From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

The Winslow girls shattered the meet record in the 1,600-meter relay Wednesday night in the final event of the Meet of Champions.

Sophomore Amariah Arango, sophomore Jasmine Jackson, junior Cinniya Robinson and senior Olivia Okaro ran 3:42.17 and won by 35 meters over Kingsway in a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish, with Pennsauken 3^rd.

Winslow’s 3:42.17 broke the meet record of 3:42.54 set by Columbia at the 2010 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.

Winslow was a bit faster at the Penn Relays, where they ran 3:41.17 and placed 5^th in the Championship of America.

But they ran faster than anybody ever has since the inception of the girls Meet of Champions in 1974.

Arango led off with a 56.03 split, Jackson ran 55.56, Robinson split 54.69 and Okaro anchored in 55.90.

Winslow set a South Jersey record of 3:40.64 at the Penn Relays, with Pennsauken running the 2^nd-fastest time in South Jersey history in the same race at 3:41.89.

This was Winslow’s 5^th 4-by-4 Meet of Champions win, following wins in 2003, 2004, 2017 and 2018.

Kingsway’s 3:47.92 is 2^nd-fastest on the all-time Gloucester County list behind only Clayton’s 3:44.67 with the Sharpe sisters and Kelsey Thomas at the 2022 Penn Relays.

For Kingsway, sophomore Talia Griscom led off with a 59.07, followed by junior Kenya Nobles [56.82], junior Norah Brown [56.56] and sophomore Noemi Haller [55.49].

Pennsauken, racing without 100 and 200 winner Sianni Wynn, was 3^rd in 3:50.24 with junior Summer Schaffer [56.41], sophomore Rai’ana Rucker [56.51], junior Natalia Sanchez [61.25] and sophomore Hope Edwards [56.09].

This is the first time South Jersey has swept the top three spots in the Meet of Champions 4-by-4 since 2002, when Willingboro won with a 3:44.64, Eastern was 2^nd in 3:50.31 and Winslow took 3^rd at 3:53.80.

All-Time South Jersey 4-by-4 Winners
Willingboro, 1993 [3:52.06]
Willingboro, 1994 [3:51.46]
Camden, 1995 [3:48.22]
Willingboro, 1998 [3:53.46]
Washington Twp., 1999 [3:50.74]
Willingboro, 2000 [3:51.61]
Winslow Twp., 2001 [3:50.21]
Winslow Twp., 2002 [3:50.44]
Camden, 2006 [3:47.35]
Lenape, 2012 [3:51.43]
Winslow Twp., 2017 [3:47.41]
Winslow Twp., 2018 [3:46.67]
Rancocas Valley, 2019 [3:49.31]
Timber Creek, 2023 [3:46.38]
Eastern, 2024 [3:49.01]
Winslow Twp., 2026 [3:42.17]

All-Time Meet of Champions Performance List
3:42.17 … Winslow Twp., 2026 [1]
3:42.54 … Columbia, 2010 [1]
3:43.36 … Columbia, 2014 [1]
3:44.20 … Union Catholic, 2015 [1]
3:44.23 … Rumson-Fair Haven, 2026 [1]
3:44.64 … Willingboro, 2002 [1]
3:45.12 … Trenton, 2001 [1]
3:45.87 … Winslow Twp., 2025 [2]
3:46.38 … Timber Creek, 2023 [1]
3:46.67 … Winslow Twp., 2018 [1]
3:46.68 … Union Catholic, 2016 [1]
3:46.73 … Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 2021 [1]
3:46.86 … Columbia, 2013 [1]
3:47.01 … Willingboro, 2025 [3]
3:47.08 … Union Catholic, 2018 [2]
3:47.41 … Willingboro, 2001 [2]
3:47.41 … Winslow Twp., 2017 [1]
3:47.55 … Camden, 2006 [1]
3:47.83 … Union Catholic, 2017 [2]
3:47.92 … Kingsway, 2026 [2]
3:47.94 … Columbia, 2009 [1]
3:48.00 … Woodrow Wilson, 2001 [3]
3:48.17 … Woodrow Wilson, 2006 [2]
3:48.30 … Union Catholic, 2014 [2]
3:48.42 … Piscataway, 2005 [1]
3:48.56 … Piscataway, 2006 [3]
3:48.78 … Lenape, 2014 [3]
3:48.91 … Penns Grove, 2013 [2]
3:49.07 … East Orange, 2007 [1]
3:49.25 … Lenape, 2015 [2]
3:49.28 … Pope John XXIII, 2007 [2]
3:49.28 … Sparta, 2010 [2]
3:49.31 … Rancocas Valley, 2019 [1]
3:49.37 … Union Catholic, 2019 [2]
3:49.57 … Southern Regional, 2008 [1]
3:49.70 … Columbia, 1997 [1]
3:49.72 … Willingboro, 1997 [2]
3:49.74 … Southern Regional, 2010 [3]
3:49.93 … Willingboro, 2009 [2]

All-Time South Jersey List
3:40.64 … Winslow Twp., 2026
3:41.89 … Pennsauken, 2026
3:43.46 … Winslow Twp., 2025
3:43.94 … Willingboro, 2001
3;44.43 … Winslow Twp., 2024
3:44.64 … Willingboro, 2002
3:44.67 … Clayton, 2022
3:44.97 … Pennsauken, 2026
3:45.41 … Camden, 1995
3:45.67 … Willingboro, 1999
3:45.77 … Willingboro, 2025
3:46.04 … Timber Creek, 2024
3:46.13 … Willingboro, 2000
3:46.38 … Timber Creek, 2023
3:46.66 … Timber Creek, 2024
3:46.67 … Winslow Twp., 2018
3:46.85 … Winslow Twp., 2024
3:47.16 … Eastern, 2003
3:47.30 … Willingboro, 2003
3:47.41 … Winslow Twp., 2017
3:47.4h … Camden, 1978
3:47.55 … Camden, 2006
3:47.92 … Kingsway, 2026
3:48.00 … Wilson, 2001
3:48.17 … Wilson, 2006
3:48.6y … Camden,, 1978
3:48.78 … Lenape, 2014
3:48.7h … Washington Twp., 1999
3:48.87 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
3:48.91 … Penns Grove, 2013
3:49.25 … Lenape, 2015
3:49.2y … Camden, 1979
3:49.30 … Winslow Twp., 2004
3:49.43 … Willingboro, 1997
3:49.53 … Willingboro, 1998
3:49.63 … Winslow Twp., 2016
3:49.01 … Eastern, 2024
3:49.93 … Willingboro, 2009