From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

The mighty Winslow Township girls program, which won seven straight state titles from 2013 through 2019, is back on top of Group 3.

And they’re not going away anytime soon.

Led by tireless sophomore Ma’Syiah Brawner, Winslow won its 9th state championship but first in five years this weekend, coming out on top of an epic battle with Camden County neighbor Timber Creek in the Group 3 meet at Delsea.

The only schools to win more state titles than Winslow are Notre Dame and Pope John XXIII with 12 titles each and Columbia – the only public school with more – which has won 10.

Winslow finished with an 84-76 margin of victory over sprint powerhouse Timber Creek, and underclassmen scored 71 of Winslow’s 84 points, including 55 by freshmen and sophomores. Ocean City, led by senior Sophia Curtis, finished 4th with 44 points.

Winslow had 21 individual entries in the meet and 15 of them scored.

Brawner continues to dazzle with three PRs, winning her 2nd straight long jump at 19-3 ½, taking 2nd to Curtis in a wild triple jump with a 40-2 ½ and clearing 5-5 in the high jump. She also medaled in the 100-meter hurdles.

But she had plenty of help.

Sophomore Olivia Okaro PR’d in three events as well, taking 2nd in a fast 400 in 56.08, 4th in the 100 in 12.06 after an 11.98 in the trials and running 5th in the 200 in 24.69.

Dominique Clement, Winslow’s one scoring senior, had a huge weekend with 3rd-place finishes in the hurdles with a PR 14.36 and 3rd in the 200 with a PR 24.57. She also medaled in the 400 hurdles in 1:03.90.

Amazing freshman Cinniya Robinson ran a monster lifetime-best 55.60 to win the 400. That’s the 4th-fastest freshman time in South Jersey history. She also took 4th in the intermediates in 1:02.72, also a personal best.

And junior Brook-lynn Roberts popped a 140-0 for 2nd place in the discus.

Okaro, freshman Tristan Hughes, junior Ava Millner and Robinson ran 2nd in the 4-by-8 with a school-record 9:34.65.

As we wrote about earlier, Timber Creek got monster 1-2 finishes in the 100 and 200 from senior Naylah Jones and junior Ryan Jennings. Jones won the 100 in 11.23 and the 200 with a state-record 23.29 in the fastest sprint double in New Jersey history, and Jennings ran 11.65 [11.62 in the trials] and 23.91.

Senior Guerlande Pierre and junior Billie Frazier placed 2nd and 5th in the 100-meter hurdles for Timber Creek, Pierre in a PR 14.22 and Frazier 14.92. Freshman Taylor Gaines ran 57.59 for 5th place in a very fast Group 3 400.

Timber Creek also won the 400-meter relay with a Group 3 and overall meet-record 46.95 and the 1,600 relay in 3:51.81. Naylah Jones, Jennings, Frazier and sophomore Samiyah Puckett ran on the 4-by-1. Previous 4-by-1 meet record was Winslow’s 47.19 in Group 3 in 2018. The 4-by-4 lineup was freshman Amaya Jones, Jennings, Gaines and Frazier.

Mainland junior Sofia Day had a super impressive distance double, winning the 800 in 2:12.55 and the 1,600 in 4:59.37. Both are PRs.

Curtis won the triple jump with that monster last-jump . She also placed 2nd in the 400 hurdles in 59.80, 5th-fastest in South Jersey history, and 5th in the long jump at 17-5 ¼.

Ocean City also got a nice double from junior Maeve Smith, who was 3rd in both the 1,600 in a PR 5:01.20 and 3,200 in 11:06.37. And Ocean City won the 4-by-8 in 9:25.06.

Moorestown junior Hannah Byrd-Leitner won the pole vault with a PR 12-7, the 4th-best jump in South Jersey history. She broke the Group 3 meet record of 12-6 set in 2018 by Delsea’s Ashley Preston by an inch and tied the overall meet record set last year by Emma Keating of Pompton Lakes.

Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon ran 10:51.94 for 2nd in the 3,200.

Absegami junior Jaidah Garrett popped her 1st 19-foot long jump, taking 2nd to Brawner with a 19-0 ½. She also placed 5th in the triple jump with a 37-9 ½.

