When you can score 24 points in one event, it makes the rest of the meet just a little bit easier. And that’s exactly how the Delsea boys won their third straight sectional title and sixth since 2006.

Juniors Nico and Marco Morales both cleared 15-0 and Ryan Gillard 13-6 as the Crusaders swept the top three spots in the pole vault on their way to the South Jersey Group 2 championship.

More than a quarter of Delsea’s winning total of 92 points came in the pole vault.

Delsea finished 20 points ahead of second-place Haddon Heights this weekend to win the South Jersey Group 2 title on its home track in Franklinville.

That’s three straight SJ-3 titles for Delsea along with 2006 and 2007 in Group 3, 2010 and Group 2.

The Morales twins are the first teammates from the same school in state history to both clear 15-6. Nico has a PR of 15-7 from the Tri-County meet and Marco 15-6 from the South Jersey Invite.

But the pole vault trio had plenty of help this weekend.

Junior Shaikyi Hannah had a huge meet, winning the 400 in a personal-best 49.05, placing fourth in a very fast 100 in a PR 10.91 and running a leg on the fourth-place 3:27.36 1,600-meter relay team.

And senior Colin Kane also had a big meet, winning the 1,600 against a very good field in 4:18.94, taking fifth in the 3,200 in 9:33.09 and running on the fourth-place 3,200-meter relay team, which went 8:06.93.

Junior Jake Nwosu, the state Group 2 discus champ last year, bombed a big PR of 173-3 to win his first sectional title. That’s the best throw in South Jersey this year and No. 6 in the state.

Delsea’s senior Aidan Borguet, junior Damir Lomax, freshman Jaedyn Stewart and junior Ron Singletary ran a season-best 42.82 to win the 400-meter relay,

Sophomores Raja Brooks and Riley Miller and junior Noah Deckert also ran on the 3,200-meter relay team.

Delsea also got big points from seniors Jimmy Vargo in the 100 (3rd in a PR 10.87), Kevin Gilliano in the shot put (4th at 51-6) and Borguet in the javelin (5th at 152-9).

 

Delsea junior Jake Nwosu had a quite a breakthrough this weekend in the discus, becoming the latest member of the South Jersey 170-foot club.

Nwosu came into the season with a sophomore PR of 156-2 and then raised it to 164-11 at the Gloucester County Championships at Delsea on May 9 and then to 173-3 this past weekend, so that’s a 17-foot improvement in the span of just over two weeks.

Nwosu was only sixth at sectionals last year at 142-6 but hit that 156-2 at states to win by about three feet.

Now he’s the top thrower in South Jersey and ranked No. 6 in the state, and he goes into states as the No. 1 seed in Group 2, four feet ahead of Len Huang of Holmdel, who won Central Jersey Group 2 at 169-0.

His throw is No. 5 in Gloucester County history and best in five years.

He’s the top junior from Gloucester County since Nick Pulli of West Deptford threw 179-11 at the 2013 Haddonfield Invitational.

192-5 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013

185-  5 … Ken Manahan [Deptford], 1976

179-11 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014

179-11 … Will Cioffi [Pitman], 2013

173-3 … Jake Nwosu [Delsea], 2019

168-1 … Bill Goldsborough [Delsea], 2018

167-1 … Aaron Baile [Deptford], 2013

167-0 … Donte DIggs [Paulsboro], 1996

166-5 … John Hickman [Delsea], 2010

163-3 … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1998

Things didn’t go exactly the way Haddon Township planned it this weekend. Knowing every point was crucial in an anticipated extremely tight battle with a very good Clayton team, Haddon Township had some setbacks.

Senior Brian Burns qualified fifth in the high hurdles but didn’t place. Haddon Township athletes piled up a ridiculous FIVE seventh places, missing valuable points by two inches in the long jump and fractions of a second in several events on the track. And the Hawks’ 1,600-meter relay team was DQ’d after placing fifth.

That’s a lot of adversity.

But the Hawks kept bouncing back. And they’re champions because of it.

They only won two of 18 events, but the Hawks kept piling up enough thirds and fourths to hang on for a one-point win over Clayton for their fifth South Jersey Group 1 title in the last eight years and ninth sectional title overall.

