POWELL, MAHON & JANCEWICZ TO BE INDUCTED MAY 17TH
- Jan 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 17
Published 1/30/2026
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting the upcoming honorees of the 3rd annual Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2026.
Whether it was going over hurdles or going over crossbars, Donna Powell, Kristen Mahon-Lewis, and Noel Jancewicz-Challgren all excelled at clearing barriers amid the challenges of top notch track competition. That's why all 3 ladies have been selected for induction when the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame holds its 3rd annual awards ceremony this upcoming spring.
The star trio will join 15 other inductees from Mercer County high schools who in their eras all excelled in, or contributed to, the sports of track or cross country. Induction is scheduled for Sunday May 17th, at Mercer Oaks.
Donna Powell competed for Trenton Central in the mid 1980s. She was a 2-time Group 4 State Champion in the 400 Hurdles--as a junior in 1985 and again as a senior in '86. Her '86 outdoor season culminated with a win at The Meet of Champions in the same event.
Powell not only hurdled. She was a versatile athlete who could run the open sprints at the state ranked level, and she was a member of championship relay teams for Trenton--joining forces with star Tornado teammates such as Wenda Vereen (HOF Class of 2024), Tracey Wright, and Tamarian Nieves.
Additionally, Powell enjoyed more than individual success in her high school running career. She played a key role in helping to lead the TCHS program coached by hall of famers Holland Moore and Al Jennings to its first-ever girls outdoor state championship in 1984, and its first ever girls indoor state championship in 1986.
Another all-time great hurdler from Mercer, Notre Dame's Kristen Mahon also excelled in the open sprints.
As a junior Mahon won gold in the open 400 at
the 2006 Indoor Meet of Champions.
Then like Powell 21 years before, Mahon took gold in the 400 Hurdles at the '07 Meet of Champs to cap off her senior NJ campaign with the Irish.
Mahon was also a multiple-time county champ, multiple-time state parochial champ, the current all-time county record holder in the 400 Hurdles with a time of 1:00.11, and she holds the current Outdoor Mercer County Championship Meet record in the open 400 meters at 55.17.
After her career at Notre Dame, Mahon attended Villanova University where she was a 4-year competitor in track and was part of a Big East indoor team championship in 2010.
Noel Jancewicz of Robbinsville won the High Jump at the Meet of Champions in the spring of 2013. She was also a Group 2 State Champion both indoor and outdoor in the HJ, as well as a multiple time county and sectional champion in the event.
But Jancewicz was not limited to being a field event athlete. She was exceptionally fast and found additional success as a sprinter.
On the track she collected a mixture of county, sectional and group state championships in her prep career, taking titles in distances of 55m, 100m, 200m, and 400m. So impressive was Jancewicz at racing, that excluding all of her many victories in the high jump, her remaining sprint victories are enough to put her in any high school track & field hall of fame.
After graduating from Robbinsville, she attended UPenn, and was a multiple time Ivy League Champion, competing in the high jump and multi-events.
Anyone wishing to celebrate the careers of Powell, Mahon, Jancewicz or any other inductees in the Class of 2026 may RSVP to attend the hall of fame induction event on May 17th by visiting our Banquet 2026 page here.
