Cherry Hill East graduate Maya Drayton is off to a terrific start at Georgetown, with times of 56.77 and 56.38 in her first two collegiate races, which also happen to be her first two career indoor races.

Drayton, who didn’t run indoors at East, ran 56.77 in an invitational at Navy in December and then 56.38 last weekend in a meet at Penn State.

Racing at the Nittany Lion Challenge, Drayton placed third, less than a quarter of a second behind winner Antoinette Bradley of Penn State, who won in 56.05.

She’s actually closing in on her outdoor PR of 56.00, which she set at Group 4 states last spring, when she placed second to Shauntae Nelson of Piscataway.

Drayton’s time is No. 2 in the Big East behind only DePaul junior Kiersten Walker, who ran 55.33 in a meet at Notre Dame last month. It also makes her the No. 14 freshman in NCAA Division 1, three spots behind Nelson, who’s at U. Conn and ran 56.14 last month.

Drayton also ran on Georgetown’s third-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:50.10. Also on that team was Lexi Del Gizzo of Tenafly, the 2016 Meet of Champions 800 champ.

Interesting to note that the first three finishers in the 1,600-meter relay at Penn State each had a South Jersey runner.

Senior Kiara Lester of Deptford led off for Penn State, which won in 3:42.60, and sophomore Flora Ahiarakwe of Winslow led off for Pitt, which was second in 3:45.01.

Sophomore Jaia James and seniors Janeya Hammond and Nylah Perry ran on three winning relay teams and junior Olivia Wright ran on two, and the Winslow girls won their fifth state relays title Tuesday.

Winslow outscored second-place Allentown 38-28, with Scotch Plains-Fanwood (27) and Colts Neck (26) just behind.

The title is Winslow’s third in a row, and Winslow becomes only the third South Jersey school to win three straight state relays titles. Willingboro won four in a row from 2002 through 2005 and Delsea won three in a row from 2010 through 2012. 

Winslow won the 800-meter relay in 1:44.99, the 4-by-4 in 4:03.03 and the shuttle hurdles in 32.36. Wright joined James, Hammond and Perry on the 4-by-2 and 4-by-4 teams, Junior Shevell Higgs ran on the shuttle hurdles team.

The Eagles also took third in the sprint medley in 4:25.24 with the team of James, Wright, Higgs and sophomore Charly Dutton.

Winslow added two points in the field, with Higgs and sophomore Jordan James placing fifth in the high jump relay. 

The shuttle hurdles time is No. 4 in the state so far this year and No. 12 in South Jersey history. Seven of the top 12 times have come in the last two years.

30.74 … Winslow Twp., 2014
31.27 … Winslow Twp., 2013
31.58 … Eastern, 2019
31.93 … Millville, 2019
32.02 … Woodrow Wilson, 2006
32.04 … Winslow, 2019
32.05 … Millville, 2018
32.06 … Lenape, 2014
32.19 … Eastern, 2020
32.22 … Absegami, 2016
32.26 … Millville, 2020
32.36 … Winslow, 2020
32.65 … Bishop Eustace, 2011
32.81 … Timber Creek, 2016
32.6h … Pleasantville, 1998
32.88 … Pennsauken, 2000
32.89 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2009
32.90 … Wilson, 2002
32.96 … Haddonfield, 2019
32.99 … Buena, 2012

Winslow already ranks No. 2 in New Jersey in the 4-by-2 (1:42.59) and No. 3 in the 4-by-4 (4:00.25). The SMR time is No. 7.

On New Jersey MileSplit’s state relays merge, Winslow is No. 1 in the 4-by-2 and 4-by-4 and No. 4 in the shuttles.

The Winslow girls also won state relays titles in 2011, 2013, 2018 and 2019. 

The Eagles’ five total titles is tied for 7th-most in state history. Willingboro has won 11, Hopewell Valley and Columbia 10 apiece, Haddonfield seven and Vailsburg and Union Catholic six each. 

