With sectionals just a few days away, we thought we’d take a look at all the returning winners from last year’s various sectional meets.

Listed are all 2022 South Jersey sectional winners as well as South Jersey athletes who won Central Jersey titles.

Not all of them will be in action this weekend. Some no longer compete, some are injured, some transferred out of the area. But all won sectional titles last year as underclassmen.

The Group 1 and 4 meets will be held at Pennsauken and Group 2 and 3 at Delsea. Action starts at 3:30 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

As always, send corrections and omissions to me in the comments section.

* = Current junior
** = Current sophomore

South Jersey
Group 1
Amare Smith [Salem], 100-Meter Dash [10.98]
*Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 1,600-Meter Run [4:19.16]
*Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 3,200-Meter Run [9:29.73]
Jamile Gantt [Paulsboro], High Jump [6-6]
Emmanuel Lane [Salem], Long Jump [20-10]
*Cartrell Moore [Glassboro], Triple Jump [42-0 ½]
Ivan Ramos-Lopez [Riverside], Pole Vault [12-6]
Janier Armstead [Penns Grove], Discus [160-8]

Group 2
*Malachi James [Willingboro], 100-Meter Dash [10.56]
*Malachi James [Willingboro], 200-Meter Dash [21.68]
Xander Roberts-Bogin [Pleasantville], 400-Meter Dash [48.68]
William Freeman [Manchester Twp.], 800-Meter Run [1:57.18]
Lathan Brown [Deptford], 400-Meter Hurdles [55.51]
Isaiah Davenport [Pleasantville], High Jump [6-4]
Al-Mubaraq Aderogba [Manchester Twp.], Long Jump [21-5 ¼]
Malicah Etienne [Cinnaminson], Discus [158-1]

Group 3
Zyheem Coleman Frazier [Timber Creek], 100-Meter Dash [10.80]
Premier Wynn [Pennsauken], 400-Meter Dash [48.24]
Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 110-Meter Hurdles [14.32]
Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 400-Meter Hurdles [53.33]

Group 4
Kanye Mills [Washington Twp.], 400-Meter Hurdles [55.34]
Ahmad Fogg [Egg Harbor Twp.], Long Jump [22-0 ¾]
Ahmad Fogg [Egg Harbor Twp.], Triple Jump [43-7 ¾]
Fabian Gonzalez [Southern Reg.], Discus [185-9]

Central Jersey
Group 1
**Barone VanKline [Florence], 100-Meter Dash [11.09]
Group 2
*Brock Schenk [Bordentown], Discus [138-2]

Girls
Group 1
**Mackie McCracken [Wildwood], 1,600-Meter Run [5:33.45]
**Mackie McCracken [Wildwood], 3,200-Meter Run [11:33.39]
*Alanna Woolfolk [Clayton], High Jump [5-6]
Lilli Santomauro [Haddon Twp.], Long Jump [16-4 ½]
Erin Calderone [Buena], Shot Put [37-9 ¼]

Group 2
**Mya Jackson [Delran], 100-Meter Dash [12.41]
**Mya Jackson [Delran], 200-Meter Dash [25.49]
*Djassi Dean [Deptford], 400-Meter Dash [59.21]
*Riley Slootsky [Haddonfield], 800-Meter Run [2:21.18]
*Audrey Naticchia [Haddonfield], 1,600-Meter Run [5:13.86]
*Audrey Naticchia [Haddonfield], 3,200-Meter Run [11:06.91]
Jenovia Logan [Sterling], High Jump [5-4]
Jenovia Logan [Sterling], Triple Jump [37-11 ½]
*Quin Zacamy [Haddon Heights], Pole Vault [9-6]

Group 3
Chloe Jones [Timber Creek], 400-Meter Dash [57.75]
Lily Oliver [Toms River South], 800-Meter Run [2:18.59]
Lily Oliver [Toms River South], 1,600-Meter Run [4:59.04]
Janelle Marshall [Winslow Twp.], 100-Meter Hurdles [15.09]
Janelle Marshall [Winslow Twp.], 400-Meter Hurdles [1:06.44]
Guerlande Pierre [Timber Creek], High Jump [5-0]
Elaina Styer [Ocean City], Long Jump [17-9 ½]
Chiamaka Wokoche [Absegami], Discus [119-1]
Emma Peretti [Hammonton], Shot Put [38-9]