Going into the 1,600-meter relay, the final event of the weekend, the girls Group 4 standings showed Hillsborough on top with 46 points, Washington Township with 43 and Eastern and Pennsauken with 40 each.

Washington Township didn’t have a 4-by-4 team entered and Pennsauken had a very good team lined up but Sianni Wynn was out of events after she won the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the winning 400-meter relay.

Realistically, the meet was going to come down to Hillsborough and Eastern.

Eastern had to score at least seven more points than Hillsborough to win the meet outright or six more points to tie and win a share of its first state title in 21 years.

It’s amazing that after 17 events and two days how many track meets come down to the 4-by-4.

Eastern went into the 4-by-4 as the No. 1 seed based on its 3:53.42 at sectionals and Hillsborough was the 8th seed at 4:01.39 but clearly capable of going faster.

Union had won the 2nd of three sections of the Group 4 1,600 in 4:00.69 and West Orange had run 4:00.88 in that race, so that was also something to keep in mind. Those times could potentially benefit Eastern if Hillsborough ran slower than 4:00.69.

Eastern had to stay in front of Hillsborough – and several places in front of Hillsborough – but you also can’t race worried about another team.

Eastern leadoff Lomaria Tengbeh got the Vikings started off with a nice 60.58 split and Eva Sprewell followed with a 60.94, but at the second handoff Eastern was sitting in 4th and Hillsborough 6th.

But Eastern has two hammers at the end of its 4-by-4.

Junior Samantha Osei-Kyei, who PR’d with a 2:15.70 for 5th in a hot 800 meters on Friday, moved Eastern from 4th to 2nd behind only host Franklin Township with a 57.27 split while Hillsborough came through three legs in 6th, some 4 ½ seconds back.

Hillsborough has a very good anchor in senior Sabrina Sardar, who had just run 56.77 in the open 400. And she anchored Hillsborough with a 57.09, moving her team up from 8th into 4th.

But Eastern has sophomore Natalie Dumas, who had just PR’d with a 54.74 in the open 400, placing 2nd to Wynn. And she wasn’t going to let anybody get in front of her. Her 54.55 split brought Eastern across the line 1st in 3:53.32, and when Franklin finished 2nd in 3:55.53 and Piscataway 3rd in 3:58.05, Eastern had clinched at least a share of the state Group 4 championship.

Sardar split 57.13 and Hillsborough finished 4th, less than half a second off Union’s winning time in the previous section.

So Eastern got 10 points for a final total of 50 and Hillsborough got four points for a final total of 50, and for the first time in 24 years the girls Group 4 meet finished in a tie. Washington Township and Pennsauken wound up 3rd and 4th.

The last tie in Group 4 came in 2000, when Washington Township and Trenton both scored 33 points at Egg Harbor Township. The last tie in any group was in 2015, when Winslow and Northern Highlands both scored 62 points at South Plainfield.

Co-champs are still champs, and Eastern’s clutch relay running had clinched a share of the 3rd state title in school history. Eastern also won Group 4 in 2002 with Jenelle Wilson winning the 400 and Caitlin Cielo the javelin and and in 2003 with Jennifer Jackson winning the 100 and 200.

Also for Eastern, Dumas won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.83, senior Zoe Goldberg won the javelin at 140-9 with senior teammate Aniyah Smith 5th with a 119-3 throw,

Eastern also placed 2nd in the 4-by-8 (behind Hillsborough), with freshman Theresa Albertson, Osei-Kyei, junior Emi Loverdi and Dumas running a school-record 9:31.32 on Dumas’s blazing 2:11.27 anchor. Previous school record was 9:37.81 at the 1998 East Coast Relays at Morristown.

Washington Township was led by senior Dahlia Beasley, who won the high jump at 5-6 on a tiebreaker over Williamstown junior Addison Inge, placed 2nd in the long jump at 18-10 and ran 3rd in the 200 in 25.08 for 24 total points. Soph Cali Lacovara placed 2nd in the pole vault at 10-6 and junior Dakota Jones ran 14.84 for 3rd in the 100-meter hurdles.

We wrote about Wynn, but her ridiculous quad win was 11.52, 23.79, 53.45 and an anchor on Pennsauken’s 47.72 relay win. Yikes.

