Turns out South Jersey has a pretty good 400-meter dash runner we didn’t know about.
Meet Michaela Poland of Sicklerville, who ran 54.77 last summer in a meet in Humble, Texas. Poland graduated this spring from Penn Charter after running 55.54 and placing 2nd in the Inter-Ac Championships in Newtown Square and winning the 200 in 24.90.
Penn Charter, located in the East Falls neighborhood in Philly, apparently doesn’t compete in the Pennsylvania state meet and Poland did not race at West Philly Nationals, so she finished her senior season at the Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association Championships in Malvern, where she won the 200 in 25.04 and the 400 in 57.08. She has also high jumped 5-4. She’s also competed in the intermediate hurdles – they inexplicably run the obsolete 300-meter intermediates in Pennsylvania – although she didn’t run the 300IH this year.
Poland plans to run for Penn.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 