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Trenton Central High School 1978 -- Sprints & Relays The Tornadoes Darrel Jeffress was the star of perhaps the greatest track team in the history of Mercer County--The 1978 TCHS track team. In spring of '78 they swept the Group IV CJ Sectional, the Group IV State title, and the team title at the Meet of Champions. At the latter, Jeffress ran a key leg on the 4x400 relay that ran 3:12.9 for gold. In the middle of that season at the Penn Relays of 1978, Jeffress was part one of the greatest high school double wins in the history of the meet. He ran on both Trenton's 4x400m relay team that won the Championship of America in a meet and NJ state record 3:12.2. He won a second Penn championship on the Tornadoes 4x800 team that also ran a meet and NJ state record 7:39.5. In addition, Jeffress joined a third Trenton relay entry--the DMR that took second. Individually, Jeffress was a two-time individual Meet of Champs winner, taking the quarter mile (440 Yards) at the indoor all-group meets of 1977 and 1978. The same two years he won indoor State Group IV 440 championships. His individual success helped secure Trenton wins in the indoor State Group VI and MOC team titles in both '77 and '78. Jeffress set the outdoor county 400 meter record in 1978 at 46.8 seconds. MAJOR TITLES 2x MEET OF CHAMPIONS WINNER 440 YDS (INDOOR) 1977 & '78 2x STATE CHAMPION GROUP IV 440 YDS (INDOOR) 1977 & '78 2x PENN RELAYS CHAMPION 4X400 & 4X800 1978 Back to Class of 2024

Steinert & The Hun School -- Shot Put For much of the 20th Century, Mercer County and shot-put success for scholastic boys were often synonymous. The greatest of those, who left an indelible mark at two different schools, may have been Greg Cortina. Cortina made his first magical impressions by taking the Central Group IV and Group IV state titles in the shot put for Steinert in 1969, setting a handful of school marks that still stood upon his induction into this hall of fame over a half-century later.  Those feats alone would’ve qualified Cortina for this honor, but in reality he was only just warming up for what he would accomplish at the Hun School.  In 1971, Cortina won the Prep A state title and at the All-American meet set a state record with a best of 67-1 ¾. Soon thereafter at the prestigious Golden West Invitational in California, he went 68-9 and remains one of the best scholastic shot putters in New Jersey history. On the collegiate level, he mirrored his high school success at two locations, setting records at Notre Dame and Penn. At Notre Dame, he finished seventh at the NCAA Championships while at Penn he helped his team win the Ivy League title. Cortina competing for UPenn 1975 A track and football coach at Trenton State College, who helped both throwers and jumpers, Cortina came home to the field of chiropractor, where he practiced in Hamilton Township for over 30 years before his retirement. MAJOR TITLES Golden West Champion Shot Put 1971 State Group IV Shot Put Champion 1969 2x Prep A State Champion Shot Put & Discus 1971 2x SJ Sectional Champ Shot Put & Discus 1969 4x Mercer County Champion Shot Put 1968 & '69, Discus 1968 & '69 Back to Class of 2025

Published 11/12/25 NOVEMBER 12TH, 1974 ROYCE FLIPPIN & PHS LITTLE TIGERS WIN MERCER CROSS COUNTRY CROWNS On November 12, 1974 at Washington Crossing NJ, Royce Flippin of Princeton High won the first of his back to back individual Mercer cross country titles. Larry Ivan - PHS Coach In the team standings, Princeton High Coach Larry Ivan 's squ ad sc ored 61 points for first place to edge out runners-up Steinert who tallied 65. and third place Trenton who were just 1 point behind. As reported the next day.... The top three individual finishers were Flippin, followed by Rick Schuder of Hightstown, and Mike Lenk of Steinert was 3rd. Final Individual Scores 1974 PRINCETON HS X-COUNTRY - MERCER COUNTY CHAMPIONS © 2025 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame

