From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

It’s hard to imagine running this fast and not advancing.

Iowa junior Jailya Ash ran a big PR 13.08 with legal wind Saturday at the NCAA West Region Prelims – 3^rd-fastest in Iowa history – but missed advancing to Eugene for the NCAA Championships by the slimmest of margins.

The top 12 finishers in each of two regions advance to the NCAA Championships next month at Hayward Field, and Ash fell 1-100^th of a second short.

Ash did lower her PR from 13.19, which she ran at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, last month.

Her time is 5^th-fastest ever run by a New Jersey woman and 2^nd-fastest by a South Jersey woman, behind only World Champion Nia Ali of Pleasantville, who ran 12.34 when she won Worlds in October 2019 in Doha, Qatar.

Ash is well below the B standard of 13.25 for the U.S. Championships in New York in July.  The A standard is 12.80

Here’s the updated all-time New Jersey alumni list:

12.30 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], July 21, 2023, Monaco

12.65 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], May 9, 2021, Walnut, Calif.

12.74 … Dawn Bowles [Neptune], June 15, 1997, Indianapolis [+0.0]

12.81 … Taylor Cox [Union Catholic], May 16, 2026, Auburn, Ala. [+0.4]
13.09 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], May 30, 2026, Fayetteville, Ark. [+2.0]

13.11 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow], May 25, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.

13.13 … Charmaine Walker [Plainfield], June 2, 2000, Durham, N.C.

13.15 … Amaya Chadwick [Union Catholic], May 27, 2021, Jacksonville, Fla.

13.18 … Amber Williams [Roxbury], June 6, 2007, Sacramento, Calif.
13.19 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 15, 2025, Norfolk, Va.

Dylan Hosty finished up an astonishing weekend at her first outdoor state meet by running the 5^th-fastest 1,600 in South Jersey history and 5^th-fastest freshman time in state history.

Hosty, who won the 800 on Friday at the state Group 2 meet in Mansfield Township in 2:09.61, placed 2^nd in the 1,600 in 4:47.58. Ocean Township sophomore Leah Starkey, the Armory track two-mile national champ in March, won the race in 4:42.92, the fastest ever in any group at the New Jersey state meet.

Hosty’s time is fastest ever run at the state meet by a South Jersey girl. The previous fastest time was 4:48.0 by Washington Township’s Michelle Rowan at the 1983 Group 4 meet in Piscataway.

Hosty’s previous PR was 4:47.80 converted from 4:49.48 for a full two miles at the Penn Relays last month.

In the 800, Hosty has run faster with a 2:08.12 at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township earlier this month. But that 2:09.61 is also the fastest ever by a South Jersey girl at a state meet. The previous fastest time was 2:09.89 by Haddonfield’s Marielle Hall in 2009 in South Plainfield.

Hosty goes into the Meet of Champions as the No. 2 seed in the 1,600 behind Starkey and the No. 7 seed in the 800.

Hosty also ran a 57.41 anchor split on Haddonfield’s 4^th-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 4:06.21. Junior Saya Sood, freshman Scarlet Perry and senior Edith Green also raced on the 4-by-4.

Haddonfield placed 2^nd in Group 2 with 34 points, behind only West Morris Central’s 56 points.

Haddonfield junior Nina Fisicaro placed 2^nd in the pole vault with an 11-0 clearance and Sood took 4^th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.40.

All-Time South Jersey 1,600-Meter List
4:41.16 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982

4:45.91 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:47.58 … Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield], 2026
4:48.82y … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:48.73y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:49.11 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
4:49.26 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017

All-Time New Jersey Freshman 1,600-Meter List
4:43.38 … Paige Sheppard [Regional All-Star Team], 2024
4:45.57 … Claudia DiSomma [Sparta], 2013
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:46.84 … Ajee’ Wilson [Neptune], 2009
4:47.58… Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield], 2026

4:47.80y … Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield], 2026

**Leah Starkey, Ocean Township, 4:42.92

Glassboro discus throwers Sunsarai Moore and Virginia Tarasevich made some history Saturday at the state Group 1 meet in Somerset.

Moore, a senior, won the discus with a PR throw of 156-0, and Tarasevich had a 12-foot PR of 146-9 for 2^nd place.

That made Glassboro the first New Jersey high school ever with two girls at 145 feet or better in the same meet … or even the same year.

The only other high school that’s had two girls throw 145 at any point is Delsea, who’s had three. But Jamine Moton [161-1 in 1997], Jocelyn White [172-2 in 2004] and Hannah Nuhfer [184-5 this month] never overlapped.

