Rancocas Valley senior Lauren Fadairo won the triple jump Tuesday night at the 88th annual Easterns at the Armory and smashed the Burlington County indoor record along the way.
Fadairo, sitting in 5th place going into her final attempt, soared 38-1 ½ to become the first South Jersey girl to win the Easterns triple jump title since the event was added in 1990.
Her mark is No. 5 in South Jersey history indoors.
Fadairo went into the meet with an lifetime-best of 37-4 ½ from Ocean Breeze earlier this month. Her outdoor PR is 37-0 ½ from Delsea last spring.
The previous Burlington County record was 38-0 ½ by Shaya Wilkerson of Lenape at 2012 Easterns at the Armory. That was the only indoor triple jump of Wilkerson’s high school career. She jumped 39-7 ¼ at the outdoor 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge.
Fadairo’s mark is No. 4 in New Jersey this year and No. 3 in South Jersey, behind Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis [39-11 at the Armory in December] and Winslow’s Ma’syiah Brawner [39-3 at the Armory in January].
Fadairo fouled on her first attempt and then hit 36-6 ¾ or better on her next five jumps, averaging 37-0 ½ on those five jumps.
She’s the 4th R.V. girl to win an Easterns title. Tonya Lee won the long jump in 1988 at 18-4 ¾, Aliyah Taylor won the 400 in 55.21 in 2017, Bethany Biggi won the high jump in 2019 and Annabella Chin won the hurdles in 2022.
Fadairo has also high jumped 5-0 and long jumped 17-2 ¾ this winter.
All-Time South Jersey 37-Foot Indoor Triple Jump List
41-3 ¼ … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2023
40-1 ½ … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
39-3 … Ma’syiah Brawner [Winslow Twp.], 2024
38-4 … She’quell Higgs [Winslow Twp.], 2013
38-1 ½ … Lauren Fadairo [Rancocas Valley], 2024
38-0 ½ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
37-10 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2013
37-7 … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
37-4 ¾ … I’mara Ford [Moorestown], 2024
37-4 … Olivia Wright [Winslow Twp.], 2020
37-2 ½ … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], 2020
37-1 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
37-0 ¼ … Ayanna Brown [Sterling], 2024
All-Time Burlington County Top 10
38-1 ½ … Lauren Fadairo [Rancocas Valley], 2024
38-0 ½ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
37-7 … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
37-4 ¾ … I’mara Ford [Moorestown], 2024
37-2 ½ … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], 2020
37-1 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
36-4 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008
36-2 ¾ … Kiah Walton [Burlington Twp.], 2014
36-0 ½ … Taliya Rogers [Rancocas Valley], 2016
36-0 ½ … Keyanna Meade [Burlington Twp.]. 2018
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 