Girls’ Track & Field

At Blair Academy, we strive to educate the whole person by offering a meaningful balance between rigorous academics and rich extracurricular experiences. Our student-athletes work hard—in the classroom, on the athletic field, and within the broader community. Many of our coaches are also teachers, which helps reinforce the strong relationships and mentorship that define the Blair experience.

Blair’s Track & Field program is a cornerstone of this philosophy. With competitive seasons in both the winter and spring, and Cross Country offered in the fall, student-athletes have the opportunity to compete year-round if they choose. Our spring season typically includes 10 or more meets, ranging from dual competitions to major invitationals and relay meets. We compete in every standard high school event, including pole vault and javelin, and place a strong emphasis on athlete development in all areas—sprints, distance, hurdles, jumps, and throws.

We are proud members of the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL), which includes peer institutions such as Lawrenceville, Pennington, Peddie, Hill, Mercersburg, and Hun. In addition to MAPL and NJISAA competitions, our teams regularly compete in elite-level events including the Penn Relays, Hill Relays, Randolph Relays, and the East Coast Relays.

Our program has a long tradition of excellence, and 2025 has been another standout year:

• Event winners at the NJISAA State Championships
   
• MAPL Champions in multiple events
   
• National qualifiers in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, long jump, and multiple relays
   
• A return trip to Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon with multiple qualifiers.
   

Blair has sent athletes to the Penn Relays nearly every year for over a decade, and we continue to build on that legacy with each new season. Notable past accomplishments include a Girls’ 1500m national qualifier (2004), a Penn Relays Boys’ DMR team (2003), and the top-ranked long jumper in the country (2016).

Track & Field at Blair is more than a sport—it’s a space where students grow in confidence, commitment, and camaraderie. It’s a place where speed, strength, and self-discipline are developed alongside lifelong friendships.

We invite you to become part of the Blair track family. If you’re interested in learning more, please don’t hesitate to reach out or stop by to connect with our coaching staff during your visit to campus. We look forward to meeting you!

Meet Coach Thornton

Edward Thornton joined Blair's History Department in 2022 and began coaching the school's Track and Field Teams. He launched his teaching and coaching career at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark after earning a BA in Historic Preservation from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 2012, he earned an MA in Educational Leadership, Management, and Policy from Seton Hall University. Prior to Blair, Edward spent thirteen years at Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, where he coached both Cross Country and Track & Field, and collaborated with the Athletics and Admission offices on marketing and recruiting. On campus, Edward is joined by his wife, Ashley, and their sons, Felix and Casey.  

Contact Coach Thornton at thorne@blair.edu with any questions.

Meet Coach Williams

Assistant coach Mark Williams has been on the track and field coaching staff since 2020. An active runner on the Master's track and field circuit, Williams has earned several honors that include multiple state and national championships in the 800m, 1500m, and the mile for both indoor and outdoor track. He is also a member of the 4x800 indoor relay team who has the M40-44 world record with a time of 7:49.90, and is personally ranked as one of the top middle distance runners in the United States and in the world in his age group. 

Meet Coach Ince

Stirling Ince will serve as a Spanish teacher in Blair’s language department, bringing to the role 30-plus years of experience teaching, coaching, advising and dorm parenting, most recently at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. Beyond his teaching responsibilities and serving as an advisor and dorm head there, he was head coach of boys’ and girls’ varsity cross country and track and field. Students and faculty honored his many contributions by electing him Teacher of the Year in 2024. In addition to leading Cushing’s summer session as dean of faculty and teaching in the summer program at TASIS England and in Jiangsu Province, China, Stirling has worked in similar roles at Solebury School in Pennsylvania, Prep for Prep in New York City and a number of schools in Ecuador. During college at Wesleyan University, he ran cross country and indoor and outdoor track; his accomplishments include competing in two national championships, being named an All-American in indoor track, holding the university’s outdoor track record in the 800 meter for 34 years, and continuing to hold the indoor record at the same distance. Stirling completed his undergraduate work in 1992 and graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1998 with an MsEd in Second Language Education. He also studied at Dulwich College in London and St. Mary’s College in Trinidad and Tobago (the island nation where he grew up).

Meet Coach Donlon

Science teacher Dana Donlon joined Blair in the fall of 2022. Since 2015, Dana worked as a science teacher at West Morris Central High School in Chester, New Jersey. Prior to that, she taught at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, as well as at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, New Jersey, where she also served as a field hockey, track-and-field and swimming coach. After completing her undergraduate work at The College of New Jersey, where she majored in biology and minored in mathematics and chemistry, Dana went on to earn her master of science education from Montana State University in 2016. Early in her career, she worked as an educational consultant who mentored middle-and-high school teachers at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. Dana lives with her husband, Kevin, and children Brendan, Ryan, Kellen and Ciara in Knowlton, New Jersey.

Meet Coach Lunger

Emily Lunger ’17 will join our language department as a French teacher. The daughter of Eric Lunger and Penn Graves Lunger, former chair of the classics department and English teacher, respectively, Emily grew up on campus and returns to Blair from Senegal, where she conducted research on sociopolitical issues in sub-Saharan Africa and taught English to the local community. Prior to that, she spent time in Paris as a teaching assistant and at The Pennington School as a teaching fellow, where she crafted a holistic French curriculum and played an active role in residential life. Emily earned her BA in French and anthropology in 2017 from Pomona College and an MA in French from Middlebury College in 2024.

Meet Coach Dollhopf

William Dollhopf, a 2025 graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, teaches math and coaches boys' JV soccer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics and served as a university course assistant in both departments. In summer 2024, William completed a teaching fellowship with Generation Teach in Boston, where he taught two sections of engineering and led sports programming for middle school students. He also served as captain of Wesleyan’s varsity track and field team. William is no stranger to the boarding school world, having graduated from The Hill School in 2021.

View directions to athletic events. To read recaps about past events, go to the "Team News" tab above.

View more photos from the most recent season here.