Only Willingboro (17), Penns Grove (15), Winslow Township (13), Woodbury (13) and Bridgeton (10) have won more in South Jersey sectional history.

Let’s take a look at how the Hawks got it done!

ED BARRETT: The senior PR’d by more than five feet in the javelin, winning with a 170-0 that made him the fifth thrower in South Jersey this spring to reach 170 feet and one of only three state-wide in Group 1.

BRIAN BURNS: Burns, a senior, ran a two-second season-best of 56.52 to win the intermediates, only 22-100ths of a second off his PR set last year at sectionals. He also contributed a leg on the fifth-place 400-meter relay team, which ran 44.67.

JOSH POTTER: Twelve huge points from Potter, who ran 50.83 for third in the 400 and 2:00.96 for third in the 800.

JAKE AYLMER: Two big PRs for the junior, who ran 9:43.63 for third in the 3,200 and 4:33.07 for fourth in the 1,600.

AIDAN MCERLEAN: The junior took third in the high jump at 6-0 and anchored Township’s fifth-place 4-by-1 team.

JACOB ROSCOE: Took third in the pole vault at 12-6 for six huge points.

NOAH DINERMAN: Senior ran 9:57.57 for fourth in the 3,200 and ran on the second-place 3,200-meter relay team.

TYLER FULLERTON: The junior PR’d at 11-6 for fourth place behind Roscoe’s third place.

ROBERT BECK: Every point counts. Beck went into the meet with a PR of 128-9. If he threw that again? He doesn’t place. But he PR’d by more than four feet with a 132-10 for sixth place and a crucial point.

REILLY DOUGHERTY, NICK D’ANGELO: Both ran on the 4-by-1 team. Dougherty is a freshman, D’Angelo a junior.

IAN MCCAULEY, JOSH POTTER, BRIAN FURLANO: McCauley, a junior, Potter, a senior, and Furlano, a freshman, joined Dinerman on the second-place 3,200-meter relay team, which ran 8:23.04.

It’s been a busy few days here at the From the Backstretch South Jersey track blog, so let’s take a deep breath and catch up before we move on!

If you missed anything, here’s a handy guide to all the blogs we’ve posted since the start of sectionals!

Huge sectional meet for Paul VI’s Aliya Rae Garozzo: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-491
Terrific meet for Holy Spirit girls: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-493
Rowan women’s 4×1 advances at NCAA D-3: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-495
Cherokee grad Matt Gross earns All-America: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-497
Sam Gerstenbacher advances to NCAA D-3 finals: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49d
RV grad Danielle Steff advances at NCAAs: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49f
Deptford’s Ty Garland advances at NCAA D-3’s: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49j
South Jersey dominates NCAA javelin: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49l
Cinnaminson’s Meredith Updike wins SJ-2 400IH again: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49p
What a race for Jailya Ash: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49r
Historic double for Dennisha Page did: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49t
Thomas Hampton is really fast: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49C
Historic jump for Orion Joyner: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49G
Willingboro boys have record-setting Day 1: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49I
Haddonfield girls sweep 1600: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49M
Historic Winslow 400IH hurdles: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49P
Timber Creek’s Myiah Sturdivant earns All-America: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49S
Tyrone Garland earns All-America: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-49Y
Deptford boys win SJ-3: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4a1
Haddonfield girls distance carries Lady Bulldogs: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4a5
Millville girls win an epic battle: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4a7
Willingboro girls huge win: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4a9
Paulsboro girls dominate: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4ad
Egg Harbor boys win SJ-4: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4af
Willingboro boys win in records-setting fashion: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4aj
Winslow girls dominate: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4ap

Senior Tionna Tobias and juniors Janeya Hammond and Nylah Perry combined for an astonishing 80 points just in their individual events, leading the unstoppable Winslow Township girls program to its seventh straight South Jersey Group 3 sectional championship this weekend.

What a performance for the Eagles!

Winslow outscored second-place Timber Creek by 52 points this weekend at Delsea, winning by 127-75 over the second-place Chargers.

Their seventh straight sectional title tied the South Jersey record set from 1976 through 1982 by Woodbury, and is tied for the third-longest streak in state history in any sectional or any group. Both Winslow and Northern Highlands can tie the record next year.