With the recent conclusion of this year's 2025 CVC/Mercer Cross Country Championships, let's take a look back at the same meet held in October of 1978. 1978: STEINERT WINS A QUADRUPLE 47 Years ago, at Washington Crossing State Park, Steinert High School's cross country program swept both the girls and boys Mercer County X-Country team titles, as well as both individual titles. Steinert's Bobbi Lynch crosses the finish in 1st place for the 1978 Mercer title. In the girls team standings, Steinert Coach Jerry Bleistein's squad scored 20 points to easily outpace runners-up Hopewell Valley and Princeton--who both scored 83 points. Leading the Spartans to the team title was Bobbi Lynch-Heydacker. She crossed the finish of the girls race with a winning time of 19:13. Lynch led a 1-2 Steinert finish with her teammate Tammy Brennan coming in 28 seconds behind in 20:06. Steinert put 5 of its runners in the top 7 on the way to their commanding victory. In the boy's county championship the Spartans took the team title with 36 points to earn Coach Bleistein a 2nd team trophy for the day. Trenton Central finished in second with 60 and Hightstown HS was 3rd with 69. Steinert Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Bleistein John Johnson. The champion Spartans were led by individual winner John Johnson who covered the course in 15:59. John Kellogg of Princeton High was 2nd, and Andy Bing of Trenton Central was 3rd. In total, Steinert placed 5 runners in the top 20, and its top 3 runners of Johnson, Ken Robbins, and Paul DeLouie finished 1st, 4th and 5th. For Steinert's girls program, Lynch's individual gold medal was the program's first in their history, and the team win was their first ever as well. For her extraordinary efforts in the sport, Bobbi Lynch was inducted into the Steinert Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024. She is also currently a board member of the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame. Bobbi Lynch-Heydacker with Mary Ann Tarr at the SHS Hall of Fame 2024 For the Steinert boys, the 1978 team title was their second in program history until that point--with the first coming in 1976. John Johnson's gold medal was Steinert's third in program history --with Spartan Chris Brand winning the county crown in 1970, and Wess Rupell winning it in 1977. In addition to their county championship, the '78 Steinert's boys would go on to win the NJSIAA Sectional Cross Country Championship later that season. A reunion of the 1978 Steinert Cross Country Team at the 2017 SHS Hall of Fame. Just like the girls program, the accolades for SHS boys didn't stop in '78. Spartan Coach Jerry Bleistein, Assistant Coach Doug Martin, John Johnson and the '78 team are all inductees of the Steinert Athletic Hall of Fame. Bleistein is also an inductee in the Mercer Track and Field Hall of Fame (Class of 2024). Doug Martin is set to be inducted at the annual Mercer HOF awards banquet which will be held in May of 2026. © 2025 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame

Head Girls Track Coach at Lawrence, and former college coach at TCNJ

Trenton Central High School & Trenton Track Club -- Coach Jennings coached Trenton High from 1970 until 2010 and he formed the Trenton Track Club in 1973. He has coached all levels,: from youth competitors all the way to Olympic athletes. Jennings was on the Tornado track and cross country coaching staff for multiple teams that won state championships in the fall, winter and spring high school seasons. He has mentored dozens of male and female individuals who won county, sectional, state and all-group championships, and his athletes have set records at every level. Three of Jenning's biggest coaching career highlights are mentoring the TCHS boys relay squad to two championships at the 1978 Penn Relays, coaching high schooler Wenda Vereen to a spot on the 1984 US Women's Olympic team, and developing Trenton Track Club's Athing Mu from a youth athlete into a world class 18 year old. A year later at 19 years of age, Mu won the Olympic Gold Medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the women's 800 meters. Jennings with future Olympic star Athing Mu. Coach Jennings continues to work as head of the Trenton Track Club, developing tomorrow's future stars on every level. Back to Class of 2024

