Ever since Riverside fell three points shy of winning its first sectional title last year, the Rams have been plotting out this year’s meet.

Riverside finished second in the Central Jersey Group 1 meet last year with 69 points, three behind Shore Regional.

It’s been quite a resurgence for coach Matt Postell’s Riverside program, which as recently as 2016 scored only six points at the South Jersey Group 1 meet.

The Rams this year not only won the first sectional title in the program’s very long history, they did it it commanding fashion.

Led by Senior Jeanquai Morton, who recorded two firsts and two fourths, the Rams outscored Metuchen 100-72 to win the Central Jersey Group 1 title at Howell.

Riverside has had a proud track history going back almost a century.

The Rams won the second and third Burlington County Open titles — in 1931 and 1932 — and had some tremendous individuals, such as former Burlington County shot put record holder Dean Van Ness in 1970, County Open intermediate hurdles winner Dan Dmochowski in 1982, state Group 1,600 champ Ron Brock in 1991 and triple jump state champ Sean Jimoh in 2008.

But this year’s group was a true team, as evidenced by its performance at sectionals. There were more PRs by the Rams than non-PRs, which is a sign of a well-coached team. One that is peaking at the right time.

Morton, a 1,000-point scorer for Riverside’s basketball team, won the high hurdles in 15.15 and the 400 hurdles in 57.89, shattering his PRs of 15.27 and 58.25. He also jumped 6-0 for fourth in the high jump and 19-9 3/4 for fourth in the long jump.

Senior Emmanuel Harris won the 200 in 22.62 and was second in the triple jump at 42-9, setting PRs in both.

Junior Alex Stockton was second in the intermediates [58.43], fourth in the high hurdles [15.67] and third in the triple jump [PR 41-9 3/4].

Senior Jody Johnson was third in the long jump [19-10 1/4] and fourth in the triple jump [PR 41-9].

Michael Combs and Michael Monteiro went 2-3 in the pole vault, Combs tying his PR of 11-0 and Monteiro clearing 10-6. Monteiro was also sixth in the javelin with a 14-foot PR of 125-8. Freshman Caleb Esposito also scored in the pole vault with a 9-6 clearance.

The team of Harris, Johnson, senior Jordan Lewis and freshman Khy’Jaron Moore ran 45.19 for second in the 400-meter relay.

And the Rams were fifth in the 3,200-meter relay in 8:57.58, with juniors Felipe Viana, Jacob Fink and Judson Souza, along with Combs.

Riverside scored 79 of its 100 points — enough to win the meet — just in the hurdles and jumps. The Rams also scored 10 in the sprints, 10 in the relay and one in the throws.

She’s been doing it for so long and at such a high level it’s easy to forget just how talented Shakira Dancy is. And just how routinely she rises to the occasion at big meets.

But the Winslow Township senior, already a two-time Meet of Champions 200 winner, put on yet another crazy display this weekend at Delsea, helping a loaded Winslow team win its sixth straight South Jersey Group 3 championship.

Dancy won the 100 in 12.04, leading a 1-3-5 Winslow finish for 18 points.

She won the 200 in 24.35, leading a 1-4-6 Winslow finish for 15 points

She won the 400 in 56.93, leading a 1-2 Winslow finish for 18 points.

She anchored Winslow’s 400-meter relay team, which ran 47.87.

Dancy has now won three straight sectional titles in the 100 and 200 and two in a row in the 400 after finishing second as a sophomore to Joshonda Johnson of Absegami by less than half a second.

She’s also won four indoor sectional titles, so that’s 12 South Jersey individual titles in addition to numerous relay titles.

Dancy’s times from sectionals rank No. 4 in the state in the 100 at 12.04, No. 2 in the 200 at 24.35 and No. 16 in the 400, although she was running just to win. There’s no telling how much faster she’ll go when she’s really pushed at states. The 47.87 is No. 4 in the state this year.