Other Group 4 highlights: Cherokee’s 4-x-1 with sophomore Rylan Cieslik, senior Madison Van Haren, junior Veronica Ashcraft and junior Morgan Shank placed 2nd to Pennsauken in 48.38, and Rancocas Valley senior Lauren Fadairo popped a big 38-7 ¾ triple jump for 2nd place.

Peyton Shute finished off his 3rd win of the weekend with a 4:16.45 in the 1,600 to deliver a second straight State Group 1 team championship to Woodbury in Somerset.

Woodbury scored 78 points, and Shute and junior Marquis Taylor had a hand in 76 of them. Glassboro finished 2nd with 57 points.

The state championship is Woodbury’s 13th overall.

Woodbury won state Group 3 titles in 1943 and 1948 and Group 1 in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 2010, 2011 and last year.

Among New Jersey public schools, only Montclair [21 total, all between 1924 and 1974], Glen Ridge [15 total, none since 1968] and Willingboro [14 total] have won more state titles than Woodbury. Christian Brothers has won 27.

Woodbury and Glen Ridge share Group 1 honors with 12 titles each, although Glen Ridge hasn’t won one in 56 years.

Shute won the 800 in 1:52.05 and the 3,200 in 9:26.98 on Friday and capped his weekend by winning the 1,600 Saturday, giving the Thundering Herd an 11-point lead over Gloucester County rival Glassboro with only the 1,600-meter relay remaining and clinching the 14th team title in school history.

Shute also anchored Woodbury’s 2nd-place 4-by-8, which also included Charlie Floyd, Jayden Johnson and Elijah Young.

Taylor also had a huge weekend, winning the 400 on Saturday in a PR 48.23 and placing 2nd in the 200 behind Malachi James with a PR 21.67. On Friday, Taylor anchored Woodbury’s 4-by-1, which won with a 42.35, with Shiwoe Vapilah, Dante Viccharelli and Dorian Dunbar also in the lineup.

Taylor then finished the meet off with a 48.27 anchor leg on Woodbury’s winning 1,600-meter relay team. Johnson, Varpilah and Vicharelli also ran on the 4-by-4.

Woodbury’s two points that neither Shute nor Taylor had a hand in came courtesy of Johnson, who ran 50.36 for 5th place in the 400.

For Glassboro, senior Damere Lassiter swept the shot [55-8 ¾] and disc [169-6], senior Cartrell Moore placed 3rd in the triple jump [45-7], 3rd in the intermediatres [54.17] and 4th in the 400 [49.46], freshman Xavier Sabb ran 3rd in the 100 in 11.03, junior Ty Blackman ran 9:38.13 for 3rd in the 3,200 4:28.97 for 4th in the 1,600, senior Elijah Whitaker placed 5th in the 1,600 in 4:29.74 and senior Desmond Vassell was 6th in the intermediates with a 58.54.

Glassboro also ran 42.59 for 2nd in the 400-meter relay on Friday with Brysheen Ferguson, Amari Sabb, Xavier Sabb and Caron Wright.

Lassiter is Glassboro’s first double winner at states since 1996, when Pat Ryan won the 1,600 in 4:26.41 and the 3,200 in 9:48.25.

We’ll have more on Jamir Brown in the next day or two, but the Riverside senior had another monster weekend, winning the 110-meter high hurdles in 13.81 with a 0.2 headwind and winning the long jump with a 23-8 ¾ after placing 1st in the 400 hurdles Friday in 53.52.

Burlington senior Malachi James followed his win in the 100 in 10.47 on Friday with a wind-legal 21.48 win in the 200 on Saturday.

Also in Group 1, Salem junior Davi’Yonn Jackson won the triple jump with a 46-4.

Timber Creek senior Naylah Jones, who smashed the state record in the 100 on Friday with her 11.23, followed that up Saturday with an equally astonishing performance in the 200.

Jones cemented her place as one of the greatest sprinters in New Jersey history by winning  the Group 3 200 in 23.29, destroying the South Jersey record with the 3rd-fastest time in state history.

Jones raced with a legal tailwind of 0.3 meters per second.

