From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Safe to say Friday didn’t go the way Glassboro hoped.

They had the top two seeds in the 3,200 but only went 2-5. Both their long jumpers fouled out. Their 4-by-1 came up 14-100ths of a second from scoring. And they didn’t score in a couple places where they could have.

But a huge Saturday made up for a disappointing Friday, and Glassboro battled back to win its 4^th consecutive state title this weekend in Somerset.

Glassboro outscored 2^nd-place Woodstown 63-52, with Camden [45] and Penns Grove [40] making it a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey finish.

Glassboro’s streak of four straight state titles ties the 4^th-longest ever by a South Jersey school behind Camden [seven in a row in both Group 3 and Group 4 from 1995 through 2001], Woodbury [seven in a row in Group 1 from 1972 through 1978] and Bridgeton [five in a row in Group 3 from 1991 through 1995]. Also winning four straight: Vineland [Group 3 1925 through 1928], Palmyra [Group 2 from 1942 through 1945] and Timber Creek [Group 3 2008 through 2011].

Glassboro is the first to win four straight in Group 1 since Woodbury won their seven in a row from 1972 through 1978.

Including titles in 1967 and 2009, Glassboro has won six state championships.

Friday wasn’t a total washout at all for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Zacchaeus Harrigan won the 800 in a PR 1:55.00, becoming the first Glassboro soph to win a state title since Tom Horne doubled the 1,600 and 3,200 in 1993 and the first Glassboro half-miler ever to bring home a state title. Harrigan also placed 5^th in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.07

In the 3,200, sophomore Joe Saicic ran 9:25.67 for 2^nd place and senior Jaeden Wesley was 5^th in 9:46.86.

Glassboro also picked up four points in the discus when freshman Gabriel Tarasevich threw 140-6 for 4^th place.

On Saturday, sophomore Moses Robles picked up a jumps double, winning the triple jump with with a 47-8 ½ and the high jump at 6-4. So he became Glassboro’s second sophomore since 1993 to win a state title. He’s Glassboro’s first state high jump champ since Tom Cook in 2005 and first in the triple jump since Ryan Chance in 2009, when Glassboro won its first state title.

Glassboro placed 2^nd in the 3,200-meter relay with Ryan Ejjalili, Harrigan, Johnson and Jason Martin running 8:12.81. Woodstown won the rave in 8:05.23, the 3^rd straight year the Wolverines have won the state title in the 4-by-8.

Saicic and Wesley then placed 2^nd and 6^th in the 1,600, Saicic running 4:24.00 and Wesley 4:26.63.