Woodbury senior Marquis Taylor, the state Group 1 champ at 400 meters last spring, won his first three indoor state titles Sunday at the Bubble in Toms River.
Taylor ran 6.46 to win the 55-meter dash and 50.91 to win the 400 at the state Group 1 meet. He’s the first Woodbury sprinter to double the 55 and 400 since 2011, when Darrell Bush won the 55 in 6.59 and the 400 in 50.03.
In the 55, Taylor ran 6.46, the 2nd-fastest time in Group 1 meet history and led four South Jersey sprinters in the top six. Schalick sophomore David Stewart ran 6.68 for 3rd and the Camden duo of juniors Jaiden Steele and Christian Braxton placed 5th and 6th in 6.71 and 6.72.
In the 400, Taylor edge Gloucester County rival Alexander Osayemi, a senior at Clayton, by 5-100ths of a second. Osayemi ran 50.96. Buena junior Yandel Montanez placed 4th in 51.79 and was the top underclassman in the race, and Camden’s Steele ran 52.43 for 6th.
Taylor picked up his 3rd win in the 1,600-meter relay, where he was joined by juniors Shiwoe Varpilah, Elijah Young and Jasir Brown. They ran 3:31.29, edging Woodstown, who ran 3:31.60 with senior Cole Lucas and juniors Karson Chew, Anthony Costello and Joshua Crawford. Audubon made it a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish with the all-underclass quartet of junior Kowie Limbaga, sophomore Evan Calhoun, junior Paul Davis and junior Dylan Gallagher running 3:34.81.
Hasbrouck Heights won the Group 1 title with 40 points, with Glassboro 2nd with 31 ½, Woodebury 3rd with 30 and Woodstown 5th with 22.
Woodstown junior Joshua Crawford won the 800, and you can read about that race here.
Glassboro had three medalists in the high jump, with junior Amari Sabb clearing 6-2 for 2nd and freshmen Moses Robles and Mahki Parker taking 4th and 6th at 6-0 and 5-10. The Bulldogs also got 2nd-place finishes from Ty Blackman in the 1,600 in 4:23.49 and senior Kyle Williams, who PR’d with a 52-7 ¼ in the shot put, and Salem senior Anthony Parker placed 2nd in the hurdles in 7.66.
For Schalick, in addition to Stewart, junior Salvatore Longo cleared 12-0 for the first time indoors or outdoors to place 6th in the pole vault.
Haddon Township senior Jacob George, the Group 1 sectional champ, placed 2nd in the pole vault with a 13-0 clearance, and junior Shaun Maloney ran 2:04.25 for 6th in the 800.
In addition to Crawford, Woodstown junior Jacob Marino ran 10:15.17 for 3rd place in the 3,200. Gateway junior David Houck and Glassboro sophomore Lucas Kudless took 5th and 6th in that 3,200, Houck in 10:21.78 and Kudless rn 10:21.99 for 6th.
Clayton senior Pedro Ibarra threw a lifetime-best 45-5 ½ for 6th in the shot put.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 