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With this being the week of the 2026 CVC Cross-Country Meet, let's take a look back at some memorable photo highlights from the past 63 years of Mercer County/Conference Championships. 1963 1st to the finish. Dave Bradley of Trenton. Inaugural County XC Meet 1963 1964 The 1964 Ewing XC Squad that won the Mercer County Championship. 1965 Trenton celebrates winning both the varsity and JV Mercer County Championships. From L-R are principal William Walker, captain Ed Milligan, Clarence Christie, and coach Jack Ryan. 1966 The Trenton line-up that won the '66 county meet. 1967 Trenton's Jim Lee moments after winning the 1967 County Championship Post race exhaustion. 1967 Mercer County Championship 1968 Trenton's Wes Hendrix was XC champ in '68 1969 Notre Dame head coach Jim Ungrady prepares his top harriers Pete Antonowicz (center) and Mark Smith for the 1969 county championship race 1970 Members of Notre Dame's County Champion Team prepare to race. 1971 The Hightstown Rams -- 1971 County Champs 1972 The Hopewell boys that won the county in 1972. ( individual champ in '72 Brian Gallagher top row 2nd from left) 1973 Hopewell's Dan Suthers on the way to the county title at the 1973 meet. 1974 Rich Schuder of Hightstown at the '74 county meet navigates the course to a runner-up finish. The team championship was won by Princeton HS. 1975 Royce Flippin of Princeton surges to a big lead into the final stretch to win his 2nd straight Mercer title in 1975 1976 8th grader Tammy Brennan of Reynolds looks back at Notre Dame's Jean Reres. Brennan was allowed to run and finished 1st, but being a middle schooler she did not count for the county standings. POST-RACE. County winner Paul Shivers of Hopewell is congratulated by runner-up Wes Ruppell of Steinert 1977 Wes Ruppell of Steinert rebounds from the previous year to cross the finish line first in '77 1978 1978 girl's county champion Bobbi Lynch of Steinert receives 1st place trophy with Andre Modica presenting. 1979 Bev Rockhill of Hamilton West during her victorious run in the girls county championship 1979 1980 Kevin Davis County XC Champ 1980 1981 West Windsor's Dave Hall wins the county title 1981 1982 Trenton -- County Champs 1982 1983 Doug Soncrant of the victorious Lawrence HS team congratulates individual winner Mike Glenn of Trenton 1984 Lawrence's Beth Starr as she crosses the line to win the Mercer girls title. 1985 Girl's individual champ Eva Klohnen (left) celebrates Princeton's team victory with teammate Susan Gray 1986 Tim Blake of Trenton leads Princeton's Sean Nyhan at the county championships 1986. Blake won his 2nd straight title. 1987 Karen Swartz of Princeton narrowly edges out teammate Sandra Tignor at the finish line to win 1st place in the county. Washington Crossing Park 1987. 1988 From Left : Hall of fame officials Larry Ivan & Larry Baldassari preside over the finish line as Princeton High's Jarod Nees crosses in 1st place. 1989 Steinert coach Jerry Bleistein and his girls celebrate their win at the Mercer County Championships 1989 1990 The start of the boys race, won by Notre Dame 1991 Boys' winner Justin Geisel of Princeton Day School heads toward his 2nd consecutive Mercer title 1991. 1992 Larry Ivan looks on as Notre Dame's Eric Wills celebrates at the line to claim the 1992 Mercer crown. 1993 Zach Price of Princeton takes the boys title 1994 Kristy Waters of Hamilton West leads the pack on the way to a 1st place finish in 1994. 1995 The relief of the victor. Notre Dame's Kelly McCabe. 1996 1996: Tensai Asfaw of Lawrenceville Prep celebrates with the team championship trophy. Asfaw also won the individual title. 1997 Heading through Vets Park, Laura Kunak of Peddie running to gold in 1997 1998 The Notre Dame boys who won the '98 county championship 1999 Hopewell's Tiffany Rust after breaking the meet record in her win at the county championships in 1999. 2000 Hightstown's Chris Repka talks to the media after winning the 2000 boys county race in Veteran's Park. 2001 Notre Dame's Nicole Kurtian during her winning run at the 2001 Mercer Champs 2002 Carolyn Calhoun of Ewing storms home to win the girls county title. 