The Kingsway girls are state relays champions for the fourth time and for the third time they shared the top of the podium.

Kingsway and Ridge both scored 30 points to share the state Group 4 relays title at the Bennett Center in Toms River Sunday. 

Kingsway also shared the 2007 title with Ridge and shared the 2013 title with Winslow Township. The Dragons won the 2014 championship outright.

It was a huge day for South Jersey schools overall with Millville a point back in third place, Rancocas Valley fourth with 26 and Egg Harbor, Eastern and Williamstown all recording wins in one event.

South Jersey schools won seven of the nine events.

Kingsway won the distance medley in 12:34.81, No. 5 in the state this year and No. 2 in South Jersey. Freshman Aubrey Pierontoni, seniors Allie Pierontoni and Emily Pierontoni and junior Skye Robinson ran for Kingsway, who beat Ridge by 35 meters.

The same quartet placed second in the 4-by-800 in 9:41.41. Kingsway is already No. 1 in South Jersey with its 9:35.90 at the Millrose Trials. Westfield won the race in 9:35.44.

In the sprint medley, junior Elise Daniel, Robinson, Allie Pierontoni and senior Allison Bobst took third in 4:19.00, just a couple steps behind Egg Harbor’s winning 4:17.52. Junior Anne Rutledge, senior Gabrielle German, junior Lauren Princz and senior Isabella Leak ran for EHT.

Kingsway also got third in the pole vault relay with Bobst clearing 10-0 and senior Erin Kennedy 7-0.

Millville won the 800-meter relay in 1:44.17 with the team of senior Zaniah Bowman, sophomore Bryanna Craig, senior Ciera Bowman and sophomore Leah Ellis and was second in the shuttles in 32.26 with Ciara Bowman, Autumn Craig, Bryanna Craig and Ellis. And the Craig sisters won the high jump relay, Bryanna clearing 5-4 and Autumn 4-0. 

Eastern won the shuttle hurdles in 32.19 with the team of junior Jailya Ash, senior Jewel Ash, senior Noelle Scott and junior Ariana Tait.

RV scored its win in the pole vault relay, with junior Abigail Boggs clearing 10-6 to match her PR and sophomore Mia Pauline a personal-best 8-0. 

The Red Devils also took second in both the 800- and 1,600-meter relays with the team of Sheriyah Nutt, Alyssa Leak, Anabella Chin and Maya Primas running 1:46.03 and 4:05.47. 

Williamstown freshman Ciara Demarest threw 38-0 and junior Zuri Richardson 35-2 1/2 and the Braves won the shot put relay. 

Navy freshman Derek Gess from Haddonfield and Monmouth freshman Micah Wood from Rancocas Valley both ran indoor PRs in the 800 at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational Sunday in Annapolis, Md.

Gess placed second in 1:54.94, and Wood was fourth in 1:56.55. It was the first career collegiate 800 for both middle-distance runners.

Gess broke his indoor PR of 1:55.93 set when he placed fourth at the 2017 Easterns at the Armory. Wood’s previous indoor PR was 1:59.49 last year — in December of 2018 — at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic, also at the Armory.

Gess’s overall PR is 1:53.88 from Haddonfield Distance Night last spring, and Wood’s is 1:56.15 from Group 4 states last spring. 

Ashwin Briggs led a 1-2-3 Navy sweep, winning in 1:52.53. 

The Delsea boys scored 24 points on the track and 18 in the field on the way to their third state relays title and first since 2011.

The Crusaders outscored defending champion Deptford 44-26 in a 1-2 Gloucester County finish in the state Group 2 competition. Haddonfield was fourth with 22.

Delsea recorded its only win in the pole vault relay and added a second place in the shot put relay.  On the track, the Crusaders placed second in the sprint med, third in the 4-by-8 and DMR and fourth in the 800-meter relay.

POLE VAULT: Delsea’s one win came in the pole vault relay, where senior Marco Morales cleared 15-0 and junior Dylan Caceci 12-0. Their 27-foot combined clearance broke the Group 2 meet record of 26–6 set in 2008 by Matawan.

SHOT PUT: Delsea was second in the shot put, where junior Joe Metzger threw 48-2 3/4 and senior Rick Kurceski 43-10.

