Rancocas Valley’s Anabella Chin continued her outstanding senior season Saturday with her first state title and the fastest time by a Burlington County hurdler in 35 years.
Chin won the state Group 4 55-meter hurdles title at the Bubble in Toms River in 7.41 after a personal-best 7.28 in the trials.
Whether or not state officials seed Chin based on her time in the trials or the final, she’ll be the No. 2 seed at Meet of Champions Sunday behind U.S. No. 7 Ajanae Thompson of Union Catholic, who has run 8.14 and won Parochial A Friday in 8.21.
Chin is No. 15 nationally in the MileSplit database with her 8.28, which broke her previous PR of 8.33, which she ran at Ocean Breeze earlier this month.
Her time moves her into a tie for the No. 2 spot on the all-time Burlington County list, behind only two-time Olympic long jumper Carol Lewis of Willingboro, who ran 7.92 in 1981 at the Philadelphia Track Classic at the Spectrum, where she finished only 9-100ths of a second behind world record holder Candy Young of Fairleigh Dickinson. Lewis’s performance at the time ranked No. 4 in U.S. women’s track history. Lenape’s Jasmine Staten ran 7.28 at a meet at Lawrenceville in 2016.
Even though Chin didn’t run quite so fast in the final as she did in the prelims, she didn’t have to.
Racing in lane four, she ran away from the field, finishing nearly a meter ahead of East Orange senior Azariah Christopher, who placed second in 8.52. Millville senior Leah Ellis, the state Group 4 long jump chanp last spring, was 3rd in 8.53.
Chin won a second state title when she teamed up with seniors Sanai Jenkins and Jya Marshall and junior Kasey White to win the 1,600-meter relay in 4:01.38. That makes the Red Devils No. 2 seed in the Meet of Champions behind Union Catholic, which won Parochial A in 4:00.47.
Chin also made the 55-meter dash final with a 7.39 in the trials and finished 7th overall in 7.43. She won the South Jersey Group 4 meet with a PR 7.31 that makes her No. 2 in South Jersey this year behind Winslow’s Jaia James, who ran 7.20 Saturday to win the state Group 3 title.
All-time South Jersey 55 hurdles 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
7.98 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2019
8.01 … Samantha Sharper [Woodrow Wilson], 2008
8.03 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken], 2000
8.03 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], 2020
8.03 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
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
8.15 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], 2020
8.17 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
8.17 … Aliya Rae Garozzo [Paul VI], 2020
8.18 … Gabrielle Bennett [Winslow Twp.], 2015
8.18 … Te’seanna Harris [Camden], 2019
8.19 … Brittany Preston [Winslow Twp,], 2016
8.22 … Jamillah Nock [Wilson], 2004
8.23 … Tierra Hooker [Timber Creek], 2019
8.24 … Malea Broome [Millville], 2019
8.26 … Jane Sharper [Woodrow Wilson], 2006
8.28 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2016
8.28 … Anabella Chin [Rancocas Valley], 2022
8.29 … Keisha Williams [Camden], 2015
8.29 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2020
All-time Burlington County 55 hurdles top 10
7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
8.28 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2016
8.28 … Anabella Chin [Rancocas Valley], 2022
8.29 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2020
8.35 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
8.38 … Kimberly Allen [Willingboro], 2004
8.42 … Stephanie Maugham [Shawnee], 1995
8.42 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
8.44 … Yvette Murry [Cherokee], 1998
8.45 … Lindsey Walsh [Lenape], 2008
8.45 … Magenta Taylor [Willingboro], 1999
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 