2003 The Hun School's Morgan Seybert was #1 in the boys race in 2003 2004 Hopewell & WW North battle to the finish for the team title won by the Bulldogs at Vets Park 2004 2005 Boys champion Joe Ennis (WW South) & girls Champ Megan Fitzpatrick (Hopewell) 2005 2006 WW South's Brian Leung on course to win the boys' crown. 2007 Julie Jablonski of the winning Hopewell girls team talks to reporters after the race. 2008 Posing after the race. The 2008 girls champs (West Windsor South) and boys champs (West Windsor North) 2009 In dark jerseys, WW North's pack surrounds WW South's Sam Macalusco. North's Jon Squeri (pictured in 4th) would go on to win 1st place. IN THE HUDDLE... The team champions from Hopewell gathered to prepare for their eventual winning effort at the county meet 2009. 2010 The individual winner (#719) WW North's Jim Rosa peers over at the WW South pack who won the team championship in 2010. 2011 Matt Bearden of Ewing barrels down the final straightaway to take top honors 2011 Amid the pack, WW South's Caroline Kellner (#615) later emerged with her third title in a row. 2012 Official Larry Baldassari mans the finish line. Jake Riff of WW South takes the boys individual crown 2013 The start of the boys race won by WW South in 2013 2014 A DOUBLE THREE-PEAT: Grace Dwyer of Nottingham (middle) enroute to her 3rd straight individual title is flanked by West Windsor South's Christina Rancan and Deirdre Casey as they lead the Pirates to their 3rd straight team title. Mercer County Meet 2014. 2015 Tim Bason of WW South for the win in 2015 2016 Robbinsville's Lauren Kroepfl sprinted home to her second straight county title. A snapshot of Princeton's pack that led them to winning the boys meet 2016 2017 Devon Hoernlein of Allentown celebrates being first to the finish 2017 Boys Champion Will Hare from Princeton speaks with the media after the race. 2018 Charlotte Bednar of Hun charges to the finish on the way to winning the county title. 2019 Defending champ Liam Murphy of Allentown battles WW North's Luke Johnson on the course at Washington Crossing to win his 2nd in a row. 2021 The boys crew from WW North won the team crown in 2021 2022 The victorious Wilberforce girls celebrate with the team championship award. 2023 Caleb Brox of Wilberforce breezes down the final stretch for the win 2024 Allison Lee of WW North (Far Left) on her way to winning the CVC Championship 2024. Photo by trackmercer.com 2025 Last year's CVC Champions. Princeton High wins both the boys AND girls titles. © 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame Back to Articles & News

Published 10/12/2026 The Trenton Central boys track program has always excelled in the quarter and half-mile runs. Ever since the early beginnings of county track and field and all the way up to the modern era, the Trenton program has traditionally produced athletes who dominated NJ in those 2 events. Of them all, the greatest double threat may have been Alfonza Hicks (TCHS Class of 1968). Despite so many Tornados being capable of doubling in the quarter-mile (440 Yards) and half-mile (880 Yards) there was only 1 Trenton cinderman who excelled enough to win state titles in both races over the first 50 years of NJSIAA boys track. That athlete was Bill Fischer (TCHS Class of 1946). Fischer won the state 880 championship as a junior in 1945, and the state 440 championship as a senior in 1946. Then... 22 years later came Al Hicks. Not only did Hicks win state titles in both, he did it in the same year. During his senior campaign of 1968, he won the INDOOR 440 Yd Group 4 title and the OUTDOOR 880 Yd Group 4 title. Trenton Times, 25th of Feb 1968 Hick's times were epic. During his 440 win at the indoor state championships-- held in the Jersey City Armory on February 24 1968--Hicks tied the Group 4 meet record with a time of 51.0. His winning time in the 880 at the outdoor state championships--held at Rutgers on June 1st 1968-- was a 1:54.0. Trenton Times, 2nd of June 1968 The latter victory was accomplished in spectacular fashion. An account of Hick's tactical come-from-behind win was described by sportswriter George Kotch of the Trenton Times the next day: Trenton Times, 2nd of June 1968 But as fast as Hicks ran in state meets, those races