Group 4
*Dylan Giloley [Washington Twp.], 100-Meter Dash [12.06]
*Dylan Giloley [Washington Twp.], 200-Meter Dash [25.20]
Kadence Dumas [Eastern], 400-Meter Dash [56.61]
**Kassadi Avent [Kingsway], High Jump [5-4]
Ayotunde Folaweo [Toms River North], Triple Jump [35-9 ½]
Chloe Amos [Toms River East], Pole Vault [10-6]
Ciara Demarest [Williamstown], Discus [130-4]
Leah Howard [Millville], Javelin [138-6]

Central Jersey
Group 1
La’Secret Bolds [Burlington City], 100-Meter Dash [12.81]
Ny’era Hand-Brooks [Burlington City], 200-Meter Dash [25.56]
Ny’era Hand-Brooks [Burlington City], 100-Meter Hurdles [15.15]

It’s the Monday before sectionals, and for more than half a century that meant East Coast Relays.

Now, the schedule is weird this year. Sectionals are a week later because of Memorial Day, so the East Coast Relays wouldn’t have been today anyway, but it just feels different not having the state-wide relay meet in North Jersey the Monday before sectionals.

East Coast Relays began in 1971 as the New Jersey Relays in Metuchen. The first combined boys and girls meet was at Rutgers in 1979. The meet moved around to Toms River South and Hub Stine Field in Plainfield and finished at Randolph. But for most of its existence it was at Morristown High (with the javelin across town at Delbarton), and during the meet’s heyday – the 1970s through the 1990s – schools from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania made it an incredibly deep and competitive meet that always produced incredible competition and dazzling performances.

I don’t know if the East Coast Relays is gone forever, but it’s not being held this year. So we thought we’d take a look back at the top 10 South Jersey performances at the East Coast Relays over the years. We selected five boys performances and five girls.

The list isn’t meant to be complete, and there are some amazing performances not listed. But it’s a good sampling of what South Jersey achieved in North Jersey for much of the last half century.

Boys
1974 Williamstown Distance Medley: The first South Jersey school to win an ECR event was Williamstown in the DMR in 1974. Tim Leydden’s 3:05.8 leadoff split got the Braves going, Hamlet Bey ran the 400, Bob Marino the 800 and Tony Uzdavines anchored. The Braves won in 10:20.8 for the full 2 ½ miles, which converts to 10:17.2 for 4,000 meters and half a century later ranks 12th in South Jersey history. Paul VI was 2nd in 10:23.0 (converts to 10:19.4), still No. 18 in South Jersey history.

1978 Woodbury Sprint Medley: Woodbury had run 3:31.4 at the South Jersey Relays and was shooting for the South Jersey record of 3:31.3 set by Pemberton in 1977. Howie Staeger made the trip to Toms River South just for one race, and Bruce Washington, Blane Martin, Keith Washington and Rich Caton made it worth it. The Thundering Herd won the sprint med with a South Jersey-record 3:30.7, which converts to 3:29.5 for 1,600 meters and remains No. 20 in South Jersey history 45 years later. Washington split 48.2 and Caton 1:54.3. Woodbury won a whopping by 40 meters over Roselle Park.

1999 Wilson Shuttle Hurdles: Wilson came up a little short of its goal of breaking the national shuttle hurdles record of 56.51 set by Wolfson High of Jacksonville, but they settled for the 2nd-fastest time in U.S. history with a 56.88 at the 1999 Relays at Morristown. Some 24 years later, Jeff Young, Rashad Baker, Jose Llanos and Enrique Llanos still own the state record and No. 6 in U.S. history. An aside – Baker’s interception of Jeff Garcia locked up the Raiders’ upset win over the Bucs on the final day of the 2006 season and opened the door for the Eagles to reach the playoffs with a win over the Cowboys, which they picked up later in the day.

1985 Cumberland Regional Distance Medley: It’s about 100 miles from Upper Deerfield Township to Brick Township, but that didn’t stop the Colts from making the trek up to Ocean County for a showdown with Ridgewood in the 1985 New Jersey Relays. Cumberland made the drive worth it by running 10:16.9 and edging the Chris Sullivan-anchored Ridgewood quartet, who was 2nd in a fast 10:18.1. Artie Rube, Mike Jackson and Don Stafford set up Cumberland anchor Jeff Davis, who ran 4:15.44 later that spring.

1994 Pleasantville Triple: Incredible triple win by Pleasantville 29 years ago at Morristown. William Jackson, Herb Simons, Rahman Prescott and Kaream James won the 400-meter relay in 41.9, then the same four guys in a slightly different order – Jackson, James, Prescott, Simons – won the 4-by-200 in 1:27.4. And Nate Harley, Simons, James and Kevin Hart ran 59.2 to win the shuttle hurdles. At the time, the 1:27.4 was a South Jersey record, the 41.9 was No. 2 in South Jersey history and the 59.2 was No. 9. To this day, those performances rank 29th, 10th and 21st in South Jersey history.

