From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

We’ve spoken a lot about records over the past few days and how damanging the absence of a wind gauge can be to sprinters and hurdlers trying to break them.

Jim Lambert of MileSplit wrote a good piece about how the absence of a wind gauge at Pennsauken at sectionals negated several records and how the NJSIAA plans to respond belatedly.

In any case, one of the many races impacted negatively by the absence of a functioning wind gauge was the boys Group 4 200, where Ajani Dwyer won the race in 20.86, which would have been the fastest wind-legal time in state history if there had been a wind gauge and the tailwind was measured at 2.0 meters per second or less.

You may not have noticed who placed 3rd in that race behind Dwyer and Southern Regional junior Cole Isaac Cramer, but it was Rancocas Valley sophomore Thomas Howard Jr., who ran 21.36.

Is that a state sophomore record? It’s a complicated question.

It does appear to be the fastest FAT 200 ever recorded by a New Jersey sophomore. But without a legal wind reading it can’t be considered a state sophomore record.

The fastest legit FAT 200 by a sophomore that I was able to find before this weekend was a 21.41 by the late Mario Heslop of Franklin Township, when he won 2017 Group 4 states at Egg Harbor Township. There was no wind reading in that race, either.

Najee Glass of St. Peter’s Prep was credited with a hand-timed 21.1 at the 2010 Hudson County Championships at Secaucus. Why was anybody still running a meet in 2010 without FAT timing? No idea, but Glass’s fastest FAT 200 that year was a 21.88 at the state Parochial A meet at Egg Harbor. He never ran under 21.48 FAT the rest of his high school career, althoug he did go onto win Armory Nationals at 400 meters with a 46.57 in 2012. He ran as fast as 21.05 as a junior at Florida in a meet in Gainesville in April 2014.

Timber Creek’s Jamaad Muse is credited on MileSplit with a 21.24 at the 2012 Group 3 sectionals at Egg Harbor, but the timing in that whole race was messed up – all six medalists ran about half a second faster than they ever ran before or after, and there was clearly some sort of timing irregularity and we don’t recognize times from that race.

Egg Harbor’s T.J. Johnson is credited on MileSplit with a 21.30 at the 2008 Cape Atlantic Championships at Atlantic City, but that whole meet was actually hand-timed. Johnson’s fastest FAT 200 as a sophomore was a 21.79 at the Meet of Champions at South Plainfield

The fastest legit FAT 200 in New Jersey history by a sophomore with a legal wind reading appears to be a 21.42 by Snyder’s Zamir Thomas at 2009 Greensboro Nationals.

Wind gauge or not, Howard’s 21.36 is very fast. It’s 2nd-fastest in Burlington County history, behind only Malachi James’ 21.13 at the USATF New York Youth Challenge Series Opener in New York in April. That’s the only 200 James has run this year with a wind gauage – there was a legal 1.6 MpS tailwind at Icahn Stadium. And Howard’s time is 6th-fastest in South Jersey history regardless of wind reading.

What’s the fastest FAT time by a South Jersey sprinter with legal wind? It’s probably Dennis Mitchell’s 21.06 at the 1984 Keebler Prep Invitational in Elk Grove, Ill., but there’s no indication in any of the results or stories from that meet whether there actually was a wind gauge. I’m guessing even in 1984 there was a wind gauge at a meet like that, but still working on that.

The fastest 200 by a South Jersey runner that definitely had a legal wind is a 21.07 by Paul VI’s Antonio Tarantino at 2018 Greensboro Nationals. And the fastest wind-legal 200 by a South Jersey soph is Muse’s 21.59 with a 1.7 at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge.

Whatever the details, R.V. has an impressive stable of young sprinters. Sophomore Julian Coppage-Seepersaud has run 10.84, 21.99 and 48.22 this spring and qualified for states in the 200 and 400, soph Xavier Bancroft has run 11.02, 22.03 and 50.69 and will race in the 200 at states, junior David Smith has run 10.77 and 22.40 and races at states in the 100 and Howard has run 50.54 in addition to his 21.36. R.V. has run 42.00 and 3:22.71 with all underclassmen.

And the best news of all is that there will be a wind gauge this weekend at states.

We didn’t forget South Jersey’s schools that made the trip to Hillsborough and Jackson for the Central Jersey sectionals this weekend.

So here are 10 highlights from the Central Jersey Group 1 and 4 meets at Hillsborough and the Group 2 and 3 meets at Jackson Liberty.

1. Florence sophomore Leaire Williams won the Central Jersey Group 1 long jump with a lifetime-best 21-4 ¼, which makes him the top sophomore in South Jersey this year and the No. 4 seed in the state Group 1 meet. Williams came into the season with a PR of 19-6 from last spring and has improved nearly two feet in the last month.

2. Florence senior Darien Woody remains unbeaten this year in the triple jump, winning his 2nd straight sectional title at 43-10 ½ – just half an inch off his PR from the Burlington County Open at Northern. Woody also took 2nd to Williams in the long jump at 20-6 ¼ and was 4th in the 100 with a 11.37.

3. Florence junior Barone VanKline won the 100 in 11.06 after a 11.01 in the prelims, placed 2nd in the 200 in 22.48 and anchored Florence’s winning 400-meter relay team, which also included Woody leading off, Elijah Quinn and Damien Ricketts and ran 43.88 in the 1st event of the weekend. With Williams, Woody and VanKline combining for 60 points including the relay, Florence placed 3rd overall with 72 points in Central Jersey Group 1.

4. Bordentown senior Brock Schenck won an outstanding Group 2 discus competition with senior Nate Riello of Point Pleasant Borough, with Schenck winning by four feet with a throw of 173-8. Results don’t show field series, unfortunately. Schenck threw just eight inches off his lifetime-best 174-4 from his win at the County Open. Schenck and Riello are the top two seeds at states this weekend. Schenck, who didn’t throw until junior year, had a PR of 138-2 coming into his senior year.

