Delsea scored 24 of its 36 points in the field. Deptford scored 28 of its points in the sprints and hurdles. When all was said and done, Delsea and Deptford were both state Group 2 champs!
Delsea and Deptford, two Gloucester County schools located about 15 miles apart, will share the 2018 state Group 2 team championships after both scored 36 points at the state meet at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
Deptford’s only other state indoor team title came in 1970 in Group 3. That’s 48 years ago!
Delsea’s only other boys indoor state championship came in Group 2 in 2011 as part of a Delsea boy/girl sweep.
It’s the first tie for a team title at the indoor state boys meet since 2008, when Camden and Irvington shared the Group 3 title. it’s the first tie in Group 2 since 1999, when Cape-Atlantic rivals Pleasantville and Bridgeton were co-champions.
Delsea had four second-place finishers, accounting for all but four of its points. Senior Michael Szwed ran 50.40 for second in the 400, senior Keon Grady cleared 6-0 for second in the high jump, sophomore Nico Morales cleared 14-0 for second in the pole vault and Bill Goldsborough threw the shot 56-7 for second place.
Senior Tymir Kizee added two points with a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter high hurdles in 7.86, and Delsea’s 1,600-meter relay team, running in an unseeded heat, placed fifth in 3:32.13 with the team of Szwed, junior Jimmy Vargo and sophomores Shaky Hannah and Damir Lomax.
Deptford did all its scoring in four events. Juniors Naseem Smith and Javon Sanders ran second and third in the high hurdles in 7.73 and 7.79 for 14 huge points, sophomore Khion Smith ran 6.61 for second in the 55-meter dash, juniors Marcel Washington (6-0) and Tyrece Brown (5-10) placed third and fifth in the high jump and the 4-by-4 of Smith, Brown, señor Hasan Hamilton and Sanders ran 3:28.55 for third place.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 