Girls
1992 Highland Triple: The Bartley twins – Eusheka and Nichole – put on a show along with their Highland teammates at Morristown in 1992. In the 800-meter relay, Eusheka led off with a 24.9 split and Nichole anchored in 24.7, Melanie Bell and Tonya May ran the middle legs, and Highland won in 1:44.1, smashing the South Jersey record of 1:44.2 set in 1984 by Edgewood. In the 1,600-meter relay, Jaimi Kinsler, May and the Bartleys won in 3:51.6, at the time No. 5 in South Jersey history (and still in the top-50). May, Bell and the Bartleys also took a close 2nd in the 4-by-1 with a 48.7 behind a 48.6 by Minee Blamo and Trenton.

1994 Willingboro Sprint Double: The Chimeras put together a hot sprint double in 1994 in Morristown, with Tiffany Butler, Sherron Lawson, Kim Hargrove and Kia Van Wright winning the 4-by-100 in 47.8 and Butler, Corey Thomas, Hargrove and Van Wright winning the 4-by-200 in a South Jersey-record 1:41.5. At the time, the 47.8 was No. 3 in South Jersey history (the same quarter ran 47.45 later in the year) and the 1:41.5 broke the South Jersey record of 1:43.0 set by the that Highland quartet of the Bartleys, Bell and May.

1995 Camden Sprint Double: Tiffany Jones, Summer Springs, Tynisha Revels and Medina Salaam put together quite a sprint double at the 1995. Camden out-raced Willingboro in a close 4-by-200, winning in 1:41.20 with Willingboro 2nd in 1:41.81. The same quartet won the 4-by-4 easily in 3:51.50, with Middletown South 40 meters back in 3:57.74. Camden’s 1:41.20 broke the South Jersey record of 1:41.2 set a year earlier by Willingboro and remains No. 3 in South Jersey history. Camden had run faster earlier in the year in the 4-by-4 – their 3:45.41 in the Penn Relays Championship of America remains No. 3 in South Jersey history.

1999 Edgewood Shuttle Hurdles: Yvette Murry, Kierra Clemons, Pam Richardson and Dennean Davis ran 59.00 at Morristown to break the national shuttle hurdles record of 59.2, set in 1996 by William Penn of Philadelphia. That remains the state record. Pennsauken, with Alethia Jenkins, Thananya Wooden, Sheena Ohlig and Sophie Solomon, placed 2nd in 59.85, which remains No. 3 in South Jersey history.

2019 Rancocas Valley 4-by-200: If the East Coast Relays is permanently cancelled, R.V. will go down as the last South Jersey school to win a title. R.V. won the 4-by-200 in 1:41.45 at Randolph in 2019 with Anabella Chin, Darynn Minus-Vincent, Brianna Snowden and Sheriyah Nutt beating 2nd-place Ramapo by 15 meters. R.V. ran faster when they placed 5th at nationals in 1:40.25, and that remains No. 13 in state history. But that 1:41.45 remains the 3rd-fastest 4-by-2 any South Jersey school ever ran at East Coast Relays (behind Washington Township’s 1:41.10 in 1999 and Camden’s 1:41.20 in 1995).

Jessica Woodard made it to the podium in her first Diamond League track meet Sunday, placing 3rd in the shot put in Rabat, Morocco.

Woodard, a Cherokee graduate, threw 61-2 on her first attempt and finished 3rd overall, behind Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo [63-3] and Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands [61-10].

Woodard has competed in international meets in Canada and Brazil, but this was her first appearance in the Diamond League, the 14-meet European circuit that runs from early May through the Diamond League Final in September.

The 61-2 is Woodard’s 2nd-best throw this year. She hit 61-5 at the Tucson (Ariz.) Elite Classic two weeks ago.

Woodard ranks No. 16 in the world this year and No. 5 among U.S. women. Woodard threw 63-7 ¾ and placed 3rd at the U.S. Championships last year in Eugene and went on to place 8th at the World Championships, also in Eugene. She ranks 14th all-time among U.S. women.

One of the best stories to come out of the 2023 track season is the remarkable improvement that Burlington Township graduate Jasmine Broadway made at Rowan.