5. Burlington Township junior Dylan Fitzpatrick won the Central Jersey Group 3 javelin with a big seven-foot lifetime-best 177-4, leading three Falcons in the top five. Senior Dylan Zerillo was 3rd at 159-0 and junior Anthony Barber was 5th at 151-10. Fitzpatrick, who has improved more than 30 feet since last year, is the No. 1 seed at states.

6. Overall, Burlington Township placed 4th in CJ-3 with 52 points, only 18 behind team champion Robbinsville. Other big performances came from senior George Sackie, who placed 2nd in the 110-meter highs in a huge PR 14.45 and is the No. 2 seed at states, sophomore Solomon Wesley, who broke 11 seconds for the first time in the 100 and paced 4th in 10.96, sophomore Quayd Hendryx, who also broke 11 for the first time with a 10.99 in the 100 trials before placing 6th in 11.02, senior Brandon Afrifa, 5th in the high hurdles with a PR 15.03, and the 400-meter relay team of Afrifa, Hendryx, junior Yeator Tappia and Wesley, who placed 2nd in 43.16.

7. Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon won the Central Jersey Group 3 1,600 in 5:03.80 and was 2nd in the 3,200 in 10:59.36. She’ll be the No. 2 seed in the 32 and the No. 3 seed in the 16 at states. Gordon has now won eight sectional titles in track and cross country with another full season to go.

8. Gordon also ran on Northern’s winning 3,200-meter relay team along with junior Zoe Chou, junior Kayla Leonhardt and sophomore Emma Price. They ran 9:40.98 – no splits available on the results site but they’re the No. 2 seed at states, behind only Ocean City and 10th-fastest in New Jersey this year. Also, NBC freshman Maryam Fall placed 3rd in the triple jump with a PR 34-2 ½ and senior Amara Campbell placed 3rd in both sprints with a 12.42 and 25.78.

9. Northern senior Chibuike Udodi and junior Edson Raymond placed 3rd and 4th in the CJ-3 long jump, Udodi with a 20-11 and Raymond with 20-9 ¾.

10. For the Florence girls, sophomore Zoe Saunders won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.73 and placed 2nd in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:10.82, both big PRs. According to MileSplit, Saunders did not hurdle as a freshman and didn’t contest the highs until the Burlington County Open on May 11 or the intermediates until the BCSL Championships on May 18.

Winslow junior Jayden Poteat put himself in some elite company this weekend when he won the 100, 200 and 400 at Group 3 sectionals and ran 10.69, 21.67 and 48.44 in his triple.

Poteat became only the 5th South Jersey sprinter ever to run sub-10.70, sub-21.70 and sub-48.50 in his entire high school career, and he did it in the span of about 22 hours at Delsea.

He also became the first to run those times at a sectional meet in 41 years.

The 100-200-400 is not an easy triple.

The other sprinters to run that fast for all three events at any point are Olympic gold medalist Dennis Mitchell of Edgewood in 1983 [11.47 in 1983, 21.06, 46.02], Deptford’s Bruce Owens in 2004 [10.66, 21.56, 48.41], Winslow’s Antraye Miles in 2003 [10.67, 21.58, 47.83] and Pennsauken’s Martin Booker in 2017 [10.67, 21.39, 48.33].

Mitchell swept the three sprints as a junior in the South Jersey Group 4 meet in 1983 at Willingboro with 10.4, 21.3 and 46.9. Although those are hand times, they convert to sub-10.70, 21.70 and 48.50. He recorded the same sweep in 1982 and 1984 but in each case one race was too slow.

At 2003 Group 4 sectionals at Egg Harbor Township – where some events were FAT and some were hand timed – Miles won the 100 in 10.4, the 200 in 22.01 and the 400 in 48.10, so his “slow” 200 disqualifies him from consideration.

A year later in the South Jersey Group 3 meet at Buena, Owens was 2nd in the 100 in a hand-timed 10.7, 3rd in the 200 in 22.08 and 1st in the 400 in 48.73.

Booker competed in 2017 in the Central Jersey Group 3 meet at Bernards but took 2nd in the 100 in 10.76, won the 200 in 21.39 and didn’t contest the 400.

So Mitchell and Poteat are the only South Jersey sprinters ever to run 10.70, 21.70 and 48.50 in the same sectional meet.

Antraye Miles ran 10.67 and 47.83 at the state Group 4 meet in 2003 at Egg Harbor but his winning time in the 200 was 22.01. Owens picked up a 1st and two 2nds at the 2004 state Group 3 meet at EHT but his times don’t quite measure up. Booker ran 10.67 in the 100 trials at the 2017 state Group 3 meet at Northern Burlington and 21.47 to win the 200 but didn’t run the 400. Not surprisingly, none of them tripled at the Meet of Champions.

I checked all their county and conference meets as well, and althought Miles was close at the 2003 Camden County meet at Haddon Township [hand-timed 10.4, 21.4, 48.9] and Olympic Conference meet at Pennsauken [10.4, 21.2, did not run 400], he didn’t quite hit the triple crown.

So Mitchell and Poteat are also the only South Jersey sprinters in history to run sub-10.70, sub-21.70 and sub-48.50 at the same meet.

Poteat is the No. 2 seed at states in the 100 behind only Robbinsville’s Maxim Rychkov [10.61], the No. 1 seed in the 200 and the No. 1 seed in the 400 as well.

How far has Poteat come?

According to Poteat’s MileSplit bio, this is his first year running track, and he didn’t compete outdoors until the Camden County Championships on May 11. He did run indoors and ran 22.09 and 51.05 at Ocean Breeze. But his first lifetime 100 was May 11, as were his first outdoor 200 and 400. In his first indoor meet in December, he only high jumped, and he didn’t run anything longer than the 55 until Feb. 5.

