From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Her PR was 7.36 a month ago. Think about that for a moment. Aliyah Taylor hadn’t even run fast enough to make the finals at the Meet of Champions. Much less win it.

But Taylor has improved over the past few weeks like no other sprinter in the state, from that 7.36 for second at sectionals to to 7.26 in the trials at states to 7.11 in the finals at states to an eye-popping 7.04 Saturday to win the 55-meter dash at the Meet of Champions.

Just like that, Taylor’s time is No. 16 in state history and No. 7 in South Jersey history.

Taylor, a sophomore, became the first Pemberton athlete to win an indoor Meet of Champions title in 32 years Saturday, winning the 55 with the eighth-fastest time in meet history.

Pemberton’s only other indoor M-of-C winner was Lillian Rivera, who won the shot put in 1984 in the basement of  Jadwin Gym.

Let’s do some lists!

Here’s the updated all-time South Jersey list. Included is every girl that’s ever run 7.20 or faster:

• 6.73 … Michelle Glover (Willingboro), 1981
• 6.88 … Patti Dunlap (Camden), 1979
• 6.91 … English Gardner (Eastern), 2010
• 6.95 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.), 2014
• 6.95 … Denise Mitchell (Edgewood), 1983
• 7.00 … Amandi Rhett (Moorestown), 2000
• 7.04 … Aliyah Taylor (Pemberton), 2016
• 7.05 … Dana Burnett (Williamstown), 1996
• 7.07 … Annie Johnson (Shawnee), 2012
• 7.07 … Audrey Wilson (Deptford), 2009
• 7.07 … Magenta Taylor (Willingboro), 1999
• 7.09 … Ste’yce McNeil (Winslow Twp.), 2012
• 7.09 … Emily Carson (Haddonfield), 2013
• 7.11 … Jamie Walker (Haddon Hts.), 2006
• 7.12 … Assante Johnson (Camden), 2009
• 7.14 … Shonda Burroughs (Vineland), 1999
• 7.17 … Nia Lawrence (Pemberton), 2013
• 7.17 … Kiara Lester (Deptford), 2014
• 7.17 … Krystal Cantey (Winslow Twp.), 2006
• 7.18 … Sherese Price (Pleasantville), 1997
• 7.19 … Bria Mack (Williamstown), 2016
• 7.19 … Latoya Benson (Washington Twp.), 2001
• 7.20 … Medina Salaam (Camden), 1974
• 7.20 … Nia Ali (Pleasantville), 2006
• 7.20 … Fametta Lewis (Wilson), 2007
• 7.20 … Tacquaya Tobias (Our Lady of Mercy), 2010
• 7.20 … Cidae’a Woods (Winslow Twp.), 2013
• 7.20 … Gabrielle Farquharson (Williamstown), 2011

I wanted to see where Taylor’s race Saturday ranked among all the great New Jersey sprinters who’ve run in the Meet of Champions.

I compiled a list of every time ever run faster than 7.10, including non-winning marks and marks achieved in the trials.

Taylor is the No. 8 performer of all-time, and her 7.04 is the No. 14 performance of all-time.

6.92 … Dominique Booker (Montclair Immaculate), 2009 [1st]
6.93 … Ogechi Nwaneri (Chatham), 2008  [1st]
6.95 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.) 2014 [1st]
6.96 … Myasia Jacobs (Paramus Catholic), 2011 [1st]
6.97 … Aleah Williams (Montclair), 1998 [1st]
6.97 … Melisa Barber (Montclair), 1998 [2nd]
6.98 ……. Booker, 2008  [1st]
6.99 ……. Nwaneri, 2008 [trials]
7.00 ……. Haisha Bisiolu (Union), 2013 [1st]
7.01 ……. Williams, 1998 [trials]
7.02 ……. Gardner, 2008 [trials]
7.03 … English Gardner (Eastern), 2010 [1st]
7.03 ……. Robinson, 2014 [1st]
7.04 … Aliya Taylor (Pemberton), 2016  [1st]
7.04 ……. Gardner, 2008 [1st]
7.04 ……. Booker, 2009 [trials]
7.04 ……. Bisiolu, 2014 [trials]
7.04 ……. Jacobs, 2011 [trials]
7.05 ……. Regina Trotter (Weequahic), 1991 [1st]
7.05 ……. Robinson, 2013 [trials]
7.07 … Audrey Wilson (Deptford), 2009 [2nd]
7.07 ……. Barber, 1998[trials]
7.08 ……. Gardner (Eastern), 2007 [1st]
7.09 ……. Jacobs, 2009 [3rd]

Oh, and one other thing: Taylor also placed third in the 400 in 57.29, which is a terrific time in its own right. That’s also an indoor/outdoor PR and a top-25 all-time South Jersey time.

The only bad news? Taylor is not running at Easterns.