Here’s a look at the longest streaks of consecutive sectional wins in state history:

LONGEST SECTIONAL WINNING STREAKS
8 … Columbia, North Section 2 Group 4 [1991-98]
8 … Metuchen, Central Group 1 [1994-01]
7 … Randolph, North Section 1 Group 4 [2009-15]
7 … Woodbury, South Group 1 [1976-82]
7 … Winslow, South Group 3 [2013-19]
7 … Hanover Park, North Section 2 Group 2 [2002-2008]
7 … Hopewell Valley, Central Group 3 [2005-11]
7 … Northern Highlands, North Section 1 Group 3 [2013-19]
6 … Ramsey, North Section 1 Groups 2 & 3 [1995-2000]
6 … New Providence, North Section 1 Group 1 [1982-87]
6 … Monmouth Reg., Central Groups 2 & 3 [1984-89]
6 … North Hunterdon, Central Groups 3 & 4 [1982-87]
6 … Pope John XXIII, Parochial A [2011-16]

Let’s take a look at how Winslow did it again! For the seventh year in a row!

TIONNA TOBIAS: Sometimes I honestly think you could put the remarkably versatile Tobias in any event and the Winslow senior would do well. She had an incredible sectional meet against some tremendous competition. She won the high hurdles in 14.37, placed second to Dennisha Page in the 100 in 12.40, took second to Tierra Hooker in the high jump with a 5-4 clearance and hit 18-7 for second to Hooker in the long jump.

JANEYA HAMMOND: What a meet for Hammond! Three events, three PRs! She ran 25.23 for second to Page in the 200, 57.46 for second to Page in the 400 and 1:02.27 for second to Perry in the intermediates. Her previous PRs were 25.40 in the 200, 57.59 in the 400 and 1:02.63 in the intermediates.

NYLAH PERRY: Perry edged her teammate in the intermediates with a personal-best of her own at 1:02.00. Her previous PR was 1:03.42, so that’s quite a jump. She was third behind Page and Hammond in both the 200 (25.27) and 400 (57.58). That’s a first and two thirds for 22 points against some tremendous competition!

That trio was terrific, but they had plenty of help:

—> Freshman Jaia James ran 12.67 for third in the 100, not far off her PR of 12.54 from a meet in April in Maryland. James is the No. 6 freshman in the state and No. 2 in South Jersey behind only Joslynn Whaley of Atlantic County Tech in Mays Landing (12.29).

—> Senior Nicole Hood ran a two-second PR for second in the 800 and also ran on both the winning 4-by-4 and the second-place 4-by-8.

—> Sophomore Shevell Higgs took second to Tobias in the high hurdles with a 15.44, PR’d at 17-0 3/4 for fifth in the long jump and added a fourth in the long jump at 34-9, just an inch off another PR.

—> Freshman Jordan James leaped 32-10 for sixth in the triple jump.

—> Freshman Charly Dutton ran on both the 4-by-4 and 4-by-8.

—> Senior Raven Rouse and sophomore Olivia Wright contributed legs to the winning 4-by-4.

—> Freshman Victoria Campbell and senior Alexandria Morrison both ran on the second-place 4-by-8.

The question wasn’t whether Willingboro would win the sectional title this weekend. It was by how much.

The answer: Would you believe 120 points?

The Willingboro boys scored the second-most points in Central Jersey Group 1 history and roared to their 17th sectional title this weekend at Howell.

State-wide, the only schools with more sectional titles are Metuchen, which has won 26, including 22 of 26 from 1991 and 2016 in Central Jersey Group 1, and New Providence in North 2, which won its 20th this weekend.

Talk about balance: The Chimeras scored 41 points in the sprints, 36 in the hurdles, 20 in the relays, 57 in the jumps and 19 in the throws.

It was an incredible performance by the program with the greatest track tradition in New Jersey.

Willingboro finished with a 173-53 margin of victory over second-place Middlesex. The 173 points are second-most in CJ-1 history only to Metuchen’s 180 in the 2004 meet at Hillsborough.

Willingboro’s 120-point margin of victory is the largest in meet history. The previous record was 113, when Metuchen beat Spotswood 176-63 to win the 1999 Central Jersey Group 1 title at Monmouth Regional in Tinton Falls.

