Natalie Dumas finished the greatest performance in New Jersey girls track history with an astonishing record-setting 800-meter win at the Meet of Champions, her 3rd win of the day.
After winning the 400 and intermediate hurdles somewhat routinely – 53.16 in the 400 and 1:00.25 in the 400 hurdles – Dumas won the 800 in 2:02.75, 3rd-fastest in state history and 3rd-fastest in the U.S. this year.
Dumas joins two legends – Jodie Bilotta of North Hunterdon and Olivia Baker of Columbia – as only the 3rd triple winner in Meet of Champions history.
Bilotta won the 800 in 2:11.16, 1,600 in 5:00.79 and 3,200 in 10:24.18 at the 1988 meet at South Plainfield, and Baker won the 100 in 12.05, 200 in 23.95 and 400 in 53.84 at the 2013 meet, also at South Plainfield.
Dumas, a junior at Eastern, is now the co-state record holder in the 400 at 51.87, No. 3 in state history in the intermediates at 57.30 and No. 3 in the 800.
The only faster girls in state history at 800 meters are Ajee’ Wilson of Neptune, who ran 2:00.91 at the 2012 IAAF World Juniors in Barcelona, and Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu of Trenton, who ran 2:01.17 at the 2019 U.S. Senior Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dumas broke the meet record of 2:04.67 set by Southern Regional’s Jill Smith at the 2009 meet at south Plainfield. She destroyed the South Jersey record of 2:07.33 set also in that 2009 race by Haddonfield’s Marielle Hall.
Clemmie Lilly of Rumson-Fair Haven, a Stanford signee, placed 2nd in 2:05.96. Lilly is a four-time 800 All-America who came into the race ranked 7th in the U.S. with a PR of 2:04.79 from last month at Icahn Stadium in New York.
Dumas was out in 60.45 with a slight lead on Lilly and came back in 62.30, turning a close race into a 20-meter win.
Dumas has run much faster in the 400 and intermediates than she did Wednesday, but this was a massive breakthrough in the 8. Her 800 PR was 2:07.68 indoors at Armory Nationals in March. Her previous outdoor PR was 2:10.49 to win the state Group 4 race last week.
So she dropped nearly eight seconds from her outdoor PR and about five seconds from her lifetime best.
Dumas won the 400 and intermediates at last year’s Meet of Champions, and her five total titles – with a year left – are tied for 7th-most in meet history. Among South Jersey girls, only Erin Donohue of Haddonfield and Carol Lewis of Willingboro – two Olympians – have more all-time MoC individual titles, with six apiece. Michelle Glover of Pennsauken and Willingboro also has five. Billota’s eight are the most in history and nobody else has more than seven.
Dumas’s time is not far off the B standard of 2:02.50 for U.S. Nationals in Eugene next month. She already has the B standards in the 400 and intermediates.
The only South Jersey girls to win the Meet of Champions 800 in the last 25 years are Kadence Dumas in 2023 and Natalie Dumas this year.
Her 2:02.75 also broke her older sister’s outdoor school record of 2:10.44 and the family record. Kadence ran 2:07.30 as a Delaware sophomore this spring in a meet in Lewisburg, Pa.
Her time is 5th-fastest ever run by a South Jersey native. It’s 12th-fastest on the all-time New Jersey alumni list:
1:59.85 … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], June 17, 1996, Atlanta
1:59.99 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], July 13, 2010, Liège, Belgium
2:02.20 … Kimarra McDonald [Rancocas Valley], June 2, 2012, Nashville
2:02.49 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], June 25, 2006, Indianapolis
2:02.75 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], June 4, 2025, Pennsauken
2:03.34 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], June 15, 2013, Indianapolis
2:03.88 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], May 13, 2012, Baton Rouge, La.
2:05.06 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], May 31, 2013, West Chester, Pa.
2:05.81 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], May 12, 2024, Ann Arbor, Mich.
2:06.15 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], May 13, 2022, Durham, N.C.
2:07.18 … Kristen Neidrach [Shawnee], Kortrijk, Belgium, July 10, 2021
All-Time New Jersey 800 List
2:00.91 … Ajee’ Wilson [Neptune], 2012
2:01.17 … Athing Mu [Trenton], 2019
2:02.75 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
2:03.54 … Joetta Clark [Columbia], 1979
2:03.84 … Paige Sheppard [Union Catholic], 2025
2:04.67 … Jill Smith [Southern Reg.], 2009
2:04.79 … Clemmie Lilley [Rumson-Fair Haven], 2025
2:05.15 … Victoria Vanriele [Governor Livingston], 2019
2:05.50 … Hazel Clark [Columbia], 1995
2:05.80 … Corrine Myers [Westwood], 2014
All-Time South Jersey Meet of Champions 800 Winners
Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 1989 [2:14.27]
Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 1990 [2:12.09]
Krista Ferrera [Vineland], 1991 [2:10.86]
Lauren McHale [Ocean City], 1998 [2:12.77]
Katrina Sye [Buena], 1999 [2:11.82]
Kadence Dumas [Eastern], 2023 [2:10.44]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 