At Group 3 states at Central Regional, Dancy will be seeded No. 1 in the 100 and 200 and No. 2 in the 400, behind Reanda Richards of West Essex, who ran 55.45 at the North 1 sectionals. Richards was runner-up to Olymian Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic in the 400 at last year’s Meet of Champions. Winslow’s 4-by-1 will also be top-seeded at states.

Full seedings can be found here:

Winslow’s sixth straight title is only one shy of the South Jersey record of seven set by Woodbury from 1976 through 1982. It’s also tied for seventh-longest in state history, and the Eagles are only two shy of the state record:

8 … Columbia [1991-98]
8 … Metuchen [1994-01]
7 … Hanover Park [2002-08]
7 … Hopewell Valley [2005-11]
7 … Randolph [2009-15]
7 … Woodbury [1976-82]
6 … Winslow Twp. [2013-18]
6 … Monmouth Reg. [1984-89]
6 … New Providence [1982-87]
6 … North Hunterdon [1982-87]

As brilliant as Dancy was, this isn’t a one-person show.

Junior Tionna Tobias won the high hurdles in 14.57 in a titanic battle with Timber Creek soph Tierra Hooker after a PR 14.52 in the trials. Hooker ran 14.58 after a PR 14.54 in the trials. Tobias also won the long jump at 19-0 3/4 (just ahead of Hooker) and placed second (to Hooker) in the high jump at 5-2. More on the epic Tobias-Hooker competition later this week.

Senior Ciarra Johnson won the discus with a 124-5 and placed second in the shot with a 38-7 1/2

Sophomore Janeya Hammond won the intermediates in 1:04.79 and also placed third in the 100 in 12.33.

Senior Flora Ahiarakwe placed second in the 400 in 57.23 and also ran fifth in the 100 in 12.40 and sixth in the 200 in 25.92.

Sophomore Nylah Perry took third in the intermediates in 1:08.22 and fourth in the 200 in 25.21

Freshman Shevell Higgs, who had a PR of 16.38 coming into the meet, lowered that to 15.33 and took fourth in the highs.

Junior Adonista Bob-Grey ran 1:08.68 for fifth in the intermediates.

Hammond, Ahiarakwe, Tobias and Dancy ran 47.87 to win the 400-meter relay, and Hammond, junior Rayven Rouse, Perry and junior Nicole Hood went 3:56.13 to win the 1,600-meter relay.

Rouse, Alexandria Morrison and Hood along with soph Grace Morton placed fifth in the 3,200-meter relay with a season-best 10:13.72.

The NJSIAA added girls state track sectionals to the existing boys meet in 1971, so this was the 48th year there have been both boys and girls sectionals.

And during that nearly half a century, there have been only six instances where the same school swept the boys and girls team titles at the South Jersey Group 4 meet.

South Jersey Group 4 has historically been the most competitive sectional in the state, so if the same school can win both the boys and girls team titles the same year that is the sign of a special program.

Willingboro did it with Olympians Carl and Carol Lewis in 1980. Edgewood did it with Olympian Dennis Mitchell and his sister Denise in 1983 and 1985. Then it was 19 years until Winslow did it in 2004 with its vast array of sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers, and five more years until Southern Regional’s powerful program accomplished it in 2009 built around middle-distance strength.

And that was it. Four schools – three really, since Edgewood became Winslow — in 48 years.

Until now.

This weekend, Rancocas Valley elevated itself into that all-time historical group of elite programs when the Red Devils recorded a South Jersey Group 4 sweep of their own.

The R.V. boys, coached by Jeff Dzuranin, outscored Egg Harbor 89-75 to win their second South Jersey Group 4 title in four years (R.V. also won SJ-3 in 1977), and the R.V. girls, led by first-year coach Eric Warren, outscored second-place EHT 76-71 to win the first title in the program’s history.

