Charlotte Bednar, who emerged as one of the top cross country runners in the country last fall as a freshman at Hun School of Princeton, has transferred to The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville Girls Head Coach Katie Chaput confirmed on Tuesday.
"While Charlotte will (of course) be an immediate impact athlete in cross country for Lawrenceville this fall," Coach Chaput stated, "we are most excited for the opportunities that will come from her joining the community, both for her and for the team. She had a breakout freshman season, and so this year she is going in with more pressure. We hope to help her focus on building strength and looking long-term."
Bednar had a remarkable rookie season on the trails last fall.
She won four meets to start her high school career, including the Jerry Hart Invite, the Mercer County Championship, the NJISAA Prep State Championship, and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championship.
If that wasn't enough to get her name in the headlines, Bednar finished fourth at Nike Cross Northeast Regionals and then went on to run 12th at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon to end her successful fall season. She was the first top 12 finisher for New Jersey at NXN since Sarah DiSanza of High Point Regional finished 10th in 2012.
Last fall season the Lawrenceville girls were sixth at Mercer County Champs, and won both the NJISAA Prep A State Championship and the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championship.
"Last year for cross, our team was made up of mostly seniors and freshman," Chaput added, "Charlotte joins Allison Haworth and a group of really dedicated sophomores going into the season. So even though we lost our "pack" of seniors from last fall, we've got a core motivated group going into the season, and I think that team atmosphere was something Charlotte was really looking for."
While Bednar played other sports during indoor and outdoor track her freshman year, Coach Chaput said that the young star hopes to run cross country and indoor track with the program.
"We hope this fall Charlotte settles into Lawrenceville life, gains some experience racing at some of the top local invites that she did not race last fall, and works on building consistency in her running and training. Everyone is so motivated to get out there and run this season, as they watched her success as a member of Hun's team last fall. So having her training with us will be a real inspiration for everyone. We hope she will be motivated by having the Big Red team out there working with her to continue our team success."
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