Of Willingboro’s 20 sectional titles, this is only the third in Central Jersey. The Chimeras won the 2003 and 2004 Group 3 titles, also at Monmouth Regional.

Willingboro won South Jersey Group 2 last year, and this is actually only the third time since 1981 the Chimeras have won sectional championships in consecutive years. They won South Jersey Group 4 in 1990 and 1991 with those legendary Gerard Reynolds / Lamont Smith teams and also CJ-3 in 2003 and 2004.

Below is a list of every sectional title the Willingboro boys have won.

And here’s an event-by-event breakdown of Willingboro’s record-setting weekend:

100-METER DASH: Junior Zaire Clements took second in 11.16 and freshman Jaylen Young took sixth in 11.36. 9 points

200-METER DASH: Senior Elijah Valme and Clements ran 1-2 in 22.77 and 22.95. 18 points.

400-METER DASH: Valme (51.11), senior Jayire King (51.48) and Young (52.37) went 2-4-5. 14 points.

110-METER HURDLES: King and seniors Kevin Peterson and Joshua Dorvilus went 1-2-4 in 15.13, 15.56 and 15.75, with only Riverside senior Alex Stockton breaking up a Willingboro sweep. 22 points.

400-METER HURDLES: King won in 57.03 and senior Dinonn Capp was fourth in 1:00.21. 14 points.

400-METER RELAY: Juniors Sheraton Gbeen and Jamaho Kingsley, senior Kevin Peterson and Clements ran 44.27, edging Middlesex by 13-100ths of a second. 10 points

1,600-METER RELAY: The Chimeras won in 44.27, with the team of Capp, King, Valme and Young. 10 points

HIGH JUMP: Juniors Kameron Smith and Nate Robertson both cleared 6-2 for first and second, and freshman Anaias Hughes took fifth with a 5-6. 20 points.

LONG JUMP: Smith went 19-9 1/2 for third place. 6 points

TRIPLE JUMP: Robertson jumped 43-10 for the win, and junior Dontavis Wilson placed sixth with a 40-2 1/4. 11 points.

POLE VAULT: Juniors Wilson and Jason Dingle went 1-2, Wilson clearing 12-6 and Dingle 11-6, and senior Glenn Ferguson took fifth at 11-0. 20 points.

DISCUS: Emmanuel Lewis III, a senior, popped a 151-4 for the win. 10 points.

SHOT PUT: Sophomore Deonte Allen threw 45-8 for second place, and Lewis was sixth with a 43-3 1/4. 9 points.

Here’s a look at all of Willingboro’s sectional titles. Has any other school won a sectional championship in all four groups?

1977 – South Jersey Group 4
1978 – South Jersey Group 4
1979 – South Jersey Group 4
1980 – South Jersey Group 4
1982 – South Jersey Group 4
1986 – South Jersey Group 3
1988 – South Jersey Group 3
1990 – South Jersey Group 4
1991 – South Jersey Group 4
1993 – South Jersey Group 4
2000 – South Jersey Group 3
2003 – South Jersey Group 3
2004 – Central Jersey Group 3
2005 – Central Jersey Group 3
2012 – South Jersey Group 2*
2018 – South Jersey Group 2
2019 – Central Jersey Group 1

There were a lot of standouts for the Egg Harbor boys this weekend in their triumph in the tough South Jersey Group 4 meet.

Sprinter Trey Henry won one event, placed in another and ran on a second-place relay team. Ahmad Brock picked up four medals. Fifth-seeded Gobi Thurairajah won the 1,600 and medaled in two other events. Anthony Vasquez won the high hurdles with a big PR and medaled on two relay teams.

Mubeen Monodu had a first in the high jump and a second with a huge PR in the triple jump, Josh Cohen a first in the pole vault and Luis Rivera-Turell ran on two scoring relay teams.

But as I kept studying the South Jersey Group 4 results, I kept coming back to EHT junior William Spence.

Guys like Spence are why track and field is the greatest sport in the world.

According to the MileSplit database, Spence didn’t compete much as a freshman in 2017 – he ran 12.01 and 24.38 in the 100 and 200. He ran briefly indoors in 2018 and this past indoor season he ran the 55, placing 16th at sectionals with a 6.94.