For the record, the last South Jersey sprinter to sweep the 100, 200 and 400 at states was Carl Watson of St. Joe’s-Hammton, who won Parochial B titles in 2011 in 11.00, 22.45 and 50.41. The last public school sprinter to pull off that triple was Damiere Byrd of Timber Creek in the 2010 Group 3 meet in 10.68, 21.80 and 47.88. Byrd is now with the Washington Commanders heading into his 9th NFL season.

Delsea’s sprinters, throwers, hurdlers, jumpers, vaulters and distance runners all contributed to the Crusaders’ 7th consecutive sectional title this weekend at their home facility in Franklinville.

Delsea scored 49 points in the sprints, 26 in the throws, 16 in the jumps, 14 in distance and four in the hurdles on its way to the South Jersey Group 3 Championship.

Talk about a true team effort!

Delsea topped a talented and young Winslow Township team, 109-88.  More on Winslow below.

Delsea’s remarkable streak of seven straight sectional titles is 3rd-longest in South Jersey sectional history and longest in nearly four decades.

Penns Grove won 10 straight titles from 1977 through 1986 (seven in Group 2, three in Group 1) and Woodbury won nine straight from 1969 through 1977 (all in Group 1). State-wide, the only longer streaks belong to Metuchen, who won 16 straight from 1993 through 2008, all in Central Jersey Group 1, and Somerville, who won eight straight in Central Jersey Group 2 from 2001 through 2008, although the final one was a tie with Ewing. So Delsea has the 4th-longest streak in state history of consecutive outright titles. And they almost certainly would have won in 2020 if the season hadn’t been cancelled.

Overall, Delsea has won 10 sectional championships, Group 3 in 2006 and 2007, Group 2 in 2010, Group 3 in 2017 and 2018, Group 2 in 2019 and 2021 and now Group 3 in 2022 and 2023.

For Delsea, senior sprinters Christian Langston and Julian Conigliaro both had big weekends for Delsea. Langston ran 21.73 for 2nd in the 200, placed 2nd in the long jump at 21-8 and ran on Delsea’s winning 4-by-1 relay [42.23] and 2nd-place 4-by-4 [3:19.89]. And Conigliaro ran 10.74 and 21.76 for 2nd in the 100 and 3rd in the 200. (He also may have been on the 4-by-1 but the listed runners are senior Xavier Wyatt, senior Dante McGrenehan, Langston and junior Eric Grant). Wyatt also placed 6th in the 200 in 22.64.

Junior Jonathan Harris bombed a a lifetime-best 63-0 ½ to win the shot. That’s No. 7 in South Jersey history and was the best throw at any of this weekend’s sectional meets. It was the best throw by any South Jersey thrower at any sectional meet since Bridgeton’s Braheme Days Jr. won South Jersey Group 2 with a 64-5 ¾ throw at Buena in 2012. It’s also the best throw by a South Jersey underclassman since Days threw 68-8 ½ at Penn that spring.

Harris also placed 2nd in the discus at 148-10 and senior Greg Masso took 2nd in the shot at 58-4.

All-Time South Jersey Shot Put List
68-8 ½ … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton] 2012
64-10 ½ … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1997
64-6 ¼ … Ron Dayne [Overbook], 1996
64-5 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
64-4 ¼ … Chris Robinson [Penns Grove], 1990
63-2 ½ … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
63-0 ½ … Jonathan Harris [Delsea], 2024
63-0 … Lou Gordon [Bridgeton], 1995
62-10 ¼ … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
62-10 … Anthony Liakhnovich [Hammonton], 2024
61-11 ¾ … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018

Delsea’s 2nd-place 4-by-4 included Wyatt, McGrenehan, Langston [49.43] and sophomore Matthew Littlehales [49.09].

Littlehales also ran a huge PR in the 800, placing 2nd in 1:54.93, fastest in New Jersey this year by a 10th-grader and 4th-fastest in all of Group 3. It’s also fastest by any South Jersey soph since 2016, when R.V.’s Jacob Tyndale ran 1:54.33 at the state Group 4 meet at Egg Harbor. Littlehales also ran 4:26.54 for 3rd in the 1,600.

McGrenehan ran a PR 48.57 for 2nd place in the 400. That’s No. 12 in Gloucester County history – with three of the top 12 coming this weekend [Alexander Osayemi 47.98, Marquis Taylor 48.33].

Junior Henry Cifaloglio cleared 13-0 and tied for 3rd in the pole vault, and senior Carlos Reyes cleared 12-6 for 6th place.

Sophomore Quincy Matthews placed 4th in the 110-meter hurdles with a big PR of 15.18. His previous best was a 15.42 two weeks ago.

Junior Bonds hit a PR 43-6 on his first attempt in the triple jump and finished in 5th place.

Winslow was led by juniors Jayden Poteat and Dominic Bassey, who ran five races and PR’d in all five.

Poteat recorded a monster triple, winning the 100 in 10.69, the 200 in 21.67 and the 400 in 48.44. He’s the No. 2 seed at states in the 100 and No. 1 in the 200 and 400. More on Poteat later this week.

Bassey won the 800 in a PR 1:54.08 and the 400-meter hurdles in 54.22, also a lifetime best. He’ll be top-seeded in the intermediates and No. 2 in the 800. He also ran on two winning relay teams for four total gold medals.

Winslow also piled up 26 points in the three relays. Freshman Jabril Hammond, senior Kenneth Everett Jr., sophomore Nyqir Helton and senior Darrell Jackson Jr. ran 42.88 in the 4-by-1, junior Chukwuemeka Ajaegbulemh [48.50 split], Bassey, senior Semaj Anderson and Jackson [48.63] ran 3:19.56 to win the 4-by-4, and Ajaegbulemh, Bassey [1:54.19 split], Anderson and junior David Duran ran 8:03.13 to win the 4-by-8. Winslow is top-seeded at states in the two longer relays and 3rd-seeded in the 4-by-1.

