Haddonfield sophomore Sarah Naticchia, who had a 1,600 PR of 5:42 as recently as February, became the 15th-fastest miler in South Jersey history Friday.

Naticchia placed third in the state Group 2 meet in 4:55.90, continuing her streak of lowering her 1,600 PR in every major race she’s ever run.

Her time is fourth-fastest in Camden County history and also fourth-fastest in Haddonfield history.

For the record, the fastest time in Camden County history by a non-Haddonfield runner is a 4:55.9 by Paul VI’s Dawn Cody in 1982.

Naticchia ran her first 1,600 in December at a meet at the Armory in 6:02.67. She lowered her time to 5:42.67 in a novice race at Ocean Breeze in January, then made her first big breakthrough when she won sectionals at the Bennett Center in 5:16.49. She then placed fourth at states in 5:13.84.

She then ran 5:06, 5:04 and 5:03 this spring before lowering her PR from 5:03.26 to 4:55.90 on Friday — a nearly 7 1/2-second PR.

Naticchia finished just behind two Voorhees miler – senior Lauren Wagner won the race in 4:54.80 and sophomore teammate Emma McGill was second in 4:55.66.

The top three seeds in next weekend’s Meet of Champs will come from Group 4 — Abby Loveys of Randolph [4:47.96], Chloe Gonzalez of North Hunterdon [4:48.33] and Katie Hamilton of Westfield [4:53.16]. The next three are Wagner, McGill and Naticchia.

ALL-TIME S.J. SUB-4:57 CLUB
4:41.16 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:48.73 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:49.11 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
4:49.26 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:51.43 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017
4:52.95 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2009
4:54.71 … Megan Hartman [Ocean City], 194
4:54.88 … Bridget Flynn [Holy Spirit], 2012
4:55.41 … Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2004
4:55.45 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
4:55.66 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
4:55.70 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
4:55.90 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2019
4:55.9h … Dawn Cody [Paul VI], 1982
4:56.01 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2012
4:56.08 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2016
4:56.34 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2006
4:56.43 … Liz Locke [Kingsway], 2010
4:56.55 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
4:56.68 … Claudine Evangelista [Triton], 2000
4:56.81 … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:56.84 … Holly Bischof ]Bishop Eustace], 2011

With Jayaire King leading the way with two individual state titles, the Willingboro boys are off to a tremendous start in the state Group 1 meet at Franklin Township High.

Willingboro, seeking its first outdoor state title in 15 years, piled up 51 points on Day 1 of the state meet and goes into Saturday with a 31-point lead over second-place Mountain Lakes.

King, who wasn’t among the top three seeds in either race, got the weekend off to a great start for the Chimeras by winning the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 54.84 and then ran a big PR of 49.76 out of an unseeded heat to win the 400 in a race where the top seven finishers were all from South Jersey.

King is already the first Willingboro boy to double at states since legendary Mike Morrison won the high jump (7-1) and long jump (24-2 3/4) in 2003.

He’s also the first Chimera in the program’s storied history to win the 400 and 400 intermediates at states the same year.

King rarely runs the open 400. His previous PR was a 50.89 to place fifth at the 2017 Burlington County Open. He was only fourth at sectionals in 51.48 and went into states as the No. 9 seed.

King ran in the second of three heats, then held on while the winner of the seeded heat – Woodbury’s Joshua Washington – fell just short of his time with a 49.91.

King was the No. 4 seed in the intermediates. His 400IH PR is a 54.72 from the South Jersey Invitational last month.

Boro senior Emmanuel Lewis III bombed a 160-6 to win the discus by more than 10 feet over another Burlington County Scholastic League thrower, Maple Shade junior Hunter Conover, who threw a personal-best 149-4.

Willingboro added a whopping 16 points in the high jump, with junior Kameron Smith winning at 6-6 and junior Nate Robertson third in 6-4. The duo was broken up by Audubon sophomore Aden Tomeo, who cleared 6-4. Palmyra senior Steven McCoy made it a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey sweep in fourth place with a PR 6-4.

Also for Boro, junior Zaire Clements placed fourth in the 100 in 11.31 for four more points, and senior Elijah Valme took sixth in the 400 in 50.61.

Egg Harbor sophomore Lauren Princz ran her fastest 100 of the year Friday and the second-fastest time in New Jersey this year in winning the state Group 4 title at Franklin.

