SETTING THE PACE: Princeton High girls’ distance runner Chloe Taylor competes in a track meet this past spring. Last Saturday, senior star Taylor helped the PHS girls’ cross country team take fourth in the Girls Varsity 1 race at the Bowdoin Cross Country Classic in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Taylor placed seventh individually, covering the 5,000-meter course in 20:38.40. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For Jim Smirk, guiding the Princeton High girls’ cross country team this fall has centered on blending some key veterans with precocious newcomers.

A pair of seniors, Chloe Taylor and Lauren Cleary, along with freshmen Charlotte Gilmore and Chloe Ayers, and sophomores Erica Oake and Lizzy Hare, have been running at the front of the pack for PHS.

“Chloe Taylor is such a consistent force on our team; she is a senior but I wish she could stay longer,” said PHS head coach Smirk of Taylor, who helped PHS take fourth in the Girls Varsity 1 race at the Bowdoin Cross Country Classic in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. last Saturday as she placed seventh individually, covering the 5,000-meter course in 20:38.40. “She has been a great leader for us, it has been a thrill to work with her.”

Cleary, for her part, is emerging as a force for the Little Tigers. “We have gotten some great work out of Lauren Cleary,” said Smirk.

“Lauren has danced on the edge of the team for a while. She really decided that she was going to do that next piece and she put a lot of work in. She is doing well.”

Freshman Gilmore made quite a debut for the Little Tigers, finishing third in the opening meet of the CVC season on September 19 before taking 15th at the Bowdoin meet.

“We are thrilled with her, we were trying to think back the last time we had a freshman open up like that and we think it is Jenna Cody,” said Smirk, referring to Cody, a 2012 PHS grad who went on to star for the Swarthmore College women’s cross country team.

“She is running dual meets right now. When we get to invitational meets, she will get to show what she has. We are excited for her to get that opportunity.”

Smirk is excited about the work ethic being displayed by the intense Ayers.

“Chloe is actually a competitive wrestler, she is setting a really solid example of what work looks like,” said Smirk of Ayers, the daughter of Princeton University wrestling head coach Chris Ayers.

“She is an amazing kid; the lessons of the wrestling room are playing out for her as a competitive runner. She has this real grit. It is there, it exists, and she is going to build it and grow it.”

Sophomores Oake and Hare have the potential to grow into something special.

“Erica was our top freshman last year and at midseason, she unfortunately tweaked her hip flexor that took a little longer to heal than we thought,” said Smirk.

“I am not surprised at the quality of her performance, the talent was there, we just wanted to make sure she is healthy. Lizzy is also a competitive diver so she is coming off her diving season. She is in the midst of getting ready for competition, she is doing good training and getting focused on doing the work she needs to do.”

In Smirk’s view, PHS has the ability to excel both this fall and in the long run.

“We are raw, we believe in taking some risks to get to the next level,” said Smirk, whose team has a meet with Hopewell Valley, Lawrence, and Nottingham on October 3 at Washington Crossing Park.

“I think if we can solve those things over the season, we are going to do some pretty nice things this year and that will set the foundation for the future.”