SPRINT MEDLEY: Seniors Shaikyi Hannah, Noah Deckert and Damir Lomax and junior Jaedyn Stewart ran 3:42.93 for second to Haddonfield’s 3:42.00. Their times are No. 3 and No. 4 in South Jersey this year. Seniors Thomas Mollis, Arthur Keegan, Aidan Kamp and Martin Riddell ran for Haddonfield. 

3,200-METER RELAY: Dawson Baptiste, Raja Brooks, Zachary Worley and Deckert took third in 8:37.48 behind Rahway (8:33.97) and Madison (8:36.71).

800-METER RELAY: Hannah, senior Damir Lomax, Stewart and senior Nigel Berry ran 1:35.02 for fourth. Deptford won the race in 1:32.99 with the team of junior John Adams, senior Donovan Clement, senior Richard Fawkes and junior Steven Rios.

DISTANCE MEDLEY: Baptiste, Berry, Worley and Deckert ran 10:50.14, No. 4 in South Jersey this year and No. 9 in the state so far pending results from Group 4 on Sunday.

Collingswood senior Keven Kevelier moved up to No. 8 in South Jersey indoor triple jump history Saturday with a 45-9 3/4 jump.

Kevelier won the event at the New Balance Games at the Armory in a terrific battle with Kasey Savage of Hatboro-Horsham High in Montgomery County, Pa. Savage was second at 45-8, an overall indoor-outdoor PR.

Kevelier had jumped 44-11 last weekend in his first lifetime indoor triple jump competition.

On Saturday, he had a remarkable series, with six jumps over 45 feet and those six jumps averaging 45-5 1/2:

1st jump: 45-2 1/2
2nd jump: 45-8
3rd jump: 45-5 1/4
4th jump: 45-2 1/2
5th jump: 45-6 1/2
6th jump:  45-9 3/4

Kevelier led the entire competition, but Savage nearly pulled it out with that 45-8 on his final jump.

Kevelier’s 45-9 3/4 is No. in the state so far this year, behind only Sebasteon Allen of East Orange, who jumped 45-11.

Kevelier’s outdoor PR is 47-5 1/4 from his fifth-place finish at last year’s Meet of Champions. 

Here’s a look at the all-time South Jersey indoor triple jump top-10 performance list:

49-  1 …..… Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
48-  9 …..… Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
48-  8 1/2 … Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 2014
48-  1 1/4 … Wayne Walls [Camden], 2009
47-  3 …..… Rhodeni Spence [Woodrow Wilson], 2007
46-  5 …….. Orion Joyner [Kingsway], 2018
46-  3 1/2 … Keon Grady [Delsea], 2018
45-  9 3/4 … Kevin Kevelier [Collingswood], 2020
45-  3 1/2 … Zakiyy Williams [Rancocas Valley], 2015
45-  0 …….. Earnest Daniel [Kingsway], 2017 

Pleasantville senior Gabriel Moronta continued his phenomenal season Saturday when he shattered the South Jersey record in the 500-meter dash.

Moronta won the 500 at the New Balance Games at the Armory with a time of 1:04.89. That’s No. 3 in state history and breaks the South Jersey record of 1:05.3 hand-timed set in 1989 by Willingboro’s Sean Scott.

That’s No. 5 in the U.S. this year, according to the MileSplit national database.

Moronta by won by five meters over Jakob Kunzer of Lawrenceville School, who was second in 1:05.46 – No. 6 in state history.

Moronta has already run 1:20.90 for 600 meters and 1:54.59 for 800 meters. He ranks No. 1 in New Jersey in all three middle-distance races.

Running 500 meters in 1:04.89 is the equivalent of running a 400 at 51.9 pace and then running another 100 meters without slowing down.

The was Moronta’s first lifetime competitive 500.

Moronta fell just short of the meet record of 1:04.71, set last year by Barrington Harris Brown of Dewitt Clinton in the Bronx.

The previous Atlantic County record was 1:07.23 by Quentin Bundy, also of Pleasantville, also at the Armory, early in the 2017-18 season.