were not his fastest on the track. In the 440 he had an outdoor personal best of 50.0. In the 880 his outdoor best was a 1:52.4. The 880 PB occurred during a win on May 29th 1968. The occasion was a multi-state championship meet held at Philadelphia's Franklin Field verses the best runners from NJ, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Hick's mark that day not only demolished the meet record by over 3 seconds, it also broke the NJ all-time state record set by North Plainfield's Cliff Christenson the previous year, and it ranked him top 6 in the country for high schoolers that spring. The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 30, 1968 The fastest that Hicks covered the half mile under any conditions was 1:48.6 on a straightaway. He ran it while competing for the Shore Athletic Club in the summer following his junior year. The race took place in Cape May NJ on June 24, 1967. Track veteran Elliott Denman-- the co-founder and manager at Shore AC--remembers that race. "It was down near the beach on asphalt" Denman says, "I brought him there. The only guy who beat him that day was a college runner." Trenton Times June 25, 1967 When compared to times outside of his era, Hicks easily stands out. Unlike today's track runners who compete in meters, Hicks ran in yards. The 880 Yards, or half-mile, is 15 feet farther (4.67m farther) than the 800 meters, That means Hick's races were over a distance of 804.67 meters in total, or roughly 2 1/2 steps more than 800 meters. So during Hick's PB of 1:52.4 he would have had to cross the 800 meter point in under 1:52 while enroute to 880 yards. But those numbers don't tell the whole story, because Hicks didn't run on the rubber surface tracks of today. He routinely ran his times on cinder tracks which were much slower. How much faster would he have been on modern track surfaces? He actually did get at least one opportunity. That previously mentioned 1:52.4 at Franklin Field over the 880 yard distance was run on one of the first synthetic rubber tracks in the country. In that race not only did he drop 1.6 seconds from his best on cinders, but even with the extra 15 feet included, his time was fast enough to have won the 800m at this past season's 2026 Group 4 state meet. Individually Hicks won a slew of other big meets. He was a 3-time Mercer County Champion in the 880, winning the indoor title once in '67 and the outdoor title back-to-back in 67' & '68. He was also a 2-time outdoor sectional champ in the 880, taking gold at both the1967 and '68 SJ Championships. So versatile was Hicks that he ran a leg on a sprint relay as a junior in 1967 when Trenton won the Mercer County 4x220 Relay title. Hick's state-ranked relevance didn't end with the quarter and half mile runs. He had a high school personal best in the 1-Mile Run of 4:17 which was one of the top times in the state. In his senior season he won the Mile at the '68 Indoor Mercer County Championships--breaking the meet record. His overall scoring prowess in county competitions helped lead the TCHS team to 3 consecutive indoor county track championships from 1966-1968. Hicks (3rd from left) with teammates on the 1966 TCHS XC Team - Mercer Champions Hicks was the archetypal year-round competitor too. He ran long distance in the fall season and he was a member of Trenton's 1965, '66 & '67 cross country teams that 3 won Mercer County Championships in a row. In addition to his ability as an individual racer, his fast legs led TCHS's team to record breaking relays. Al Hicks (2nd from left) and his Trenton teammates celebrate their meet record in the 2-mile relay at the Scotch Plains Invite on Jan 20 1968 There was one NJ meet Hicks didn't win--The Meet of Champions. Not because he failed in the attempt to win it, but rather, because it didn't exist yet. The inaugural M.O.C. wouldn't be established until a year after he graduated in 1969. Had it started 1 season earlier, Hicks would have surely been a favorite to win it. Hicks concluded his '68 campaign in the summer season. On July 16 in Clifton NJ he took first with a 1:54.6 run in the 880 at the NJ Men's AAU Championships. Then on August 17 he took runner-up at the National Junior Jaycee Championships held