Jewel Ash shattered her own Charleston Southern 400-meter intermediate hurdles school record Saturday, leading three South Jersey girls among the top seven finishers at the Raleigh Relays.
Ash, an Eastern graduate, won the event at North Carolina State’s Paul Derr Track in 59.22, breaking her own school record of 59.50 set last year when she won the event at the Big South Championships in High Point, N.C.
Two other South Jersey runners ran collegiate bests in the race. Princeton freshman Arianna Smith of Pennsville placed 4th in 1:00.51 and Penn freshman Aliya Garozzo from Paul VI ran 1:01.43 for 7th.
Ash’s time is No. 11 in NCAA Division 1 so far this year. This was her first intermediate hurdles race since her 59.50 in May.
These three women are no strangers. They’ve been racing against each other for years. At the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington, Smith won the intermediates, Garozzo was 4th and Ash was 6th as a junior.
On Saturday, Garozzo raced in the 1st of six 400IH sections, Smith in the 3rd and Ash in the final race.
Smith and Garozzo moved into the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the 2022 Ivy League list. Smith’s time is No. 8 in Princeton history, and Garozzo’s time is No. 7 in Penn history.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 