Here’s a look at the all-time state list in the 500:

1:02.20 … Najee Glass [St. Peter’s Prep], 2012
1:04.75 … Cory Poole [East Orange], 2016
1:04.89 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
1:05.14 … Kishaun Richardson [East Orange], 2017
1:05.44 … Markus Bagley [St. Peter’s Prep], 2018
1:05.46 … Jakob Kunzer [Lawrenceville], 2020
1:05.3h … John Bailey [Monmouth Reg.], 1979
1:05.3h … Fred Brenner [Morris Hills], 1985
1:05.3h … Sean Scott [Willingboro.], 1989
1:05.3h … Matt Kalwinsky [Toms River North], 1995
1:05.6h … Dean Olawski [Kearny], 1979
1:06.14 … Sean Brown [Camden], 1998
1:06.22 … Bob Arvidsen [Don Bosco], 1985
1:06.1h … John Morris [Camden], 1998
1:06.24 … Neil Jasey [Columbia], 1994
1:06.32 … Nakia Fenner [Newark Science], 1994
1:06.40 … Adian Sanderson [Ewing], 2004
1:06.92 … Fran Davis [Columbia], 1984
1:06.7h … Jameel Spencer [Seton Hall Prep], 1985
1:06.7h … Andrew Giannotti [Westwood], 1998
1:06.9h … Marquel Thomas [Newark East Side], 1991

Amazing breakthrough race Friday for Rider’s Kristin Siegle, who won the 800 at the NYC Gotham Cup at Ocean Breeze in 2:15.28 — nearly a 6-second indoor PR!

Siegle, a Buena graduate, lowered her indoor PR from a 2:20.89 back in 2017 in a meet at the Lawrenceville School. Her previous overall PR was a 2:17.90 from the trials at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships at West Long Branch last May.

Siegle’s time is No. 1 in the MAAC so far this year, just ahead of Marist’s Gianna Mastromatteo,  who was 3rd in the same race.

Siegle, a native of Estell Manor, finished first in a field of 53 half-milers. She edged second-place Faten Laribi of Monroe College by a step.

Paris Boucher of Rider led the field through 200 meters, and Siegle was still in fourth when they came through 400 meters. She moved into second behind Mastromatteo with a lap to go before taking the lead on the final lap.

She was out in 32.1, 65.7 and 1:40.6 before closing in 34.6.

Siegle’s time is also No. 4 in Rider history indoors, and three of the top five times on that list come from South Jersey runners:

2:12.71 … Tori Brewer, 2018 [Bensalem, Pa.]
2:14.44 … Emily Ritter, 2015 [Sussex County Tech, Georgetown, Del.]
2:14.64 … Madeline Hummel, 2013 [Holy Cross]
2:15.28 … Kristin Siegle, 2020 [Buena]
2:16.49 … Nicole Berry, 2019 [Cherokee]

Two other notes from Rider’s performance at Ocean Breeze: 

1) Senior Nicole Berry of Winslow and senior Quinn Bithell of Lower Cape May Regional ran on Rider’s winning 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:58.86. 

2) And senior Ronetta Hunter from Burlington Township grad threw 42-3 3/4 for fourth place in the shot.

Juniors Sarah Naticchia, Allison Colflesh, Payton Weiner and Lindsay Colflesh all ran on two winning relay teams, and the Haddonfield girls  won their sixth state relays title Friday.

Haddonfield scored 52 points, doubling up Rahway and Holmdel, who tied for second with 25 points.

The DMR ran 12:33.00, No. 1 in South Jersey this year and No. 3 in the state. The sprint medley ran 4:19.01, No. 3 in South Jersey this year and No. 4 in the state. And the 4-by-800 ran 9:51.15, No. 8 in the state and No. 3 in South Jersey.

Naticchia ran on the DMR and SMR, Weiner and Allison Colflesh on the 4-by-8 and DMR and Lindsay Colflesh on the SMR and DMR. Senior Katherine Rice and junior Olivia Stoner also ran 3,200-meter relay legs, and senior Rachel Bonnet and senior Grace Kegler contributed SMR legs.

Allison Colflesh, Weiner, junior Grace Donch and Stoner also ran on the 1,600-meter relay team, which placed third in 4:15.61.

It looks like Haddonfield also won the pole vault relay and placed third in the high jump relay, although it would be nice if the official results compiled field event totals.

Junior Robin Rosen cleared 10-6 in the vault, matching Seneca junior Julia Greeley for the best clearance of the day, and Kegler cleared a PR 8-0 in what appears to be only her second career pole vault competition.

Bonnet cleared 5-0 and Robin Rosen 4-8 for third place in the high jump.

The Haddonfield girls won their first state relays titles in Group 1 in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and have since won Group 1 in 2014 and Group 2 in 2017 and 2020. 

The Delsea girls swept the 800- and 1,600-meter relays. More on the Crusader later!

