Timber Creek senior Naylah Jones, who smashed the state record in the 100 on Friday with her 11.23, followed that up Saturday with an equally astonishing performance in the 200.
Jones cemented her place as one of the greatest sprinters in New Jersey history by winning the Group 3 200 in 23.29, destroying the South Jersey record with the 3rd-fastest time in state history.
Jones raced with a legal tailwind of 0.3 meters per second.
The only faster girls in state history are Olympic intermediate hurdles gold medalist and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 22.96 at the 2017 state Parochial A meet at Egg Harbor, and legendary Trenton High sprinter Wendy Vereen, who ran 22.99 at the 1983 Jumbo Elliott Track Meet at Villanova, where she placed 2nd to 1988 Olympic 200 silver medalist Grace Jackson of the Atoms Track Club.
Jones destroyed the South Jersey record of 23.66 set at the 2019 Meet of Champions by Wilson’s Dennisha Page at Northern Burlington.
According to the MileSplit national database, Jones’ time is 11th-fastest in the U..S. this year with legal wind.
The only South Jersey women who have ever run faster than Jones at 200 meters are Page, who ran 22.39 for Tennessee earlier this spring and races at NCAAs later Saturday; Olympic gold medalist English Gardner [22.62 in 2013], Williamstown’s Gabrielle Farquharson [23.07 in 2016] and Moorestown’s Amandi Rhett [23.24 in 2004].
Junior teammate Ryan Jennings was 2nd in 23.91, giving Timber Creek 18 points and a total of 66. Winslow went 3-5 with senior Dominique Clement in 3rd in 24.57 and soph Olivia Okaro 5th in 24.69, giving Winslow 76 points through the 200.
Pennsauken soph Sianni Wynn, who is 9th in state history at 23.77, won the Group 4 race by over a second in Somerset with a 23.79, also with legal wind at 0.9.
All-Time New Jersey 200-Meter Dash List
22.96 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2017
22.99 … Wendy Vereen [Trenton], 1983
23.29 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2024
23.42 … Aleah Williams [Montclair], 1999
23.66 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2019
23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
23.69 … Shavon Greaves [Lakewood], 2007
23.73 … Myasia Jacobs [Paramus Catholic], 2010
23.76 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
23.85 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2017
23.85 … Sofia Swindell [Lawrenceville], 2024
23.86 … Taylor Aska [Union Catholic], 2024
23.86 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2024
23.87 … Jenna Harris [Franklin], 2003
23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
23.90 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
23.91 … Sydney Hawkins [Phillipsburg], 2018
23.92 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1997
23.94 … M’elisa Barber [Montclair], 1998
23.95 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2013
23.96 … Regina Trotter [Weequahic], 1991
23.96 … Ogechi Nwaneri [Columbia], 2006
23.98 … Cynthia Boakye [Elizabeth], 2023
All-Time South Jersey 200-Meter Dash List
23.29 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2024
23.66 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2019
23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
23.76 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
23.85 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2017
23.86 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2024
23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
23.90 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
24.01 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
24.04 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2010
24.11 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
24.12 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
24.17 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
24.18 … Sheriyah Nutt [Rancocas Valley], 2019
24.19 … Patti Dunlap [Camden] 1978
24.19 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.]
24.19 … Bria Mack [Williamstown], 2017
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 