Winslow’s Brandon Greene, Isaiah Lewis, Terry McNeill and Eric Seabury won the shuttle hurdles at the state Group Relays in 30.18, No. 2 in the country this year according to the MileSplit national rankings.

The shuttle hurdles aren’t run in a lot of states indoors, but still Winslow’s time is No. 2 nationally behind Irvington, which ran 30.17 — 1-100th-of-a-second faster — at the Essex County Relays at Ocean Breeze last month.

Sadly, the shuttle hurdles has been removed from the schedule at the National Scholastic Indoors, so Irvington, Winslow and U.S. No. 4 Egg Harbor Township (30.42) won’t get to square off next month.

Winslow’s time is No. 5 in South Jersey history with FAT timing and No. 11 in South Jersey history including converted hand times – which were probably way off.

It’s No. 14 in state history with FAT timing. Including converted times, it’s somewhere in the top 40. But no way all those 29.X hand times in the 1970s were really that fast. I’m not buying it!

I put together my best attempt at an all-time state list including converted hand times. Take it with a grain of salt!

Winslow’s performance is also No. 2 in school history, behind a 29.72 run by the 2004 team of Robert Penn, Brandon Bates, Nate Greene and Reuben McCoy. What is McCoy doing these days? I wrote about him earlier today!

ALL-TIME S.J. SHUTTLE HURDLES LIST
29.45 … Deptford, 2019
29.72 … Winslow Twp., 2004
29.74 … Egg Harbor, 2009
29.5h … Woodrow Wilson, 1999
29.6h … Camden, 1978
20.7h … Paul VI, 1972
29.8h … Willingboro, 1982
29.9h … Moorestown, 1975
30.0h … Willingboro, 1978
30.07 … Oakcrest, 2012
30.18 … Winslow Twp., 2020
30.22 … Camden, 2009
30.26 … Winslow Twp., 2003
30.41 … Camden, 1996
30.42 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2000
30.47 … Willingboro, 2012
30.52 … Washington Twp., 2012
30.3h … Camden, 1999
30.64 … Seneca, 2012
30.4h … Camden, 1979
30.4h … Camden, 1997
30.81 … Willingboro, 2016
30.90 … Winslow Twp. 2015
30.94 … Deptford, 2018

ALL-TIME N.J. SHUTTLE HURDLES LIST
28.62 … East Orange, 2017
29.20 … Union Catholic, 2013
29.0h … Metuchen, 1972
29.44 … East Orange Camps, 2018
29.45 … Deptford, 2019
29.52 … Union Catholic, 2014
29.3h … Rahwah, 1972
29.3h … Neptune, 1979
29.4h … Metuchen, 1971
29.69 … Weequahic, 2016
29.72 … Winslow Twp., 2004
29.72 … West Essex, 2017
29.74 … Egg Harbor, 2009
29.5h … Roselle Catholic, 1968
29.5h … Seton Hall Prep, 1971
29.5h … Woodrow Wilson, 1999
29.5h … Woodrow Wilson, 1999
29.81 … Rahway, 2019
29.6h … Camden, 1978
29.6h … Memorial West New York, 1974
29.6h … Camden, 1978
29.6h … Plainfield, 1979
29.7h … St. Joe’s Metuchen, 1969
29.7h … Paul VI, 1972
29.7h … New Milford, 1974
29.7h … Asbury Park, 1978
29.7h … Trenton, 2003
29.8h … St. Joe’s-Montvale, 1971
29.8h … Willingboro, 1982
30.07 … Oakcrest, 2012
30.12 … Christian Brothers Academy, 2017
30.13 … Jackson Memorial, 2012
29.9h … Moorestown, 1975
29.9h … Neptune, 1976
29.9h … Trenton, 1977
29.9h … Neptune, 1978
29.9h … Trenton, 1978
29.9h … Hamilton, 1978
29.9h … Plainfield, 1982
30.18 … Winslow Twp., 2020
30.22 … Camden, 2009
30.24 … Hunterdon Central, 2017
30.0h … Rahway, 1971
30.0h … Plainfield, 1974
30.0h … Willingboro, 1978
30.0h … Elizabeth, 1983
30.0h … Linden, 2000
30.26 … Winslow Twp., 2003
30.26 … Jackson Memorial, 2017

Cherokee graduate Kaila Carter is the top-ranked hurdler in NCAA Division 3 a month into the indoor season.