NOTE: The official results included some incorrect relay lineups for Haddonfield, and an earlier version of this story included those names. The current information should all be correct. We apologize for the errors.

Junior Balkis Lyiola had a hand in all 38 points Willingboro scored on the track Wednesday with three firsts and a second as the Chimeras won their state-record 11th state relays title.

Willingboro outscored second-place Audubon 43-26 to win the Group 1 title at the Bennett Center in Toms River. 

Lyiola ran on Willingboro’s winning 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams and winning shuttle hurdles team. She anchored the 4-by-4 and shuttle hurdles and also anchored the second-place sprint medley.

Willingboro won the 4-by-200 by more than four seconds in 1:49.81, the 4-by-400 by more than five seconds in 4:14.77 and the shuttle hurdles by more than two seconds in 33.38. The sprint med ran 4:30.29, finishing second to Audubon, which ran 4:28.09.

Senior Tamia Welch (4-by-4, shuttles), senior Mikell Dolo (4-by-2, shuttles) and freshman Samiyah Williams (4-by-2, 4-by-4) each ran on two winning teams.

Sophomore Jadah Grant also ran on the 800-meter relay team, sophomore Aleshia Mendez ran on the 4-by-4 and sprint medley and senior Afusat Iyiola ran on the shuttles team. Dolo and Welch joined Lyiola and Mendez on the sprint med team.

The Chimeras previously won Group 4 in 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1997, Group 3 in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and Group 1 in 2010 and last year.

Coming into this year, Columbia, Hopewell Valley and Willingboro had each won 10 state relays titles. Columbia and Hopewell Valley haven’t competed yet this season, but as of right now Willingboro is the only one with 11.

For more on the history of Willingboro’s boys and girls programs at the state relays and other state championship meets, click here: https://wp.me/p5uW7L-4oV

Sophomore shot putter C.J. Johnson joined the 50-foot club and the Willingboro boys swept the field events on the way to their fourth straight Group 1 state relays title at the Bennett Center Wednesday night.

Johnson, who hadn’t thrown 45 feet until last weekend, bombed a 50-4, the second-best throw of the competition, and junior teammate Deonte Allen threw a PR 48-1 1/2 for a combined 98-5.

Johnon’s throw looks like the best indoor throw by a Burlington County sophomore since Lamere Corley of Moorestown threw 51-3 in 1991. It’s the best throw in New Jersey by a soph this year and the best indoors by a South Jersey 10th-grader since Nick Pulli of West Deptford threw 50-11 in 2012.

Allen also PR’d, adding more than half a foot to his PR of 47-5 1/4 from the Cherokee Throw Down last weekend. His overall PR from last spring is 47-8 1/2.

The Chimeras weight duo won the event by nearly 16 feet over Malcolm X Shabazz’s throwers, who combined for 82-5 1/2.

Johnson came into the indoor season with a shot PR of 42-3 3/4 from the first meet of last season. He threw 44-7 at the Bennett Center just before Christmas, then PR’d again at 48-3 last weekend at the Cherokee Throw Down before

He’s Willingboro’s first indoor 50-foot thrower since Rashaun Graves hit 50-5 1/2 in 2013.

The Chimeras won their 17th title overall — most of any public school in history — and fifth in the last six years. They’re the first school to win four straight in Group 1 or any public school group since Asbury Park won eight straight from 1988 through 1995.

For more on the remarkable history of the Willingboro boys and girls programs at the state relays and other state championship meets indoors and out, click here.

Willingboro has won twice as many state relays titles as any other South Jersey school. Haddonfield is next with seven and Woodbury has five but none since 1983.

The Chimeras also won the pole vault relay and high jump relay for a perfect 30 out of a possible 30 points in the field.

In the pole vault, senior Dontavis Wilson cleared 11-0 and junior Glenn Ferguson 9-6 for a combined 20-6.

In the high jump, seniors Nate Robertson and Kameron Smith, the top two high jumpers in South Jersey so far this winter, both cleared 6-4. Their combined 12-8 broke the meet record of 12-4 set in 1992 by Palmyra and matched in 1995 by Pleasantville and 1999 by Westwood.

The Chimeras also scored 20 points on the track, including second-place finishes in both the 800- and 1,600-meter relays.

Sophomore Jaylen Young and senior Sheraton Green both ran on the 4-by-2 and the 4-by-4. Senior Zaire Clements and Smith also ran on the 4-by-2, and sophomores Christopher Johnson and Bryson Bright contributed legs on the 4-by-4.