Track Official Track Official George Wah had a very long and successful career in the Trenton public schools as a teacher, coach, supervisor, and administrator. George was a strong believer in the value of athletics in molding well-rounded youngsters. George always understood how scholarship and athletics blended together. In 1962 he led the Trenton All Star team to win the Babe Ruth League World Championship, which earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. He began his career as an official in 1958. He officiated basketball, swimming, baseball, and football. He was also a member of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football officials from 1967 to 1984, officiating college ball at various colleges including over 100 games at the Division I level. From 1979 to 2011 he was a track and field official and served as the assigner for the Capital Track Officials Association. In 2003, he was honored as New Jersey Boys Track-Field Official of the Year by the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association. He was honored again in 2009 as Football Official of the Year. George passed away in 2021. In 2024 at the inaugural awards event, George Wah was inducted into the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame, and a scholarship named in his honor was established. The George Wah Memorial Scholarship is presented annually to a senior female student-athlete from a Mercer County high school. Back to Class of 2024

Gil Botvin, Notre Dame PAROCHIAL STATE CHAMPIONS FROM MERCER COUNTY 1934-1965 1934 George Loh, Cathedral, 100 Yards John Sadovy, Cathedral, 220 Yards Dick McCoy, Cathedral, 440 Yards Stan Sadovy, Cathedral, Broad Jump 1936 Jim Pippitt, Cathedral, Broad Jump Charley Barrett, Cathedral, Shot Put 1945 Ernie Virok, Trenton Catholic, (2) Shot Put & Discus Tom McCarty, Trenton Catholic, Javelin Don Groffie, Trenton Catholic, 440 Yards 1946 Jack McManimon, Trenton Catholic, Pole Vault Don Groffie, Trenton Catholic, 440 Yards 1948 Dick Begley, Trenton Catholic, (2) 100 & 220 Yards Fred Wollman, Trenton Catholic, (2) 220 Low Hurdles & Broad Jump Johnny Rumianowksi, Trenton Catholic, Shot Put Fitzpatrick, Trenton Catholic, Pole vault 1949 Ralph Doederline, Trenton Catholic, 120 High Hurdles William Lindenthal, Trenton Catholic, 220 Low Hurdles Paul Finnegan, Trenton Catholic, Pole Vault 1950 Paul Finnegan, Trenton Catholic, (2) High Jump & Pole Vault Zigrand, Trenton Catholic, Shot Put 1951 Hugh  McCotter, Trenton Catholic, Javelin 1952 Norbert Klimaszewski, Trenton Catholic, Shot Put 1963 Bill Ernst, Notre Dame,  440 Yards 1964 Gil Botvin, Notre Dame, Pole Vault Back to Archive Page

Trenton Central High School -- Coach You cannot accurately or effectively write the history of Mercer County track over the second half of the 20th Century without recognizing and acknowledging the contributions of Trenton High track coach Holland Moore. How profound was Moore’s impact on the Mercer County track and field landscape in general and at Trenton High in particular? No one stat can encompass this titan’s countless accomplishments, but over 36 years of official coaching (that culminated at the end of the millennium), Moore’s proteges included over 3,000 track and cross country athletes. To these opportunities, Moore’s penmanship of discipline, technique, perseverance and excellence authored the following accomplishments: At one juncture, Moore’s teams did not lose a track dual meet for a decade. In the fall, his Tornadoes won a state championship in Group IV boys’ cross country. In the winter, the Lower Merion, Pa. product paced nine Mercer County team titlists. And in the spring, Trenton overcame many of the best teams in New Jersey track and field history by winning 13 outdoor county titles and five Group IV state track championships. At the peak of his acumen, Moore was a national scholastic figure, coaching the famed 1978 Trenton team to two first-place finishes at the Penn Relay Carnival (and nearly a third). The records set in what is widely regarded as the greatest 48 hours in New Jersey scholastic track history stood for decades and made Moore a clear selection by most pundits as New Jersey Track Coach of the Year. Back to Class of 2025

