Rancocas Valley junior Cecilia King, who just broke 15 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles for the first time less than two weeks ago, moved into the all-time Burlington County top-10 Tuesday night at the Olympic Conference Championships on her home track.
King had a PR of 15.12 from last year’s Meet of Champions until she ran 15.03 in the Burlington County Open trials at Northern Burlington on May 11. She won the final in 14.89, her first sub-15 race, and then on Tuesday PR’d at 14.59 in the trials and 14.51 in the final.
That’s an improvement of 61-100ths of a second in under two weeks.
King is now No. 5 this year in New Jersey and No. 1 in South Jersey. She has the fastest time in New Jersey Group 4 and is No. 3 all-time at R.V., behind Anabella Chin’s 14.39 at the 2022 Meet of Champions in Somerset and Tonya Lee’s 14.42 at the 1987 TAC Junior Nationals at Rincon Vista Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. (now known as Roy P. Drachman Stadium.)
The top four finishers Tuesday ran sub-15 and all four PR’d. Winslow senior Dominique Clement was 2nd in 14.77 after a PR 14.61 in the trials, Lenape senior Keira Gibbons placed 3rd in 14.91 after a PR 15.02 in the trials and Winslow sophomore Ma’Syiah Brawner took 4th in 14.93 after a PR 15.11 in the trials. Brawner also won the triple jump [37-9], long jump [18-1] and high jump [5-4]. Those four girls now rank 1st, 4th, 6th and 7th in South Jersey, and Brawner is the No. 2 sophomore in New Jersey (by 4-100ths of a second).
All-Time Burlington County Hurdles List
13.85 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1980
14.04 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2016
14.34 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], 2012
14.38 … Vanessa Arientyl [Willingboro], 2010
14.39 … Anabella Chin [Rancocas Valley], 2022
14.42 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1987
14.43 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
14.49 … Kim Allen [Willingboro], 2003
14.51 … Cecilia King [Rancocas Valley], 2024
14.54 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2019
14.59 … Drew Bristol-Andrews [Florence], 2013
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 