Other winners:

☑️ Deptford junior Marcus Hood earned the No. 1 pole vault seed with a lifetime-best 15-3 clearance, the best vault in South Jersey Group 3 in 33 years, since Absegami’s Brandon Kurtz cleared 15-7 in 1991. He’s now No. 11 in South Jersey history and No. 4 in Gloucester County history, behind Delsea’s Nico Morales [15-7 in 2019], Kingsway’x Dylan Altland [15-6 in 2014] and Delsea’s Marco Morales [15-6 in 2019]. Deptford vaulters have won the PV at sectionals five times since 2018: James Lynch in 2018 and 2019, Julian Rodriguez in 2021, Gursharan Singh in 2022 and now Hood.

☑️ Moorestown senior Rece Englehart recorded a big horizontal jump double, winning the long jump at 23-6 and the triple jump with a 47-4 ½. Both are the top marks in Group 3 going into states. Englehart matched the No. 2 triple jump mark in Burlington County history behind Marcos Edgehill of Pemberton, who jumped 47-9 at the 1981 Penn Relays. Rancocas Valley’s Zakiyy Williams also jumped 47-4 ½.

All-Time South Jersey Triple Jump List
50-9 ¼ … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
50-6 ¾ …. Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
50-2 ½ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 2019
48-10 ½ … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2015
48-3 ¼ … Ryan Chance [Glassboro], 2009
48-1 ½ … Mubeen Momodu [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
48-1 ¼ … Orion Joyner [Kingsway], 2019
48-0 ……. Josh Butler [Delsea], 2006
47-9 ¼ … Marcus Edghilll [Pemberton], 1981
47-7 ½ … Mikhail Micheaux [Eastern], 2014
47-7 ½ … Jaden Johnson [Timber Creek], 2022
47-6 ½ … Chris Roundtree [Haddon Hts.], 2009
47-5 ¼ … Kevin Kevelier [Collingswood], 2019
47-5 ………Steven Brown [Penns Grove], 2009
47-4 ¾ … Cheo King [Woodbury], 2017
47-4 ½ … Zakiyy Williams [Rancocas Valley], 2017
47-4 ½ … Rece Englehart [Moorestown], 2024
47-4 …….. Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 2014
47-3 ¼ … Antwan Dickerson [Pennsauken], 2013
47-3 …….. Mike Baker [Cherry Hill West], 1976
47-0 ½ … Mawali Osunniyi [Mainland Reg.], 2023
47-0 ¼ … Earnest Daniel [Kingsway], 2017

☑️ Ocean City’s Matt Hoffman doubled the 1,600 in 4:24.39 and the 3,200 in 9:27.58. He’s the 5th Ocean City runner to record that 1,600-3,200 double: John Richardson in 2001, Brett Johnson in 2007 and 2008, Miles Schoedler in 2010 and Nick Scarangelli last year.

☑️ Cherry Hill West senior Noah Casa won the high hurdles in 14.57 and is the 3rd seed at states. Casa had a PR of 15.24 before sectionals. Casa is Cherry Hill West’s 1st sectional champion in 14 years, since Jon Smith won the long jump in 2010 at 2-10. Casa also placed 3rd in the 400IH in a PR 55.55 and is the No. 5 seed in the long hurdles at states.

☑️ Highland junior Jayden DeLeon won the high jump with a PR 6-8. He’s the first Highland jumper to clear 6-8 since Reggie Williams hit 7-0 at the 1997 Meet of Champions.

☑️ Hammonton junior Anthony Liakhnovich won the discus with a 172-6 to earn the top seed at states. He also threw 56-10 ¼ for 3rd in the shot, where he’ll be the No. 4 seed in Group 3.

☑️ Camden Eastside junior Elijah Thompson threw a lifetime-best 171-0 to win the javelin. That was a nearly 11-foot PR for the first-year thrower.

Sophomore Ma’Syiah Brawner picked up a win, a 2nd and two 3rds for 30 points and sophomore Olivia Okaro, senior Dominique Clement, junior Brook-lynn Roberts and freshman Cinniya Robinson all made huge contributions as the mighty Winslow Township girls won their 11th sectional title the last 12 times the meet has been contested.

Winslow outscored Timber Creek 129-102 to win the South Jersey Group 3 sectionals this weekend at Delsea in a battle of two of New Jersey’s deepest and most talented teams, with Ocean City 3rd with 80 points.

Winslow won eight straight South Jersey Group 3 titles from 2013 through 2021 – there was no meet in 2020 – before Timber Creek won in 2022. Winslow has now won the last two. The Eagles also won Group 4 in 2004 and 2005, and the school’s former incarnation, Edgewood, won Group 3 in 1979 and Group 4 in 1983 and 1985.

Even without counting the four Edgewood championships, Winslow’s 12 sectional titles are 2nd-most in sectional history behind Haddonfield’s 21.

State-wide, only Haddonfield, Columbia [17], Metuchen [17], Ridgewood [15] and New Providence [14] have won more titles than Winslow. If you include the Edgewood championships, only Haddonfield, Columbia and Metuchen have more.

Brawner won the high jmp at 5-4, tying her PR, placed 2nd in the long jump at 18-10, just 1 ½ inches off her outdoor PR (she’s gone 19-3 ½ indoors), took 3rd in the triple jump at 38-10 and also placed 3rd in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.06, not far from her PR of 14.93.

She’s tied for top seed in the high jump at states, No. 3 seed in both horizontal jumps and No. 7 seed in the hurdles.

Okaro had a huge weekend in the sprints, PR’ing with 12.07 for 3rd in the 100, PR’ing with a 56.30 for 3rd in the 400 and running 25.34 for 4th in the 200. She’s seeded 4th, 7th and 3rd at states.

Clement PR’d with a 14.45 in the hurdles and placed 2nd, took 3rd in the 200 in 25.13 and ran 5th in the intermediates in 1:04.44. She’s seeded 3rd at states in the highs, 4th in the 200 and 7th in the intermediates.