That’s six S.J. Group 4 sweeps since 1971:

2018 … Rancocas Valley
2009 … Southern Regional
2004 … Winslow Twp.
1985 … Edgewood
1983 … Edgewood
1980 … Willingboro

Both the R.V. boys and girls won their titles by covering a lot of different events in each area.

 

R.V. BOYS: Nick Mirabelli won the javelin with a 209-2 and also took fourth in the discus with a 156-10, and R.V. added 12 points in the 800, where junior Ian Moore [1:56.73] and senior Jacob Tyndale [1:58.24] placed second and fourth. Another Red Devil, junior Micah Wood, ran sub-1:59, placing seventh in 1:58.85.

The Red Devils also won the 3,200-meter relay with an 8:00.43,with juniors Kamau Sudlow and Troy Tomasch joining Tyndale and Micah.

Senior Daequan Jackson-Swoope had a very good weekend, taking second in the 400 intermediates [56.62], fourth in the high hurdles [15.18] and sixth in the 400 [50.12]. He also ran a leg on the fifth-place 4-by-4 team.

Senior Darnell St. Clair also medaled in three events, clearing 6-2 for second in the high jump, jumping 20-10 1/4 for third in the long jump and going 43-2 1/2 for fourth in the triple jump.

Also, Wood was fifth in the intermediates [57.67], sophomore Oluwadamilola Mosaku took fifth in the triple jump [43-2], junior Jesse Eadric placed third in the shot at 48-8 1/2

Additionally, R.V. placed fourth in the 400-meter relay in 43.70 and fifth in the 1,600-meter relay in 3:26.40.

Wood, Moore and senior Donoven Griffin joined Jackson-Swoope on the 4-by-4 team, which ran 3:26.40.

Matlock, senior Rashead Miller and junior Caden Kennedy and Charles Lowe ran on the 400-meter relay team.

R.V. GIRLS: Senior Aliyah Taylor won the 400, placed second in the 100 and 200 and ran a leg on the third-place 1,600-meter relay team. Taylor tied her outdoor PR with a 55.79 in the 400 and ran 12.53 and 25.20 in the 200.

R.V.’s other win came in the 3,200-meter relay, where junior Bethany Biggi, seniors Alana Thompson and Morgan Gallagher and junior Paige Hammond ran a season-best 9:40.10.

Biggi also placed second in the high jump at 5-2 and freshman Abigail Boggs cleared 10-0 for second in the pole vault. Junior Darynn Minus-Vincent medaled in both sprints, taking fourth in the 200 with a 25.20 and sixth in the 100 in 12.89.

Junior Brianna Snowden ran 1:05.56 for third in the intermediates, and senior Morgan Gallagher ran 2:21.17 for sixth in the 800.

Additionally, R.V. placed fourth in the 400-meter relay in 43.70 and fifth in the 1,600-meter relay in 3:26.40.

Sophomores Breacain McClanahan, Kristina Tossas and Maya Primas joined Taylor on the 4-by-100, which ran 48.96. Primas, Taylor, senior Gallagher and Snowden teamed up to run 4:00.65 in the 4-by-4.

Seniors Camryn Castellini, Rayannia Robinson and Zyra Thomas all recorded wins and the Schalick girls won their sixth sectional title — and third in the last four years — with a six-point win over Collingswood in the South Jersey Group 1 meet at Washington Township.

Castellini won the high jump at 5-0 and was also fifth in the pole vault at 9-0. Robinson won the triple jump with a two-foot PR of 36-5 3/4 and ran a leg on the fifth-place 400-meter relay team, and Thomas, the national indoor champ, won the shot put at 43-7 and was third in the discus with a 115-9.

Schalick also won the 3,200-meter relay in 10:06.05 with senior Amanda Chomo, sophomore Marleigh Puglia and freshmen Chloe Gerstenbacher and Julia Smith.

Puglia also placed second in the 1,600 in 5:27.56 and third in the 3,200 in 11:59.83, and Smith also placed in both races – 5:29.85 for fourth in the 1,600 and 12:28.01 for fifth in the 3,200.

