Without an individual 1st- or 2nd-place, the Timber Creek girls piled up enough points to win their 3rd state title since 2017 Saturday evening at the Bubble.
In a meet that didn’t end until after 11:30 p.m., Timber Creek placed 2nd in the 1,600-meter relay to lock up a 34-30 win over Mount Olive.
There were 10 teams within 10 points going into the 4-by-4. Winslow won with a meet-record 3:57.17, with Timber Creek taking 2nd in 3:57.91.
That lifted Timber Creek from 26 points to 34 and clinched the team title.
Winslow finished 3rd with 29 points, with West Windsor-Plainsboro North [23], Rahway [20], Pennsauken [20], Moorestown [19, Middletown South [18], Ocean City [18] and Morris Hills [17] making it 10 schools between 17 and 34 points.
Timber Creek also won Group 3 indoor state titles in 2017 and 2023. There was no meet held in 2021, so they’ve won three of the last seven state championships in Group 3.
Senior Guerlande Pierre turned in a remarkable triple, scoring in the 55-meter hurdles, shot put and high jump. She placed 3rd in the hurdles in 8.36, 5th in the shot put with a 35-6 and 6th in the high jump at 5-0.
Junior Ryan Jennings ran 7.17 for 4th in the 55 and 58.81 for 5th in the 400, senior Naylah Jones ran 7.13 for 3rd in the 55 and junior Billie Frazier and senior Nyla Jones went 4-6 in the hurdles in 8.58 and 8.74. Jennings, Naylah Jones, Chloe Jones and Frazier are listed as the runners on Timber Creek’s 4-by-4 team.
Before 4×4 4×4 Total
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 