Broadway never broke 25.50 in high school, but since arriving in Glassboro she’s improved from 26.60 indoors as a freshman to 25.84 last spring to 25.48 this past indoor season to one of the fastest in the country this spring.

Broadway placed 5th in the 200-meter dash final at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, earning All-America honors a year after she placed 14th in the 200 in her own conference meet.

Broadway came into the spring season with a PR of 25.16 from February in Boston and dropped that to 24.85 in her outdoor debut at Widener. She ran 24.76 in Columbia, S.C., a few weeks later and then 24.46 when she won the conference meet.

This past Thursday, she ran 24.18 in the trials at NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Rochester, smashing the school record of 24.36 – set by Pemberton graduate Shailah Williams when she won the 2015 NJAC meet at Ramapo.

She followed that with a 24.33 and 5th place in the final, making her the third short sprinter in Rowan history to earn All-America honors. Karen Corsey placed 8th in the 100 in 1992 and Williams was 4th in the 60 and 1st in the 200 indoors in 2014, 4th in the 60 and 3rd in the 200 indoors in 2016 and 8th in the 200 outdoors in 2016.

Overall, Broadway is now a two-time All-America. She ran on Rowan’s 8th-place 4-by-4 team indoors.

This past weekend, she also ran on two very fast Rowan relay teams that just missed earning All-America honors.

In the 4-by-100, she ran with Hillsborough’s Kat Pederson, Woodstown’s Molly Lodge and Triton’s Nevaeh Lorjuste, running 47.53 and placing 13th overall, and in the 4-by-4, she joined Sosa Caceres, Lodge and Lorjuste, placing 9th in 3:49.43.

Winslow’s Nylah Perry finished her season on a high note with a PR in the second round of the 400-meter hurdles Saturday at the NCAA Division 1 West Preliminaries in Sacramento.

Perry, a sophomore at Iowa, lowered her lifetime best from 58.61 to 58.28 and although she missed advancing to Austin next month for the national semifinals, she finished second among freshmen and sophomores in the entire Western Region.

The top 12 finishers advance to Austin, and Perry wound up with the 16th-fastest time in the West Prelims.

Perry’s 58.28 puts her in the No. 9 position in Iowa history and as far as I can find it puts her No. 6 on the all-time New Jersey alumni list:

55.78 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], April 21, 1996, Walnut, Calif.
56.21 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], May 26, 2007, Gainesville, Fla.
56.87 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], May 30, 2014, Jacksonville, Fla.
57.16 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], May 9, 2022, High Point, N.C.
57.84 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 6, 2023, Philadelphia
58.28 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], May 27, 2023, Sacramento, Calif.
58.38 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow], May 2, 2015, Starkville, Miss.

With former Sterling teammates Marquise Young and Jah’mere Beasley running the 1st and 3rd legs, Rowan’s 4-by-400 relay team ran one of the fastest times in NCAA Division 3 history Saturday at the D-3 nationals in Rochester, N.Y.

In the fastest 1,600-meter relay ever at in the NCAA Division 3 Championship’s 49-year history, Mount Union, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Rowan and Wisconsin-La Crosse all run sub-3:09 – something only four teams in meet history had ever done.

Mount Union of Alliance, Ohio, won the race in 3:07.24, followed by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, Calif., which was 2nd in 3:07.82, Rowan in 3rd in 3:08.74 and Wisconsin La Crosse 4th in 3:08.81. John Carroll in 5th ran 3:09.44, fast enough to win a national title in 44 of the 48 previous meets.

The race produced the No. 1, 2, 8, 9 and 10 times in meet history.

Beasley split 47.06 and Rowan anchor Amara Conte 46.72. No splits for leadoff Young and second leg Nana Agyemang because the race starts in lanes, but Rowan’s time is No. 41 in the U.S. this year, including Division 1, Division 2 and NAIA scholaship programs, JUCOs, club teams, U.S. all-star teams, and so on.

Rowan’s previous school record was a 3:10.06 when the Profs placed 2nd in NCAA Division 3 Nationals last spring in Geneva, Ohio, with West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s John Owens, Agyemang, Beasley and Conte. The Profs came within 1-100th of a second of that record with a 3:10.07 in a meet in Columbia, S.C., last month with the same lineup as Saturday – Young, Agyemang, Beasley and Conte.

With six points in the final event, Rowan finished with 39 points and placed 3rd in team scoring behind MIT of Cambridge, Mass. (60 ½) and Wisconsin-La Crosse (49). It’s Rowan’s best team finish in 39 years, since the 1984 team outscored 2nd-place Mount Union 114-100 to win its 5th straight team title.