This spring, his focus changed to the intermediates, and he raced in four major meets — the Jim Camburn Relays, Bridgeton, the Atlantic County meet and the Cape Atlantic Championships — all with times ranging from that 1:01.06 to 1:01.65.

So he went into sectionals with a personal-best of 1:01.06 in the 400-meter intermediates, a time he ran at the Bridgeton Relays back in April. That made him the No. 18 seed Friday.

Think about that.

If you’re the No. 18 seed and everybody runs average, you have to jump 12 guys just to medal.

Spence did even better than that.

In what will probably go unnoticed but may be unprecedented in this year’s sectionals, Spence placed fourth in the intermediates in 57.33, a nearly four-second PR in an event where PRs generally come in small doses.

Racing by himself in the third of five sections, he finished only 37-100ths of a second out of second place.

Those four points weren’t the difference between Egg Harbor winning the sectional title and not winning it, but it’s an inspirational performance that speaks volumes about the Egg Harbor coaches and about Spence himself.

Spence also PR’d in the 400 with a 51.55 and ran on Egg Harbor’s third-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:26.03 (and was the No. 7 seed).

Egg Harbor won its third sectional title this weekend at Washington Township, outscoring Jackson 95-89, with Rancocas Valley third with 85 points in a tremendous three-way team battle.

EHT also won South Jersey Group 4 on its home track in 2013 and 2017. South Jersey Group 4 is generally the most competitive public school section in the state, which helps explain why 11 different schools have won the title in the last 15 years and nobody has repeated in SJ-4 since Winslow in 2003 and 2004.

Let’s take a more detailed look at some of EHT’s big guns over the weekend:

TREY HENRY: In his first season of outdoor track, the senior former baseball player won the 100 in 11.00, placed fifth in the 200 in 22.56 and ran on the second-place 4-by-1 team, which ran 43.02.

GOBI THURAIRAJAH: Surprise winner in the 1,600 with a big PR of 4:20.44 — he had only broken 4:30 once, and that was a 4:26.93 at the Atlantic County Meet. The senior also took third in the 3,200 in 9:40.21 and ran on the fourth-place 3,200-meter relay team, which ran 8:11.17.

MUBEEN MOMODU: Huge day for Momodu, who won the high jump at 6-2 and went 47-9 for second in one of the greatest triple jump competitions in South Jersey history. You can read more about that competition here.

JOSHUA COHEN: The senior followed his indoor sectional pole vault title with an outdoor title at 13-6.

ANTHONY VAZQUEZ: Big weekend for the junior, who PR’d with a 14.54 for the win in the highs and ran on the 4-by-1 and 4-by-4.

AHMAD BROCK: A sophomore, Brock jumped 43-10 3/4 for fourth in the triple jump and ran 11.27 for sixth in the 100 and ran on both the 4-by-1 team and the third-place 4-by-4.

LUIS RIVERA-TURELL: The senior ran key legs on both the second-place 4-by-1 and third-place 4-by-4.

MICHAEL CARFAGNO: The junior took fifth in the discus with a throw of 141-10, a nine-foot PR and a 14-foot season-best.

LUKE BARNES, MICHAEL MIRVILLE AND AIDAN WINKLER: Barnes, a senior, and Mirville and Winkler, sophomores, joined Thurairajah on the fourth-place 4-by-800 team.

 

The Sharpe triplets scored 52 points and had a hand in 20 others, Anyia Brown added 16 points with medals in four events and Amaya Reed-Clark won both weight throws as the Paulsboro girls won their first sectional title in 15 years over the weekend.

Paulsboro outscored second-place Schalick 108-92 1/4, with Audubon just behind at 84 1/4 in the South Jersey Group 1 meet at Washington Township.

The sectional title is the 10th for Paulsboro but the first since 2004, also in South Jersey Group 1. The Red Raiders won seven South Jersey Group 1 championships during the 11-year period from 1987 through 1997, then added two more in 2003 and 2004.

The Sharpe sisters, sophomores Ariel, Arianna and Amirah, are the daughters of legendary Fred Sharpe, who in 1997 put on a show at the Meet of Champions in South Plainfield that has never been rivaled. In the span of a little over two hours, he won the 400-meter intermediates in a then-meet-record 51.62 (still #5 in meet history), won the 800 in 1:51.62 and placed third in the 1,600 in 4:15.73, finishing four seconds behind winner Matt Elmuccio of Westfield (4:11.25), who now coaches a few miles away from Paulsboro in Pitman.

