The Cherokee girls ran the fastest distance medley by a New Jersey school this year at Easterns Wednesday evening and earned a certain Penn Relays qualifier.
The team of Megan Niglio, Van Haren, Kelsey Niglio and Kerry O’Day ran 12:14.47 at the 88th annual Eastern States Championships at the Armory, placing 2nd to Hunter College Campus School, which ran 12:09.72.
Megan Niglio led off with a 3:44.35 split for 1,200 meters, Van Haren split 65.37 for 400 meters, Niglio ran 2:16.80 and O’Day anchored in 5:07.96.
Cherokee’s time is No. 1 in New Jersey this year, No. 7 in the U.S. on the MileSplit national database and No. 15 in South Jersey history.
Although the Penn Relays doesn’t have a specific time cutoff for entry into the DMR – which is a one-race final – 12:14 is a lock to get in. Cherokee has run 9:19.80 for the 4-by-8 so will have its choice which race to enter next month.
Cherokee is only the third South Jersey school to win the girls DMR at Easterns going back to 1981 (the DMR wasn’t held at the inaugural girls meet in 1980). Lenape set South Jersey records of 11:58.92 in 2010 and 11:54.63 in 2013.
All-Time South Jersey Indoor DMR list
11:43.94 … Haddonfield, 2014
11:54.63 … Lenape, 2013
11:55.90 … Lenape, 2012
11:57.64 … Haddonfield, 2017
11:57.91 … Cherokee, 2022
11:58.92 … Lenape, 2010
12:02.51 … Ocean City, 2014
12:03.40 … Haddonfield, 2015
12:04.45 … Haddonfield, 2009
12:04.62 … Sterling, 2017
12:04.9h ….. Lenape, 2015
12:11.47 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2020
12:12.22 … Ocean City, 2005
12:13.46 … Washington Twp., 2011
12:14.47 … Cherokee, 2023
12:14.48 … Haddonfield, 2013
12:15.60 … Lenape, 2014
12:16.71 … Highland, 2004
12:17.11 … Kingsway, 2017
12:17.40 … Lenape, 2017
12:19.81 … Lenape, 2009
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 