Moore’s previous PR was a 155-2 last year in a meet at Delsea. Tarasevich’s previous PR was 134-5 earlier this month in the Tri-County Conference Championships at Delsea.

Nuhfer won Group 3 Saturday with a 169-2 throwing into a strong headwind, but Moore and Tarasevich will be the No. 2 and 3 seeds heading into the Meet of Champions.

Moore also won the shot put Friday with a 42-2, and she now has seven career state titles – outdoors, discus the last three years and the shot the last two years and indoors shot the last two years.

With her 156-0, Moore is now No. 9 in state history and No. 4 in Gloucester County history. Tarasevich is No. 23 all-time in New Jersey, No. 10 in South Jersey and No. 6 in Gloucester County history.

Tarasevich is the top underclassman in New Jersey this year and the No. 5 junior all-time in South Jersey, behind Nuhfer [178-9 last year], Moore [155-2 last year], Winslow’s Brook-lynn Roberts [147-7 in 2024] and Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard [151-10 in 2012].

Moore is the second Glassboro girl with multiple doubles at states. Ruth Lockbaum won the 800 and 1,600 in 1984 and the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 in 1986. She won the 800 in 1985.

Moore and Tarasevich both hit their top throws on their final attempt. Through five throws, Moore led with 146-9 and Tarasevich was 2^nd at 139-9 from her 1^st throw. Tarasevich then threw exactly 146-9, but at that point Moore had a superior 2^nd throw, so she had the state title clinched when she finished with her 156-0,

In all, it was a good weekend for Glassboro, whose bid to win its first Group 1 state title was thwarted when Metuchen’s anchor runner in the 4-by-4 passed two schools on the final straightaway, moving Metuchen from 3^rd to 1^st. Had Metuchen finished 3^rd, Glassboro wins the team title. If Metuchen finished 2^nd, Metuchen and Glassboro would have shared the team trophy.

Glassboro won the 4-by-1 in 48.498 with freshman Erika Townsend and Kayla James and Addison Godshaw and Kezia Brackett. Townsend also won the long jump at 17-9 and was 4^th in the triple jump at 35-10 ½ and James was 5^th in the 100 with a 12.87. Townsend is the first Glassboro girl to win a state long jump title since Maya Yiadon with 17-6 ½ in 1994.

All-Time New Jersey 150-Foot Discus List
184-5 … Hannah Nuhfer [Delsea], 2026
182-0 … Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], 2017
172-2 … Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004
172-2 … Layla Giordano [Old Tappan], 2024
168-10 … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2013
161-11 … Helene O’Connell [Jackson], 1977
166-2 … Jessica Oji [Livingston], 2025
161-1 … Jamine Moton [Delsea], 1997
156-0 … Sunsarrai Moore [Glassboro], 2026
155-7 … Jada Mia Puryear [Union Catholic], 2022
153-8 … Afua Anyadike [Bergen County], 2026
153-6 … Tisha Kerrin [Eastern], 1989
153-3 … DeAnne Hahn [Brick Twp.], 2008
153-2 … Sylvia Galarza [Millville], 2004
152-4 … Kirsten Batts [Marlboro], 2007
149-3 … Karen Anderson [Toms River East], 1983
149-3 … Tara Daniels [Kingsway], 2013
148-0 … Sarah Slowikowski [Demarest], 2023
147-11 … Sarah Herske [Mendham], 1999
147-8 … Lisa Parak [Vernon], 1987
147-7 … Brook-lynn Roberts [Winslow Twp.], 2024
147-2 … Jen Watkins [Hopewell Valley], 1991
146-9 … Virginia Tarasevich [Glassboro], 2026
146-8 … Angela Volkova [Hillsborough], 2025
146-6 … Rena Antanelis [Randolph], 1980
146-5 … Kim Warren [Plainfield], 2006
146-0 … Kate Pachuta [Middletown South], 2001
145-10 … Jada Taylor [Neptune], 2015
145-7 … Tetiana Kontsohrada [Old Bridge], 2026

Haddonfield’s vaunted distance team scored 50 points and Haddonfield rolled to its 6^th state championship but first in 11 years this weekend in Mansfield Township.

Haddonfield scored six points in the 800, 14 in the 1,600, 22 in the 3,200 and eight in the 4-by-8, enough points to easily win the state Group 2 title without any help. But with some additional points from junior Ryder Bozine in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4^th-place 4-by-4 team, Haddonfield finished with a 62-38 win over Demarest at Northern Burlington.

Haddonfield previously won state titles in 1987 in Group 1 and 2009, 2019, 2011 and 2015 in Group 2.