in Eugene Oregon. In the final he amazingly ran a 1:52.6 while injured. Hicks (R) joined by his mother and TCHS Coach Howard Linder, signs a letter of intent for a scholarship to Murray St University in May of 1968 After his senior championship season Hicks moved on to attend college at Murray State University in Kentucky. The great Alfonza Hicks along with 17 other inductees will be honored at the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame awards banquet on May 16, 2027 at Mercer Oaks. RSVP is required. Info on doing so can be found ON OUR BANQUET PAGE HERE. © 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame Back to Articles & News

Scroll down to see photos in chronological order of Mercer County Track & Cross Country from decades past. Walter Dohm--Princeton Prep Alum-- at far left, as a student athlete in Princeton University WALTER DOHM - THE ILLUSTRATED AMERICAN V.21 MAY 8, 1897 Harper's weekly v.37 June-Dec.1893 Harper's weekly v.36 1892 Bric a brac 1891 1903 LAWRENEVILLE PREP (ELI PARSONS #13) SPALDING ALMANAC Eli Parsons (Lawrenceville Prep Alum) leads the pack in Athens Greece for the United States Team 1906 Lawrenceville alum J.A. Rector breaks 100 YD Dash world record May 1908 Lawrenceville graduate (Class of 1906) tied the world record in the 100 meters at the 1908 Olympic Trials Rector at University of Virginia - Corks and curls v.21 1908 RECTOR AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA - CORKS AND CURLS V. 21 1908 1922 TCHS alumni - The Times Sun, Feb 19, 1933 ·Page 25 TRENTON TIMES AA CLUB 1923 KARL "BEANER" HORTON (CENTER) 1926 Daily Princetonian Photographic Weekly, Volume 9, Number 2, 1 March 1930 1931 CENTRAL JERSEY CHAMPS T&F -- PRINCETON HS Dick McCoy of Trenton Cathedral wins the 440 at the 1934 Parochial State Meet 1938 Group 2 State T&F Champions - Princeton HS TCHS MILE RELAY- 1939 TCHS 1944 1944 STATE CHAMPS -- TCHS TRACK & FIELD TCHS 1944 TCHS 1944 Dan Ray of TCHS on the way to winning his 2nd consecutive indoor national title in the 60 Yd Hurdles. Feb24, 1945. New York City. CARL BROWN (PHS CLASS OF 1955) WITH WINSTON SALEM PENN RELAYS SHUTTLE HURDLES CHAMPS 1957 1965 TRENTON HS - MERCER COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS 1971 Hightstown HS Cross Country - Mercer County Champs Back to Main Gallery Page

Trenton Central High School – Sprinter Laurence John Falwell was captain of the 1940 TCHS State Championship Track and Field Team. He specialized in sprints and won numerous titles for the Tornadoes. Falwell excelled at the 440 Yard Dash. He won the 1939 440 Class 4 State Championship. He came back to score runner-up the next spring at 440 in the state meet as he helped Trenton to win the 1940 team title--The first ever state championship for the TCHS program. Among his other achievements was setting a meet record of 50.4 in winning the “Big Six Conference” title for 440 yards in 1939. He repeated as conference champion again in 1940, and he added a South Jersey Championship 440 gold medal later that season. Falwell went on to compete in track for the Hoosiers of Indiana University. He graduated from college with a degree in biology. He was also a veteran of the armed services. MAJOR TITLES WON STATE CHAMPION GROUP 4 – 440 YARDS (1939) SJ SECTIONAL CHAMPION – 440 YARDS (1940) 2-TIME BIG-6 CONFERENCE CHAMPION – 440 YARDS (1939 & 1940) At U of Indiana with coach Billy Hayes 1942 Back to Historical Class

Trenton Central High School – State & National Champions Coached by Peter Morgan, Trenton’s Cross-country squad went undefeated for two years, from 1941-42. In 1941, after winning all their duals and invites, they concluded the season with a pair of significant victories. At the NJ State Championship, they secured first place with 41 points, with runners finishing 2nd, 3rd, 11th, 12th, and 13th, surpassing their closest competitors by 70 points. Next, they went on to win the 1941 National Interscholastic Cross-country Meet held at Seton Hall, NJ. The team scored 66 to edge out runners-up Northeast Philadelphia (75 points) and Gardner H.S of Massachusetts with 78. The Tornados repeated the feat the next season in the fall of ’42, winning both the state and national titles again. At