Sophomore Leigha Jackson was second in the intermediates in 1:07.45, Amanda Chomo took fourth in the 800 in 2:26.36, freshman Tia Furbush jumped 34-3 1/2 for fourth in the triple jump and junior Brianna Del Rosse was sixth in the javelin with an 89-6.

Amy and Amanda Chomo were joined by junior Ralazha Bell and Jackson on the 4-by-4 team, which took fourth with a 4:13.71.

Bell, sophomore Jada Brown, Robinson and Jackson ran 51.70 for fifth in the 400-meter relay.

 

Senior Rayshawn Johnson and junior Jayaire King combined for four PRs and 30 points in the two hurdles races to lead Willingboro to its South Jersey-record 16th outdoor sectional title.

Willingboro finished with a 68-65 margin of victory over Pleasantville in the South Jersey Group 2 meet at Delsea.

Johnson won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.68 and was fourth in the 400-meter intermediates in 57.51. King won the intermediates in 55.54 and was third in the 110 highs in 14.96.

Both also ran on the winning 1,600-meter relay team, and Johnson also ran on the third-place 400-meter relay team.

For Johnson, the day was a huge breakthrough in the highs, an event he never ran until the BCSL meet. He ran 15.18 that day, and that was his PR until he ran 14.86 in the trials. His previous PR in the intermediates was 58.17.

King lowered his high hurdles PR from 15.52 to 14.96 and his intermediates PR from 57.59 to 55.54. He was seeded eighth in the highs coming in and seventh going into the finals after a 15.52 in the trials.

Johnson and King now rank 5th and 10th in the highs in South Jersey this spring. King’s intermediates time is No. 2 in South Jersey.

Juniors Cristian Coto and Elijah Valme joined King and Johnson on the winning 1,600-meter relay team, which clinched the team title by edging Pleasantville 3:22.06 to 3:22.67, and seniors Albert Nah and Jeremy Thomas along with Valme ran on the 400-meter relay team, which clocked 43.16. ijah 11

The sectional title is Willingboro’s first since 2012, when the Chimeras shared the South Jersey Group 2 title with Pleasantville, and their first outright sectional championship since 2005, when they won Central Jersey Group 3 at Monmouth Regional.

Willingboro’s previous sectional titles came in South Jersey Group 4 [1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1993], South Jersey Group 3 [1986, 1988, 2000, 2003], South Jersey Group 2 [2012 shared] and Central Jersey Group 3 [2004, 2005].

The only schools in New Jersey with more sectional titles than Willingboro are Metuchen [26], Trenton [19], New Providence [18] and Bernards [17].

Willingboro this weekend broke a tie with Penns Grove for the most sectional titles ever by a South Jersey boys program. Winslow [14] and Woodbury [13] have the next-most.

 

Bridgeton and Deptford locked up in an epic 400-meter relay battle Saturday, a race that produced the two-fastest times in South Jersey this year.

In the South Jersey Group 3 race at Delsea, Bridgeton finished 8-100ths of a second ahead of Deptford, with Bridgeton running a S.J. #1 42.20 and Deptford just behind in 42.28.

Bridgeton’s previous season-best was a 43.18 at the Cape-Atlantic meet, and Deptford’s previous season-best was a 42.31 at the Eastern Regional Relay Championships.

Both schools ran under the Group 4 meet record of 42.86, set in 2014 by Delsea.

They also ran under the South Jersey sectional all-group record of 42.40, set last year by Jonathan Taylor and Salem in Group 1. Taylor this past fall rushed for 1,977 yards for Wisconsin as a true freshman, the third-most rushing yards in NCAA Division 1 history by a freshman.

The 42.20 appears to be a Cumberland County record, breaking the mark of 42.80 set by Millville at the 2008 Woodbury Relay. Deptford set the Gloucester County mark of 41.55 at nationals last year.

