The Pennsauken girls ran the 4th-fastest time in state history and Winslow ran the 4th-fastest in South Jersey history Friday morning during sizzling 400-meter relay heats at the 130th Penn Relays.
Pennsauken earned a lane in the prestigious Championship of America race on Friday. Winslow missed by 3-100ths of a second but will race in the Northeast Championship race on Friday.
Pennsauken smashed the South Jersey record it set just five days earlier at the Woodbury Relays with junior Summer Schaeffer leading off, followed by seniors Sanaya Dupree, Olivia Dupree and Sianni Wynn running 45.68. They had set the South Jersey record of 45.93 Saturday at Woodbury.
Their time is fastest by a New Jersey public school in 28 years, since the legendary Montclair team with Aleah Williams, Mikele and Melissa Barber and Chantel Coppedge ran 45.50 for 2nd place behind Vere Tech in the Championship of America in 1998.
The only schools to run faster than Pennsauken Thursday morning were Edwin Allen of Clarendon, Jamaica, who ran 45.63, and the Bullis School of Potomac, Md., who ran 45.68. That’s actually the same time as Pennsauken, but down to 1,000ths, Bullis ran 45.676 and Pennsauken 45.680.
Pennsauken won its race running solo, with nobody else within three seconds at the finish line.
About 10 minutes before Pennsauken raced, sophomore Amariah Arango, senior Olivia Okaro, junior Cinniya Robinson and sophomore Jasmine Jackson of Winslow ran 46.40, 4th-fastest in South Jersey history and 11th in state history. Winslow had just set a school record of 46.55 at Woodbury.
Pennsauken and Winslow ran the 3rd- and 10th-fastest times of 610 teams that raced in the small-school and large-school races.
As one of the top nine schools, Pennsauken qualified for the Championship of America race at 2:15 p.m. Friday. They will line up in Lane 8 Friday.alongside four Jamaican schools and three high schools from Maryland and one from Virginia.
Winslow, as one of the next nine-fastest U.S. schools, qualified for the Northeast Championship race at 2 p.m. Friday.
They will line up in
Winslow and Pennsauken are both among the top seeds in the 1,600-meter relays coming up later Thursday, giving both Pennsauken and Winslow another chance at reaching a Championship of America race.
All-Time South Jersey 400-Meter Relay
45.93 … Pennsauken, 2026
46.19 … Timber Creek, 2024
46.20 … Willingboro, 2025
46.40 … Winslow Twp., 2026
46.43 … Timber Creek, 2023
46.55 … Winslow Twp., 2026
46.87 … Eastern, 2003
46.95 … Pennsauken, 2025
46.98 … Winslow Twp., 2017
46.9h … Willingboro, 1980
47.06 … Winslow Twp., 2014
47.07 … Winslow Twp., 2025
47.18 … Winslow Twp., 2013
47.19 … Winslow Twp., 2018
47.25 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2018
47.27 … Delsea, 2017
47.32 … Winslow Twp., 2026
47.36 … Eastern, 2019
47.36 … Rancocas Valley, 2025
47.40 … Winslow Twp., 2016
47.40 … Winslow Twp., 2025
47.3h … Willingboro, 1981
47.45 … Willingboro, 1994
47.49 … Rancocas Valley, 2017
47.53 … Millville, 2019
47.53 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
47.54 … Winslow Twp., 2003
47.54 … Rancocas Valley, 2018
47.4h … Camden,, 1978
47.4y … Camden, 1979
47.72 … Pennsauken, 2024
47.75 … Eastern, 2002
47.76 … Winslow Twp., 2005
47.76 … Winslow Twp., 2012
47.78 … Willingboro, 2023
47.79 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2021
47.81 … Haddonfield, 2024
47.82 … Moorestown, 2000
47.84 … Kingsway, 2025
47.85 … Deptford, 2015
47.87 … Winslow Twp., 2011
47.9h … Willingboro, 1995
47.8h … Willingboro, 2003
47.94 … Camden, 2000
47.96 … Winslow Twp., 2024
47.98 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2019
All-Time New Jersey 400-Meter Relay List
45.48 … Union Catholic, 2024
45.50 … Montclair, 1998
45.53 … Union Catholic, 2025
45.68 … Pennsauken
45.89 … Columbia, 2010
45.93 … Pennsauken, 2026
46.08 … Trenton, 1984
46.19 … Timber Creek, 2024
46.20 … Willingboro, 2025
46.40 … Union Catholic, 2023
46.40 … Winslow, 2026
46.42 … Franklin Twp., 2003
46.43 … Timber Creek, 2023
46.55 … Winslow Twp., 2026
46.84 … Piscataway, 2014
46.87 … Eastern, 2003
46.89 … Franklin Twp., 2001
46.90 … Paramus Catholic, 2010
46.95 … Pennsauken, 2025
46.96 … Columbia, 2009
46.98 … Winslow Twp., 2017
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 