Princz won the race in 11.96. The only New Jersey girl who has run faster this year is Wilson’s Dennisha Page, who ran 11.68 in the trials last weekend at sectionals.

On Friday, Princz ran 12.00 in the trials, and North Brunswick’s Nakaja Weaver – who ran 11.96 last weekend — ran 12.02, setting up a pretty good showdown. But it was all Princz in the finals, with Weaver second in 12.08.

Princz was the state Group 4 champion at 200 meters last spring and indoors in the 55, but this is her first state title in the 100.

Princz has a PR of 11.81 from her win in the New Balance Nationals freshman race last year. Her 11.96 is a season best.

Princz will go into the Meet of Champions as the No. 1 seed in the 100. Page won the Group 3 race in 12.07 after a 12.06 in the trials.

Only four girls state-wide have run sub-12 all year – Page, Weaver, Eastern sophomore Jailya Ash and Princz. Ash placed fourth in the state Group 4 race Friday, just behind Cherry Hill East’s Maya Drayton (12.15).

Kingsway junior Stone Caraccio, who ran only 4:22.44 and placed third at sectionals, bounced back with a tremendous performance in the state Group 4 meet Friday at Franklin.

Caraccio ran 4:13.46, No. 13 in South Jersey. It’s also sixth-fastest time in Gloucester County history and the fastest by any South Jersey runner in four years.

His time is fastest by a South Jersey junior in nine years, since Miles Schoedler of Ocean City ran 4:11.46 at the Meet 2011 of Champions and fastest by a Gloucester County junior since Xavier Fraction of Washington Township ran 4:11.07 at the 2010 Meet of Champions.

Caraccio placed third in a very fast race that saw six runners break 4:16 and nine go under 4:19. His previous PR was 4:14.71 two weeks ago in the Holmdel Twilight Series Royal Rumble. Before that, it was 4:16.11 at last year’s Holmdel Royal Rumble.

Cherokee junior Ethan Wechsler took sixth and also posted a big PR of 4:15.52, which moves into the No. 10 spot in Burlington County history.

Here’s the updated all-time South Jersey list:

• 4:09.03 … Brett Johnson (Ocean City), 2008
• 4:09.20 … John Richardson (Ocean City), 2003
• 4:09.30 … Colin Baker (Haddonfield), 2009
• 4:10.2y ….. Mike Elder (Haddon Twp.), 1973
• 4:11.07 … Xavier Fraction (Washington Twp.), 2009
• 4:11.15 … Ryan Garvin (Lenape), 2009
• 4:11.46 … Miles Schoedler (Ocean City), 2011
• 4:11.7y ….. Mike Mantini (Gateway), 1979
• 4:11.49 … Jim Wyner (Mainland Reg.), 2004
• 4:11.69 … Shawn Wilson (Cherokee), 2013
• 4:11.78 … Luke Petela (Haddon Twp.), 2015
• 4:11.84 … Tom Cooke (Kingsway), 2012
• 4:12.08 … Bill Dolan (Clearview), 2014
• 4:12.74 … Marc Pelerin (Cherokee), 2002
• 4:13.23 … Justin Branco (Delsea), 2015
• 4:13.46 … Stone Caraccio (Kingsway), 2019
• 4:13.5y ….. Al Harden (Millville), 1978
• 4:13.5y ….. Jason DiJoseph (Paul VI), 1988
• 4:13.52 … Murad Campbell (Overbrook), 1999
• 4:13.7y ….. Ed Blakeley (Haddon Twp.), 1975
• 4:13.71 … Dominick Munson (Timber Creek), 2015
• 4:13.85 … Jacob Clark (Pleasantville), 2013
• 4:13.9 ….. Dick Caton (Woodbury), 1978

What a race for Aliya Rae Garozzo!

The Paul VI junior broke 61 seconds for the first time in the 400-meter hurdles and won her second straight state Parochial A title in a very close finish with Mariah Fede of Paramus Catholic.

Garozzo ran 1:00.95, edging Fede, who ran 1:01.02.

Garozzo’s previous PR was a 1:01.41 when she was third in the Meet of Champions last spring. Her fastest this year was a 1:02.15.

Her time is 13th-fastest in South Jersey history and fastest in five years, since Courtney Smith of Penns Grove ran 1:00.79 in 2014.

Here’s a look at the all-time S.J. top 20!

