The meet was close. Then they ran the 55-meter dash final. And the meet wasn’t close anymore.
The Willingboro girls put away the state Group 2 meet with a dominating 1-3-4 finish in the 55, turning a 36-34 lead over Haddonfield into a 21-point edge.
Willingboro finished with a 64-48 margin of victory over Rumson-Fair Haven to win its 5th indoor state title but first in 20 years. Haddonfield was a close 3rd with 46 points.
The Willingboro girls also won Group 4 in 1981, Group 2 in 1998 and Group 3 in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
All three Willingboro sprinters PR’d, junior Nester Wea with a 7.23, sophomore Kaila Speight 7.33 and freshman Maya Bolden a 7.34.
And get this: Those times are Willingboro’s fastest in 26 years and No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 in school history. And they all came in one race. Here’s a look at an all-time Willingboro 55-meter dash top 10 list:
6.73 … Michelle Glover, 1981
7.07 … Magenta Taylor, 1998
7.23 … Nester Wea, 2024
7.26 … Pam Young, 1982
7.33 … Kaila Speight, 2024
7.34 … Maya Bolden, 2024
7.35 … Kia Van Wright, 1992
7.35 … Jordan McCray-Ross, 2017
7.36 … Chanel Hamilton, 2004
7.38 … Aailiyah Courtney, 2012
Wea had her usual huge day, with the 55-meter dash win and 2nd-place finishes in the 400 in 58.76 and the hurdles with a PR 8.43. She also ran the 2nd leg on the 2nd-place 4-by-4.
Speight contributed 3rd-place finishes in the 55 and the 400 with PRs of 7.33 and 58.92 and ran the 3rd leg on the relay, and Bolden anchored the 4-by-4 to go with her 4th-place finish in the dash. Jaden Murry led off the 4-by-4, which ran 4:01.95.
And senior Naa’rah Andrews PR’d at 5-2 in the high jump for 2nd place. That’s an indoor PR and matches her outdoor PR.
The Chimeras are getting close to the 4-minute mark, which they last broke indoors with a 3:59.55 at 2010 Easterns.
The Chimeras also got big points in the shot put from junior Chanel Swain, who threw 37-7 ¼ for 3rd place.
Outdoors, Willingboro has won five state titles – Group 4 in 1980 and 1981, Group 3 in 1999 and 2002 and Group 3 in 2023. So this is their 10th overall state championship.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 