Junior Brook-lynn Roberts won the discus with a PR 147-7, the best South Jersey sectional mark in any group in 11 years, since Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard won Group 4 in 2013 in 168-0. It’s No. 7 in South Jersey history and only 8 ½ feet off the SJ-3 meet record of 156-1 set in 2003 by Delsea’s Jocelyn White. She also placed 3rd in the shot with a 41-2 ¼ throw, also a PR.

Robinson ran a big 400 PR of 55.76 in the 400, which makes her the No. 2 seed at states, and took 4th in the intermediaters in 1:03.16 and will be the No. 5 seed at states. Her 55.76 is No. 3 among all groups and makes her the 4th-fastest freshman in New Jersey in the last 20 years, behind Sianni Wynn [54.01 last year], Olympic gold medalist and 400IH world record holder Sydney McLaughlin [54.08 in 2014] and Columbia’s Olivia Baker [54.96 in 2011]. Her 1:03.16 is fastest by a New Jersey freshman since Rancocas Valley’s Anabella Chin ran 1:03.10 in 2019.

Junior Ava Millner placed 3rd in the 800 with a PR 2:18.86, sophomore Chantina Walker picked up 5ths in both the high jump at 5-0 and triple jump at 36-4, senior Sierra Handy PR’d in the 100 with a 12.70 for 6th and freshman Skyhe Seamon PR’d in the 400 with a 57.83, which makes her the 6th-fastest freshman in New Jersey this year.

Winslow also picked up 24 big points in the relays, with a win in the 4-by-4 in 3:58.16, a 2nd in the 4-by-2 in 48.70 and a 3rd in the 4-by-8 in 9:55.08.

Accoording to lineups listed in the official results, Handy, Seamon, sophomore Jahrya Jackson and Walker ran on the 4-by-1, Clement, senior Djassi Dean, freshman Tristan Hughes and Millner on the 4-by-4 and Dean, Hughes, Millner and Robinson on the 4-by-8.

As we wrote about over the weekend, Timber Creek sprinters junior Ryan Jennings and senior Naylah Jones ran the two-fastest 100-meter dashes in New Jersey history, Jennings winning in 11.33 and Jones 2nd in 11.38. Jones won the 200 in 24.19 and Jennings was 2nd in 24.27. Jones also won the 400 in 55.53.

Timber Creek also shattered the South Jersey record in the 4-by-1, which we wrote about on Friday.

⮕ Absegami junior Jaidah Garrett, who only hit 18 feet for the first time a month ago, became the 16th member of the South Jersey 19-foot club with a 19-2 on her 5th jump, the best jump of any athlete in any group in any sectional meet this weekend.

Garrett is now No. 11 in South Jersey history and only ¾ of an inch off the Atlantic County record of 19-2 ¾, set by Holy Spirit’s Asia Young at 2016 South Jersey Group 3 sectionals at Central Regional in Bayville. She was only half an inch off the Group 3 meet record of 19-2 ½ set in 2015 in Bayville.

⮕ Ocean City senior Sophia Curtis had another big day, winning the triple jump at 40-4, the best mark in New Jersey this year, as well as the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.28, fastest time in Group 3 this year. She was also 3rd in the long jump with a lifetime-best 17-11 ¾ and 4th in the 400 at 56.69. Curtis will be top seed at states in the triple jump and intermediates, No. 5 seed in the long jump and No. 4 seed in the 400.

⮕ Mainland Regional junior Sofia Day won the 800 with an outdoor-PR 2:13.61, the fastest winning time since Renee Tomlin of Ocean City won the 2005 race in a hand-timed 2:10.5. Absegami soph Samia Ghazaz was 2nd in 2:16.86, a nearly three-second PR.

⮕ Moorestown junior Hannah Byrd-Leitner PR’d in the pole vault, winning with a 12-2, the top mark in Group 3 over the weekend.

⮕ Timber Creek senior Guerlande Pierre won the 100-meter highs in a PR 14.32, fastest winning time in South Jersey Group 3 since Winslow’s Cidae’a Woods ran 14.15 in 2014. Pierre’s 14.32 is fastest of any sectional hurdles race this weekend.

⮕ Ocean City juniors Maeve Smith and Chloe Care went 1-2 in the 3,200 in 11:03.10 and 11:08.50.

⮕ Ocean City, with a listed lineup of Smith, Care, Frankie Ritzel and Carly Godfrey, won the 4-by-8 in 9:28.82, fastest time of all the sectionals this weekend. Godfrey is listed with a 2:18.89 anchor. Ocean City’s time is fastest in New Jersey this year and fastest time by a Cape May school since Ocean City ran 9:23.84 at the 2015 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield with Devon Grisbaum, Emma Bergman, Michaela Baker and Rachel Stremme.

⮕ Absegami junior Josephine Buxton won the javelin with a 113-8, not far off her PR of 116-4 from South Jersey Elite at Delsea.

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
19-2 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

Camden’s crew of sophomore sprinters scored accounted for 68 points in the 100, 200, 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay, and the Panthers edged Willingboro by two points to win their first sectional title in 15 years.

Camden only had seven athletes score and only scored in five events but won the South Jersey Group 2 title 78-76 over Willingboro at Delsea.

Jaiden Steele won the 100 and 200 with PRs of 10.73 and 22.16, Jawan Brownlee was 2nd in the 100 in 10.96 [after a PR 10.82 in the trials] and Ibn Muhammad was 4th in the 100 in a PR 11.08. Christian Braxton and Brownlee were 2nd and 3rd in the 200 with PRs of 22.26 and 22.27.

The all-soph quartet of Braxton, Brownlee, Muhammad and Steele also won the 400-meter relay in 42.30, and the all-soph quartet of Brownlee, Jeremiah Steeley, Chase Robinson and Braxton won the 1,600-meter relay in 3:23.86.

Camden’s 42.30 broke the meet record of 42.41 set by Deptford in 2016.