Pennsauken freshman Jade Pope finished off a remarkable sectional quad win Saturday with a personal-best 55.3 split on Pennsauken’s 1,600-meter relay team.

Pope got the stick 25 meters down but anchored Pennsauken to a 4:01.09 win over Ocean Township.

That was Pope’s fourth win of the weekend in the Central Jersey Group 3 sectional championships at Jackson Liberty.

Jasmine Pope led off the 4-by-4, followed by Keyoura Smith, Jon’Nay Lloyd and Jade Pope.

Pope began the weekend with a win in the 400 in 57.04 and on Saturday ran 25.36 to win the 200. She followed that by joining Brianna Bryan, Jasmine Pope and Lloyd to to win the 400-meter relay in a school-record 48.71.

Penns Grove graduate Jaymes Dennison, now a senior at Iowa State, ran 1:50.28 in the 800 at the NCAA Division 1 West Regional in Sacramento and advanced to next month’s NCAA Championships.

Dennison finished fourth in the fifth of six heats of 800 qualifying. The top three from each heat plus the next six-fastest times advanced to nationals. Dennison’s time was second-fastest of those who didn’t place in the top three.

Dennison was out in 53.16 and came back in 57.13.

Dennison has a PR of 1:47.63 and a season-best of 1:47.97. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for June 6-9 at Hayward Stadium in Eugene, Ore.

The top 21 half-milers from each of the two NCAA regional meets will race in the semifinals at 9:14 p.m. EST on June 6 with the finals slated for 9:44 p.m. June 8.

This will be Dennison’s first trip to NCAAs as an individual. He was on Iowa State’s 1,600-meter relay team that went to indoor NCAAs last year but didn’t place. He ran at West Regionals last year but didn’t advance.

Dennison ran 48.33 and 1:52.97 at Penns Grove. He was a two-time JUCO 600-meter dash champ, in 2015 for ASA College in Brooklyn and in 2016 for Monroe College in the Bronx.

Delsea senior Khaliel Burnett unleashed one of the greatest triple jump performances in state history Friday, moving into the No. 3 spot on the all-time state list and jumping within three inches of the state record.

Burnett won the South Jersey Group 2 meet with a jump of 50-4, just 2 3/4 inches off the state and South Jersey record of 50-6 3/4, set at the 2013 state Group 1 meet at Egg Harbor by Haddon Heights’ Dominique Irons.

The only other jumper ahead of Burnett is Lodi’s Chris Phipps, who jumped 50-5 in 2008.

Burnett broke the Group 2 sectional meet record of 46-5 1/4, set in 2011 by Irons at EHT, and broke the overall South Jersey sectional record of 48-10 1/2, set in 2015 by Timber Creek’s Larry Russell at Central Regional. He broke the overall sectional record of 49-6 set in 2015 by Eric Bethea of Piscataway in the North 2 meet at Ridge. He broke his own PR and Gloucester County record of 49-1 3/4, set last month at the Penn Relays.

Burnett’s mark is No. 6 nationally, according to the MileSplit database.

Teammate Keon Grady placed second with a 45-11 jump, and another Delsea jumper, senior Tymir Kizee, was sixth, giving the Crusaders 19 points in the one event.