Warinanco Park NJ in November of ‘42, they defended their state title by putting four of their five runners in the top ten--to score 39. They beat out runners-up Union High School who had 88, and Woodbury at third with 118. The boys repeated as national champs at the 1942 meet on a rain-soaked course-- held again at Seton Hall. Amid a field of 228 runners from 35 schools, they scored 121 to beat out runners-up Nott Terrace High School of Schenectady NY who scored 132, and Wellington Mephan NY with 195. In fall 1941 Trenton was led by their top 5 pack runners Donald Thoms, Jack Morrison, Frank Kocubinski, Dave Horner, and Ben Richardson. Rounding out the roster was Thomas Kimmey, along with team captains Louis Hardin and Albert Smith. With the graduations of Thoms and Morrison, the fall ’42 lineup was joined by Ed Racer, James Murray & Ed Poreda. MAJOR TITLES WON 2 STATE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (1941 & 1942) 2 NATIONAL INTERSCHOLASTIC CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (1941 & 1942) Back to Historical Class

Trenton Central High School -- Sprinter Donlon won the NJ State Class A 100 Yard Dash in 1921 for Trenton High. In addition to his state crown, Donlon was a 5-time South Jersey Champion and he was a three-time city champion as well. After graduating from Trenton High, he attended Dickinson, William & Mary, and Trenton State Teachers College (Now TCNJ) where he captained the track and field team. He was also a member of the Trenton Times AA Track Club and won 2 AAU Middle Atlantic States 100 Yard Dash titles. He twice achieved a personal best of 10.0 in the 100 Yards. Donlon competed regularly until the early 1930s. In 1932 he became Athletic Director at Rider University where he additionally coached track, soccer and basketball. Donlon worked as a teacher in the Trenton Elementary School System from 1940 to 1973. Donlon has been inducted into both the Rider and TCNJ Athletic Halls of Fame, as well as the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame. MAJOR TITLES WON NJ STATE CHAMPION CLASS A 100 YARDS (1921) 5-TIME SJ SECTIONAL CHAMPION 100 & 220 YARDS (1921), 100, 220 & BROAD JUMP (1922) 3-TIME TRENTON CITY 100 YARD DASH CHAMPION (1921, 1923, 1924) 2-TIME AAU MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES CHAMPION 100 YARDS (1929 & 1930) Back to Historical Class

TIM BLAKE WINS SHORE COACHES Published 10/5/2026 Forty one years ago on Oct 5th 1985, Trenton High School's Tim Blake won the Varsity A Division of the Shore Coaches Invitational held at Holmdel Park NJ. Blake covered the 3.1 mile course in 16:28 for the win--beating out runner-up Ron Faith from Paul VI by 20 yards (4 seconds). The top 15 finishers in the individual standings were as follows: The Star Ledger, 6th of Oct 1985 Blake, who was a junior in fall '85, would go on to win the Mercer County Championship and Central Jersey Group IV Sectional later that season. © 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame Back to Articles

Published 9/28/2026 This article is the first in a series of previews leading up to the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame's Class of 2027 induction which will be celebrated in May at Mercer Oaks. In the fall of 1974, Princeton High School Boys Cross Country Team did something no Mercer County public school had done since 1945 -- they won a state cross country championship. For that memorable season, the PHS squad of '74 will be honored with induction into the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame when the hall holds its 4th induction banquet next spring on May 16, 2027. It had been 29 years since Trenton High School won a state crown in cross country. The drought for Mercer area schools ended in '74 when 7th year head coach Larry Ivan guided the Little Tigers to the Group II crown on November 16th of that year, in New Brunswick NJ. Coach Larry Ivan The squad was led by junior runner Royce Flippin who finished 5th in the state meet. His time was 15:15. Flippin's performance came a week after he took the individual sectional XC crown. According to The Trenton Times, in their state championship effort PHS's top 5 pack all crossed the finish within 1 min 12 