What a race for Aliya Rae Garozzo at sectionals!
The Paul VI sophomore won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1:02.37, fastest time this year in South Jersey and No. 2 in the state.
Only West Essex senior Reanda Richards, the Meet of Champions 400 and 400IH runner-up last spring, has run faster with a 59.17 for third place at Penn.
Garozzo’s previous PR was a 1:03.36 at the Camden County meet, so that’s nearly a full-second jump. Before that she hadn’t broken 1:05. And she’s only run the event four times at major meets, so it’s quite an improvement in a short amount of time.
Her time is fastest by a South Jersey sophomore since Rachel Armstead of Millville ran 1:02.13 for sixth at the 2014 Meet of Champions.
Garozzo also ran a leg on Paul VI’s record-setting first-place 3:54.89 1,600-meter relay team, placed third in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.50 after a 15.43 in the trials and took fourth in the 400 in 58.20.
The 15.43 broke her high hurdles PR of 15.44 by 1-100th of a second, and she ran within 21/100ths of her 400 PR of 57.99, set at the Rowan Open earlier this month.
Garozzo’s 400IH time was fastest of all four non-public races
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 