The only faster girls in state history are Olympic intermediate hurdles gold medalist and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 22.96 at the 2017 state Parochial A meet at Egg Harbor, and legendary Trenton High sprinter Wendy Vereen, who ran 22.99 at the 1983 Jumbo Elliott Track Meet at Villanova, where she placed 2nd to 1988 Olympic 200 silver medalist Grace Jackson of the Atoms Track Club.

Jones destroyed the South Jersey record of 23.66 set at the 2019 Meet of Champions by Wilson’s Dennisha Page at Northern Burlington.

According to the MileSplit national database, Jones’ time is 11th-fastest in the U..S. this year with legal wind.

The only South Jersey women who have ever run faster than Jones at 200 meters are Page, who ran 22.39 for Tennessee earlier this spring and races at NCAAs later Saturday; Olympic gold medalist English Gardner [22.62 in 2013], Williamstown’s Gabrielle Farquharson [23.07 in 2016] and Moorestown’s Amandi Rhett [23.24 in 2004].

Junior teammate Ryan Jennings was 2nd in 23.91, giving Timber Creek 18 points and a total of 66. Winslow went 3-5 with senior Dominique Clement in 3rd in 24.57 and soph Olivia Okaro 5th in 24.69, giving Winslow 76 points through the 200.

Pennsauken soph Sianni Wynn, who is 9th in state history at 23.77, won the Group 4 race by over a second in Somerset with a 23.79, also with legal wind at 0.9.

All-Time New Jersey 200-Meter Dash List
22.96 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2017
22.99 … Wendy Vereen [Trenton], 1983
23.29 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2024
23.42 … Aleah Williams [Montclair], 1999
23.66 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2019
23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
23.69 … Shavon Greaves [Lakewood], 2007
23.73 … Myasia Jacobs [Paramus Catholic], 2010
23.76 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
23.85 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2017
23.85 … Sofia Swindell [Lawrenceville], 2024
23.86 … Taylor Aska [Union Catholic], 2024
23.86 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2024
23.87 … Jenna Harris [Franklin], 2003
23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
23.90 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
23.91 … Sydney Hawkins [Phillipsburg], 2018
23.92 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1997
23.94 … M’elisa Barber [Montclair], 1998
23.95 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2013
23.96 … Regina Trotter [Weequahic], 1991
23.96 … Ogechi Nwaneri [Columbia], 2006
23.98 … Cynthia Boakye [Elizabeth], 2023

All-Time South Jersey 200-Meter Dash List
23.29 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2024
23.66 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2019
23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
23.76 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
23.85 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2017
23.86 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2024
23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
23.90 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
24.01 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
24.04 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2010
24.11 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
24.12 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
24.17 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
24.18 … Sheriyah Nutt [Rancocas Valley], 2019
24.19 … Patti Dunlap [Camden] 1978
24.19 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.]
24.19 … Bria Mack [Williamstown], 2017

Ocean City senior Sophia Curtis and Winslow sophomore Ma’Syiah Brawner – two of the most talented and versatile athletes in the state – locked up in a historic triple jump battle Saturday, with both elite horizontal jumpers PR’ing on their final attempt and Curtis winning it with the 4th-best jump in state history.

Going into their 6th and final jumps at the State Group 3 meet at Delsea, Curtis led the competition with a 39-11 ¼ on her 1st attempt. She added two more 39-11’s on her 2nd and 3rd attempts and after a foul, she jumped 39-4 ½ on her 5th.

Brawner also had a monster series, with jumps of 38-1, 39-7 ¾, 39-7 ¾, 39-6 ½ and 38-8 leading up to her final attempt.

Brawner then took the lead with her PR 40-2 ½ with a legal 1.7 tailwind. Then Curtis, facing the final jump of the competition, soared 41-9 ½, only 4 ½ inches shy of the South Jersey record of 42-2 set by Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith at the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

Curtis’s previous outdoor PR was a 40-10 ¼ at the Penn Relays in April. She has an indoor PR of 41-3 ¼ from her 3rd-place finish at Boston Nationals in March.

Brawner’s previous PR was a 39-10 ¼ last June when she won the freshman triple jump at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.

On Friday, Curtis placed 2nd in the 400 hurdles with a lifetime-best 59.80, 5th-fastest in South Jersey history and placed 4th in the long jump with a 17-5 ¼.