seconds of each other. Trenton Times, Nov 17, 1974 For PHS, 1974 was an overall stellar year. Their state title was the third victory of a triple crown that season. They also won team titles at the '74 Mercer County Championships and the CJ Sectional Championships. Their state title was the 2nd in school history, with the first being 46 years previous--in 1928--when PHS won the inaugural Class B NJSIAA championship. Flippin was PHS's most decorated individual harrier in '74. The squad was also led by co-captains Morgan Snyder and Tim Anderson,. Other high performers on the roster were Chuck Goehring, Mike Bolster, Bob Potrykus, and the late Rob Cobb. 1974 PHS Cross Country The 1974 PHS team will be honored at the induction banquet which will convene at Mercer Oaks on May 16, 2027. RSVP is required for attendance. To learn more see the 2027 banquet page HERE. © 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame Back to Articles & News

Trenton Central High School 1978 -- Sprinter The late 1970’s were the Golden Era of Trenton High track with the 1978 boys’ team garnering most of the attention. But in terms of historic significance, one cannot understate the role of Gina Nelson Holloway, one of Mercer County’s greatest of all sprinters. Matching teammate Dorothea Smith, Nelson Holloway became the first Trenton High girl to capture a Group state title. Around the same time Smith was winning the 220, Nelson Holloway was taking the Group IV 100-yard dash in 1977 in 11.1 seconds, before the state made the conversion to meters and before the days of fully automatic timing. Nelson Holloway almost repeated her magic the following week, settling for second at the Meet of Champions behind the same competitor who also denied Smith the All-Group title, Woodbury’s Lori Lewis. But Nelson’s legacy didn’t end with these two meets, though Group IV at this time was filled with some of the most famous names in New Jersey track history including Joetta Clark, Michelle Glover and Carol Lewis. Nelson Holloway was also county and sectional champion in the 100 in 1977, and she was a member of four county and sectional-winning relays in that year and in1978. At the same time, Nelson Holloway was finding fun in a second activity-- being a member of the TCHS varsity cheerleading squad. But for the ages, all the cheers belong to Gina and Dorothea, truly pioneers in the history of Trenton High girls’ track annals. MAJOR TITLES NJ STATE CHAMPION GROUP IV 100 YARDS (1977) 2x CJ SECTIONAL CHAMPION GROUP IV: 100 YARDS (1977), & MILE RELAY (1978) 4x MERCER COUNTY CHAMPION: 100 YARDS (1977), 440 YARD RELAY (1977 & '78), MILE RELAY (1978) NJ GOVERNORS CUP (1976) WINNER OF 100 & 220 YARDS & WINNER OF THE OUTSTANDING ATHLETE OF THE MEET AWARD Back to Class of 2026

Trenton Central High School 1964 -- Thrower A 1964 graduate of Trenton High, Elvin "The Bear" Bethea not only played football in the NFL for16 seasons, he was also a phenomenal thrower during his high school years. From 1962 to 1964 Bethea won three straight shot put state titles for Group IV. In the 1964 state meet he was a double champion as he also won the state crown for the discus. Bethea was county champion in the shot and disc in 1964 and he held the county record in both throws until the 1990s. He had personal bests in the shot put of 66ft 4 1/2 inches, and 185ft 8 1/2 inches in the discus. In 1964 he also won the Penn Relays High School Championship in the shot. Bethea and TCHS Coach Bob Callahan Perhaps his greatest high school achievement in track and field was putting the winning shot and tossing the winning discus at the 1964 Golden West Invitational--the national high school championship of his era. Bethea graduated from Trenton Central and attended college at North Carolina A&T where he played football and continued to throw in track and field. At A&T he won both the Shot Put and Discus at three CIAA Championships (1965, '66 and '68) breaking records for that meet multiple times. With the international weighted implements he had personal bests of 60' 5 1/4" with the shot and 181' 0 3/4"" with the discus. At N.C. A&T 1968 After his athletic career at North Carolina A&T he played pro football with the Houston Oilers from 1968 to 1983. In 2003 Bethea was elected into the National Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2005). MAJOR TITLES 2x Golden West Champion - Shot Put & Discus 1964 4x State Champion Group IV - Shot Put 1962, '63, '64, & Discus 1964 2x Mercer County Champion - Shot Put & Discus 1964 Penn Relays Champion - Shot Put 1964 MORE TRACK PHOTOS OF ELVIN BETHEA Back to Class of 2024

