Catching up with the Group 3 girls state relays and a terrific performance by the Winslow girls, who led a 1-2-3 South Jersey sweep Saturday to win their 7th title and a remarkable 5th in a row.
Winslow outscored 2nd-place Timber Creek 44-30, with Mainland Regional 3rd with 26 points, Saturday at the Bubble in Toms River.
The seven total titles are tied for 6th-most in state history – behind Willingboro (11), Columbia (10), Hopewell Valley (10), Haddonfield (8) and Union Catholic (8) – and their five-year streak is tied for 2nd-longest ever behind Hopewell Valley’s nine-year streak from 2002 through 2010 and tied with Vailsburg’s five-year streak back in 1983 through 1987. (Most of Hopewell Valley’s titles came with Moorestown graduate Mike Hammill coaching the Bulldogs.)
Freshman Ma’Syiah Brawner, senior Kamryn Holness and Janelle Marshall and junior Sierra Handy won the shuttle hurdles in 33.58 leading a 1-2-3 sweep with Timber Creek [34.03] and Ocean City [35.03].
And in the high jump relay, Brawner and Chantina Walker – two freshmen – combined to jump 10 feet, with Brawner PR’ing at 5-2 and Walker PR’ing at 4-10.
Winslow only won those two events, but the Eagles scored points all over the place.
Senior Briyel Brown, Holness, Marshall and freshman Olivia Okaro ran 1:47.71 for 2nd in the 800-meter relay behind Timber Creek’s 1:45.43, and the Eagles also placed second to Timber Creek in the closing 4-by-4, with Brown, Holness, Henry and Okaro running 4:09.40.
The Eagles took 4th in both the 3,200-meter relay with the team of senior Alana Henry, freshman Jordyn Kennedy, senior Ciaira Wiltshire and sophomore Ava Millner running 10:15.24 and the sprint medley with Brown, Millner, Marshall and Holness running 4:25.56.
Clearview won the distance medley in 12:49.62 ahead of Mainland’s 12:53.61. Senior Abigail Kotran, freshman Rachael Williams, junior Maggie Wisniewski and senior Abigail Waddington ran for Clearview, and sophomore Sofia Day, freshman Madison Taylor, sophomore Ava McDole and junior Gillian Lovett for Mainland.
Timber Creek’s sprinters on the winning 4-by-200 were sophomores Billie Frazier and Adiat Olaogun-Dickson and juniors Chloe Jones and Naylah Jones. The Chargers won the 4-by-4 with junior Nyla Jones, Chloe Jones, Naylah Jones and Olaogun-Dickson. They ran 4:06.12.
In the shuttles, Frazier, junior Paige Haynes, Nyla Jones and junior Guerlande Pierre ran for Timber Creek and senior Elaina Styer, sophomore AnnaMaria Marczyk, freshman Callie Duff and junior Sophia Curtis for Ocean City.
Mainland also placed 2nd in the 4-by-8 with Day, Lovett, McDole and freshman Emma Preissman running 10:01.72 and 2nd in the high jump relay with senior Kalla Tocci-Rogers (PR 5-2) and senior Emma Crozier-Carole (4-10).
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 