Brawner won the long jump Friday with a monster PR 19-3 ½ and placed 2nd on fewer misses at 5-5 in the high jump and placed 6th in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.01 on Saturday.

All-Time New Jersey Triple Jump List
44-11 … Keturah Orji [Mount Olive], 2013
42-2 ¾ … Charlene Cummings [Englewood], 1998
42-2 ….… Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
41-9 ½ … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2024
41-7 ½ … Mahogany Jenkins [Watchung Hills], 2019
40-10 ¼ … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
40-9 ½ … Iana Amsterdam [Essex Tech], 2013
40-7 ¾ … Kayla Richardson [Columbia], 2013
40-7 … Shenaie Herber [JFK Paterson], 2008
40-7 … Faith Bethea [Snyder], 2022
40-6 ¾ … Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018
40-6 ¼ … Essence Mayers [Lakewood], 2011
40-6 … Jordan Fields [Columbia], 2016
40-5 ….. Nnenna Ibe [North Brunswick], 2015
40-4 ½ … Adefunke Sonaike [Montgomery], 2011
40-3 ¼ … Ebony Young [Hillsborough], 2009
40-2 ½ … Ma’Syiah Brawner [Winslow Twp.], 2024
40-1 ¼ … Kaitlin Salisbury [Hawthorne], 2016
40-1 …… Domonique Pantin [Freehold Twp.], 2015
40-0 ¼ … Stephanie McIntyre [South Brunswick], 2007
40-0 ……….Bonvie Fosam [Robbinsville], 2017
40-0 ………. Ada Unachukwu [Marlboro], 2009

Yashahya Brown tied the South Jersey high hurdles record and missed the state record by 3-100ths of a second Saturday at the state championships in Somerset.

Brown, a Washington Township senior, won the Group 4 race in 13.43, tying the South Jersey record set by Camden’s Danyne Brown at the 1999 state Group 4 race in South Plainfield and falling just short of the state record of 13.40 set last year by Nathaniel Rayan of Scotch Plains-Fanwood at the USATF Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Brown’s performance was made with an allowable 0.1 tailwind. Anything 2.0 meters per second or lower is considered legal wind.

Brown broke the meet record of 13.45 set last year by Rayan, also in Somerset. His time is 4th-fastest in the U.S. this year, according to the MileSplit database.

Brown was 3rd at states last year in 13.99 behind Rayan and Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker, who placed 2nd in 13.99.

He’s Washington Township’s first state champion since 2010, when Devon Carter won both hurdles and Steve Morrone won the 800.

Williamstown senior Alexander Hollimon placed 2nd in 14.15. Brown, Willingboro’s Eric Foster, Riverside’s Jamir Brown and Hollimon will be the top-four seeds at the Meet of Champions on Wednesday.

13.43 … Yashahya Brown, Washington Twp. [1st, group 4]
13.77 … Eric Foster, Willingboro [1st, Group 2]
13.81 … Jamir Brown, Riverside [1st, Group 1]
14.15 … Alexander Hollimon, Williamstown [2nd, Group 4]
14.21 … Elijah Bastos, Morris Knolls [1st, Group 3
14.22 … Essien Plummer, Neptune [2nd, Group 3]

ALL-TIME N.J. 110 HURDLES LIST
13.40 … Nathaniel Rayan [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2023
13.43 … Danye Brown [Camden], 1999
13,.43 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
13.46 … Cory Poole [East Orange Campus], 2017
13.48 … Yashaya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
13.51 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
13.52 … Todd Matthews [Notre Dame], 1998
13.54 … Jamir Brown [Riverside], 2024
13.55 … Jaheem Hayles [Roselle], 2019
13.59 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
13.62 … Christopher Stephens [Plainfield], 2001
13.66 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
13.66 … Emmanuel Deux [Linden], 2001
13.67 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2012
13.70 … Chris Alexander [Christian Brothers], 2015
13.71 … Akeem Lindo [East Orange], 2018
13.73 … Christopher Serrao [East Brunswick], 2022
13.73 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014
13.74 … Scott Robinson [Hillsboro], 2001
13.74 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
13.75 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
13.75 … Bennett Jackson [Raritan], 2010
13.76 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
13.76 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
13.77 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
13.77 … Eric Foster [Willingboro], 2024
13.78 … Al-Tariq Dunson [East Orange], 2018
13.80 … Devon Hill [Trenton], 2008

ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY 110 HURDLES LIST
13.43 … Danye Brown [Camden], 1999
13.48 … Yashaya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
13.54 … Jamir Brown [Riverside], 2024
13.59 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
13.66 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
13.73 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014
13.74 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
13.75 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
13.76 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
13.76 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
13.77 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
13.77 … Eric Foster [Willingboro], 2024
13.81 … Scot McCray [Camden], 1997
13.81 … Jeff Young [Wilson], 1999
13.87 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2023
13.90 … Edwin Alston [Winslow Twp.], 2015
13.92 … Enrique Llanos [Wilson], 1999
13.93 … Malachi Wesley [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2022
13.94 … Hal Lathan [Egg Harbor Twp,], 2009
13.95 … Kevin White [Haddon Heights], 1992
13.95 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
13.96 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
13.97 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
13.97 … Syteek Farrington [Camden], 2010
13.99 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
13.99 … Eric Foster [Wilingboro], 2024
13.99 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000

Remarkable Pennsauken sophomore Sianni Wynn ran the 8th-fastest 400 in state history Saturday morning on the way to her 2nd state title of the weekend and 7th of her brief high school career.

Wynn won the state Group 4 title in Somerset in 53.45, fastest by any New Jersey quarter-miler since Olympic 800 gold medalist Athing Mu of Trenton ran 51.98 in 2019.

The only faster time in South Jersey history is the 52.91 that Seneca’s Michelle Brown ran in 2009 when she placed 3rd at Greensboro Nationals.

The only faster sophomores in state history are Olympic gold medalists Mu [52.45 in 2018] and Sydney McLaughlin [52.59 in 2015].

Wynn’s previous best was her 53.80 last weekend at Group 4 Sectionals on her home track in Pennsauken. That’s where she’ll race in the Meet of Champions on Wedneseday.

Wynn broke the meet record of 53.61 set in 2022 by Julia Jackson of Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

Another Camden County sophomore, Eastern’s Natalie Dumas, placed 2nd in 54.74, which is 14th-fastest in South Jersey history.

On Friday, Wynn won the 100 in 11.52 into a 1.6 meters-per-second headwind. She’ll run the 200 later Saturday.

All-Time New Jersey 400 List
51.87 … Sydney McLoughlin [Union Catholic], 2016
51.98 … Athing Mu [Trenton], 2019
52.46 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2014
52.56 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1998
52.91 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2009
53.12 … Julia Jackson [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2022
53.0h … Stephanie Saleem [Neptune], 1985
53.45 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken ], 2023
53.49 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
53.51 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
53.60 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
53.64 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
53.66 … Giselle Harris [Shabazz], 1986
53.84 … Drexel Long [Monmouth], 1991
53.98 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2006

All-Time South Jersey 400 List
52.91 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2009
53.45 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken ], 2023
53.51 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
53.64 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
53.49 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
53.60 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
53.98 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2007
54.04 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1998
54.19 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.36 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2018
54.41 … Dennisha Page [Woodrow Wilson], 2019
54.51 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1998
54.62 … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2008
54.75 … Faleesha Dowe [Penns Grove], 2014
54.93 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2004

Huge start to the state Group 3 meet for the Winslow girls, with freshman Cinniya Robinson and sophomore Olivia Okaro running 1-2 with blazing fast PRs.

Robinson lowered her PR from 55.76 from last weekend’s Group 3 sectionals to 55.60 and Okaro lowered hers from 56.30 to 56.08 as Winslow increased its point total from 19 to 37 and moved just one point behind Timber Creek.

Robinson is Winslow’s first state 400 champ since Shakira Dancy won Group 3 in 54.36 in 2016. Her 55.60 makes her the 4th-fastest freshman in South Jersey history, behind Pennsauken’s Sianni Wynn [53.97 last year], Eastern’s English Gardner [54.00 in 2007] and Winslow’s Krystal Cantey [55.48 in 2003].

Timber Creek freshman Taylor Gaines took 5th in 57.59, dropping her PR from 58.32.

