Hope Edwards and Brianna Growalt ran huge 400-meter hurdles PRs Friday and both earned All-America honors at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.
Pennsauken’s Edwards placed 3rd in 58.72, the 8th-fastest time in state history and 3rd-fastest by a sophomore, behind only four-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 55.28 as a 10th-grader at World Youth Trials in Lisle, Ill., and Eastern’s Natalie Dumas, who ran 58.32 as a soph when she won West Philly Nationals.
Edwards is the fastest sophomore in the U.S. this year and is now 3rd-fastest in South Jersey history, behind Dumas [55.99 last year at West Philly Nationals] and Winslow’s Krystal Cantey [56.83 at 2005 Greensboro Nationals].
Edwards’ previous PR was 59.17 at the state Group 4 meet in Somerset, where she finished 2nd to Dumas.
Growalt placed 5th in 59.97, dropping her PR from 1:00.55 in that same state Group 4 race last month. Her time is 7th-fastest in South Jersey history and breaks her own Atlantic County record.
Including Dumas, that’s an unprecedented four South Jersey girls under 60 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles this year – Dumas, Edwards, Growalt and Winslow junior Cinniya Robinson, who ran 59.80 when she was 3rd in the Meet of Champions. Robinson ran 1:00.85 Friday and placed 11th overall. So three of the top 11 in the race were from South Jersey and that’s without the fastest 400-meter hurdler in the country, who is racing this week at the Under 20 Championships in Eugene.
53.82 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2017
55.99 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
56.83 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2005
57.48 … Tawana Watkins [Paterson Kennedy], 2000
58.06 … Sydney Chadwick [Union Catholic], 2026
58.44 … Amber Allen [Passaic County Tech], 2009
58.6h … Tracy Nelson [Plainfield], 1981
58.72 … Hope Edwards [Pennsauken], 2026
58.91 … Reanda Richards [West Essex], 2018
59.03 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
59.16 … Leslie Njoku [McNair Academic], 2007
59.17 … Hope Edwards [Pennsauken], 2026
59.33 … Kim Duke [Mount Olive], 1984
59.35 … Ugonna Ndu [Union], 2009
59.48 … Angela Lee [Franklin Twp.], 1995
59.49 … Shana-Gaye Tracey [Manchester Twp.], 2007
59.56 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2013
59.63 … Morgan Harvey [North Hunterdon], 2013
59.66 … Mandie Dulin [Shawnee], 1997
59.69 … Shelley Mitchell [Lakewood], 1988
59.72 … Abigail Dennis [Old Tappan], 2024
59.73 … Nichole Candelaria [Newark Tech], 2012
59.78 … Siobhan Counts [Plainfield], 2002
59.80 … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2024
59.81 … Erin Crawford [Hillsboro], 2002
59.97 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech], 2026
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 