The track teams at both West Windsor-Plainsboro high schools have shined bright this spring as they sprinted into the NJSIAA state championship meet on Thursday, June 7 (after the WW-P News’ print deadline).
At High School South, hopes were high for star runner A.J. Chavez, who broke the state record on Saturday, June 2, in the boys’ 800-meter run at the Group IV state championship with a time of 1:50.59.
“We’re all pretty excited because A.J. wants to break the mark of 1:50. He’s determined, and he’s such a hard worker. His four years of running at South could culminate in another record,” South assistant coach Jessica Haughton said. Chavez will have his chance at the state Meet of Champions on Thursday, June 7.
Eddison Guluma, a junior at South, finished second to Chavez at the Mercer County Championships and is primed to tackle the 800 meters at the state level, having qualified for the state championship with a fifth-place time of 1:54.49 in the Group IV meet.
On the girls’ side, South senior Caroline Kellner is set to compete in the 3,200 meters. Haughton said Kellner has consistently improved throughout her high school career, culminating in this year’s performance. Last year Kellner finished fourth in 10:41.78; this year her qualifying time was 10:35, good for third place at the Group IV championship.
South junior Paige Brown has excelled in the jumping events and 100-meter hurdles this season. She medaled in the hurdles, high jump, and triple jump at the Mercer County Championships on May 12 and will compete in the high jump at the Meet of Champions.
High School North’s team also had a breakout season. Senior Christina Lipuma, the team captain over the past two years who will attend Syracuse in the fall, qualified for the Group IV meet in the 400-meter hurdles and was also on the 4×400 meter relay team with Patrycja (Pati) Dziekonka, Simone Counts, and Marilyn Allen.
“Christina is the type of girl you could put in four events and she’d compete hard — she’d medal in all four, winning at least one or two or finishing second,” said North head coach Monica Biro.
Biro also spoke about one of her runners who burst onto the scene this year. Sophomore Pati Dziekonska first made an impression on her coach when she was a seventh grader at Community Middle School. Dziekonska was also an AAU track athlete and a gymnast before her debut on North’s team, and she’s ascended to a headline role by taking home the county and sectional championship for indoor track this year.
In the Meet of Champions on June 7 she will contend for titles in the 100 meter hurdles and the long jump. At the Mercer County Championships Dziekonska won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.62. “She has such a strong drive to be great. This year she’s matured as an athlete, and she can better handle competing at bigger meets, and in four events or more. This year she goes in with experience,” Biro said.
Track at WW-P is a marathon, Biro says.
“We have a plan that starts back in December because all our girls do winter track. We never back up with training. The girls are conditioned to run into June, so we never really press too hard. We make sure we don’t overwhelm them,” Biro said.