Let’s take a look at how Paulsboro scored 108 points with only seven athletes scoring:

—> Brown had a busy couple days, winning the 100 in a personal-best 12.47, taking third in the 200 in 26.51 and running legs on both the winning 400-meter relay team (50.53) and the winning 1,600-meter relay team (4:03.33). Brown’s 12.47 was second-fastest of the four Group 1 meets this weekend.

—> Amirah Sharpe won the 800 in 2:16.56, placed second in the 400 in 58.36, took second in the intermediates in 1:04.06 and ran a leg on the 4-by-4 team.

–> Arianna Sharpe won the 200 in 25.73, placed third in the 400 in 58.92 and ran on the 4-by-4 team.

—> Ariel Sharpe ran third in the 100 (12.84) and fourth in the 200 (26.55) and ran on both winning relay teams.

–> Reed-Clark swept the weights, winning the shot at 38-5 1/2 and the discus with a 110-11 throw.

—> Freshmen Aaliyyah Bateman and Kya Robinson both ran legs on the winning 400-meter relay team.

Paulsboro entered only nine girls in the meet in a total of 19 events, and they scored in 13 of those 19 events.

The Paulsboro girls won their only state title in 2004, led by thrower Angela Pollino, sprinter Shardae Anderson and hurdler Deanna Poland, who combined for all 58 of their points.

Senior Kenady Wilson became Willingboro’s first triple winner in nine years, and the Chimera girls amassed 140 points on their way to their first sectional title in 15 years.

Willingboro outscored second-place Shore Regional 140-86.

Wilson won the high jump clearning 5-6, the long jump with a 17-4 and the triple jump at 34-6 1/4 for the Chimeras, whose last sectional title came in Central Jersey Group 3 in 2004.

Boro’s last triple winner at sectionals was Vanessa Ariently in 2000 with wins in the intermediate hurdles (1:02.24), high hurdles (14.95) and long jump (16-10 1/4).

Willingboro also had a big day from junior Mikell Dolo, who led a 1-2-3 sweep in the high hurdles with a 16.09 win and also placed third in the 100 (12.83) and 200 (26.42), and junior Tamia Welch Smith, who won the intermediates in 1:06.47, took second in the highs in 16.17 and was third in the 400 in 1:00.74.

Sophomore Balkis Lyiola won the 100 in 12.58 and was second in the 200 in 26.14 for 18 more big points.

Janea Williams took third in the 3,200 (12:31.79) and sixth in the 1,600 (5:53.10), freshman Aleshia Mendex ran 1:01.70 and 2:25.32 for fifth in the 400 and fourth in the 800, sophomore Gloria Hughes took third in the highs at 16.69, and sophomore Shamaryah Sykes  was sixth in the discus with a throw of 87-4.

Willingboro also won the 4-by-100 in 51.40 and 4-by-400 in 4:06.15 and placed third in the 3,200-meter relay. Names are not available yet for the 4-by-1 and 4-by-4. Freshman Aleshia Mendez, junior Syedah Younis, Williams and Smith ran on the 4-by-8 team, which ran 10:57.57.

In addition to Wilson and Ariently, other Willingboro triple winners at sectionals since 1985 are:

–> Kim Hargrove in SJ-4 in 1996 (11.8 in 100, 24.5 in 200, 5-4 in high jump).
–> Shakira Rutherford in SJ-3 in 1999 (25.2 in 200, 57.3 in 400, 1:03.6 in 400IH).
–> Okechi Ogbuokiri in SJ-3 in 2003 (24.4 in 200, 55.0 in 400, 2:15.9 in 800),
–> Brittnee Bynoe in CJ-3 in 2004 (2:15.15 in 800, 5:04.51 in 800, 1:04.10 in 400IH).

The Willingboro girls have won eight sectional titles in all – 1980 and 1981 in South Jersey Group 4, 1984 and 1985 in South Jersey Group 3, 1992 back in Group 4, then 1999 in Group 3. Their last title was Central Jersey Group 3 in 2004.

Millville and Rancocas Valley, two of the top girls track programs in the state, locked up in an epic battle this weekend at Washington Township, and Millville emerged with a one-point win in the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals.

