From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Paul VI senior Shaelan McNally ran the 5th-fastest 1,600 in South Jersey history Sunday at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

McNally placed 3rd in 4:52.90, the 9th-fastest time in meet history and 3rd-fastest ever by a South Jersey girl, behind 1983 winner Michelle Rowen of Washington Township [4:48.5 hand-timed] and Haddonfield’s Briana Gess, who placed 3rd in 2016 in 4:51.60.

McNally negative-split the race, out in 72.68 and 2:28.69 and back in 75.46 and 2:24.22, with a final lap of 32.76.

It’s been quite a stretch for McNally, who never broke five minutes for 1,600 meters indoors or outdoors until Feb. 16, when she ran 4:57.06 at the Parochial A state meet at the Bubble. Before that, he PR was an outdoor 5:01.44 last May in a meet at Delsea. So she’s dropped her PR almost nine seconds in three weeks.

She also ran 2:11.85 late last month at Ocean Breeze Elite, 3rd-fastest in South Jersey history. She’s now one of only nine girls in state history (and one of two from South Jersey) to run sub-2:12 and sub-4:53:

Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001 [2:10.0, 4:49.46y]
Molly McNamara [Red Bank Catholic], 2011 [2:11.82, 4:48.44]
Ajee Wilson [Neptune], 2011 [2:04.13, 4:47.80y]
Catherine Pagano [Northern Highlands], 2015 [2:09.80, 4:48.97]
Lilly Shapiro [Colts Neck], 2022 [2:10.11, 4:43.73y]
Camryn Wennersten [Ridgewood], 2022 [2:09.32, 4:43.96y]
Kaleigh Gunsiorowski [Union Catholic], 2023 [2:11.20, 4:50.69y]
Paige Sheppard [Union Catholic], 2024 [2:09.79, 4:48.13]
Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024 [2:11.85, 4:52.90]

McNally, who’s from Haddon Heights, will race the two-mile at Boston Nationals this weekend. She has a PR of 10:48.08 from outdoor states last spring at Franklin Township. She ran 10:59.26 in a Ocean Breeze in January.

Cherokee senior Kerry O’Day also had a big race, placing 7th with a PR 4:58.54, 6th-fastest in Burlington County history. O’Day, like McNally, never broke 5:00 until last month. She PR’d with a 4:59.23 at states at the Bubble last month before her 4:58.54 on Sunday. Cherokee is entered in the distance medley, 4-by-8 and 4-by-mile at Boston Nationals.

Here’s a look at the fastest 1,600 times in indoor Meet of Champions history:

4:48.13 … Paige Sheppard [Union Catholic], 2024 [1]
4:48.23 … Jill Smith [Southern Regional], 2009 [1]
4:48.5h … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983 [1]
4:48.95 … Emma Zawatski [Freehold Twp.], 2024 [2]
4:49.53 …… Zawatski, 2023 [1]
4:50.85 … Christina Rancan [West Windsor-Plainsboro South], 2016 [1]
4:51.18 … Ciara Roche [Freehold Twp.], 2016 [2]
4:51.60 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016 [3]
4;51.71 … Lilly Shapiro [Colts Neck], 2022 [1]
4:52.90 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024 [2:11.85]
4:52.96 … Julia Scrudato [Montgomery], 2023 [2]
4:53.17 … Kylene Cochrane [West Morris Central], 2014 [1]
4:53.36 … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014 [2]
4:53.39 … Christina Allen [River Dell], 2022 [2]
4;53.83 … Cate DeSousa [Red Bank Catholic], 2022 [3]
4:53.98 …….. J. Smith, 2007 [1]
4:54.01 ……. Scrudato, 2024 [4]
4:54.15 … Marin Warner [Holmdel], 2014 [3]
4:54.41 … Molly McNamara [Red Bank Catholic], 2011 [1]
4:54.58 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014 [4]

All-Time South Jersey Girls Indoor 1,600-Meter List
4:41.52y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983
4:49.46y … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
4:51.60 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
4:52.34y … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:52.90 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024
4:53.36 … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014
4:53.85 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:54.58 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:55.04y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:55.56y … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024
4:56.1h,y … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:57.12 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
4:57.72 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2010
4:57.77y … Aubrey Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2022
4:58.48 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
4:58.54 … Kerry O’Day [Cherokee], 2024
4:59.28y … Grace Wassell [Highland], 2022
4:59.29 … Julia Despirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:59.39 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012