Princeton High Girls Hope for Another Great Year

The Princeton High School girls cross country team will need to replace three runners among the top seven spots on its team. Fortunately, Coach Jim Smirk has a lot of options.

Princeton has 48 girls out for the team this season.

"It's pretty busy," Smirk said. "The girls are great at motivating each other. They make it possible. If they weren't so good at that, it would be hard to handle 48."

There should be no need for cuts. During the regular season- and even in some of the invitationals- all of the runners can compete.

That will be the case when Princeton opens the season on Sept. 13 against Notre Dame and Robbinsville at Veterans Park.

"You just put everyone on the line and see how they shake out," Smirk said. "All of the girls are literally in the running for one of the top spots on the team."

Smirk has a pretty good idea who some of the top finishers will be for his team. After all, Princeton has several returnees from an excellent 2010 squad. Princeton was 11-2 last year and won the Central Jersey Group III meet. Princeton went on to place second in Group III and earn a spot in the Meet of Champions as a team.

In the state meets, each team is allowed to only enter seven runners. Princeton has four of those girls back this season.

Jenna Cody, a senior, was the top runner on the team last year.

"She's a four-year runner for us that made The Meet of Champions as an individual her sophomore year," Smirk said.

Elyssa Gensib, a senior, is back for her second year on the cross country team. She was usually in the fourth spot on the team during most of the races.

"She kept running and improving," Smirk said. "She made The Meet of Champions in the two-mile in the spring."

Ameila Whaley, a junior, was the number five runner on the team last year.

"She's a workhorse," Smirk said. "She's a rock in the middle of the team."

Louise Eisenach, who usually held down the sixth or seventh spot last season, is a senior and captain of the team.

"She is a strong workout athlete," Smirk said. "She's someone that can motivate people. She has the ability to bring out from her teammates what they need to move forward."

Abby Hunter, a senior, had a strong performance in the spring running track. Smirk expects she will be one of the girls to fill the final three spots among the top seven.

"The other two spots are wide open," Smirk said. "It'll be a fun couple of first meets to see how things shake out.

"We have eighteen new runners. They are true rookies. Part of this season will be teaching them what it means to be a runner. I think the veterans are also excited about that. They were also in that spot at one point and now have a chance to give back. We'll do that and also focus on keeping our successful tradition going."