Aliya Garozzo ran the fastest 400-meter hurdles race ever by a South Jersey woman Saturday at the Raleigh Relays on Paul Derr Track on the North Carolina State campus.
Garozzo, a Paul VI graduate who competed for Penn and then Duke, won the 400 hurdles in 55.69, smashing her PR of 55.77, which she ran last April at Duke in nearby Durham.
Her time is No. 2 in the world this year, behind only four-time Australian champion Sarah Carli, who ran 55.36 in Perth last month.
The only faster woman from New Jersey over the 400-meter hurdles is world record holder and four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 50.37 in Paris when she won the 2024 Olympic gold medal.
Garozzo gave an indication of her fitness level when she PRd at 400 meters in February indoors at Clemson with a 52.43. That made her 26th-fastest American woman this past indoor season.
Garozzo broke the meet record of 57.05 set in 1995 by Rebecca Russell, running unattatched, and broke the facility record of 55.75 set in 2021 by Andrenette Knight of Virginia. Braelyn Baker, Garozzo’s former Duke teammate, was 2nd with a personal-best 55.77. Baker and Garozzo both ran on Duke’s 4-by-4 team that placed 5th at NCAAs last June at Hayward Field.
All-Time South Jersey 400-Meter Hurdles Top-10
55.69 … Aliya Garozzo [Paul VI], March 28, 2026, Raleigh, N.C.
55.78 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], April 21, 1996, Walnut, Calif.
55.99 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], June 20, Philadelphia
56.11 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 17, 2025, Norfolk, Va.
56.21 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], May 26, 2007, Gainesville, Fla.
56.87 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], May 30, 2014, Jacksonville, Fla.
57.16 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], May 9, 2022, High Point, N.C.
57.31 … Danielle Myricks [Willingboro], May 19, 2002, Columbia, Mo.
57.31 … Eusheka Bartley [Highland], May 29, 1996, Atlanta
58.28 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], May 27, 2023, Sacramento, Calif.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 