The Bulldogs locked up a single-season triple crown after winning the state Group 2 cross country title 27-120 over Bernards and winning 50-26 over Voorhees indoors.

Haddonfield’s run to the title began Friday when senior Brandon Stoner ran a PR 1:53.71 to place 3^rd in the 800. Bozine then ran more than a full-second PR of 54.40 in the intermediates, finishing just 3-100ths of a second behind Ramsey’s Giorgio Bruttini.

Before Friday was over, seniors Peter Simpson, Ben Andrus and Ryan Gibson went 1-2-4 in the 3,200, Simpson winning in 9:25.15, Andrus 2^nd in 9:30.46 and Gibson 4^th with 9:33.63. That was good for 22 points.

Up first on Saturday was the 4-by-8 and Haddonfield placed 2^nd to Shabazz in 8:05.59 with only Stoner in the lineup from Haddonfield’s top group. Stoner led off, followed by senior John Leibrandt, junior Mark Derets and junior Owen Snyder, who is listed as the anchor in 1:55.37.

Haddonfield then picked up 14 points in the 1,600, where Simpson won with a 4:18.43, closing in 2:06.33, and Andrus took 4^th in 4:21.65.

Haddonfield, with the team title already clinched, finished up with a 4^th place in the 4-by-4, with junior Jack Brand, Bozine, Derets and Stoner running 3:29.83.

Safe to say Friday didn’t go the way Glassboro hoped.

They had the top two seeds in the 3,200 but only went 2-5. Both their long jumpers fouled out. Their 4-by-1 came up 14-100ths of a second from scoring. And they didn’t score in a couple places where they could have.

But a huge Saturday made up for a disappointing Friday, and Glassboro battled back to win its 4^th consecutive state title this weekend in Somerset.

Glassboro outscored 2^nd-place Woodstown 63-52, with Camden [45] and Penns Grove [40] making it a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey finish.

Glassboro’s streak of four straight state titles ties the 4^th-longest ever by a South Jersey school behind Camden [seven in a row in both Group 3 and Group 4 from 1995 through 2001], Woodbury [seven in a row in Group 1 from 1972 through 1978] and Bridgeton [five in a row in Group 3 from 1991 through 1995]. Also winning four straight: Vineland [Group 3 1925 through 1928], Palmyra [Group 2 from 1942 through 1945] and Timber Creek [Group 3 2008 through 2011].

Glassboro is the first to win four straight in Group 1 since Woodbury won their seven in a row from 1972 through 1978.

Including titles in 1967 and 2009, Glassboro has won six state championships.

Friday wasn’t a total washout at all for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Zacchaeus Harrigan won the 800 in a PR 1:55.00, becoming the first Glassboro soph to win a state title since Tom Horne doubled the 1,600 and 3,200 in 1993 and the first Glassboro half-miler ever to bring home a state title. Harrigan also placed 5^th in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.07

In the 3,200, sophomore Joe Saicic ran 9:25.67 for 2^nd place and senior Jaeden Wesley was 5^th in 9:46.86.

Glassboro also picked up four points in the discus when freshman Gabriel Tarasevich threw 140-6 for 4^th place.

On Saturday, sophomore Moses Robles picked up a jumps double, winning the triple jump with with a 47-8 ½ and the high jump at 6-4. So he became Glassboro’s second sophomore since 1993 to win a state title. He’s Glassboro’s first state high jump champ since Tom Cook in 2005 and first in the triple jump since Ryan Chance in 2009, when Glassboro won its first state title.

Glassboro placed 2^nd in the 3,200-meter relay with Ryan Ejjalili, Harrigan, Johnson and Jason Martin running 8:12.81. Woodstown won the rave in 8:05.23, the 3^rd straight year the Wolverines have won the state title in the 4-by-8.

Saicic and Wesley then placed 2^nd and 6^th in the 1,600, Saicic running 4:24.00 and Wesley 4:26.63.

With four first places from tireless Sianni Wynn and some help from Hope Edwards, the Dupree cousins and Summer Schaffer, Pennsauken bounced back after losing at sectionals to win its 2^nd consecutive state Group 4 title in commanding fashion.

Pennsauken, which lost to Southern Regional by 2 ½ points at sectionals, beat the field by 27 ½ points, outscoring three teams that tied for 2^nd – Eastern, Ridge and Bergen Tech – 65 ½-38.

Pennsauken became the first school since Columbia in 2013 and 2014 with Olivia Baker to win consecutive Group 4 championships.