3:07.24 … Mount Union, 2023 [1st]
3:07.82 … Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 2023 [2nd]
3:08.10 … Mount Union, 2018 [1st]
3:08.21 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2004 [1st]
3:08.26 … Wesley, Del., 2018 [2nd]
3:08.55 … Lincoln, Pa., 2006 [1st]
3:08.71 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2005 [1st]
3:08.74 … Rowan, 2023 [3rd]
3:08.81 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2023 [4th]
3:09.44 … John Carroll, 2023 [5th]

Shamar Love, Jah’mere Beasley, Nana Agyemang and Evan Corcoran ran the 6th-fastest 400-meter relay in NCAA Division 3 history and placed a close 2nd to D-3 record holder Wisconsin-La Crosse at the Division 3 National Championships Saturday in Rochester, N.Y.

Bridgeton’s Love, Sterling’s Beasley, Parsippany’s Agyemang and Kingsway’s Corcoran ran 40.14 and placed 2nd to La Crosse, which ran an NCAA Division 3-record 39.86 in the trials on Thursday. La Crosse won the race in 39.96.

Rowan lowered the school record from 40.37 from earlier this month in Selinsgrove, Pa., to 40.36 in the trials. Before this spring, the school record was 40.82 by Ed Fortune from Queens, N.Y., Millville’s Matt Davis, Highland’s Jorge Santiago and Camden’s Tyree Jackson at the 2003 NCAA Division 3 Championships in Canton, N.Y.

Only three D-3 schools have run faster than Rowan. Here’s a look at the top-10 fastest 4-by-1 performances in NCAA Division 3 history:

39.86 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, NCAA Division 3 Semifinals, 2023
39.95 … New Jersey City, NCAA Division 3 Finals, 2003
39.96 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, NCAA Division 3 Finals, 2023
40.01 … Wesley (Del.), NCAA Championships Finals, 2016
40.07 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, Drake Relays, 2023
40.14 … Rowan, NCAA Championships Finals, 2023
40.17 … Benedictine, Carius-Gregory Invitational, 2022
40.18 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, NCAA Championships Semifinals, 2021
40.19 … Wisconsin Oshkosh, Augustana Twilight Qualifier, 2022
40.19 … Lincoln (Pa.), NCAA Championships, 2000

The 2nd-place finish is Rowan’s best-ever in the 400-meter relay at NCAA Division 3 nationals. The Profs were 3rd in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Rowan also earned All-America honors in the 400-meter relay in 1994 [7th in 42.10], 2001 [3rd in 40.98], 2002 [3rd in 41.06], 2003 [3rd in 40.82], 2016 [4th in 40.92], 2017 [4th in 41.15] and 2021 [7th in 41.22].

Beasley is now an eight-time All-American: 4-by-1 and 200 in 2021 outdoors, 4-by-4 and 200 outdoors last year, 4-by-4 in 2020 indoors and 200 and 4-by-4 indoors last year. He still has the 200 and 4-by-4 coming up later Saturday.

This is Ageyemang’s 6th All-America honor and the first for Corcoran and Love, Rowan’s two freshmen.

Pitman graduate Emily Galvin, a senior at Rowan, recorded one of the top hammer throws in NCAA Division 3 history Saturday and placed 2nd at the NCAA Championships at St. John Fisher in Rochester, N.Y.

Galvin threw 177-6 on her 1st attempt before popping a 184-3 on her 2nd, not far off her lifetime best of 186-9, which she just threw a week and a half ago in Selinsgrove, Pa.

On her 3rd throw, Galvin put it all together and surpassed the 190-foot barrier for the first time, moving from 4th into 2nd at 190-10.

That puts her at No. 22 in NCAA Division 3 history.

Alexis Boykin, a sophomore at MIT in Cambridge, threw 195-5 on her 2nd attempt to win the competition. That’s No. 9 in NCAA Division 3 history.

In the finals, neither Boykin nor Galvin improved on their throws in the first round. They were the only competitors who surpassed 190 feet. Galvin did add a 187-6 on her 5th attempt – her 2nd-best throw ever.

Galvin’s 2nd-place finish is highest by a Rowan woman at Division 3 nationals since Kathy Darling from Milford, Del., won her 2nd consecutive discus title in 2001 in Decatur, Ill.

Galvin is the first Rowan woman ever to earn All-America honors in the hammer and the first in any of the throws since Cherokee’s Melissa Lake placed 8th in the javelin with a throw of 137-6 at the 2013 meet in La Crosse, Wisc.