56.83 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2005
59.03 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
59.56 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.], 2013
59.66 … Mandie Dulin [Shawnee], 1997
1:00.1h … Danielle Myricks [Willingboro], 2001
1:00.26 … Helena Leyrer [Buena], 2012
1:00.47 … Shaquanda Meylor [Wilson], 2006
1:00.48 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
1:00.55 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
1:00.58 … Andrea Olsen [Buena], 2013
1:00.69 … Kristina Keegan [Haddonfield], 2003
1:00.73 … Pam Richardson [Edgewood]., 2001
1:00.79 … Courtney Smith [Penns Grove], 2014
1:00.95 … Aliya Rae Garozzo [Paul VI], 2019
1:00.8h … Brittany Caserta [Highland], 2003
1:00.9h … Medea Ashton [Washington Twp.], 1980
1:01.0h … Eusheka Bartley [Highland], 1992
1:01.04 … Tynisha Revels [Camden], 1999
1:01.1h … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
1:01.14 … Brooke Kott [Millville], 2009
1:01.14 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 1995

Meredith Updike won her second straight state title in the 400-meter intermediates Friday with a big personal-best 1:01.48 at Central Regional.

That time is No. 6 in Burlington County history.

Her previous PR was 1:02.66 from sectionals last weekend, so this is more than a one-second PR for Updike.

She’s the first girl to win the state Group 2 intermediate hurdles in consecutive years in at least 20 years. Still looking that one up.

She’s also the first CInnaminson girl ever to win a state title two straight years. And she’ll have a chance to make it three next year.

Updike, a Cinnaminson junior, won last year in 1:02.71, moves up to No. 26 in South Jersey history.

Updike won the state title on her 18th birthday.

ALL-TIME S.J. 400-METER HURDLES LIST
56.83 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2005
59.03 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
59.56 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.], 2013
59.66 … Mandie Dulin [Shawnee], 1997
1:00.1h … Danielle Myricks [Willingboro], 2001
1:00.26 … Helena Leyrer [Buena], 2012
1:00.47 … Shaquanda Meylor [Wilson], 2006
1:00.48 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
1:00.55 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
1:00.58 … Andrea Olsen [Buena], 2013
1:00.69 … Kristina Keegan [Haddonfield], 2003
1:00.73 … Pam Richardson [Edgewood]., 2001
1:00.79 … Courtney Smith [Penns Grove], 2014
1:00.8h … Brittany Caserta [Highland], 2003
1:00.9h … Medea Ashton [Washington Twp.], 1980
1:01.0h … Eusheka Bartley [Highland], 1992
1:01.04 … Tynisha Revels [Camden], 1999
1:01.1h … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
1:01.14 … Brooke Kott [Millville], 2009
1:01.14 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 1995
1:01.25 … Carly Pettipaw [Lenape], 2015
1:01.29 … Morgan Gantt [Winslow Twp.], 2002
1:01.3h … Vernick Smith [Wilson], 1998
1:01.32 … Brittany Preston [Winslow Twp.], 2016
1:01.35 … Thaila Cooper [Kingsway], 2015
1:01.41 … Aliya Rae Garozzo [Paul VI], 2018
1:01.42 … Natalie Edwards [Pleasantville], 1995
1:01.48 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2019
1:01.49 … Mary Bohi [Seneca], 2009

The New Jersey outdoor state track championships date back more than 100 years, back to 1919, when Newark Central won the first of three straight championships.

Palmyra in 1942 became the first South Jersey school to win a state title, winning the first of four in a row.

The girls meet didn’t start until 1973, and Woodbury was the first South Jersey program to win a championship, that one coming in 1976.

This Friday and Saturday, the 111th annual New Jersey state track championships come to Franklin Township and Bayville, and we have everything you need to prepare for the weekend and enjoy the meet!

Here are your handy links to meet records, all-time team titles, the official meet program and – most importantly – the official performance lists for both sites!

If there’s anything else you’d like to see us add, just let us know!

All-time boys year-by-year team champions

Boys meet records

All-time girls year-by-year team champions

Girls meet records

Order of events

Complete official state meet program

Group 2, 3 and A performance lists [Central Regional]

Group 1, 4 and B performance lists [Franklin Township]

 

It’s always fun to see which athletes enjoy huge breakthroughs sectional weekend. Because there’s always a bunch of them.