Carter, a senior at The College of New Jersey, ran 8.93 at the TCNJ Lions Indoor Invitational, the top mark in the country in Division 3 according to the TFRRS.org performance list.

Carter ran just 1-100th of a second off her PR of 8.82, which she ran in the trials at the AARTFC Championships last March at Ithaca. She went on to compete for a second time in the NCAA Division 3 Championships.

She’s just a fraction of a second off the school record of 8.91 set in 2010 by Priscilla Senyah, a graduate of Sayreville High. Senyah ran 8.91 at the 2010 New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the 168th Street Armory. 

Carter was runner-up in the 100-meter highs last spring at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships and is a five-time medalist at the NJAC meet indoors or out. She’s also a two-time NJAC conference medalist in the long jump.

Carter didn’t compete indoors at Cherokee. She ran 15.51 in the highs and was fifth at sectionals as a senior.

This past weekend, Carter placed a close second in the 60-meter highs to Bloomfield’s TeSeanna Harris in the Ramapo College Indoor Opener. Harris ran 8.98 and Carter was second in 8.99.

We assume this is the same TeSeanna Harris who graduated from Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy in Camden and competed for Camden High, but Bloomfield’s web site doesn’t have a 2020 roster posted, and since Harris is a freshman she’s not on the 2019 roster they do list. 

If it’s the same TeSeanna Harris — and it seems likely — she was a two-time state Group 2 championing the highs with a PR of 14.31 and was fourth in the Meet of Champions indoors at 8.26 (with an 8.18 in the trials).

Syracuse hurdlers swept the top three places at the recent Southern Tier Collegiate Open in Ithaca, N.Y., and here’s the remarkable thing: All three are from South Jersey! And two of them are from Deptford!

Syracuse junior Tyler Garland won the 60-meter highs in 8.01, sophomore Jamil Adams was second in 8.09 and freshman Naseem Smith ran 8.26 for third.

Garland and Smith graduated from Deptford and Adams from Winslow.

That’s incredible!

Syracuse is one hurdler away from an all-South Jersey shuttle hurdles team! Hey, Sincere Rhea, maybe you should transfer from Penn State to Syracuse! Just kidding!!!

None of this should be too surprising considering one of Syracuse’s coaches is former Winslow star Reuben McCoy, who went on to a multiple All-America career at Auburn and was runner-up in the 400-meter intermediates at NCAA’s and was a finalist at the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Let’s take a look at each South Jersey hurdler:

TYLER GARLAND: Garland placed third in the 110 highs in May at the NCAA Division 3 nationals, finishing only 3-100ths of a second out of first. He ran as fast as 14.28 with legal wind outdoors.

Garland was the state Group 3 champ over the 39-inch highs for Deptford in 2016. He competed for Rowan College at Gloucester County in 2017, where he was a JUCO All-America before attending Rowan.

The Southern Tier was Garland’s first race for Syracuse. He ran 8.06 in the trials and 8.01 in the final. His PR at Rowan was 8.24, which he ran last February in a meet at the Armory.

Garland’s time is No. 7 in the ACC so far this year.

JAMIL ADAMS: Adams tied his PR of 8.11 in the trials and then PR’d just behind Garland with his 8.09 in the final. He had run 8.11 previously at ACCs two years ago.

Adams, a 2017 Winslow graduate, was a state group 3 champ in both the 110 highs and intermediates at Winslow.