Millville scored 38 points in the throws and 21 in the jumps on the way to a 92-91 win over Rancocas Valley.

It’s the first sectional title ever for the Millville girls.

Freshman Bryanna Craig led the way for the Thunderbolts with wins in the 400, high jump and long jump, and junior Fatimah Owens won both weight throws with PRs in both.

Let’s take a look at how Millville did it!

100-METER DASH: Senior Malea Broome placed fourth in 12.30. 4 points.
400-METER DASH: Craig ran 56.85 for third place. 6 points.
800-METER RUN: Senior Raelynne Miller ran 2:20.33 for sixth place. 1 point.
100-METER HURDLES: Seniors Malea Broome and Brionah Patterson placed third and fifth, Broome in 14.58 and Patterson in 15.12. 8 points.
400-METER RELAY: The team of Patterson, Broome, junior Ciera Bowman and junior Zaniah Bowman ran 48.07 for second to Eastern. 8 points.
1600-METER RELAY: Millville ran 3:58.13 with the team of Patterson, Miller, Ciera Bowman and Broome for third place behind R.V. (3:53.72) and Southern Regional (3:57.08). 6 points.
HIGH JUMP: Craig cleared a personal-best 5-5 for the win, and junior Kenny’a Dunns was fifth at 5-2. 12 points.
LONG JUMP: Craig jumped 17-9 1/2 for second, and freshman Leah Ellis went 16-10 1/4 for sixth. 9 Points.
SHOT PUT: Owens and Teresa Parker went 1-2, with Owens hitting 40-3 1/2 and Parker 38-3. It was more than a two-foot PR for Owens. 18 points.
DISCUS: Owens and Parker went 1-5, Owens throwing 122-4 – more than a 10-foot PR – and Parker 107-1. 12 points.
JAVELIN: Junior Kira Parsons placed second with a throw of 125-3. Eight points.

It was a near-perfect weekend for the Haddonfield girls distance team, which scored 68 out of a possible 72 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 on its way to the South Jersey Group 2 title at Delsea.

As we wrote about earlier, Haddonfield swept the 1,600 on Friday, with sophomores Sarah Naticchia, Payton Weiner and Allison Colflesh all setting PRs of 5:03.26, 5:03.53 and 5:07.01.

On Saturday, Naticchia and Weiner went 1-2 in the 3,200 in 11:20.39 and 11:23.01, and junior Lilly Sirover placed third in 11:29.24 for another 24 points.

Haddonfield ran great in the 800 as well, with all three sophomore half-milers breaking 2:18. Colflesh won the 800 in a personal-best 2:15.91, Lindsay Colflesh was third in 2:17.53, and sophomore Olivia Stoner took fourth in 2:17.86.

Kudos to Pemberton senior Ariana Harrell, who was the only girl in South Jersey Group 2 to break up the Haddonfield dominance. Harrell placed second in the 800 in 2:16.46, a three-second PR and school record for the Hornets senior.

Junior Evie Andrewes, Allison Colflesh, Stoner and Sirover all ran on the winning 3,200-meter relay team, which ran 9:43.95.

Haddonfield won the South Jersey Group 2 team title 117-76 over Delsea, with exactly two-thirds of their points (78 of 117) coming in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 3,200-meter relay.

But the Lady Bulldogs’ distance team certainly had plenty of help!

Junior Grace Kegler (15.81) and senior Jennifer Scott (16.20) went 3-6 in the high hurdles, junior Julia Mora-Coffey took fifth in the intermediates (1:09.46), sophomore Robin Rosen and junior Rachel Bonnet tied for fourth in the high jump at 4-10, Scott (10-6) and Rosen (9-6) went 2-3 in the pole vault and sophomore Yelena Talley placed third in the long jump (16-10 1/4).

The sectional title is Haddonfield’s 19th, most by any girls program in the state. The only program to win more is the Metuchen boys, who won 26 from 1970 through 2016 in Central Jersey Group 1 and 2, including 16 straight from 1993 through 2008.

Among girls programs, Columbia and Metuchen both had 17 sectional titles going into this weekend.

Haddonfield won Group 1 in 1983, 1984 (tying with Kingsway), 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 and has won Group in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019.