By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
When it came down to it, the Princeton High boys track and field team got just the performance it needed from its veterans to capture a sectional title., The Little Tigers earned 24 points in the 3,200-meter run when Alex Roth finished first (9:31.6), Will Hare was second and Alex Ackerman finished third for a 1-2-3 finish. The performance helped Princeton to a CJ IV title just one year after winning the North Jersey, Section 2 Group III crown last year., Princeton finished with 46 points, finishing two points ahead of second-place Franklin. Hunterdon Central finished third with 41 points and West Windsor-Plainsboro South was fourth with 32 points. Montgomery finished ninth., “It was pretty exciting,” said Ackerman, who was seeded seventh and finished third in the event. “When I finished the first thing that went through my head was that we finished 1-2-3. I saw Roth and Hare had finished ahead of me., “There were a lot of great teams and individuals in the race, which makes the finish and going 1-2-3 even better.”, In addition to Roth, Hare and Ackerman going 1-2-3 in the 3,200 meters, Roth was second in the 1,600 meters, Hare was fourth in the 1,600 meters, Simon Schenk finished second in the pole vault, and Paul Brennan finished fifth in the shot put., “In the field events, Paul and Simon have helped us out a lot,” Ackerman said. “Having them gives us a real boost in scoring and the mentality of winning. When you’re trying win a county and sectional title you need points from all of the events.”, Princeton’s dominance in the distance events, along with the contributions of Brennan and Schenk, were enough to win a team title. Ackerman’s move up to third place, which gave the Little Tigers the points they needed to win., “Going into the race I figured Roth and Hare would go 1-2 and after that I knew field was wide open,” Ackerman said. “I knew if I ran my race, with the training I have had, I was capable of doing well. It was great to win and now we’re looking forward to the state meet., “I think it will be a tough meet. But our county and sectional were very competitive. We feel prepared and ready. I think Coach (Jim) Smirk and Coach (Ben) Samara have prepared me well for this race and they gave me confidence.”, For Montgomery in the boys meet, Ryan Cashman finished fourth in the 55-meter dash. Ajay Sarathy was sixth in the 3,200 meters. Danny Young finished third in the high jump. For South, Xavier Smith finished first in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.63 seconds., A’Nan Bridgett won the high jump in 6-foot, 4-inches and also finished fifth in the 55-meter dash. Kevin Hudson finished fifth in the 800 meters. Tim Magoun was fifth in the 1,600 meters. Joshua Forrest was fourth in the 3,200 meters., In the girls meet, Montgomery finished third, WW-P South was sixth and Princeton finished 10th., For Montgomery, Julia Hans finished first in the 3,200 meters in 11:08.55. Gianna Tedeshi was fourth in the 3,200 meters, Abrianna Barrett was second in the high jump, Peyton Schanckenberg was second in the shot put, and Sara Knight was sixth in the 55-meter dash. The Cougars were also third in the 4×400 relay., For South, Edwina Gulama was fourth in the 55-meter dash, Kavy Tummalapalli finished second in the 800 meters, Kelsey Kobus was second in the 1,600 meters, and Jamie Kobus was fifth in the 55-meter hurdles., For Princeton, Jackie Patterson was fifth in the 400 meters, while Chloe Taylor was fifth in the 3,200 meters and sixth in the 1,600 meters. Princeton won the 4×400 relay with Caren Ju, Mariana Lopez-Ona, Patterson and Colleen Linko.