He competed in the spring of 2018 for Syracuse and ran as fast as 53.10 in the intermediates but did not compete last year. He returned to action this winter, and the Southern Tier meet was only his second competition in the last 19 months.

His 8.09 is No. 9 so far this winter in the ACC.

Adams also ran on Syracuse’s 1,600-meter relay team at the Southern Tier meet. The Orange won the race in 3:30.26.

NASEEM SMITH: Smith, Garland’s former teammate at Deptford, was state Group 3 champ in the highs this past spring with a 13.98 and then ran a PR 13.95 for third in a very fast race at the Meet of Champions.

He began his collegiate career with an 8.14 win last month at the Greg Page Relays, also at Ithaca. He ran 8.19 in the trials at the Southern Tier race before his 8.26 in the final.

With his 8.14 he’s No. 11 in the ACC and No. 2 among freshmen, behind Clemson’s Devon Brooks, who ran 7.80.

Slightly off topic, but the Southern Tier meet was held at Ithaca’s Barton Hall, home of one of the most legendary Grateful Dead concerts ever held – May 8, 1977.

Holy Spirit sent two girls to the state relays. They came back with two PRs and two gold medals.

Junior Julia Bannan and sophomore Morgan Keil teamed up to win the shot put relay at the girls Parochial B state relays at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Bannan threw 33-1 1/2 and added more than eight inches to her indoor PR. Keil threw a nearly two-foot PR of 32-5.

Their combined throw of 65-6 1/2 easily out-distanced second-place Hudson Catholic, whose tandem threw 60-6 1/4.

That was the only event Holy Spirit entered, but the 10 points were good enough for the Spartans to finish eighth in the state in team scoring.

Holy Spirit’s last win at the state relays came in 2017, when Isabella Desario, Ayana Plummer, Jenna Bradberry and Kristy Goff won the 1,600-meter relay.

Bannan and Keil rank No. 2 and 3 in Atlantic County this winter behind only sophomore Tey’ana Ames of Atlantic County Tech in Mays Landing, who threw 34-0 1/2 at the Group 4 state relays.

Holy Spirit’s sprinters enjoyed a huge day at the Parochial B state relays Thursday, with a win in the 1,600-meter relay and close second in the 800-meter relay.

Seniors Ahmad Brown, Terrell Moore and De-Quawn Johnson Jr. and junior Devin Lee ran 3:33.91 to win the 4-by-400 by a whopping 75 meters over second-place Hudson Catholic, which ran 3:43.94.

The same quartet ran 1:33.93 for second to Hudson Catholic in the 4-by-2. Hudson Catholic ran 1:33.79.

Holy Spirit’s 4-by-2 time is No. 5 in South Jersey this year and an indoor school record. The 4-by-4 time is also No. 5 in South Jersey this year. Both are fastest in 2020 by Atlantic County schools.

The Spartans also placed in both the 4-by-8 and the distance medley. Nicholas Bannan, Alex Dejean, Jack Negley and Brady Snyder ran on the 4-by-8 and Bannan, Snyder, Avierre Crawley and Dejean on the DMR.

With those 22 points, Holy Spirit scored 22 points and placed fifth in team scoring at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Bishop Eustace also had a strong meet, placing fourth with 32 points without a senior scoring a point. Eustace took second in the shuttle hurdles, 3,200-meter relay and DMR, third in the sprint medley and a fifth in the shot put relay.

Eustace ran 11:22.04 in the DMR (senior Shane Vostenak, sophomore John Barrera, sophomore Ryan Carney, sophomore Anthony Faust), 39.92 in the shuttles (junior Gaven Polk, Bobby sophomore Braciszewski, sophomore Danny O’Rourke, junior Drake Taylor), 8:57.50 in the 4-by-8 (sophomore Sean Anderson, Carney, Faust, Vostenak) and 4:01.71 in the SMR (Barrera, Carney, Polk, O’Rourke). Sophomore Aidan Higgins and junior Drake Taylor threw the shot for Eustace.