Published 8/7/2026 The Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce its fourth annual induction event featuring the Class of 2027. Inductees will be honored at the upcoming spring awards banquet on Sunday, May 16, 2027. The event will honor the rich athletic history of Mercer County NJ by featuring athletes, teams, coaches, officials, and special contributors who achieved outstanding success in Track and Field and Cross-Country. Congratulations to the following individuals who will be inducted into the athlete category: Charles McKenzie, Trenton 1958 Joe Pluta, Ewing 1967 Al Hicks, Trenton 1968 Tom Matlock, Steinert 1980 Paul Miles, Princeton 1981 Evins Tobler, Trenton 1984 Charisse West, Notre Dame 1985 Cheryl Baker, Trenton 1987 Tara Miluszewski, Hightstown 2008 Katie Kellner, West Windsor South 2009 Emily Kianka, Hopewell Valley, 2010 Stephanie Hicks, Nottingham 2010 Michelle Bazile, Princeton 2014 In the team category, The 1974 Princeton Boys Cross Country Team and the 1982-85 Notre Dame Girl’s Track Teams will be inducted. Additional inductees will be Anthony Genovesi in the coaches category, Larry Baldassari in the officials category, and Andre Modica special contributor. The awards banquet will include the presentation of two scholarships. The George Wah Scholarship will be awarded to one female Mercer County High School senior, and the Larry Ivan Scholarship will be awarded to one male Mercer County High School senior. Student athletes are nominated by their coaches and selected based on their accomplishments both on and off the athletic field. The 2027 banquet will also be the setting for the inaugural presentation of the Martin Trophy for Mercer County's track and field athlete of the year. The venue for the May 16th , 2027 induction banquet will be Mercer Oaks, at 725 Village Rd West, in West Windsor Township NJ. RSVP is required. Anyone wishing to attend the event can learn more HERE on our 2027 banquet page. Anyone wishing to donate to our organization fund may inquire HERE. Back to Articles

Princeton High School -- Thrower Nick Kovalakides helped lead PHS to two consecutive team state championships in 1955 & 1956. He also won 4 individual state titles and set a state record in his high school career. In his sophomore season of 1955 Kovalakides won the Group III Javelin crown and PHS took home the team trophy. He defended his state javelin title the next year in ’56, and PHS again won the team title. In his senior year of 1957 he completed a 3-peat by winning the state title in the javelin again, and in the process he set a state record of 211’ 7 ½”. In the same meet he also won a state championship in Discus with a toss of 146’ 8 5/8” as his PHS team finished runner-up. In sectional competitions Kovalakides also dominated. He won the Central Jersey javelin title as a junior in 1956. As a senior in 1957 he was a double sectional winner by winning both the CJ discus and javelin titles. In the latter he set a new meet record by throwing 206’ 6”. In county competition he was Mercer Champion in all three throws in 1957. After graduating from PHS, Kovalakides attended The University of Maryland. While competing for the Terrapins, he was an All-American nationally, and at the conference level he won 5 ACC Championships—2 in Javelin, 2 in Shot Put, 1 in Discus. He also represented the United States T&F Team at the Pan Am Games in 1963, achieving a silver medal in the javelin. After retiring from his athletic career, Kovalakides moved up to become a track coach at University of Maryland. He coached 10 ACC Championship teams during his tenure. MAJOR TITLES 4x State Group III Champion - Javelin 1955, '56', 57' & Discus 1957 3x CJ Sectional Champion - Javelin 1956 & '57, and Discus 1957 3x Mercer County Champion - Shot Put, Discus, Javelin 1957 Back to Class of 2024