From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Delsea and Deptford have both bounced back and forth between Group 2 and Group 3 in recent years.

In 2019 and 2021, Delsea won South Jersey Group 2 and Deptford won Group 3. Last year, Delsea won Group 3 and Deptford was 3rd in Group 2

But this year – for the first time since 2018 – the two Gloucester County powerhouse programs both found themselves in the same section – South Jersey Group 3 – and they battled down to the wire over the weekend on Delsea’s track before Delsea emerged with a hard-fought closely-contested 82-74 sectional win. Mainland [66], Timber Creek [63], Highland [55] and Winslow [51] were all also in the mix.

In 2017, Delsea and Deptford were both in Group 3, and they went 1-2 in SJ-3, Delsea with 113 points and Deptford with 92. Same with 2018, when Delsea scored 140 and Deptford was 2nd with 76.

In all, they’ve combined for eight sectional titles in the last six years the meet has been held. Last time neither won a sectional title was 2016, when Delsea was 3rd in Group 2 and Deptford was 4th in Group 3.

Delsea has won six straight titles. In South Jersey sectional history, only Penns Grove [10 straight from 1977 through 1986] and Woodbury [nine straight from 1969 through 1977] have had longer streaks.

The only other schools state-wide with longer sectional streaks are Metuchen [16 straight in Central Jersey Group 1 from 1993 through 2008] and Somerville [eight straight from 2001 through 2008 in Central Jersey Group 2].

In all, Delsea now has nine titles – all since 2006. The Crusaders won SJ-3 in 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023 and SJ-2 in 2010, 2019 and 2021.

Let’s take a closer look at this weekend’s competition:

100 [Delsea 3, Deptford 0]: Juniors Julian Conigliaro [11.20] and Xavier Wyatt [PR 11.22] placed 5th and 6th in the 100 final.

200 [Deptford 10, Delsea 6]: Triple winner Lathan Brown ran a PR 22.32 to win the 200 for the Spartans, and Coniglario got six points for Delsea with a 3rd-place finish in 23.29. This was the only individual event on the track where both teams scored.

400 [Deptford 11, Delsea 0]: Brown won in a PR 48.76 – fastest in New Jersey Group 3 this year – and junior Darryl Wayman was 6th in a PR 50.72 for Deptford.

800 [Deptford 2, Delsea 0]: Deptford junior Abu Jabbie ran 2:01.89 for 5th place.

1,600 [Delsea 2, Deptford 0]:Crusaders freshman Matthew Littlehales ran 4:32.05 for 5th place.

3,200 [Delsea 8, Deptford 0]: Littlehales PR’d with a 9:34.94 for 2nd place and eight big points. That makes him the No. 2 freshman in New Jersey and No. 1 among all public school runners.

110 Hurdles [Deptford 10, Delsea 0]: First-year senior Micky Nelson picked up a win for Deptford in 15.68.

400 Hurdles [Deptford 10, Delsea 0]: Brown won the intermediates in 55.40, becoming Deptford’s 1st triple individual winner at sectionals in at least 40 years.

High Jump [Delsea 4, Deptford 2]: Junior Wayne Adair placed 4th at 6-2 for Delsea and senior Sammy Sanford took 5th for Deptford, also at 6-2.

Long Jump [Delsea 4, Deptford 0]: Junior Christian Langston jumped an 11-inch PR 21-4 ½ for 4th place for the Crusaders.

Triple Jump [Deptford 3, Delsea 0]: Seniors Robert Long [42-5 ¾] and Sanford [42-0 ¾] took 5th and 6th for Deptford.

Pole Vault [Delsea 6, Deptford 2]: Sophomore Henry Cifaloglio placed 4th at 11-6, and junior teammate Carlos Reyes 5th, also at 11-6, for Delsea. Deptford’s scorer was senior Aidan Doerr, 6th and also at 11-6.

Shot Put [Delsea 24, Deptford 0]: Sophomore Jonathan Harris popped a 56-4 ½ for the win, the top public school mark by a New Jersey soph this year, with junior Greg Masso 2nd at 52-10 ¼ and junior Tyler Habersham-Agbemenu 3rd at 51-1 ¼.

Discus [Delsea 14, Deptford 0]: Harris threw a 13-foot PR 153-6 and senior Luke Maxwell 152-8 for 2nd and 3rd place for Delsea.

Javelin [Delsea 0, Deptford 0]: The only event neither school scored.

400 Relay [Deptford 10, Delsea 2]: Senior Kevin Mosley, Wayman, sophomore Kamari Brown and Lathan Brown won the 4-by-1 in 42.51, the No. 1 mark in New Jersey Group 3 going into states. Junior Domenic Teti, Conigliaro, Langston and junior Xavier Wyatt took 5th for Delsea in 43.13.

1,600 Relay [Delsea 10, Deptford 8]: The Crusaders and Spartans went head-to-head in the final event of the meet and were separated by less than a second. Wyatt, junior Dante McGrenehan, Coniglario and Langston ran 3:26.92 for the win, and junior Christian Berry, Long, sophomore Sean Nieves and Weyman ran 3:27.89 for 2nd place.

3,200 Relay [Deptford 4, Delsea 0]: Jabbie, Nieves, sophomore Lucius Davis and freshman Anthony Schilling ran 8:18.21 for 4th place for the Spartans.