Mark Shelley is dealing with a problem this fall that would be the envy of most cross country coaches.

“We are so deep this year, we have been trying to give all of our quicker guys a chance to run a varsity meet,” said Princeton High boys’ cross country head coach Shelley.

“We had 11 guys go sub-18:00 at Holmdel at the Shore Coaches meet. It is a positive competition. They like each other, it pushes them. At the end of the season it is going to be hard to make those final spot determinations.”

Last Saturday, PHS competed well at the Fall Classic at Thompson Park in Jamesburg, placing third of 18 schools in the team standings in the Varsity B race.

“I think we felt good about it, we had a couple of guys who didn’t run as well as they wanted to run,” said Shelley.

“The term we use is process. It is all part of the process and we learn from it. One reason we run there is that we will run the county and sectional meets there.”

Junior star Alex Roth ran well at the Fall Classic, placing seventh individually, covering the 5-kilometer course in a time of 16:13.40.

“Alex is doing very well, certainly he is a running machine,” said Shelley. “His form is perfect; he is the best runner we have had in a while. We are still figuring out exactly how to race. A couple of times we feel like he has come in behind somebody who he could have beaten if he had tactically run a little differently. He has a great work ethic. He is smart, he will talk with us. He is really open and proactive if he is sore or needs to change something around.”

Sophomore Will Hare, who took 17th at the Fall Classic, has shown great improvement from last season.

“Last year Will was our fourth freshman and he really started to blossom towards the end of spring track,” said Shelley.

“He did a lot of miles over the summer. He just has a tenacious, tiger-like mentality. He is fighter. Last week he had a hard week of training and the other guys had some more days off and he came out on Saturday and just fought. He is a tough runner.”

Cy Watsky is also providing toughness for the Little Tigers. “Cy has been fighting a little bit of soreness recently; he and Will Hare are basically together,” said Shelley of junior Watsky, who placed 23rd at the Fall Classic.

“They are two of our key runners, matching ourselves up against Robbinsville and South (WW/P-S) going forward, we are looking at where we need them to place in relation to other teams. He is a great leader, he has a great work ethic.”

Another key runner for PHS this fall has been senior Jeremy Taylor, who has regained the form he displayed earlier in his high school career.

“Jeremy is one of these kids who has been real solid for us all year,” said Shelley of Taylor, who took 28th at the meet last Saturday.

“He was really strong in middle school but in the last couple of years, he really regressed. Last year he ran 25 or 26 and it turned out he was anemic. He took his iron and he dropped like six minutes. He is a great kid, really quiet. We appreciate what he has been able to do.”

While noting that those four runners have separated themselves, Shelley said there is a pack of runners doing well right behind them.

“You have Alex Ackerman, Nick Delaney, and Jackson Donahue, who are sophomores,” added Shelley.

“There is also Eli Wasserman, who is a freshman, as well as Jonathan Petrozzini and Elliot Wailoo, who are juniors. Noah Chen is a senior. All of them are literally within seconds of each other.”

The team’s depth will come in handy as the Little Tigers wrap up the regular season with a Colonial Valley Conference showdown.

“We have the divisional meet this week, it is us, South, North (WW/P-N), Notre Dame, and Trenton,” said Shelley.

“It is our first shot at South. We haven’t beaten them in years so the guys are looking forward to that challenge.”

Shelley is looking forward to the county championships, seeing his team as a surefire title contender.

“The county meet should be between us, South, and Robbinsville,” said Shelley of the competition that is slated for October 23 at Thompson Park.

“All three of us are ranked roughly the same in the state. Robbinsville beat us in a dual meet but looking at the numbers, we think we match up with them better at a bigger meet just because of where the runners fall. We are hoping we can put a bunch of people in before their five guy. Our goal is to get Cy and Hare closer to Roth and get the pack closer together. It will be the most competitive race it has been in a while; it will be a real battle.”