Willingboro’s remarkable Nester Wea won three more state titles this weekend, giving her eight so far in her high school track career.
Wea has etched her name alongside the Willingboro greats like Carol Lewis, Okechi Ogbuokiri and Shakirah Rutherford with her consistency and versatility over a number of years, and Saturday was no different.
Wea ran a lifetime-best 7.14 to win the 55-meter dash, an indoor-PR 56.32 to win the 400 and another PR 8.33 to win the 55-meter hurdles Saturday at the state Group 2 meet at the Bubble in Toms River.
Willingboro also won the 4-by-4 in 4:04.13 and as always the Bubble results don’t list relay legs, so we’re not sure who ran – blame the Bubble for that – but presumably Wea was on the anchor leg. If anybody reading this has Willingboro’s lineup please let us know in the comment section! Thanks!
Rumson Fair-Haven edged Willingboro 48-42 for the team title. Sophomore Maya Bolden also scored for the Chimeras, placing 5th in the 55 in a PR 7.26 after a PR 7.29 in the trials.
Haddonfield placed 3rd with 25 points, led by senior Rebecca Hoover, who after winning the pole vault title had the bar moved to 12-6 ½, which she cleared to break the meet record of 12-6 set in 2008 by Chrissy Finkel of Montville. Of course, no field series info on the terrible Bubble results platform. Welcome to 2006.
Hoover has a 12-8 outdoor clearance at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township in May, but the 12-6 ½ is an indoor PR. That’s No. 4 in South Jersey history, behind Shawnee’s Danielle O’Reilly, who set the then national record of 13-5 at the Armory in 2004, Moorestown’s Hannah Byrd-Leitner – who cleared 13 feet on Saturday to win the state Group 3 title – and Delsea’s Ashley Preston [12-7 in 2018]
Any decent results site should have relay names, full splits, full field series information and live updates in all events. The Bubble has none of these things. Among other things. Like the ability to actually watch a race. The day New Jersey moves its sectional and state meets out of that place will be a great day for New Jersey track and field.
Anyway. Junior Riley Austin ran an indoor-outdoor PR of 2:16.82 to place 3rd in a loaded 800, sophomore Nina Fisicaro was 3rd in the vault at 9-6, senior Tylin Regan ran 5:25.61 for 6th in the 1,.600 and senior Dylan Melcher 11:29.60 for 6th in the 3,200. Haddonfield’s 4-by-4 – sorry, no names available – was 6th in 4:12.99.
Amazing Pleasantville freshman Isabella Alvaraz single-handedly scored 22 points with a wild triple – she won the shot put at 36-8 ¾, placed 2nd in the hurdles in 8.47 and took 4th in the high jump at 5-4.
Lindenwold junior Egypt Bolan won her 1st state title with a 5-6 clearance in the high jump. She’s cleared at least 5-6 in her last five meets.
Haddon Heights senior Jayla Criss placed 4th in the dash with a PR 7.26, and Sterling senior Ashe DeWalt, a state medalist outdoors last spring in the discus, placed 4th in the shot put with a 35-1 ¼.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 