The NJSIAA started to sponsor girls track championships in 1971. That year and the following year there were only sectional meets. NJ was divided into a North Sectional and a South Sectional. In both 1971 & ’72 there was no girls’ county meet yet, no state meets, and no Meet of Champs. The state track meets for girls started in 1973 with two “Divisions” (A & B) from 1973 to 1975. The state meets for girls went to Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 by 1976. The NJ Meet of Champs T&F outdoor event for girls started in spring of 1974, and the first winter Girls Meet of Champs started in 1979. The 1st full Mercer County Girls Track Championship was held in spring of 1975. There was no full schedule indoor girls county meet in the 70s. However for 3 years in 1974, ‘75 & ‘76--during the indoor season at the boys’ county meet-- there were 2 girls individual county races held. The two races were the 60 Yard Dash & 880 (Half Mile). There were no indoor girls’ team scores in those years. 1971 The first ever females from Mercer County high schools to win NJSIAA championships occurred in the inaugural year of 1971 at the sectional meet. In that meet 4 girls from Princeton High won titles at the North Sectional Championship of ‘71. The winners for Princeton were: Lori Bowman who won the 50 Yard Dash, her sister Andrea Bowman who won Broad Jump, Karen Herzog who won the 120 Hurdles, and Betty Woodbridge who won the Mile. Princeton’s girls team finished 3rd. Princeton HS Girls Track 1971 1972 In 1972 at the sectional meet Betty’s younger sister Kathy Woodbridge of Princeton HS won the first of her 2 consecutive sectional titles in the 880 yards at the North Sectional. 1973 In 1973 Kathy Woodbridge won her 2nd consecutive sectional title in the 880 and her Princeton HS teammate Diane Westover won the sectional in the Mile Run. By 1973 PHS had 6 girls who between them won 7 sectional titles in just the first 3 years of NJSIAA track. Also in 1973 Hilary Noden of Hopewell Valley won her first NJSIAA track title with a win in the sectional mile in Division B. Along with Westover from Princeton winning the other sectional division, Mercer had female Mile Champions for both public school sectionals that year. At the Division B state meet in 1973 Hilary Noden won the Mile Run to become Mercer’s first girls state champion in track. 1974 In the winter of 1974 Kathy Woodbridge of PHS won the indoor 880 county title to become the first half mile county champ ever, and then she followed that up in the ‘74 outdoor season with a win at the Division-A State Championship for 880. Also outdoors in ’74, Hilary Noden of HV won her 2nd straight state title in the 1 Mile Run in Division B, to go along with her 2nd straight sectional title she won the week before. Noden next won the Mile Run at the inaugural NJ Girls Meet of Champs, becoming the first Mercer female to win a Track & Field All-Group Title. 1975 In the spring 1975, Hopewell Valley won the inaugural Outdoor Mercer County Girls Team Championship in T&F. During the 1975 track season Hilary Noden dominated. She became the Indoor Mercer County 880 champ, the first ever outdoor Mercer County champ in the Mile & Javelin, she won her 3rd straight sectional & state titles in the Mile, and her 2nd straight Meet of Champs in the Mile. 1976 In 1976 West Windsor Girls became Outdoor Mercer County T&F team champions, and the Hightstown Girls won the Group II State Sectional team title. At the 1976 state meet Hightstown’s Margaret McCormick anchored the Rams Mile Relay Team to a win in the Group II Championships. The same relay quartet won the sectional mile relay the meet before. With those two wins, Hightstown was the first ever Mercer County school to win girls NJSIAA relay titles. The relay team members were: Ellen Bradley, Mary Damutz, Lynn Roach, and McCormick). Hightstown Girls also won the Sectional Group II team title becoming the first Mercer team to win a sectional championship. Besides the mile relay gold, they were led by McCormick’s win in the 880 and Mary Damutz taking the 440 title At the Meet of Champs in 1976, Hopewell’s Noden won the 2 Mile Run. Through the entire year of ’76 she again dominated NJ girls’ track & field. In addition to the All-Group win, Noden won her 2nd straight county javelin title, as well as winning gold medals in the 2 Mile Run at the county, sectional and state championships. 