FAST COMPANY: Princeton High distance runners Grace Hegedus, left, and Kajol Karra, compete in a cross country race last fall. Last Saturday, junior Hegedus and senior Karra finished one-two in the 3,200 meters in the Colonial Valley Conference Championships at WW/P-North. PHS finished fourth in the team standings of the event won by WW/P-North. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Justin Feil

Grace Hegedus will be coming into the toughest track and field sectional in the state later this month with a boost of confidence after her performance last weekend.

Junior star Hegedus was the lone individual winner for the Princeton High girls’ track team at the Colonial Valley Conference Championships on Saturday at WW/P-North as she took first in the 3,200 meters in an outdoor personal best of 11:09.67.

“I just went into the race feeling pretty confident,” said Hegedus, who was also fourth in the 1,600 and ran a leg on the third-place 4×400 relay. “I just wanted to do the best I could and I feel like I did OK. And it was just fun to do it with my teammates and I was in three events so it was kind of chaotic, and it was raining and windy so the weather wasn’t perfect, but it was a pretty good meet.”

Senior teammate Kajol Karra was a second behind her in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600 while coming back from a cold. Sophomore Rosemary Warren took fifth in the 3,200, making it the best team event for the Tigers. Junior Nishika Singh placed third in the discus, junior Ngozi Okeke-Agulu was fifth in the long jump, freshman Johanna Kraft placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, and junior Lena Murray took fifth in the 800. The 4×100 and 4×800 relays also were third highlighted by a school-record 50.11 second clocking in the 4×100. PHS was fourth as a team with 56 points in the event won by WW/P-North at 102.

“This year we had some holes from graduation, from previous athletes, and so I thought we did a nice job moving our team forward,” said PHS coach Jim Smirk. “We had some sickness, some injuries, just that kind of time of year, and the athletes that were able to compete, I thought, gave us a good, honest effort and they performed really well.”

The PHS boys also placed fourth with 56 points, tied with WW-P South in the meet won by Notre Dame at 103. Junior star Yi-Tian Xiong won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.35 seconds, junior Zachary Nelson threw 120’ 8 to win the discus, sophomore Caleb Mildenberg placed third in the javelin, Senior Saboor Qureshi took second in the 3,200 and junior Sullivan Spagnoli was third in the long jump. The boys 4×800 was second. Qureshi was fifth in the 1,600 and junior Fletcher Harrison was fifth in the 800.

Now both teams have to be ready for their next challenge when they compete in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional meet from May 15-16 at Hillsborough High.

“It’s incredible how deep the talent is in Central Jersey Group 4, but I think there were some things we saw in CVCs to help us,” said Smirk. “Obviously, Allison Lee (of WW/P-North), just absolutely dominant, and knowing how to race our race in the face of that kind of upper-level competition, I thought, was a really helpful thing for us going into sectionals. We know that if we want to be successful, we need to be true to how we train and how we race, and so we’re going to continue to do that. We’ve been working really hard all season on some different ways to approach being successful in the races we’re in.”

The top six finishers in each event advance to the Group 4 state meet, and Hegedus is determined to go for a state qualifier. Last year she finished one spot away despite running a season-best 11:10.35 for a frustrating ending.

“I’m super excited for sectionals,” said Hegedus. “I really want to break 11:00 in the two-mile and I’m just really excited for the end of my junior year, I really want to have a PR. I feel like I can. And I feel like definitely there was more in the tank when I was finishing up the two-mile, so I’m really excited.”

Hegedus favors the longer and more varied cross country courses, but has been a valuable part of the track and field team as well. Her strength showed up in a meet like the CVCs in which she opened with the 1,600 before doubling back to the 3,200.

“I just felt a little bit tired, but I kind of like how the mile is first and then the two-mile because I feel like it gets my legs ready for the two-mile,” said Hegedus. “I just felt like just go out there and run my best. I had to do it, so might as well just try my best.”

Her best has added to the strength of the Tigers. They have a number of girls that were a part of the successful cross country team that make up the core of the distance runners for the track and field team. They’ve added their experience to a younger group of sprinters, throwers, vaulters and jumpers.

“We’re all very talented and we all have the potential to do our best,” said Hegedus. “So if we all cheer each other on, we could do even better as a team and just have fun with it.”

Hegedus is looking to continue running as long as she can. She hopes to extend her competitive career beyond PHS.

“I really hope I can run in college one day because I feel like it’d be so fun to just keep building friendships and I really like running,” said Hegedus. “I feel like it’d just be really fun.”

Hegedus is using her growing experience to become even more consistent in the distance events. Cross country gave her building blocks to the track season, and her strength has been a plus when put in multiple events like she was for the CVC meet. PHS has seen her break 18:00 for 5,000 meters this year in cross country and run fast in all three distance events on the track this season.

“All the pieces are kind of coming together and we talk a lot about we’re always kind of chasing these personal bests, but one of the things we’re always looking for is raising the floor,” said Smirk. “What is your average work? What does your average race look like? And Grace has done a tremendous job of raising that floor every race, even if it’s not a PR. It’s like she just keeps chipping away at what a good race means for her. And so I think she’s in a good position going into the postseason.”

She’s also becoming more of a leader on the eve of becoming a senior. Hegedus ran with maturity on Saturday in the CVC meet. She made a move with three laps to go to stretch away from the competition. She’ll be ready at sectionals to run boldly again, and hopes that’s enough to extend her season into states. Last year’s near miss is a motivator.

“That’ll definitely build some of my energy to be strategic towards my races and don’t make silly mistakes and just really race the best I can so that I can make it out,” said Hegedus. “I really want this. Hopefully I can do it.”

Hegedus will still get nervous before the sectional meet, but her performance at the CVC meet proved she can run well in big spots. Her work over the last year has prepared her for a big end to her junior season. She’s been dedicated to her workouts and long runs and putting in the effort to have everything in place for a great race.

“I just have a little bit more experience racing now and I know more about the 32 so it gives me more confidence,” said Hegedus. “I just feel more comfortable and hopefully I could do my best and race even better than last year, so that’s the goal.”