There was a pretty fast 400 at Ocean Breeze Monday night, with six South Jersey runners breaking 60 seconds in three different sections and four of them PR’ing.
Let’s take a look!
1) ***Cinniya Robinson, Winslow Twp.: Led the way with a PR 57.89 in her 3rd high school 400. Her previous PR was a 58.94 on the same track in December. Her time is No. 4 in South Jersey this year and fastest by a Winslow freshman since Krystal Cantey ran 57.75 at the 2003 Meet of Champions at Jadwin Gym. It’s also fastest by a public school 9th-grader this year and No. 2 in New Jersey Group 3, behind Pennsauken sophomore Sianni Wynn, who ran 55.51 at Ocean Breeze in December. Wonder if she’s related to former Winslow star Torie Robinson!
2) Chloe Jones, Timber Creek: Ran a season-best 57.92 for 2nd place. Jones ran 56.05 outdoors last spring when she placed 3rd at the state Group 3 meet at Delsea. Her time is No. 5 in South Jersey this year and No. 3 in New Jersey Group 3.
3) **Olivia Okaro, Winslow Twp.: Okaro, who PR’d at 7.15 for the 55 last month, took 3rd in 58.36, lowering her PR for the second race in a row. She ran 58.63 in her last 400 back in December, also at Ocean Breeze.
4) *Nester Wea, Willingboro: An indoor PR of 58.49 for the versatile Wea, who won four sectional sprint and hurdles titles last spring and three state titles. She’s run 56.05 outdoors, but her previous indoor PR was 59.38 two weeks ago at the Bubble.
5) ***Maya Bolden, Willingboro: Another fast freshman, Bolden PR’d with a 58.94, her first time under 60 seconds (or 59 seconds). Fastest Burlington County freshman since Rancocas Valley’s Anabella Chin ran 58.84 at 2019 Easterns at the Armory.
6) **Kaila Speight, Willingboro: The Chimeras’ third girl under 60 seconds with a lifetime-best 59.67, Wea, Bolden and Speight are ranked 3rd, 4th and 7th in the state Group 2 rankings. This was also Speight’s first time under 60. Boro hasn’t broken 4:00 in an indoor 4×4 since they won the 2010 Meet of Champions in 3:58.33. But with these three legs adding up to 2:57.10 – and junior Sunny Oyibo running an early 1:01.65 – this could be the year.
In all, 18 South Jersey girls have already broken 60 seconds this winter, most since 2020, when there were 19. And we still have half of sectionals, states, Meet of Champions and Easterns to go. Of those 18, four are from Winslow, three from Willingboro, two from Timber Creek, Washington Township and Eastern and one each from Pennsauken, Ocean City, Clayton, Pemberton and Williamstown.
Here’s all of them!
55.51 … ***Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], Ocean Breeze
57.34 … Dylan Giloley [Washington Twp.], Armory
57.73 … **Natalie Dumas [Eastern], Bubble
57.89 … ***Cinniya Robinson [Winslow Twp.], Ocean Breeze
57.92 … Chloe Jones [Timber Creek], Ocean Breeze
57.95 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], Bubble
58.02 … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], Bubble
58.10 … *Samantha Osei-Kyei [Eastern], Bubble
58.36 … **Olivia Okaro [Winslow Twp.], Ocean Breeze
58.43 … *Leila Ortiz [Clayton], Ocean Breeze
58.49 … *Nester Wea [Willingboro], Ocean Breeze
58.59 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], Armory
58.94 … ***Maya Bolden [Willingboro], Ocean Breeze
59.23 … **Olivia Serrano [Pemberton], Ocean Breeze
59.50 … Paige Franklin [Williamstown], Bubble
59.53 … Djassi Dean [Winslow Twp.], Ocean Breeze
59.67 … **Kaila Speight [Willingboro], Ocean Breeze
59.69 … Dominique Clement [Winslow Twp.], Ocean Breeze
*** – freshman
** – sophomore
* – junior
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 