1977 1977 was a big year for Mercer Girls on the statewide level. In the outdoor season 4 Individuals won state championships. o Margaret McCormick of Hightstown won the Group II State Championship in the 880. o Vee Hearns of Ewing won the Long Jump state title for Group IV. o Gina Nelson of Trenton Central won the Group IV state title for the 100 Yards, and her Trenton teammate Dorothea Smith was also State Group IV champ, winning the 220. o Also in the spring of 1977 Ewing’s team squeaked by Hopewell to win an exciting Mercer County Championship by 1 point. 1978 In 1978 Steinert, led by distance runner Bobbi Lynch and sprinter/jumper Luanne Christiano, took home the team title at the spring Mercer County Meet. On the state level, Kim Hatchett of Lawrence won the Group II High Jump. 1979 In the fall of 1979 Beverly Rockhill of Hamilton West won the Group 4 State Championship in Cross-country. Bev Rockhill In the indoor Meet of Champs in 1979 Mary Damutz of Hightstown took 1st, winning the 880. Outdoors of 1979 was Lawrence High School’s year. Despite losing the county track meet to Trenton, their girls’ team won both the sectional and state team titles in Group II. They were led by Lori Dowers who was Group II State and Sectional Champion at both 100 and 220 Yards, and Kim Hatchett’s twin sister Karen was also a double winner at the sectional and group state championships--taking the 120H & HJ at both meets. 1970’s Additional Highlights The trailblazing Princeton HS girls track program of the early 1970s was coached by Lamont Fletcher (Center of top row in photo below) 1973 PHS Girls Track After graduating from PHS, 1971 NJ sectional winner Lori Bowman attended Indiana University where she graduated with a law degree and is the founder of the current Bowman Firm law group. Diane Westover, the 1973 Sectional Mile Champion for PHS, is the daughter of Robert Westover who was 1943 NJ State Champion in the 440 Yards for Trenton Central. Her dad is a historical inductee in the Mercer Track Hall of Fame. After PHS, Diane and fellow teammate Karen Herzog—the sectional hurdles champ in ’71-- attended Colorado State University. They both competed in track for the CSU Rams and they both graduated in 1977. NJ 880 State Champion Kathy Woodbridge graduated from PHS in 1975 and attended The University of Colorado at Boulder. At Colorado she was a multiple year letter winner, a conference champion in the 3 mile run, and a member of the Buffaloes Cross Country Team which finished 4th at the 1978 AIAW National Cross Country Championships. She is a member of the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame Hopewell’s Hillary Noden won 3 consecutive Meet of Champions titles in Cross-Country from 1972 to 1974. On the track she won 5 county titles (1 indoors, 4 outdoors), 4 sectional titles outdoors, 4 outdoor state titles, and 3 outdoor Meet of Champs titles. All together she won a total of 19 majors. She competed for Penn State after high school graduation. New Jersey’s 1977 880 State Champ Margaret McCormick of Hightstown attended Bowdoin College where she competed in track. She was inducted into the Hightstown High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. State Group II sprint champion Lori Dowers went on to attend college at Delaware State University after graduating from Lawrence HS in ‘79. She earned All-American status with a third place in the 60m Dash at the AIAW Indoor Women’s College National Championships in 1980. Lori Dowers From 1978 to 1980 Lawrence’s Karen Hatchett won 12 major high school track titles. She won 2 county titles in HJ & 1 county title in the hurdles, 2 sectional HJ titles & 2 sectional hurdles titles, 2 Group II state titles in HJ & 2 Group II titles in hurdles, and 1 Meet of Champions title in the High Jump in ’80. She went on to be a 2-time All-American at University of Virginia. She won gold for VA at the 1982 AIAW National Indoor T&F Championships as a member of Virginia’s DMR, and a silver on the 4x4 relay at the same meet. Kim Hatchett also attended University of Virginia where she was ACC Champion in the 100 and 400 Hurdles in 1983. A year earlier Kim earned indoor All-American status as she teamed up with her sister on the Cavilers aforementioned 4x4 relay. Distance runner Bobbi Lynch Heydacker who starred for Steinert during their 1978 County Championship in spring track serves as a board member for the Mercer Track & Field Hall of Fame. Back to Archive Page

Track Official/Former coach at Stuart Country Day School, Princeton University and Lawrence High School.

Formerly Bobbi Lynch, All-County athlete at Steinert (Class of 1979), Member of the Steinert Athletic Hall of Fame