From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Mind-blowing 3rd and 4th legs by Premier Wynn and Bryce Tucker made up a 25-meter deficit on the No. 1 team in the country and Pennsauken ran the 11th-fastest time in U.S. indoor track  history Sunday at the 55th annual Meet of Champions 1,600-meter relay at Ocean Breeze

In one of the greatest performances in South Jersey track history, freshman KaRon Ali, junior Ladanian McGrath, Wynn and Tucker ran 3:15.83 in the final event of the 55th annual Meet of Champions, finishing eight meters ahead of top-seeded, U.S. No. 1 and New Jersey state record holder Seton Hall Prep of West Orange.

Seton Hall Prep broke Camden’s 22-year-old state record of 3:15.78 at the Armory last month when they ran 3:15.73 at the Millrose Games.

That’s No. 9 in U.S. indoor track history.

They were the top seed in the Meet of Champions by seven seconds over Ocean Township, and Pennsauken was the No. 4 seed with its 3:24.47 at the state Group 3 meet at the Bubble.

But Pennsauken was ready.

Ali opened with a 51.67, and even though Seton Hall Prep leadoff Ryan Matulonis got the Pirates out hot with a 48.35 split, Ali kept the Indians in the race with a terrific leadoff leg for a freshman. McGrath split 50.43, and at the second handoff Pennsauken was in 3rd in the five-team final section (but behind the pace of three schools from the fourth section).

That’s when Wynn – who had won the 200 in 21.75 – got the stick. He passed Toms River North’s third runner Jameel Matthews with 100 to go along the far straight and immediately began making up ground on Seton Hall Prep’s Xavier Donaldson, the 2nd-fastest quarter-miler in the U.S. this year, Donaldson, who had edged Tucker in the 400 in 47.35, split 48.91, but Wynn split 47.53, trimming Seton Hall Prep’s lead to 12 meters.

That set up Tucker, the two-time Meet of Champions intermediate hurdles winner coming off his South Jersey-record 47.50 in the open 400. Tucker ran patiently and smartly, gradually closing on Seton Hall Prep anchor Ryan Matulonis, passing him on the final backstretch and striding powerfully away from him off the final turn.

Matulonis had split 48.94, and Tucker made up 20 meters on him with a dazzling 46.71 split.

Pennsauken’s 3:15.73 is 4th-fastest in state history, fastest by a South Jersey school in 22 years, No. 11 in U.S. history and a meet record by more than 2 ½ seconds.

Seton Hall Prep took 2nd in 3:16.72, and both were well under the previous meet record of 3:18.26 set in 2017 by East Orange at the Bubble.

The fastest previous 4-by-4 at an indoor Meet of Champs by a South Jersey school was Oakcrest’s winning 3:20.53 in 2012. Pennsauken beat that by nearly five seconds.

All-Time U.S. Indoor 4-by-4 List
3:12.53 … Bulls School, Potomac, Md., 2019 [VA Showcase, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va.]
3:13.06 … New Bern (N.C.), 2009 [New Balance Invite, Armory]
3:13.34 … Muir, Pasadena, Calif., 1996 [Nationals, Reggie Lewis Center, Boston]
3:13.68 … Muir, Pasadena, Calif., 1997 [Nationals, Reggie Lewis Center, Boston]
3:15.12 … Boys and Girls, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2012 [New Balance Invitational, Armory]
3:15.23 … DeMatha Catholic, Hyattsville, Md., 2011 [New Balance Nationals, Armory]
3:15.31 … Monteverde (Fla.) Academy, Florida/Georgia Challenge, 2023 [Alachua County Sports and Event Center, Gainesville, Fla.]
3:15.53 … Union Catholic, Scotch Plains, N.J., 2014 [New Balance Nationals, Armory]
3:15.73 … Seton Hall Prep, 2023 [Millrose Games, Armory]
3:15.78 … Camden, 2001 [Easterns, Jadwin Gym, Princeton]
3:15.83 … Pennsauken, 2023 [Meet of Champions, Ocean Breeze, Staten Islsand]

All-Time New Jersey 1,600-Meter Relay List
3:15.73 … Seton Hall Prep, 2023
3:15.78 … Camden, 2001
3:15.53 … Union Catholic, 2014
3:15.83 … Pennsauken, 2023
3:16.09 … East Orange, 2017
3:16.31 … Union Catholic, 2013
3:16.40 … Lenape, 2000
3:16.48 … Old Bridge, 2014
3:16.60 … East Orange, 2018
3:16.5h … Vineland, 2003
3:17.0h … Trenton, 2003
3:17:15 … Vineland, 2003
3:17.26 … Camden, 2000
3:18.36 … St. Benedict’s, 2019
3:18.45 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017
3:18.46 … Winslow Twp, 2003
3:18.49 … Old Bridge, 2006
3:18.76 … Seton Hall Prep, 2022
3:18.78 … Union Catholic, 2020
3:18.90 … Pleasantville, 2007
3:19.01 … Metuchen, 1997
3:19.09 … Union, 2020
3:19.1h … Asbury Park, 1978
3:19.34 … Camden, 2004
3:19.36 … Seton Hall, 2005
3:19.40 … Christian Brothers Academy, 2012
3:19.42 … Camden, 2002
3:19.47 … Montclair, 1984
3:19.53 … Plainfield, 1985
3:19.82 … Weequahic, 1992
3:19.99 … Rahway, 2009

All-Time Meet of Champions 4-by-4 List
3:15.83 … Pennsauken, 2023 [1]
3:16.72 … Seton Hall Prep, 2023 [2]
3:18.26 … East Orange, 2017 [1]
3:18.78 … Union Catholic, 2020 [1]
3:19.09 … Union, 2020 [2]
3:19.70 … Union Catholic, 2014 [1]
3:20.53 … Oakcrest, 2012 [1]
3:20.54 … Old Bridge, 2014 [2]
3:20.98 … Jackson Memorial, 2020 [3]
3:21.16 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017 [2]
3:21.19 … Toms River North, 2023 [3]
3:21.64 … Winslow, 2013 [1]
3:22.18 … Trenton, 2023 [4]
3:22.1h … Seton Hall Prep, 1970 [1]
3:22.42 … Monmouth, 2007 [1]
3:22.44 … Camden, 2001 [1]
3:22.3h … Snyder, 1971 [1]
3:22.87 … Montclair, 2020 [4]
3:22.84 … Christian Brothers, 2012 [2]
3:22.75 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2016 [1]
3:22.96 … Trenton, 2007 [2]
3:23.02 … Rahway, 2009 [1]
3:23.12 … Cherry Hill East, 2012 [3]
3:23.20 … Christian Brothers, 2023 [5]
3:23.31 … Paul VI, 2016 [2]
3:23.40 … Cherokee, 2012 [4]
3:23.42 … Winslow, 2009 [2]
3:23.47 … Columbia, 2009 [3]
3:23.48 … Christian Brothers, 2013 [2]
3:23.52 … Franklin Twp., 2014 [3]
3;23.58 … Passaic County Tech, 2020 [5]
3:23.68 … Ocean Township, 2023 [6]