Willingboro ran 1:35.70 for second in the 4-by-2, behind Camden’s 1:34.43, and the Chimeras ran 3:34.69 for second in the 4-by-4 to Metuchen’s 3:34.18.

Willingboro ran 3:50.16 for sixth in the sprint medley with the team of Clements, Smith, junior Roshane Waugh and Robertson.

The sprint medley was a 1-2-4-5-6 South Jersey finish, with Camden winning in 3:44.35, Audubon second in 3:46.97, Buena fifth in 3:51.91 and Woodbury sixth in 3:53.01.

Darian Chestnut, Qahhar Danford, Hakeem Evans and Imir Cartoe were on Camden’s winning 4-by-2 and Chestnut, Evans, Jaheim Wimberly-Cole and Guest ran on the winning sprint med.

For Pitman, Thomas Jackson, Tyler Jackson, Cole Sharpnack and Sebastien Reed all doubled the winning DMR (10:48.78) and 4-by-800 (8:33.46).

Pitman’s DMR time is No. 4 in the state this year and only 12 seconds off Pitman’s 10:36.32 from last year’s Eastern’s.

For the fifth time in the last 19 years, the Willingboro boys and girls programs have swept the state relays titles.

The Willingboro boys and girls each won state titles at the Group 1 relays Wednesday at the Bennett Center in Toms River, and they each did it in commanding fashion.

The Chimera boys nearly doubled up second-place Camden, 50-26, and the girls defeated Audubon, 43-26.

How impressive is this?

Only nine other schools have ever had a state relays sweep in any group even once. And only two others — Asbury Park and Delsea — have done it more than once. Asbury Park swept Group 2 in 1992 and 1993, and Delsea swept Group 2 in 2010 and 2011.

Willingboro swept Group 3 in 2002, 2003 and 2005 and Group 1 in 2019 and 2020.

So Willingboro has had five state relays sweeps since 2002, and every other school in the rest of the state combined has also had five.

Here’s a look at all the schools that have recorded state relays sweeps:

5 … Willingboro [Group 3 in 2002, 2003 and 2005, Group 1 in 2019 and 2020]
2 … Asbury Park [Group 2 in 1992, 1993]
2 … Bernards [Group 1 in 1985, Group 2 in 1986]
2 … Delsea [Group 2 in 2010, 2011]
1 … Bishop Eustace [Group 2 in 1996]
1 … Haddonfield [Group 1 in 2014]
1 … Kingsway [Group 3 in 2014]
1 … Matawan [Group 2 in 2013]
1 … Newark Arts [Group 1 in 1990]
1 … Red Bank Reg. [Group 2 in 2000]

I’ll have more about how both Willingboro teams won their state titles soon, but for now check out this incredible record by the Willingboro track programs over the years.

Willingboro has been winning state titles since 1979 — 42 seasons ago — and now has 65 state team championships. That’s a lot of banners hanging in the gym!

Either the Chimera boys or girls teams have won at least one state title indoors or outdoors in 33 of the last 42 years.

BOYS
State Relays (18)
1982 [Group 4]
1983 [Group 4]
1985 [Group 3]
1986 [Group 3]
1987 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1996 [Group 4]
2000 [Group 3]
2001 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2005 [Group 3]
2012 [Group 3]
2015 [Group 1]
2017 [Group 1]
2018 [Group 1]
2019 [Group 1]
2020 [Group 1]

Indoor States (13)
1983 [Group 4]
1986 [Group 3]
1987 [Group 3]
1988 [Group 3]
1989 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1995 [Group 4]
1997 [Group 4]
2000 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2012 [Group 2]
2018 [Group 1]
2019 [Group 1]

Outdoor States (13)
1979 [Group 4]
1981 [Group 4]
1982 [Group 4]
1986 [Group 3]
1988 [Group 3]
1989 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1991 [Group 4]
1993 [Group 4]
1994 [Group 4]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2019 [Group 1]

GIRLS
State Relays (11)
1992 [Group 4]
1993 [Group 4]
1995 [Group 4]
1997 [Group 4]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2004 [Group 3]
2005 [Group 3]
2010 [Group 2]
2019 [Group 1]
2020 [Group 1]

Indoor States (6)
1980 [All-Groups]
1981 [Group 4]
1998 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2004 [Group 3]

Outdoor States (4)
1980 [Group 4]
1981 [Group 4]
1999 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]