Winslow’s Jayden Poteat and Woodbury’s Marquise Taylor simultaneously opened Day 2 of the state championships with identical wins in the 400-meter dash.

Poteat ran a PR 48.23 to win the state Group 3 title at Delsea and Taylor ran a PR 48.23 to win the Group 1 race in Somerset.

Taylor out-ran Tennessee signee Luke Schagelin, who had won the 800 in 1:51.17 on Friday. Schagelin was 2nd in 48.35. Poteat is the first Winslow quarter-miler to win a state title since legendary Reuben McCoy won Group 4 in 46.77 back in 2004. Delsea senior Dante McGrenehan also ran under 49, taking 5th place in 48.97. Hammonton junior Jake Edwards [49.31] and Eastside senior Julius Dominguez [49.78] also broke 50.

Taylor led a 1-2 South Jersey finish with Clayton junior Alex Osayemi 2nd in 48.78. Glassboro senior Cartrell Moore also broke 9, taking 4th in 49.46, and Woodbury senior Jayden Johnson was 5th in 50.36.

Winslow sophomore Ma’Syiah Brawner won her 2nd straight state title in the long jump Friday at Delsea and popped an outdoor PR along the way.

Brawner jumped 19-3 ½ at the State Group 3 Championships at Delsea – No. 9 in South Jersey history – and she did it with a legal 0.9 wind, and kudos to Delsea for having a functional wind gauage not just on the track but in the field for horizontal jumps as well.

Brawner’s previous outdoor PR was 18-11 ½ from the Camden County Championships last month at Haddon Township. She did have an indoor 19-3 ½ at the Armory in January. She’s the first South Jersey girl to win state long jump titles as both a freshman and sophomore since Serifat Juniad of Cameen Catholic, who won Parochial A with an 18-3 as a freshman in 2006 and as a sophomore at 17-11 in 2007.

For the first time in girls state track history, two South Jersey girls surpassed 19 feet in the same state meet. Absegami junior Jaidah Garrett placed 2nd with a 19-0 ½. Brawner and Garrett will be the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the Meet of Champions, behind Montclair senior Ashley Noel, who won Group 4 with a 19-7 ¾. Garrett is tied for No. 12 in South Jersey history with her 19-2 last weekend at South Jersey Group 3 secetionals, also at Delsea.

Brawner is the top sophomore in New Jersey and Garrett is the top junior.

Brawner’s 19-3 ½ is the top jump by a New Jersey sophomore since 2017, when Tionna Tobias – who now competes for Iowa – jumped 19-7 ½ at the 2017 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington. Garrett is the top South Jersey junior since Tobias jumped 19-11 ½ at the 2018 state Group 3 meet at Central Regional.

Brawner popped her 19-3 ½ on her first jump. After two fouls, she finished with an 18-4 ½, 17-9 ¾ and 18-5. Garrett opened with 18-4 ¾ and 18-4 before hitting her 19-footer on her 3rd jump. In the finals, she jumped 17-7 ½, 18-6 and 18-7 ¾.

On Saturday, Brawner will compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump and triple jump. Garrett will run the 100 and triple jump.

All-Time South Jersey Long Jump List
21-7 ¾ …… Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1980
20-0 ½ ….. Teneacia Smith [Cherry Hill East], 1992
19-11 ½ … Kathy Rankins [Haddon Heights], 1980
19-11 ½ …. Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018
19-9 ¼ ….. Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2013
19-7 ½ ….. Helen Wilks [Bridgeton], 1993
19-4 ¾ …… Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], 2011
19-4 ………. Emily Carson [Haddonfield], 2012
19-3 ½ … Ma’Syiah Brawner [Winslow Twp.], 2024
19-2 ¾ …….Asia Young [Holy Spirit], 2016
19-2 ½ ….…Gabrielle Bennett [Winslow Twp.], 2015
19-2 ………. Tierra Hooker [Timber Creek], 2018
19-2 ………. Robin Taylor [Deptford], 1980
19-2 ………. Jaidah Garrett [Absegami], 2024
19-1 ……….. Nena Moore [Cherry Hill West], 1995
19-1 ………. Yvonne Wolef [Middle Twp.], 2012
19-0 ¼ …… Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2016