Washington Township senior Yashahya Brown became the 7th South Jersey boy to repeat an indoor Meet of Champions title Sunday when he won the 55-meter hurdles and broke the meet record at Ocean Breeze.
Brown won the highs last year in 7.22, only 3-100ths of a second off the meet-record 7.19 run by Trenton’s Jermaine Collier in the 2012 meet at the Bubble. He ran 7.21 in the trials Sunday before winning the final in 7.18, breaking Collier’s mark by 1-100th of a second.
Brown, U.S. No. 1 with his state-record 7.06 at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals last month at the Bubble, won comfortably by about a meter over Manchester Township senior Joseph Kurak, who PR’d with a 7.30 in the final.
Williamstown senior Alexander Hollimon was 3rd in 7.42, just off his PR of 7.36 from the Bubble in January. Hollimon is No. 3 in Gloucester County history behind Brown and Delsea’s Sultan Tucker, who are both two-time Meet of Champions winners. Hollimon’s 3rd-place finish is best by a Williamstown athlete since high jumper Devon Bradham was 3rd in 2015.
Here’s a look at the six repeat winners from South Jersey in the Meet of Champions’ 55-year history, with the last three repeating in the hurdles:
Albert Newkirk [Camden], 55-Meter Dash, 1996 [6.56], 1997 [6.50]
Royce Reed [Bridgeton], 400-Meter Dash, 1994 [50.06], 1995 [49.92]
Raffael Craig [Millville], High Jump, 1998 [6-6], 1999 [6-10]
Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 55-Meter Hurdles, 1996 [7.36], 1997 [7.44]
Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 55-Meter Hurdles, 2018 [7.35], 2019 [7.22]
Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 55-Meter Hurdles, 2023 [7.22], 2024 [7.18]\
All-Time Meet of Champions Performance List
7.18 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.19 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2012 [1]
7.21 … Cory Poole [East Orange], 2017 [1]
7.21q …… Brown, 2024 [-]
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012 [2]
7.22 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Township], 2023 [1]
7.22 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine]. 2019 [1]
7.25q …….. Rhea, 2019
7.25q … Nathaniel Rayan [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2023 [-]
7.30 …….. Williams, 2012 [-]
7.30 … Brown, 2023 [2]
7.30 …….. Rayan, 2023 [2]
7.30 … Joseph Kurak [Manchester Twp.], 2024 [2]
7.31 … Anthony Vasquez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020 [1]
7.34 … Dwight Henry [Irvington], 2020 [2]
7.35 …….. Rhea, 2018 [1]
7.35q …….. Collier, 2012 [-]
7.36 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996 [1]
7.36 … Christian Boateng [Old Bridge], 2011 [1]
7.36 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2023 [3]
7.39 … Isaiah Lewis [Winslow Twp.], 2020 [3]
7.40 … Josh Evans, Irvington 2009 [1]
7.41 … Jeff Porter [Franklin], 2003 [1]
7.41 … Rolston Braithwaite [Trenton], 2009 [2]
7.41 … Geordan Ferguson [Manchester Twp.], 2012 [3]
7.42 … Anthony Acklin, Triton, 2001 [1]
7.42 … Greg Caldwell [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2012 [4]
7.42q … Cory Poole [East Orange], 2017 [-]
7.42 … Isaiah Greene [Newark West Side], 2018 [2]
7.42 … Eric Kahana [Freehold Boro], 2012 [5]
7.42 … Jacob Kiyler [Toms River North], 2023 [4]
7.42 … Alexander Hollimon [Williamstown], 2024 [3]
7.43 … George Bland [Penns Grove], 1987 [1]
7.43 … Todd Matthews [Notre Dame], 1998 [1]
7.43 … Andrew Aguilera [Governor Livingston], 2017 [2]
7.43 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019 [2]
7.44 …….. Tucker, 1997 [1]
7.44 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999 [1]
7.44 … Obafemi Animashaun [Union Catholic], 2014 [1]
7.44 … Alex Borzelin, Hamilton North, 2015 [1]
7.45 … Tykeen Fulton [Trenton], 2007 [1]
7.45 … Emanuel Mayers [Lakewood], 2007 [2]
7.45 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014 [2]
7.45q … Terrel Williams [Columbia], 2020 [-]
7.45q …….. Henry, 2020 [-]
All-Time South Jersey Meet of Champions Hurdles Winners
1970 … Jim Robinson [Camden], 7.3
1984 … Georger Barry [Camden], 7.6
1985 … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 7.6
1987 … George Bland [Penns Grove], 7.43
1989 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 7.58
1990 … Mike Anderson [Edgewood], 7.56
1992 … Ed Loges [Shawnee], 7.54
1996 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 7.36
1997 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 7.44
1999 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 7.44
2001 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 7.42
2002 … Aaron Ross [Clearview], 7.77
2004 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 7.48
2006 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 7.71
2010 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 7.49
2018 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 7.35
2019 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 7.22
2020 … Anthony Vazquez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 7.31
2023 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 7.22
2024 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 7.18
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 