Steele, Brownlee and Muhammad were seeded 11th, 5th and 12th in the 200 and Steele, Braxton and Brownlee were seeded 3rd, 11th and 4th in the 200.

So in the two short sprints, they scored 46 points when they would have scored 12 if the seedings went to form.

Steele is the first Camden sprinter to win a sectional 100 title since Sherron Bullock in 2004 and the first to sweep the 100 and 200 since Bullock in 2003.

This is Camden’s 9th sectional title but first since the Panthers won Group 2 in 2009. Camden also won Group 4 in 1970, 1986, 1995 and 1997, Group 3 in 2001, 2004 and 2005 and Group 2 in 2009.

As recently as 2022, Camden scored just two points at sectionals – Israel Clark-White ran 11.09 for 5th in the 100. So this is a remarkable turnaround for the Camden program.

Other than the two short sprints and the two short relays Camden only scored in one event – senior Teron Murray was one of six high jumpers to clear 6-2 but the only one to clear it on his first attempt. If he cleared it on his 3rd attempt, Camden would not have won the championshp.

Willingboro senior Eric Foster won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.00, placed 4th in the 200 in 22.42 and also led off the Chimeras’ 2nd-place 400-meter relay team, which ran 42.81. Rae-Juan Gayle, Somad Iyiola and Christopher Jones also ran.

The Boro scored big points in the weights – 30 in the shot and disc. Senior Derrick Swain won the discus at 154-7 and was 3rd in the shot with a 51-2 ¼, senior Julian Williams won the shot with a PR 56-4 ¼ and took 5th in the disc at 139-5 and junior Jaleen Johnson picked up two points with a 5th in the shot put at 48-1 ¾.

Senior Tra’San Adams and junior Zaire Wormley both cleared 6-2 for 4th and 6th in the high jump and Jones jumped 42-5 for 6th in the triple jump.

Willingboro also took 3rd in the 4-by-8 with Christian Bryant, Nasier Fields, Justin Green and Terrance Wesley running 8:25.24 And Willingboro placed 4th in the 4-by-4 in 3:26.81 with a listed lineup of Iyiola, Jones, Jackson Murry and Gayle.

Eight other schools picked up at least one win, but only Camden, Willingboro and Delran had multiple individual winners. For Delran, junior Emir Canli PR’d with a 22-7 ½ to win the long jump, and junior Dylan Husband threw 163-7 to win the javelin. He’s Delran’s sectional javelin winer since Andre Fisher in 1991.

Also:

⮕ Cedar Creek senior Matthew Winterbottom won the 800 in 1:57.76 and became Cedar Creek’s first sectional champ on the track since Gary Melton in the 100 in 2013.

⮕ Seneca senior Jason Sheairs PR’d in the 400-meter hurdles with a 56.23 and became Seneca’s first sectional champ on the track since Drew Kanz won the 110-meter hurdles in 2009.

⮕ Sophomore Jacob Wickersham continued Cinnaminson’s tremendous distance tradition with a 9:32.77 win in the 3,200. Previous Cinnaminson sectional winners in the 3,200 are Steve Stanley in 1990, Bill Mason in 1999, Jon Anderson in 2004, Steve Grabowski in 2005, Matt Poskus in 2007 and Todd Campbell in 2008 and 2009.

⮕ Sterling senior Justice Gamble became the first repeat winner in the South Jersey Group 2 triple jump since the event was added in 2003. Gamble won last year with a 44-10 ¾ and this year at 44-9 ¼. Calvin Gunning in 2004, Dan Milani in 2006 and Jaden Johnson in 2022 make it five Sterling triple jump wins at sectionals.

⮕ Pleasantville junior Jermaine Nelson PR’d with a 49.47 to win the 400. Pleasantville has won the South Jersey Group 2 400 five of the last seven times it’s been contested with Tarence Walker in 2017, Sahmir Jones in 2018, Xander Roberts-Bogin in 2022 and 2023 and Nelson this year. The meet wasn’t held in 2020.

⮕ Senior Bennett Wright of Haddonfield joined Eric Bonnette [1996, 1997], Chris Platt [2001], Michael Burke [2006], Colin Baker [2008, 2009], Matt Nussbaum [2010], Ben Potts [2011], Greg Pelose [2015, 2016] and Seth Clevenger [2022] as the 12th Haddonfield 1,600 winner in the last 28 years. Wright ran 4:25.99.

⮕ Sophomore Luke Andresen, senior Liam Dougherty, senior Reid Gervasi and junior Case Hurly ran 8:13.43 to win the 4-by-8 for the 8th time the last 11 times it’s been contested.

⮕ Oakcrest senior Ryan Merlino, the Meet of Champions winner indoors and 5th at Armory Nationals, cleared 15-6 to win the pole vault, breaking the Group 2 meet record of 15-0 set by Cinnaminson’s Matt Mancini in 2006 and matched in 2019 by both Nico Morales and Marco Morales of Delsea.

Senior Dahlia Beasley picked up two wins, a 2nd and a 3rd for 34 total points to lead the Washington Township girls to their first sectional title in 23 years.

Beasley won the high jump at 5-4 and the long jump with a PR 18-8, ran 24.62 for 2nd in the 200 and ran 56.50 for 3rd in the 400 in the South Jersey Group 4 meet at Pennsauken.

Township scored 52 points on the track and 60 in the field and topped Rancocas Valley 114-82, with defending-champion Eastern 3rd with 60 points.

It was Township’s first sectional title since they won South Jersey Group 4 in 2001, 83-47 over Eastern behind triple winner LaToya Benson, who swept the 100, 200 and long jump at Buena. Township also won in 1998, 69-64 over Shawnee, and in 2000, 63-36 over Edgewood.

Junior Ella Karp, senior Dylan Giloley, juniot Dakota Jones and sophomore Cali Lacovara combined for 48 more points.

