GROUP EFFORT: Members of the Princeton High boys’ track team show off the plaque they earned for winning the state Group 4 state title last Saturday at Franklin High. PHS scored 81 points to edge runner-up East Orange, which totaled 76. It marked program’s first outdoor Group state title since 1981. PHS is next in action when its athletes compete in the Meet of Champions in June 9 at Northern Burlington High.
By Bill Alden
For the Princeton High boys’ track team, its quest for the state Group 4 title last weekend turned into a two-horse race with perennial power East Orange.
By the end of action on Friday in the two-day competition at Franklin High, PHS was clearly in the mix for the championship.
“Our first day was better than where we thought we would be, but East Orange was also better than where we thought they would be,” said Ben Samara, the associate head coach of the PHS boys’ and girls’ teams. “The whole meet, we over-performed and they over-performed. It was really an epic battle.”
An epic performance by the 4×800 meter relay which saw it take first in a school-record 7:47.89 gave PHS a major boost in opening day action.
“Acasio Pinheiro ran a tough mile and we decided to give him some rest and sub Tucker Zullo in for him and that team met the challenge,” said Samara, reflecting on the performance by the quartet of Will Hare, Zullo, Jackson McCarthy, and Nick Delaney.
“They still went out there and set a N.J. No.1 time this season so you couldn’t ask for a better way to end day one and make a statement.”
On Saturday, the Little Tigers made a major statement, edging East Orange to win the program’s first outdoor Group state title since 1981. PHS ended up with 81 points, five points better than the 76 piled up by the Jaguars.
“The mood around the team was very determined,” said Samara. “The guys knew that if we do what we needed to do, we would gave a really good chance.”
Individual winners for PHS included senior standout Hare in the 3,200 (9:09.77, personal best, school record) and junior star Paul Brennan in the discus (176’ 4, personal best).
Samara wasn’t surprised by the clutch performances from Hare and Brennan, who added a third place in the shot put with a school-record and personal-best heave of 57’3.
“Will Hare always has the luxury of being towards the end of the meet; he can really begin to take us home and he relishes that spot,” said Samara of the pair of stars who will now compete in the Meet of Champions (MOC) on June 9 at Northern Burlington High.
“He just decided that it was his race and took it home. Paul has spent the entire year really looking for that breakthrough and he really picked a big meet to have the breakthrough. He tried to time his taper correctly for a big meet like this. He took a jump at the right time.”
Other PHS athletes who finished in the top six and will join Hare and Brennan at the MOC include: Varun Narayan and Nils Wildberg – second and third place in the long jump (both jumped 22’ 7.5); Simon Schenk – second in the pole vault (14’ 6) Ben Kioko – third place in the javelin (180’1, PR), Acasio Pinheiro – third place in the 1,600; and Matt Perello – sixth place in the 200. Narayan and Wildberg also teamed with Jack Whetstone and Perello to get third place in the 4×100 when the team had been seeded seventh, posting another school record as they dropped their time to 42.82.
The pair of Narayan and Wildberg put PHS over the top as the Little Tigers trailed East Orange 76-67 before they came through with their top-3 finishes in the long jump.
“There is not another event we would want to have the meet riding on with the season that Nils and Varun have had,” said Samara.
“We were quietly confident going into the long jump and we knew as long as they could hit the board, we were going to be OK. Those two have been the embodiment of the turnaround of our sprints and I couldn’t be happier for those guys.”
Producing some unexpected third-place finishes helped make the Little Tigers confident of victory.
“We had a bunch of events where we had it slotted down for one point and we ended up getting third, and that is the margin right there,” said Samara, citing Kioko in the javelin, Brennan in the shot put and the 4×100 as key third-place finishes.
Those performances were emblematic of a well-rounded PHS squad. “This is what we have been hoping for; this team really showed depth across the board that you don’t often see on the Group level,” said Samara.
“To be able to score in 11 of the events in the meet and move people on to MOC in 13 of those events (with wild card entries) is an unprecedented show of depth that these guys should be really proud of.”
In addition to talent, the team’s athletes possess championship intangibles. “This group has extraordinary work ethic and extraordinary humility at the same time to go with confidence. It is really the right combination, it is a super special group.”
Samara believes the Little Tigers can accomplish more special things at the MOC.
“I am hoping we can come away with some state titles,” said Samara, noting that PHS has seven athletes or relays seeded in the top 10 for the meet. “It is a really hard and long season to stay locked in, trust the training, and trust themselves in staying the course. It has really been fun.”