, with the top four all taking the lead at different points in the season. Walker is happy to be a part of that.
“I have gotten better,” she said. “I was injured for a lot of last year. During cross country I was battling injuries during the races. This year I am healthy and ready to go. My times have been dropping. Earlier in the year I had some interesting races. I am excited for states and rest of season.”
The Group IV meet this Saturday at Holmdel will give Princeton another chance to race against WW-P South. The Pirates won the dual meet between the teams and finished ahead of Princeton at the Mercer County meet. But Princeton had the edge at sectionals.
“They are all about their pack,” Walker said of the Pirates. “We have had a back and forth with them for a couple of years. They are very strong and know how to race.”
The two teams will face each other again at the Group IV meet, which might be just as close as the CJ IV meet.
“That was some race,” Princeton coach Jim Smirk said. “It was a season best for three of our top four. Annie had an incredible breakout race at counties with a 19:10 and it was hard to come back right after that but she managed the race well. Annefleur had a breakout race and showed her veteran savvy and took risks late when it paid off for us. We didn’t have the greatest first two meets against South with the dual meet and county meet. But I think we showed how mentally tough we are.”
Kelsey Kobus finished fifth to lead the way for the Pirates, who were in contention for sectional title. Liz Petrov was 20th, Ashley Own finished 22nd, Sam Miller was 23rd and Kavya Tummalapalli finished 29th to round out the top five for South.
“I am really excited,” Kobus said. “We had the county meet the week before and I felt I could have gone a lot harder. I really wanted to make sure this was one of my best races of season and that motivated me to do better.
“The way Coach (Kurt) Wayton trains us, we work hard all year to get in the best condition and shape by championship season, which is now. We overall as a team were a little upset because we thought we could have done better based on the county meet. It was crazy to be that close.”
Kobus and her teammates are excited to be making the trip to Holmdel this Saturday, where they will compete for a Group IV title.
“The thing with Holmdel is it is a really hard course and is more hilly than we’re used to,” Kobus said. “We have to go into it and make sure to get out fast and finish strong. I’m excited. Last year only Christina (Rancan) made it out to the Meet of Champions. We were upset with how we did as a team. This year we’re hopeful to make it back.”
If they do, Kobus will be a big part of it.
“Kelsey is a perfect example of a kid you want on the team,” Wayton said. “She started as a middle of pack runner and moved up year to year and was always moving forward. With her intensity and work ethic after a couple years she winds up being one of the top runners in Central Jersey.”
Montgomery was led by Sarah McGowen, whose eighth-place finish earned her a wild card spot in this week’s Group IV state meet. Gianna Tedeschi finished 16th and Julia Hans was 27th for the Cougars.
“We were hoping to do a little bit better as a team,” Montgomery coach Tom Huelbig said. “Sarah is a very good runner who is for the first time really healthy for an entire season. Her true talent was able to reveal itself.
“We’ve known for a couple years she is talented. She just had some health issues. She had a really good county meet and conference meet. This meet she dropped another 20 seconds off her PR. As hard as she trains it didn’t really surprise me. Thompson Park is a good course for her. We train there occasionally and have run there. She is used to the course. It was her time to have that race. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
WW-P North finishes ninth in North Jersey, Section 2 Group III. Veda Donthireddy finished 17th to lead the way for the Knights.
