This was fun last year, so we’re going to do it again! Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.
Today: Jayla Criss, Haddon Heights
Criss was a state medalist in both sprints and a 17-foot long jumper as a senior and a top-10 finisher at Meet of Champions in two events.
Criss came into her senior year with PRs of 12.37 and 25.59, but after running 7.26 indoors she blossomed outdoors, winning both dashes at the Camden County Championships, dropping her 100 PR to 12.08 as part of a double sectional win, placing 3rd in the 100 and 6th in the 200 at the state Group 2 meet and running 12.14 and a PR 24.71 at the Meet of Champions.
She became first Haddon Heights sprinter to win either sprint at sectionals since Helaina Adams won the 100 in 12.38 in 2009 and the first to double in any events at sectionals since Jamie Walker ran 12.57 and 25.52 in 2007. At the Meet of Champions, she finished 10th in the 100 and 9th in the 200.
Criss also long jumped 17-5 ½ for 3rd place at sectionals. As a 1st-time long jumper, she jumped at least 17-3 ¾ in every meet she entered.
Walker’s 24.71 with a legal 0.2 tailwind is the FAT school record, although Sharon Johnson ran a 24.5 hand time in the trials of the 1976 Meet of Champions at Jackson. That converts to a 24.74 FAT so Criss gets credit for the school record.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 