From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

After a long – long – day at the Bubble, South Jersey finished a nearly 12-hour day with 30 state championships.

With the delayed start time of 12:30, the last race of the day – the girls Group 2 1,600-meter relay – didn’t end until just before midnight. |

Easterns are Tuesday and granted Easterns has faded recently and isn’t the meet it used to be, but it’s still on the fast track at the Armory and is still worth a handful of good marks every year. And then it’s off to Ocean Breeze March 3 for the Meet of Champions starting at 10 a.m.

But for now, here’s a look at every state champion from South Jersey this weekend. Congrats to all the winners and everybody else who qualified for the M-of-C or PR’d or did their best. If I omitted anybody, I’m sorry, but it’s 1 a.m. Let me know who’s missing in the comment section and I’ll add them.

Boys
Group 1
Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 1,600-Meter Run [4:17.42]
Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 3,200-Meter Run [9:33.34]
Malachi James [Burlington City], 55-Meter Dash [6.30]

Group 2
*Bennett Wright [Haddonfield], 1,600-Meter Run [4:21.12]
Elijah Forrest [Collingswood], 3,200-Meter Run [9:31.21]
Deptford [Darryl Wayman, Christian Berry, *Sean Nieves, Abu Jabbie], 1,600-Meter Relay [3:30.41]
Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], Pole Vault [14-6]

Group 3
Winslow Township [*Chukwuemeka Ajaegbulemh, *Dominic Bassey, *Jayden Poteat, Darrell Jackson Jr.], 1,600-Reter Relay [3:26.04]
Daniel Couse [Clearview], Pole Vault [14-0]
*Jonathan Harris [Delsea], Shot Put [58-11 ¼]

Group 4
Yashahya Brown [Washington Township], 55-Meter Hurdles [7.21]
Robert Poplau [Cherokee], 800-Meter Run [1:54.64]
*Trevor Farrell [Kingsway], Pole Vault [13-6]
David Godbolt [Rancocas Valley], High Jump [6-6]

Girls
Group 1
*Leila Ortiz [Clayton], 55-Meter Dash [7.37]
Audubon [Arianna Bittner, Kylie Tocco, Madelin Carter, Alaina Copsetta], 1,600-Meter Relay [4:15.38]
Maylisa Bluford [Clayton], Shot Put [39-2 ¾]
*Emerson Levins [Haddon Twp.], Pole Vault [10-0]
Alanna Woolfolk [Clayton], High Jump [5-8]

Group 2
*Nester Wea [Willingboro], 55-Meter Dash [7.23]
*Rebecca Hoover [Haddonfield], Pole Vault [12-0]

Group 3
**Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 55-Meter Dash [7.04]
**Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 400-Meter Dash [56.38]
*Sofia Day [Mainland Regional], 800-Meter Run [2:16.66]
*Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 3,200-Meter Run [10:33.78]
Winslow Township [**Olivia Okaro, Djassi Dean, ***Skyhe Seamon, ***Cinniya Robinson], 1,600-Meter Relay [3:57.17]
*Hannah Byrd-Leitner [Moorestown], Pole Vault [12-0]

Group 4
**Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 400-Meter dash [57.12]
Eastern [Samantha Osei-Kyei, Lomaria Tengbeh, Eva Sprewell, **Natalie Dumas], 1,600-Meter Relay [4:00.12]