Deptford and Winslow locked up this weekend in a titanic two-day battle between two of New Jersey ‘s deepest and most talented teams before Deptford emerged with a two-point win over Winslow in the state Group 3 meet in Mansfield Township.
Deptford edged Winslow 86-84 in a two-team race with no other schools scoring more than 25 points.
The state title is Deptford’s third. The Spartans also won Group 3 in 2019 and 2023. Winslow won it last year. With Delsea in 2018 and 2022, Pennsauken in 2021, South Jersey schools have won Group 3 seven of the last eight times it’s been contested.
Going into the 4-by-4, Deptford led 80-74, so if Winslow won, Deptford needed at least four points to tie for the team title and at least six to win the meet outright. Winslow did win, running 3:19.66, and Burlington Township was 2nd in 3:21.85, but Deptford took 3rd in 3:21.95, safely clear of 4th-place Timber Creek’s 3:24.43 to clinch the team title.
Here’s a look at this epic showdown event-by-event:
400-meter relay [Winslow 10, Deptford 8]: Winslow opened the meet Friday with a fast win over Deptford in the 4-by-1, with freshman Keyon Ali, senior Quayd Hendryx, Elijah Deanley and Jaylon Moss running 41.46, and Deptford 2nd in 41.50 with Liam Brown, Xavion Holmes, senior Johann Hernandez and senior Kareem Brown.
400-meter hurdles [Deptford 11, Winslow 0]: Brown ran a PR 53.07 to win the race and senior Larry Norman ran 55.54 for 6th place.
100-meter dash [Winslow 14, Deptford 10]: Hernandez won the race in 10.72, with Winslow’s Hendryx 2nd in 10.83 and Ali 3rd in 10.96.
Long jump [Winslow 20, Deptford 0]: Huge event for Winslow, which went 1-3-4, with junior Andrew Kratee winning with a legal 24-1 ¼ [0.0 wind], senior Zyaire Rothmiller-McIntosh 3rd at 23-2 [1.5] and junior Ka’Ron Ceasar 4th with a 22-11 ¾ [0.0].
Pole vault [Deptford 10, Winslow 0]: Mason Henry cleared 14-6, topping rival Mason Murray of Delsea, who cleared 14-0. Of course, no field series info because this is 2026 and why would the timing company provide relevant information?
400-meter dash [Winslow 10, Deptford 0]: On to Saturday and a hot start for Winslow, with senior Prince Owusu-Twum PR’ing with a 48.02 to win the race.
3,200-meter relay [Deptford 10, Winslow 0]: John Collier’s 1:58.05 anchor leg got Deptford in under 8 minutes. Anthony Schilling, Christian Ramirez and Zach Harrison ran the first three legs for Deptford, which finished in 7:59.47, winning by a second and a half over Ocean City.
110-meter hurdles [Deptford 14, Winslow 0]: Big race for the Spartans, with Brown and Norman taking 2ndand 3rd in 14.16 and 14.24.
200-meter dash [Deptford 16, Winslow 12]: Great action here between the two South Jersey powerhouse programs, with Deptford and Winslow sweeping the top four spots. Hernandez added the 200 to his 100 win with a legal 21.51 [0.0], with Winslow’s Hendryx 2nd in 21.61, Deptford’s Holmes 3rd at 21.99 and Winslow’s Owusu-Twum 4th in 22.00.
High jump: [Winslow 8, Deptford 0]: Kratee, who had won the long jump, cleared 6-4 to place 2nd in the high jump.
1,600-meter relay [Winslow 10, Deptford 6]: Ceasar, Hendryx, Jacoby James and Owusu-Twum won the 4-by-4 with Owusu-Twum anchoring in 47.85. But Deptford got the 3rd-place finish it needed with Norman, Hernandez and Brown setting up Collier, who anchored in 48.36.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 