Atlantic County Tech junior Brianna Growalt won the hurdles Tuesday night at Easterns with the 5th-fastest time in South Jersey history.
Growalt won the 55-meter highs at the 90th annual Easterns at the Armory in 7.93, just 4-100ths off the South Jersey record of 7.89 set in 2006 by Pleasantville’s Nia Ali at 2006 Easterns on the same track.
Her time is fastest ever by a South Jersey junior and 11th-fastest in state history.
Growalt, the state Group 4 champion, entered the meet with a PR of 8.09 from last month at Ocean Breeze. She lowered it to 8.05 in the trials, then 7.99 in the semifinals before the 7.93 to win the final, where she out-raced Kayla Ewing of Morristown, who was 2nd in 7.97.
Growalt’s time is No. 2 in New Jersey this year behind Winslow sophomore Jasmine Jackson, who ran 7.90 at the Armory in January. It’s No. 11 in the U.S. according to the MileSplit national database and No. 2 among juniors, behind only Salai Russell of Bullis School in Potomac, Md., who ran 7.91 at the Armory in December.
Growalt is also South Jersey’s No. 6 long jumper this year at 17-6 ½ from the Ott Center in December, but with three rounds of hurdles she only hurdled on Tuesday.
Growalt is the 10th South Jersey girl to. win the Easterns title going back to Edgewood’s Zonya Cross in 1983.
All-Time South Jersey Hurdles List
7.89 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.89 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.90 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow], 2026 [#7]
7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
7.93 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech], 2026 [U.S. #11]
7.94 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
7.98 … Nichole Belcher [Woodrow Wilson], 1992
7.98 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2019
7.99 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2025
8.01 … Samantha Sharper [Woodrow Wilson], 2008
8.03 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken], 2000
8.03 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], 2020
8.03 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
8.04 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
8.05 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
8.06 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
All-Time New Jersey 55-Meter Hurdles List
7.53 … Taylor Cox [Union Catholic], 2025
7.60 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2015
7.71 … Charmaine Walker [Plainfield], 1997
7.75 … Grace O’Shea [Ramapo], 2019
7.81 … Dawn Bowles [Neptune], 1988
7.89 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.89 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.90 … Quaycian Davis [East Orange], 2023
7.90 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp.], 2026
7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
7.93 … Wendy Vereen [Trenton], 1984
7.93 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech], 2026 [U.S. #11]
7.94 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
7.95 … Abigail Davis [Old Tappan], 2024
7.96 … Porsche Dobson [Kent Place], 2003
7.96 … Amaya Chadwick [Union Catholic], 2017
7.97 … Sofia Swindell [Lawrenceville School], 2025
7.97 … Kayla Ewing [Morristown], 2026
7.98 … Nichole Belcher [Woodrow Wilson], 1992
7.98 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2019
7.99 … Racquel Vassal [East Orange], 2007
7.99 … Patricia Dziekonska [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2014
7.99 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2025
7.99 … Racuqel Vassell [East Orange], 2007
All-Time Easterns Hurdles List
7.66 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2015
7.71 … Charmaine Walker [Plainfield], 1997
7.75 … Grace O’Shea [Ramapo, N.J.], 2019
7.75s …… McLaughlin, 2015
7.76 … Lindsay Rowe [Benjamin Cardoza, N.Y.], 2007
7.77 … … O’Shea, 2019s
7.81 … … O’Shea, 2019q
7.82 … Dawn Bowles [Neptune], 1988
7.87s …… McLaughlin, 2015
7.88 … Alyssa Sandy [Paul Robeson, N.Y.], 2016
7.89 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.89 … Ste’cye McNeil [Winslow], 2012
7.89s …… Sandy, 2016
7.91 … Lindsay Rowe [Benjamin Cardoza, N.Y.], 2007
7.92 … Shenea Dawkins [New Rochelle], 2002
7.93 … Wendy Vereen [Trenton], 1983
7.93 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech], 2026
7.94 … Lateisha Philson [Benjamin Cardoza, N.Y.], 2011
7.7+ …… Vereen, 1984
7.96s … Porscha Dobson [Kent Place], 2003
7.97 … Shantell Bingham [Episcopal], 2011
7.97 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp.], 2025
7.97 … Kayla Ewing [Morristown], 2026
7.98 … Akayla Anderson [Benjamin Cardozo, N.Y.], 2012
7.99q …… Rowe, 2007
7.99 … Raquel Vassell [East Orange], 2007
7.99q ……. Growalt, 2026
a1983 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood, N.J.] 8.04y
2000 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken, N.J.] 8.03
2006 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville, N.J.] 7.89
2008 … Samantha Sharper [Woodrow Wilson, N.J.] 8.01
2012 … Ste’cye McNeil [Winslow, N.J.] 7.89
2014 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow, N.J.] 8.12
2018 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City, N.J.] 8.05
2022 … Annabella Chin [Rancocas Valley, N.J.] 8.21
2025 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp., N.J.] 7.97
2026 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech, N.J.] 7.93
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 