Wynn won the 200 in 23.10, below the meet record but wind-aided at 3.9 meters-per-second, and won the 100 in 11.53. She also anchored the 4-by-1, which set a meet record of 46.35, and led off the 4-by-4, which won in 3:48.98.

Wynn finished her career with a record 17 state individual titles in 19 races. Her only losses came in a 200 to Meet of Champions winner Cynthia Boakye of Elizabeth as a freshman and in a 400 to national champion Natalie Dumas in a 400 last year. Erin Donohue had the previous record with 15 in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and javelin.

We wrote Friday about sophomore Hope Edwards’ massive race in the 400-meter hurdles. Edwards placed 2^nd to Dumas in 59.17, the 10^th-fastest time in state history. You can find that story here. https://sjtrackblog.com/2026/05/29/pennsaukens-hope-edwards-chases-natalie-dumas-with-10th-fastest-400-hurdles-in-state-history/. Edwards came back Saturday and placed 4^th in the 400 in 57.21.

Senior Sanaya Dupree ran 24.29 for 3^rd in the 200 and tied for 5^th in the 100 with a 12.28 and senior Olivia Dupree was 3^rd in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.00.

Pennsauken scored 20 big points in the relays, with Schaffer, Sanaya and Olivia Dupree and Wynn running 46.35 to break Pennsauken’s own year-old meet record of 47.24. Wynn led off with a 55.15, Sanaya Dupree split 58.91, Schaffer, a junior, ran 57.67 and Edwards anchored in 57.27.

Pennsauken scored all 65 ½ of its points on the track. Southern, which won sectionals two weeks ago, finished 5^th with 36 points, 29 ½ fewer than Pennsauken.

Deptford and Winslow locked up this weekend in a titanic two-day battle between two of New Jersey ‘s deepest and most talented teams before Deptford emerged with a two-point win over Winslow in the state Group 3 meet in Mansfield Township.

Deptford edged Winslow 86-84 in a two-team race with no other schools scoring more than 25 points.

The state title is Deptford’s third. The Spartans also won Group 3 in 2019 and 2023. Winslow won it last year. With Delsea in 2018 and 2022, Pennsauken in 2021, South Jersey schools have won Group 3 seven of the last eight times it’s been contested.

Going into the 4-by-4, Deptford led 80-74, so if Winslow won, Deptford needed at least four points to tie for the team title and at least six to win the meet outright. Winslow did win, running 3:19.66, and Burlington Township was 2^nd in 3:21.85, but Deptford took 3^rd in 3:21.95, safely clear of 4^th-place Timber Creek’s 3:24.43 to clinch the team title.

Here’s a look at this epic showdown event-by-event:

400-meter relay [Winslow 10, Deptford 8]: Winslow opened the meet Friday with a fast win over Deptford in the 4-by-1, with freshman Keyon Ali, senior Quayd Hendryx, Elijah Deanley and Jaylon Moss running 41.46, and Deptford 2^nd in 41.50 with Liam Brown, Xavion Holmes, senior Johann Hernandez and senior Kareem Brown.

400-meter hurdles [Deptford 11, Winslow 0]: Brown ran a PR 53.07 to win the race and senior Larry Norman ran 55.54 for 6^th place.

100-meter dash [Winslow 14, Deptford 10]: Hernandez won the race in 10.72, with Winslow’s Hendryx 2^nd in 10.83 and Ali 3^rd in 10.96.

Long jump [Winslow 20, Deptford 0]: Huge event for Winslow, which went 1-3-4, with junior Andrew Kratee winning with a legal 24-1 ¼ [0.0 wind], senior Zyaire Rothmiller-McIntosh 3^rd at 23-2 [1.5] and junior Ka’Ron Ceasar 4^th with a 22-11 ¾ [0.0].

Pole vault [Deptford 10, Winslow 0]: Mason Henry cleared 14-6, topping rival Mason Murray of Delsea, who cleared 14-0. Of course, no field series info because this is 2026 and why would the timing company provide relevant information?

400-meter dash [Winslow 10, Deptford 0]: On to Saturday and a hot start for Winslow, with senior Prince Owusu-Twum PR’ing with a 48.02 to win the race.

3,200-meter relay [Deptford 10, Winslow 0]: John Collier’s 1:58.05 anchor leg got Deptford in under 8 minutes. Anthony Schilling, Christian Ramirez and Zach Harrison ran the first three legs for Deptford, which finished in 7:59.47, winning by a second and a half over Ocean City.

110-meter hurdles [Deptford 14, Winslow 0]: Big race for the Spartans, with Brown and Norman taking 2^ndand 3^rd in 14.16 and 14.24.

