One event in and you can get a sense of just how competitive the South Jersey Group 1 boys meet is going to be.
SJ-1 is flat-out loaded, and the first event of Group 1 sectionals at Pennsauken – the 400-meter relay – produced three of the four-fastest Group 1 times in New Jersey this year.
Going into the race, only Glassboro had broken 43 seconds state-wide with a 42.27 last week at the Tri-County Conference meet at Delsea. But Glassboro [42.61], Woodbury [42.62], Riverside [42.87] and Clayton [42.96] all went under in the fastest Group 1 sectional 4-by-1 ever contested.
We’ll see what happens in the other sectionals, but that is one fast race for any group, much less Group 1.
The 42.87 is a school record for Riverside.
Senior Brysheen Ferguson, sophomore Amari Sabb, freshman Xavier Sabb and senior Cartrell Moore ran for Glassboro, which picks up 10 early points in what could be a huge weekend for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Shiwoe Varpilah, senior Dante Viccharelli, senior Dorian Dunbar and junior Marquis Taylor for Woodbury; freshman Christopher Lopes, senior Jamir Brown, sophomore Justin Mary and senior Carmine Smith for Riverside; and senior Dillon Jones, senior Raymond Sims Jr., sophomore Juson Stewart and junior Alexander Osayemi for Clayton.
Great start to what’s going to be an amazing weekend!
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 