Karp won the shot put at 38-11 ½ and took 3rd in the discus with a 108-4 throw, Giloley PR’d with a 12.02 for 2nd in the 100 and ran 25.35 for 4th in the 200, Jones won the 100-meter high hurdles with a speedy PR 14.50 (fastest by a Gloucester County girl in 10 years) and Lacovara won the pole vault at 10-6. Giloley also ran on Township’s 3rd-place 400-meter relay team.

Township also won the 3,200-meter relay in 9:45.14. The runners listed in the results are sophomore Hannah Sales, freshman Layla Beasley, junior Kaylee Russen and sophomore Taylor Stuart. Thanks, Washington Township for helping out with the correct lineup! .

And senior Kayla D’Ottaviano, senior Madison Nesmith, Giloley and senior Alexandria Hetzel ran 49.15 to take 3rd in the 4-by-1.

Sophomore Riley Gramble took 2nd in the triple jump with a season-best 36-1 ½ leap, junior Zaida Taylor Buch contributed six points with a 3rd in the long jump at 16-8 3/4 and senior Laura Stanger placed 5th in the shot with a 36-3 ½.

Pennsauken sophomore Sianni Wynn swept the 100, 200 and 400 and set meet records of 11.39, 23.76 and 53.80. She also anchored Pennsauken’s wininng 4-by-1, which ran 48.01. Sophomore Sanaya Dupree, junior Amina Dyer and freshman Kinya Dawson are also listed in the results.

Eastern sophomore Natalie Dumas won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.27 and ran a 55.90 anchor leg on Eastern’s winning 4-by-4. Junior Samantha Osei-Kyei split 56.63 on the 3rd leg, and senior Lomaria Tengbeh and senior Eva Sprewell also ran for the Vikings, according to the results.

Senior Zoe Goldberg also picked up a win for Eastern with a PR-equalling 146-1 in the javelin. She’s No. 8 in South Jersey history.

Rancocas Valley’s Lauren Fadairo PR’d in the triple jump at 38-4 ½ [No. 5 in Burlington County history and best in 10 years].

Senior Naa’lrah Andrews popped a lifetime-best 35-8 ½ triple jump on her 5th attempt to move from 7th place to 3rd and give the Willingboro girls the points they needed in the final event of the day to win their 9th sectional title and first in South Jersey in 25 years.

With only the 1,600-meter relay and triple jump remaining in the South Jersey Group 2 Sectional Champiunships at Delsea,

Going into the 4-by-4, Haddonfield led Willingboro 128-123.

Willingboro won the relay with Sunny Oyibo, Jaden Murry, Jade Pinder and Kaila Speight running 3:58.78, but Haddonfield was 2nd in 4:00.41 [with junior Audrey Adams, senior Chloe Kamp, senior Anna Stolarick and junior Molly Minor], so with only the triple jump remaining, Haddonfield led, 136-133.

And through five jumps in the triple jump, Willingboro’s Andrews – the No. 6 seed – was sitting in 7th place after jumps of 33-3, 33-1 ½, 33-8 ½ and a foul.

Andrews came into the meet with a PR of 34-7 ¼ from the Crusader Field Meet two weeks ago at Delsea and for Willingboro to move past Haddonfield she had to finish in the top four, which meant she had to PR on one of her final two jumps.

And she did.

Andrews’ 35-8 ½ moved her into 3rd and when the event ended moments later her  six points gave Willingboro a dramatic 139-136 edge over an outstanding Haddonfield team.

Willingboro ended Haddonfield’s streak of five consecutive South Jersey Group 2 titles – 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The Willingboro girls also won South Jersey Group 4 in 1980, 1981 and 1992; South Jersey Group 3 in 1984, 1985 and 1999; Central Jersey Group 3 in 2004; and Central Jersey Group 1 in 2019.

It was a back-and-forth meet all weekend between Willingboro and Haddonfield, who have been among of the strongest programs in the state for decades.

Willingboro scored 62 of a possible 72 points in the 100, 200 and 400, with amazing Nester Wea winning all three in her first meet of the year. Wea hadn’t raced since indoor Nationals in Boston because of an injury. But she won the 100 in 12.04, the 200 in 24.80 and the 400 in 56.70 as well as anchoring the Chimeras’ 2nd-place 4-by-1.

The Boro swept the 200 with Wea, freshman Maya Bolden and sophomore Kaila Speight going 1-2-3, went 1-3-5 in the 100 with Wea 1st, Bolden 3rd and Speight 5th and 1-2-4 in the 400 with Bolden running 57.

Bolden ran three PRs – 12.25, 24.96 and 57.10, and Speight ran 12.45, 25.31 and a PR 57.73.

The versatile Andrews also won the high jump with a 5-2, placed 3rd in the javelin at 99-0 and took 6th in the shot put at 100-7. The old triple jump / high jump / javelin / shot put quad.

Two other Willingboro high jumpers placed– sophomore Briannah Gunning-Brown and freshman Trinity Brapoh tied for 5th at 4-10. And senior Marnae Coleman-Rudolph also medaled in the javelin with a 6th place at 87-1.

The Chimeras added 10 points in the 400-meter hurdles, with sophomore Jaden Murry 3rd in 1:06.43 and junior Sunny Obiyo 4th in 1:07.12.

Only a 10th of a second separated a Willingboro hurdler and two Haddonfield hurdlers in the 100-meter highs. Junior Sunny Obiyo was 2nd in 15.73 and Haddonfield juniors Audrey Adams [15.75] and Nicolette Pinkerton [15.80] took 3rd and 4th. Adams was also 6th in the 400IH in 1:08.25.

Willingboro went 3-6 in the shot, junior Yaramari Torres throwing 32-0 ¼ for 3rd and junior Chloe Worthy 30-10 ¾ for 6th.

Willingboro was 2nd in the 4-by-1 with Bolden, Trinity Brapoh, Jaden Murry and Wea running 48.38.