200-meter dash [Deptford 16, Winslow 12]: Great action here between the two South Jersey powerhouse programs, with Deptford and Winslow sweeping the top four spots. Hernandez added the 200 to his 100 win with a legal 21.51 [0.0], with Winslow’s Hendryx 2^nd in 21.61, Deptford’s Holmes 3^rd at 21.99 and Winslow’s Owusu-Twum 4^th in 22.00.

High jump: [Winslow 8, Deptford 0]: Kratee, who had won the long jump, cleared 6-4 to place 2^nd in the high jump.

1,600-meter relay [Winslow 10, Deptford 6]: Ceasar, Hendryx, Jacoby James and Owusu-Twum won the 4-by-4 with Owusu-Twum anchoring in 47.85. But Deptford got the 3^rd-place finish it needed with Norman, Hernandez and Brown setting up Collier, who anchored in 48.36.

The mighty Winslow girls this weekend won their 10th state title in the last 13 times it’s been contested with the highest point total in meet history under the current scoring system.

Sophomore Jasmine Jackson, junior Cinniya Robinson and senior Ma’Syiah Brawner helped Winslow pile up a whopping 143 points and Winslow won the state Group 4 championship by nearly 100 points in Somerset.

Winslow won its 3rd straight state title, 143-53, over 2nd-place Ramapo. The 143 points are the most ever scored in any state group meet under the current scoring system. Winslow set the previous record with 125 last year.

Winslow put an exclamation point on two days of dominance with a win in the 4-by-4, with junior Jordan Cato, junior Amaya Jones, sophomore Nylah Lovelace-Crump and junior Skhye Seamon running 3:53.57, Seamon anchoring in 57.71

Jackson won the 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, Robinson won the 400, was 2nd in the 200, 3rd in the intermediates and led off the winning 400-meter relay and Brawner won the triple jump and placed 2nd in the high jump and 3rd in the long jump.

That’s 78 points just from Jackson, Robinson and Brawner. Enough to win the meet by 25 points.

Senior Olivia Okaro led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100 with junior Amaya Jones and senior Leeya Joseph, and Jackson led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 with Robinson 2nd and Okaro 3rd. Joseph also placed 2nd in the long jump with an 18-6 ½.

Junior Jordan Cato, Jones and junior Skhye Seamon joined Robinson on the winning 4-by-1, which ran 47.12.

Jackson ran 13.43, 1:00.98 and 24.45 and broke the high hurdles record of 13.82 set in 2019 by Ramapo’s Grace Shea. Robinson ran 24.56, 56.28 and 1:02.13. Okaro ran 12.26 and 24.85 and was also 5th in the 400 in 58.82. Senior Nyla Williams placed 4th in the pole vault at 10-0. Sophomore Amariah Arango took 6th in the 400 400 in 58.63..

Pennsauken’s Premier Wynn from Tennessee and Clayton’s Alexander Osayemi from Alabama both ran speedy 400 legs on their 1,600-meter relay teams at NCAA East Prelims and advanced to the NCAA Championships next month in Eugene.

Wynn ran a 44.69 second leg, and Tennessee ran 3:01.06, and Osayemi anchored in 45.12 and Alabama ran 3:02.45. Tennessee and Alabama posted the 5th- and 8th-fastest qualifying times in the East and 5th- and 12th-fastest overall times including the West Regional.

Tennessee’s time broke the school record of 3:01.22 set at 2024 NCAA Championships in Eugene. It’s No. 10 on the 2026 U.S. list. Alabama’s time is a season best, No. 10 in school history and No. 15 on the 2026 U.S. list.

The top 12 teams advance to Hayward Field along with the top 12 from West Regionals. The top five qualifying times came out of the East Prelims.

Riverside’s Jamir Brown punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with the 2nd-fastest qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles at the East Prelims in Lexington, Ky.

Brown, a junior at Syracuse, matched his lifetime-best with a 13.25 with a legal 0.3 wind Friday. He’s No. 14 in the world and No. 8 American.

Brown will go into the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., as the No. 7 seed in the 110-meter highs behind Auburn junior Ja’Kobe Tharp, who ran 13.05. Tharp is the indoor and outdoor NCAA champion, 3rd-fastest in world history over the 60-meter highs indoors at 7.32 and was a World Championships finalist.

In the West Region in Fayetteville, five hurdlers ran faster than 13.25, including Kendrick Smallwood of Texas, the No. 1 overall seed at NCAAs with a lifetime-best a13.04