A Central Jersey Group III sectional championship and three sectional gold medal winners. A Meet of Champions medal winner. Two Mercer County Championship gold medal winners.
It’s an impressive list, and it was one heck of a spring season for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls track & field team.
“The season overall was one this group will remember forever,” said first-year head coach Liz Guarini, who previously coached (and still teaches) at Lawrence High. “We have a young team, but had great leadership by our seniors Victoria Henry, Jahlia Johnson, Ananya Mogali and Bhavana Thelakkat.”
It all started with Henry, who had an epic campaign.
It started in the MCT, when she won the 100 meters in 12.41 and 200 meters in 25.34, while also taking fourth in the long jump. That was just the appetizer for the CJ III meet, when Victoria won the 100 (12.14), 200 (25.11) and long jump (16-08.75), while finishing second in the 400.
She advanced to the Meet of Champions with fourth-place finishes in the 100 (PR 11.96) and 200, and took fourth in the 200 at the MOC with a PR of 25.05. Henry concluded her high school career finishing 41st in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in 12.39.
“Victoria Henry is someone any coach would want on their team,” Guarini said. “Every single day she works hard, is willing to do whatever it takes for her team, and helps her teammates along the way. She is a great role model not only for the sprinters and jumpers on our team, but for all the other event groups too.
“Victoria is also resilient and showed that at MOCs, placing fourth in the 200 and being a part of our 4×100 that finished 9th with a season PR (of 48.70). She’s a phenomenal athlete and teammate.”
Henry was a driving force behind the CJ III title, as North scored 101 points to edge Colts Neck by 10. The championship did not surprise the Northern Knights, who put it on their radar entering the spring. A strong winter campaign will do that to a team.
“After the winter season, it was clear this group wanted to go after the sectional title,” Guarini said. “As a group we focused on keeping a positive mindset, putting the team first, and showing bravery and courage when the nerves kicked in.
“Following in former head coach Matt Warren’s footsteps, my expectation was to have this group continue what they have been doing since winter and keep growing together.”
After the first day of the two-day event, WWPN had amassed 35 points, just two behind Colts Neck.
“We were in a good spot,” Guarini said.
Toward the end of day two, some “big moments” began to occur, according to the coach. Sophomore Afua Apau took third in the shot, while freshman Allison Lee (5:20) and sophomore Zui Chinchalkar (5:21) nearly crossed the line simultaneously in taking 1-2 in the 1600. Meanwhile Henry and sophomore Julia Kolker were taking 1-2 in the long jump. Chinchalkar also took gold in the 800 with a run of 2:20.
Lee took fourth in the 400, sophomore Bria Davis-Owens was third in the 400 hurdles, the 4×800 relay was third and the 4×100 took sixth.
Add it all up, and the Knights had their revenge.
“From this past winter track season finishing second as a team only 3.5 points behind Colts Neck, the girls were hungry,” Guarini said. “Going after the sectional championship was something we knew would take every event group to make it happen this spring.
“Collectively, every event group contributed points. We had several girls who stepped up and performed at their highest level for their teammates. It was one of the big highlights of the season, when they saw all their hard work and sacrifices pay off.”
Prior to that, WWPN finished fifth in the Mercer County meet as Lee won the 3200 (11.05) and took second in the 1600, while Apau took third in the shot and Chinchalkar was sixth in the 800.
In the Group III meet nine girls made the Meet of Champions either through placement or as a wild card. Henry finished fourth in the 100 and 200, Lee was fifth in the 3200, the 4×100 was third with Jahlia Johnson, Henry, Davis-Owens and Kolker, the 4×100 was eighth behind Eva Fea, Lee, Ganga Karra and Chinchalkar, while Apau advanced in the shot.
“The girls performed great at groups,” Guarini said. “Every girl that competed made it to MOCs.”
It was a stellar campaign although the Knights will have some holes to fill next year, which the coach knows is coming.
“Losing our seniors next year is always part of the process,” Guarini said. “They will be missed, but our young core of girls are ready to take it on. Having a great group of talent returning with their experience is really exciting heading into next year.”
One of those underclassmen who burst on the scene was Lee, who had “a fantastic season,” according to Guarini.
“She had a great freshman year and was willing to try a new event this past May in the 3200,” the coach continued. “She ended up winning counties, placing at sectionals and groups and advancing to the Meet of Champs.
“Allison is always willing to put the team first, as was evident when MOCs got moved to Thursday and she, without hesitation, made the choice of running with the girls in the 4×800 instead of going to Nationals that day. She has a bright future ahead.”
As do several other WW-PN athletes.
Guarini noted that Chinchalkar was one of the team’s strongest distance runners and Davis-Owens bravely ran the 400 hurdles for the first time in the sectionals and placed third in the first heat. Kolker stepped up in the long jump and 100 and Apau “was huge for us at sectionals. She works hard and keeps getting better.”
So while there is some talent graduating, there is also plenty returning as the future looks bright for WWPN.
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WW-P South finished just ahead of the Knights in fourth place at the county meet, as Anastasia Kudin won the 400 hurdles (1:04.70) and took second in the 400 and sixth in the 200. Sophomore Adama Turay took second in the long jump, Muna Anyanwu was second in the 100, Ananyu Devpura and Catherine Gobo were 4-5 in the 3200, the 4×400 and 4×800 relays were both fourth, and Megan Bommireddy was fifth in long jump.
Anyanwu advanced to the MOC and took seventh in the long jump, while Kudin also qualified and was 13th in the 400 hurdles.
The High School North 4x100 team that placed 3rd at the Group 3 Championship is pictured above. They are Jahlia Johnson (left), Julia Kolker, Victoria Henry and Bria Davis-Owens.,