Haddonfield scored 49 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Senior Anna Stolarick won the 800 in 2:18.34, with senior Sarah Fetter 5th in 2:24.95 and junior Tylin Regan 6th in 2:26.09. Senior Ava Thomas [5:01.83] led a 1-2-5 finish in the 1,600 with Stolarick [5:10.18] and freshman Madison Kelsey [5:25.45] and Thomas also won the 3,200 [10:52.99] with freshman Devon Gervasi 3rd [11:31.24].

Haddonfield senior Rebecca Hoover cleared 12-5 on her 3rd attempt to win the pole vault, with senior Mia Bompesa [9-6] and senior Fiona Mamas [8-6] in 3rd and 5th, and junior Nicolette Pinkerton jumped 17-9 to win the long jump

Haddofield also won the 400-meter relay in 48.33 with Chloe Kamp, Molly Minor, Ava Peifer and Pinkerton, and the 4-by-8 with Solarick, Thomas, Regan and Fetter running 9:46.12.

Junior Maeve Hurly took 2nd in the high jump for Haddonfield at 5-2 and Adams was 4th at 5-0, and junior Emalie Stanilla threw the discus 103-5 for 3rd place.

Glassboro scored in 14 of 18 events over the weekend and piled up double-digit points in eight events and rolled to their 2nd consecutive South Jersey Group 1 Championships at Pennsauken.

The Bulldogs scored 15 points in the shot, 14 in the 1,600 and 3,200, 13 in the long jump and 10 in the triple jump, discus, 100 and 400-meter relay and rolled to a 122-81 win over a very deep and talented Woodbury team.

Glassboro also won South Jersey Group 1 in 2009 and last year.

Senior Cartrell Moore had a monster weekend, winning the triple jump at 46-2, placing 2nd in the long jump with a 21-7 ¾, running a big PR 53.56 for 2nd in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles and running a PR 49.15 for 3rd in the 400.

That’s 32 points for Moore, enough to single-handedly place 6th in Group 1 team scoring.

Moore actually ran under the previous meet record in the 400IH – 54.08 by Chris Mesiano of Schalick in 2015 – but was edged by Riverside’s Jamir Brown, who ran 53.32.

Senior Damere Lassiter swept the two weights with a 50-2 ½ and 174-4, and senior Brysheen Ferguson, sophomore Amari Sabb, freshman Xavier Sabb and senior Caron Wright joined Moore on the 400-meter relay, which won in 42.61, not far off Salem’s meet record of 42.40 from 2017.

Junior Ty Blackman also had a big meet, with a 2nd in the 3,200 in 9:39.29 and a PR 4:30.97 for 3rd in the 1,600.

Xavier Sabb continued to shine in his freshman year, taking 3rd in the 100 in 10.79 – only 3-100ths of a second off the state freshman record of 10.76 by Willingboro’s Malachi James at the 2021 Meet of Champions – and also running 5th in the 200 in 22.50.

Senior Desmond Vassell scored in both hurdles, taking 4th in the highs with a PR 14.97 and 6th in the intermediates in 58.20.

Other Bulldog medalists: Ferguson ran a PR 10.83 for 4th in the 100, senior Charles Graves jumped 20-2 ½ for 4th in the long jump, junior Kyle Williams threw 46-3 ¼ for 4th in the shot, senior Jeremiah Jones was 6th in the shot put with a 44-3 ½, sophomore Amari Sabb cleared 5-10 for 6th in the high jump and Wright jumped 20-0 for 6th in the long jump.

Glassboro also took 4th in the 4-by-4 with a listed lineup of Ferguson, Vassell, sophomore Ison Keith and senior Joseph Hadrick.

Peyton Shute tripled the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 in 1:56.46, 4:24.09 and 9:23.61, unpressed in all three.

James, a senior at Burlington, swept the 100 in 10.18 and 200 in 21.42, Brown won the 110 highs in 14.02 and long jump at 23-3 ½ in addition to the intermediates, Clayton junior Alexander Osayemi won the 400 in 47.98, Gloucester junior Ryan James cleared 6-4 to win the high jump, Pennsville junior Connor Ayars threw 162-0 to win the javelin, Audubon junior Leo Davis cleared 14-0 to win the pole vault.

Sophomore Riley Fayer won three races to lead the Audubon girls to the first sectional championship in school history.

Fayer ran 2:18.00, 5:07.47 and 11:02.14 for 30 points, and Audubon won the South Jersey Group 1 Championship at Pennsauken by 16 1/3 points over Salem.

Fayer has PRs of 2:17.40, 5:04.02 and 10:58.45 so she was close to all three while tripling in one meet.

With only the 4-by-4 remaining, Audubon had 79 1/3 points, with Salem [71] and Clayton [70] within striking distance.

The Green Wave clinched the title when the listed team of freshman Sophia Rizzo, sophomore Kylie Tocco, senior Madelin Owens and senior Arianna Bittner placed 2nd in 4:06.98.

Audubon finished with an 87 1/3-71 margin of victory over Salem, which did not have a team in the 4-by-4.

Also for Audubon, Bittner won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:05.69 for her first sectional title. She was 3rd last year. Bittner also took 6th in the 400 in 1:00.53.

Audubon won the 4-by-8 10:03.01 with a listed lineup of freshman Isabella Legatie, freshman Lydia Gravante, sophomore Charlie Owens and senior Madelin Carter.

Sophomore Marissa DeValerio PR’d with a 16-8 ½ for 2nd place in the long jump, and junior Elizabeth Butrica cleared 9-6 for 2nd in the pole vault and also medaled with a 6th place in the hurdles with a 17.38. Carter also placed 5th in both the 800 in 2:25.61 and the 1,600 in 5:43.24.

In the field, sophomore Julianna Laxton cleared 4-10 in the high jump for 4th place, senior Jayden McCraken PR’d in the discus with a 103-10 for 5th.

Audubon also scored two points in the 4-by-1 with a listed lineup of Rizzo, senior Kira Collins, Tocco and Laxton running 51.81.