GOOD RUN: Princeton High girls’ cross country runner Izzy Trenholm heads to the finish line in a race this fall. Last Saturday, senior star Trenholm placed 36th individually in the state Group 4 championship meet at Holmdel Park. The Little Tigers ended up seventh in the team standings. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After coming up two points short of winning a sectional title a week earlier, the Princeton High girls’ cross country team was primed to be at the front of the pack at the state Group 4 championship meet last Saturday.

Battling valiantly, PHS ended up seventh and showing how far the team has come, the result was a bit disappointing to the runners.

“It was a tough race for them, they ran with a lot of heart,” said PHS head coach Jim Smirk, reflecting on the competition which was won by Ridge with the Little Tigers finishing one place ahead of rival WW/P-S.

”I know they weren’t super thrilled with the performance, they certainly were much happier with their sectional performance.”

Junior star Chloe Taylor led the way for the Little Tigers, taking 20th individually, clocking a time of 19:43 over the 5,000-meter course and earning a wild card spot in the Meet of the Champions this Saturday. Senior Annie Walker finished 34th with senior Izzy Trenholm coming in 36th and senior Annefleur Hartmanshenn placing 64th.

“This is a team that really learned to work together, trust each other and give themselves the opportunity for a really good performance,” said Smirk.

“I would say the hallmark of the girls’ team this year is that when they were challenged, they were able to take some time to reflect on that challenge and become a better team each time they were challenged. I am not sure I have ever had a team that could do that as well as this team. That is a really impressive thing for a bunch of high school girls to be able to look at what is working and what isn’t and very quickly make the adjustment.”

Smirk pointed to Hartmanshenn as exemplifying the team’s ability to rise to a challenge.

“I think the big thing with Annefleur is if you had asked her a year ago would you be a difference maker at the sectional and state level, she was saying I am barely hanging on here,” said Smirk. “It was big for her to take ownership over her success and compete the way she has.”

Walker and Trenholm displayed good competitiveness on Saturday. “Annie wasn’t feeling 100 percent, she was under the weather and the fact that she stayed in there and fought through that was really important for her,” said Smirk.

“I thought Izzy ran really effectively. It was a little bit of an odd race for her, she likes to be a late surge kind of kid. The race went really fast in the first quarter and it slowed down and it had a couple of surges. It was a race that traditionally would have been difficult for Izzy. That was a good, solid effort on her part to run as effectively as she did. She finished well in the pack there. She is the only girl on the team who was a four-year varsity runner.”

In Smirk’s view, the team’s seniors have set a good example for the program’s younger runners.

“We have a nice freshman class, we are growing them into competitors,” said Smirk.

“We are taking our time with them, they are staying healthy. These girls have had an immense amount of contact with the seniors. They have put down a new standard of what it means to be on our team and that is saying a lot because of the great teams we have had in the past. There is no question that they are leaving a legacy for those new runners this year and future runners.”