Atlantic City junior Claudine Smith continued her hot hurdling Saturday morning when she won the 55-meter hurdles at the state Group 4 meet in 8.19, just 2-100ths of a second off her personal best. Smith ran 8.17 at sectionals last weekend.
Smith is the only South Jersey hurdler to go under 8.20 FAT this year and one of only two in the state. Amaya Chadwick of Union Catholic has run 8.05.
Smith, who is also an 18-foot long jumper, hadn’t run faster than 8.29 until sectionals but now finds herself No. 13 in South Jersey history.
Smith was a medalist at both the Meet of Champs and Easterns last winter. She was state Group 4 champ outdoors last spring in both the long jump and 100-meter highs.
In the final Saturday, Smith out-hurdled Bloomfield’s Kaela Edwards, who was second in a personal-best 8.31.
Here’s the all-time South Jersey list:
7.89 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.89 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
7.94 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
7.98 … Nichole Belcher [Woodrow Wilson], 1992
8.01 … Samantha Sharper [Woodrow Wilson], 2008
8.03 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken], 2000
8.04 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
8.05 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
8.06 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
8.10 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], 1997
8.11 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2014
8.17 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
8.17 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
8.18 … Gabrielle Bennett [Winslow Twp.], 2015
8.19 … Brittany Preston [Winslow Twp,], 2016
8.22 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.] 2018
8.22 … Jamillah Nock [Wilson], 2004
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 