Pleasantville sophomore Maya Harper sure did this past weekend.

Harper was 11th in the 400 at the Rowan Open with a PR of 58.43, second in the Atlantic County meet at 58.51 and fourth in the Cape Atlantic Meet at 59.28.

Good stuff. Those are legit times.

Then came sectionals and a huge breakthrough with a 1 1/2-second personal-best 57.11 but more importantly a sectional title. Harper won the South Jersey Group 2 400 over another sophomore, Delsea’s Aalliya Fox, who had a big breakthrough of her own, dropping from 58.42 to 57.37.

Junior Emily Wallace of Collingswood (57.63) also broke 58 for the first time, and Cinnaminson junior Meredith Updike ran a PR 58.40 out of an unseeded heat where nobody else broke 62. Pemberton junior Reyanna Henderson (58.93) also PR’d in fifth place.

As for Harper, her time is fastest by an Atlantic County sophomore since Nijgia Snapp of Oakcrest ran 56.78 as a sophomore in 2007.

Harper, Fox and Wallace will be the No. 3, 5 and 6 seeds at states this weekend.

Harper is the first Pleasantville girl to win a sectional 400 title since Tamara Faukner ran 58.0 to win S.J.-2 back in 1996.

Do you remember the last time a Pitman boy recorded a double win at sectionals?

If you don’t, there’s a good reason for that.

It was 27 years ago.

Pitman junior Sebastien Reed won the 1,600 and 3,200 this weekend at the South Jersey Group 1 meet at Washington Township.

He’s Pitman’s first double sectional winner since Kevin Schilling won the same two events at the 1992 meet. Schilling won the 1,600 that year in 4:23.7 and the 3,200 in 9:52.7.

Reed now goes into Group 1 states as the No. 1 seed in the 1,600 and a close No. 2 in the 3,200.

Reed won the 1,600 in an unpressed 4:23.64, which isn’t far off his PR of 4:22.16 from the South Jersey Invitational. He won by 50 meters, which makes his time even more impressive.

Reed and Jared Cooper, a senior from Mountain Lakes who ran 4:23.76 at the North 1 sectionals in Clifton, are the only runners in the Group 1 state 1,600 who ran under 4:29 at sectionals. Cooper won the state Group 1 title indoors and has run 4:17 several times, so it should be a terrific race.

Reed and Cooper also ran 1-2 at the state Group 1 XC race, where Reed ran 16:18 over the challenging Holmdel 5,000-meter course.

Reed ran 9:35.65 in the 3,200 at sectionals, finishing four seconds ahead of Woodbury soph Brady Shute, who PR’d at 9:39.66.

Cooper (9:34.46), Reed (9:35.65) and Shute (9:39.66) are the top three seeds at states, with Haddon Township junior Jake Aylmer (9:43.63) the only other entrant who ran under 9:49 at the various sectional meets.

Reed’s 3,200 PR is a 9:27.52 from a meet at Middletown North in late April. He won that race by 150 meters.

Reed also qualified for states in the 800 with a sixth-place 2:03.32 at sectionals, but we’re guessing he won’t be running the 800 at states.

Great double by Lenape senior Shelby Whetstone, who won the South Jersey Group 4 400 in 56.60 and 800 in 2:15.90 at Washington Township and goes into states as the No. 1 seed in the 400.

Whetstone, who also won the 800 last year at sectionals, became the first girl to repeat in the 800 in South Jersey Group 4 since legendary Jill Smith of Southern did it in 2008 and 2009. She’s the first from an actual South Jersey school to repeat since Triton’s Claudine Evangelista in 1999 and 2000.

She’s also only the second girl in the last 35 years to double the 400 and 800 in the always-tough SJ-4 sectional. The only other one to do it was Carly Pettipaw, also of Lenape, in 2015,

Whetstone was second at states last year in the 400 behind Burlington County rival Aliyah Taylor of Rancocas Valley and third in the 800.

Whetstone has PRs of 55.67 and 2:14.09 going into states, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Franklin High. She’ll race in the 400 final on Friday and the 800 on Saturday.

She already holds the Lenape school record in the 400 at 55.67 and is chasing the 800 mark of 2:11.95, set in 2007 by Miya Johnson.

Whetstone will also be anchoring Lenape’s 4-by-400 Saturday. Lenape ran 3:59.02 at sectionals and has run as fast as 3:58.24 this spring.