By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The biggest meets of the season are still down the road, but the Princeton High boys’ cross-country team is already showing signs of again being a title contender.
With the Mercer County Championship meet set for Oct. 20, the Little Tigers showed they have the ability to make a run at successfully defending their title when they finished first in the C Division race at the Shore Coaches Invitational last Saturday at Holmdel Park.
“It is a good measuring stick of where you are,” said Princeton senior Will Hare, who won the C Division race in 16:11. “We were third in the merge (all eight division results combined). Outside of some of the guys we didn’t put together a great race. It was good to get out there and compete. I think overall the guys were pleased with how we ran.”
Hare first-place finish in the C Division race resulted in the third fastest time of the day on the course. Princeton teammates Alex Ackerman finished fourth (16:57) and Nicholas Delaney was fifth (16:59), while Jackson Donahue was 11th in 17:13 and Tucker Zullo finished 14th in 17:18.
Hare, Ackerman, Delaney and Donahue were part of the lineup that raced to Mercer County, sectional and state championships on the way to winning the Meet of Champions. in 2016 This year Zullo, a junior, has taken a big step forward and is in the top-five mix.
“Tucker Zullo stepped up,” Hare said. “He was our No. 5. I was telling everyone he was going to step up and do well and no one was buying it, Now now he goes and runs low 17s and people are starting to notice. Over the summer Tucker texted me and said ‘I have been doing 45 miles a week.’ It is July 5 and I am still at 30. So I thought it he sticks with this through the summer we’ll have a serious No. 5 on our hands.
“All of a sudden it is starting to play off. He is starting to scratch the surface of what he is capable of doing. He’s never been in those big postseason meets. So getting him into Shore Coaches and now doing Manhattan this weekend, he is only going to get better and better. The more he gets the experience in the big fields it is only going to help him.”
Hare cruised to his win in the C Division race last weekend. He finished 23 seconds ahead of Dan Gizzo of Seton Hall Prep.
“I was in a race with a kid from Brick and he dropped out after the first mile,” Hare said. “It was too hot out there to be trying to push for a fast time, so I decided to shut it down the last mile and make sure I was ready for the rest of the season. We’re not in it to run great at Shore Coaches. We’re in it to run great the rest of the season.”
Princeton certainly looks like a team capable of doing that based on how well they have run at Shore Coaches and the Bowdoin Invitational already this year. The Little Tigers suffered their first dual meet loss of the season on Tuesday when they fell to West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 25-34. But for now, what really matters is the championship season, which kicks off with the Mercer County meet on Oct. 20 at Thompson Park in Jamesburg.
“Team titles are decided in the 10-30 and 10-40 finishes,” Hare said. “That is where we have the opportunity this year. Instead of guys placing in the mid 20s, we’ll have guys in the low teens. I think that is what we are capable of. Everyone is taking a big step forward.
“The competition is strong again this year. South is good. The Hopewell guys are running well, which is awesome. We’re good friends with them. We room together at camp and we talk with them all the time. It’s awesome they’re running well and awesome that we are running well.”
The Princeton girls finished fourth in the Varsity B race at Shore Coaches. Chloe Taylor led the way when she finished 13th individually in 20:08. Charlotte Gilmore finished 23rd and Siena Moran was 31st.
The Montgomery boys were 11th in the Varsity B race. Senior Harry Gould finished 19th to lead the Cougars. The Montgomery girls were 15th in the Varsity A race. Julia Hans finished 14th to lead the Cougars.
The Princeton Day School boys competed in the Varsity G race and finished ninth as a team. Kevin Dougherty finished 26th individually to lead the Panther finishers.