Galvin spent her first four years and three seasons at Villanova, where she threw 185-3 and placed 3rd in last year’s Big East Championships at Storrs, Conn.

The other outstanding senior javelin thrower from Gloucester County named Emily – Kingsway graduate Emily Hilt of Rutgers-Camden – placed 17th with a 165-3 on her final attempt after fouling on her first two throws. It was Hilt who edged Galvin to win the NJAC title earlier this month in Mahwah.

Amara Conte ran Rowan’s fastest 400 in 33 years Friday and advanced to the finals at the NCAA Division 3 Championships.

Conte, a sophomore, ran a personal-best 46.76 at St. John Fisher in Rochester, N.Y,., the fastest time by a Rowan quarter-miler since Salem High graduate Maurice Ransome ran 46.19 in 1990.

Conte’s previous PR was a 46.79 when he won the NJAC title earlier this month at Ramapo. That 46.76 is 4th-fastest ever by a NJAC 400 runner. Dwayne Stevens of Elizabeth High ran 45.90 for Montclair State in 1992, Ramapo’s Cheickna Trarore from Snyder ran 46.54 when he placed 2nd at NCAAs last year in Geneva, Ohio, and there’s Ransome’s 46.19.

Interestingly, both Traore and Conte are from Jersey City, Traore from Snyder and Conte from Ferris a couple miles to the northeast.

On Friday, all eight qualifiers for Saturday’s final ran under 47 seconds, which is unprecedented. The final will include No. 7, No. 11, No. 16, No. 20, No. 21 and No. 22 in NCAA Division 3 history. The final is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Saturday, and Conte will be out in Lane 8.

Rowan’s last outdoor All-America in the 400 was Rich Dixon, who placed 4th in 2000 in 47.82 at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. Dixon was also 4th in 1999 in 47.77.

(A note on that 46.19 – I can’t find any record of it actually happening. Even the NCAA Division 3 track official stats don’t indicate where it happened, although they do list the time: . I’ve searched everywhere using every possible resource – mainly Newspapers.com – and if it happened nobody knew about it or wrote about it. If Maurice Ransome is out there, let us know where you ran 46.19!)

Thanks to former Rowan runner Dan Fourney, who asked a bunch of teammates from that 1990 team if they remembered where Maurice ran his 46.19. Someone tagged Maurice himself, and he said it was actually in the semifinals at 1990 nationals, which were also at North Central College in Naperville. The only full set of results from that meet that I could find don’t show the semis, which is how we missed it!

St. Augustine’s Sincere Rhea punched his ticket to Austin in the 110-meter hurdles Friday evening with a commanding win in the 2nd of three quarterfinal races at the NCAA Championships East Preliminaries.

Rhea, a Miami junior, easily won his heat at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville in 13.56 with a 2.7-meters-per-second assisting tailwind, finishing well clear of 2nd-place Tayshaun Chisholm of Delaware State, who was 2nd in 13.66.

The first three finishers in each of the three races along with the next-three-fastest times advance to the NCAA Championships in Austin June 7-10. The top 12 hurdlers from the NCAA Western Prelims in Sacramento later Friday will race in the semifinals at 7:32 p.m. Wednesday, June 7.

Rhea’s 13.56 is his 2nd-fastest ever under any conditions. He ran 13.48 with legal 1.2 wind in the trials of the ACC Championships two weeks ago in Raleigh.

Rhea ran 13.70 Wednesday in the first round and was only the 20th-fastest qualifier out of 24 into Friday’s quarterfinals. But he was 5th-fastest of those 24 hurdlers on Friday, and the four who ran faster were all aided by a 5.8 meters-per-second wind. Any race assisted by a tailwind over 2.0 meters per second is considered wind-aided and those times are not eligible for record purposes.

But that’s irrelevent here because all that matters is surviving to the next round, and Rhea had never done that before outdoors. He placed 30th in the 2021 prelims, also in Hodges Stadium, and that was his final race competing for Penn State. He placed 35th in last year’s prelims. His best NCAA finish was 14th place at the 2021 indoor championships over the 60-meter hurdles in Fayetteville.

But he’s clearly a much better, much more consistent, much more confident hurdler these days, and it’s showed over the last two months with a series of very fast races against very strong fields.

Rhea, who turned 22 last month, is now ranked 35th in the world and 12th among U.S. men, 2-100ths of a second behind Eagles wide receiver Devon Allen, who ran 13.46 at the Penn Relays.