ALL-TIME N.J TRIPLE JUMP LIST
50-6 3/4 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
50-5 … Chris Phipps [Lodi], 2008
50-4 … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
50-3 1/4 … Dodley Thermitus [Elizabeth], 2016
50-2 1/2 … Eric Bethea [Piscataway], 2015
50-1 1/2 … Myles Hartsfield [Sayreville], 2014
50-0 1/4 … Devon Bond [Trenton], 2007
49-11 1/2 … Devin Jones [Boonton], 2010
49-5 … Jon Pitt [South Brunswick], 2013
49-4 3/4 … Tiquan Underwood [Notre Dame], 2005
49-1 1/4 … Rolston Braithwaite [Trenton], 2008
49-0 1/2 … Anthony DiCosmo [Paramus Catholic], 1995
49-0 … Nadale Buntin [J.P. Stevens], 2018
48-10 1/2 … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2015
48-10 … Adam Bergo [Westfield], 2008
48-3 1/4 … Ryan Chance [Glassboro], 2009
48-3 … Barden Adams [West Orange], 2014
48-2 1/2 … Kyle Lindsey [Paterson], 2006
48-2 1/2 … Tyrell Judson [Piscataway], 2013
48-2 1/4 … Bernard Hoover [Hasbrouck Heights], 2004
48-2 … Craig Halyard [Ridgewood], 1989
48-2 … Emeke Eze [Sayreville], 2012
48-1 1/2 … Sean Wimbush [Teaneck], 2011
48-1 1/2 … Malik Snead [Hamilton West], 2015
48-1 1/4 … Aaron King [Morris Hills], 2007
48-0 1/4 … Gerald Spears [Teaneck], 1989
48-0 1/4 … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], 1992
48-0 … Josh Butler [Delsea], 2006
48-0 … Kevin Bostick [Bergen Catholic], 2008
48-0 … Dean Uduh [Columbia], 2015

Lenape junior Shelby Whetstone picked the right time for a three-second PR.

Whetstone lowered her PR from 2:18.74 to 2:15.56 and won the 800 Saturday morning at the South Jersey Group 4 meet at Washington Township.

Whetstone gapped the field, winning by 20 meters over top-seeded Raelynne Miller of Millville, who was second in 2:19.39.

Whetstone ran her previous PR last weekend at Haddonfield Distance Night. That was her first time under 2:21.

Whetstone is the fourth different Lenape girl to win the South Jersey Group 4 title in the last eight years following Emily McGee in 2011, Carly Pettipaw in 2015 and Megan Quimby in 2016.

Here’s a look at the South Jersey Group 4 sectional 800 winners going back to 1986:

2018 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape] 2:15.56
2017 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway] 2:13.00
2016 … Megan Quimby [Lenape] 2:14.66
2015 … Carly Pettipaw [Lenape] 2:14.27
2014 … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee] 2:13.75
2013 … Melana Hammel [Southern] 2:16.27
2012 … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee] 2:15.81
2011 … Emily McGee [Lenape] 2:16.13
2010 … Chelsea Cox [Southern] 2:14.62
2009 … Jill Smith [Southern] 2:11.49
2008 … Jill Smith [Southern] 2:07.26
2007 … Danielle Tauro [Southern] 2:10.54
2006 … Danielle Tauro [Southern] 2:13.98
2005 … Danielle Tauro [Southern] 2:16.16
2004 … Lauren Lewis [Southern] 2:12.2
2003 … Lauren Lewis [Southern] 2:13.3
2002 … Lauren Lewis [Southern] 2:16.9
2001 … Lauren Lewis [Southern] 2:17.7
2000 … Claudine Evangelista [Tri.]2:16.8
1999 … Claudine Evangelista [Tri.]2:15.1
1998 … Claudine Evangelista [Tri.]2:15.6
1997 … Tara Debrielle [Ovbk.] 2:19.5
1996 … Latasha Taylor [W’boro] 2:19.2
1995 … Liz Moore [Shawnee] 2:17.0
1994 … Missy Whittaker [Shaw. 2:20.1
1993 … Missy Whittaker [Shaw.] 2:19.5
1992 … Krista Ferrera [Vineland] 2:13.4
1991 … Krista Ferrera [Vineland] 2:19.8
1990 … Monica Olkowski [Cherokee] 2:19.9
1989 … Monica Olkowski [Cherokee] 2:19.1
1988 … Nancy Goodall [Toms River East] 2:19.4
1987 … Chris Danks [Shawnee] 2:16.4
1986 … Kelly McDonnell [Toms River East] 2:18.2