From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

What a race for Tom Long today at the MAAC Championships at the Armory!

Long, a Cinnaminson High School graduate and Rider junior, PR’d for the fourth race in a row Sunday, running 4:15.77 for seventh place in the mile at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships at the 168th Street Armory.

Not bad for a guy who never broke 4:24 in high school!

Long went into the meet as the No. 10 seed with a season-best and PR of 4:18.46 at a meet at Boston University last month

Long’s improvement has been dramatic. His PR at Cinnaminson was 4:24.53 for 1,600 meters from the South Jersey Invitational at Delsea in the spring of 2016. He focused mainly on the 800 his first year at Rider and only ran a couple mile races before this past January with a collegiate best of 4:27.47 from last winter.

But he PR’d at 4:22.81 in a meet at Ocean Breeze the first week of January and then lowered that to 4:18.46 in a meet at Boston University in late January and lowered it again with his 4:17.27 in the trials Saturday.

That set him up for Sunday’s final, where he PR’d again with a 4:15.77, less than two seconds out of third. That’s the equivalent of a 4:14.29 for 1,600 meters, so that’s more than a 10-second PR from high school.

Long was out in 33.0, then ran 31.7, 32.0, 32.1 for 2:08.7 through 800 meters and came back in 2:07.1 on 31.9, 32.6, 32.2 and 30.4. That’s a 62.6 final 400.

Johannes Motschmann of Iona won the race in 4:11.17, just ahead of Evans Kibet of Siena, second in 4:11.76.

Thanks in great part to its large South Jersey contingent, Georgian Court won its second Eastern Collegiate Conference indoor track title in three years Saturday at the Ocean Breeze track in Staten Island, N.Y.

Georgian Court of Lakewood outscored St. Thomas Aquinas of Sparkhill, N.Y., 194-113.

Freshman William Goldsborough of Delsea won the shot put and took third in the weight throw, freshman Charles Wolef-Fields of Wildwood Catholic won the 60-meter dash and junior Devin Martin of Williamstown [via St. Joe’s Prep in Philly] won the triple jump for the Lions.

Let’s take a look at the five South Jersey athletes who contributed to Georgian Court’s overwhelming win:

William Goldsborough: The freshman from Delsea won the shot put with a 52-1 on his first throw of the finals moving him from fourth into first. He also PR’d in the weight throw with a 47-7 3/4.

DaShawn Lamar-Baldwin: A junior from Bridgeton who never broke 54.9 in high school, Lamar-Baldwin ran 50.46 for second place in the 400 and also anchored the Lions’ second-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:22.84, and took fifth in the triple jump with a 43-1 3/4.

Devin Martin: The Williamstown native out of St. Joe’s Prep in Philly won the triple jump with a personal-best 46-3 1/2 and ran the second leg on the second-place 1,600-meter relay team.

Kennedy Omari: A junior out of Cherry Hill East, Omari placed fifth in both the long jump with a 22-2 1/2 – an inch off his PR – and the high jump with a 5-10 clearance.

Alejandro Valdez: The Cape Atlantic League champ for Bridgeton last year, Valdez took third in the shot with a 48-11 throw.

Charles Wolef-Fields: A Cape May Courthouse native out and two-time sectional champ at Wildwood Catholic, Wolef-Fields won the 60-meter dash in 6.92 — 1-100th of a second off his PR — after a 6.94 in the trials. He also placed second in the 200 with a college personal-best 21.94, although he did run 21.73 in high school.

Georgian Court coach Mike Murawski is a native of Cinnaminson and graduate of Holy Cross and was the 2002 and 2003 Parochial A high jump champ and won BCSL titles in the high jump, intermediates, pole vault and long jump.

He attended Duquesne University, where he still holds school records in the high jump (6-8 1/4) and decathlon (6140).

It’s easy to point to Bishop Eustace’s distance depth as the main reason the Crusaders won their fifth consecutive state Parochial B title Saturday.

Led by double winner Connor Melko, Eustace scored 51 of its 68 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 on the way to a 68-65 win over Mater Dei of Middletown.

But don’t overlook the shot put.

It’s there that senior Joshua Mo uncorked a two-foot PR of 45-10 1/4 to win the shot and score 10 huge points to supplant what the distance team accomplished.

Considering Eustace won by three points — its thinnest margin of its five straight state indoor titles — that shot put was critical.

Mo’s previous PR was 43-10 1/2 at the a meet at Ocean Breeze earlier this month, and this is someone whose PR last winter was 37 feet and change and has an outdoor PR of 41-6 1/2.

So for him to bomb a 45-10 1/4 was huge for the Crusaders. That’s exactly the kind of improvement you look for from your senior leaders in the biggest meet of the year.

As for Melko, he ran 4:28.47 to win the 1,600 and 10:30.49 to win the 3,200, senior Sean May ran 2:03.39 to win the 800, and senior Andrew Massaro was third in the 1,600 in 4:45.73 and fourth in the 800 in 2:07.51. Seniors Manik Dhawan and Grant Melko also scored for the Eustace distance team, Dhawan taking fifth in the 1,600 in 4:50.21 and Grant Melko sixth in the 3,200 in 11:35.94.

Senior Nasir Menoken-El got a big point with a sixth place in the high hurdles after barely making the final with the eighth-fastest time in the trials. And Eustace’s 4-by-4 took sixth in 3:46.53.

Only Willingboro (14) and Haddonfield (11) have won more state titles indoors among South Jersey boys programs. Bridgeton also has six. Overall, Eustace ranks tied for 10th in the state with its six state titles.

Eustace won its first title in 2010, shared with St. Rose of Belmar, before starting its current streak of five straight championships in 2015.

2019: Eustace 68, Mater Dei 65
2018: Eustace 69, Mater Dei 59 1/2
2017: Eustace 66, Hudson Catholic 48
2016: Eustace 96, Hudson Catholic 67
2015: Eustace 62, Camden Catholic 46

Distance runners Derek Gess, junior Martin Riddell and senior Greg Eisenhower combined to score 30 of Haddonfield’s 47 points, Zachariah Murray won the 400, and the Bulldogs won their fourth state title in the last five years Saturday.

Haddonfield outscored Matawan 47-38.8 to win the state Group 2 title at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Gess  placed second in the 1,600 [4:18.68] and third in the 800 [1:58.00], Riddell was second in the 3,200 [9:37.82] and fifth in the 1,600 [PR 4:22.11] and Eisenhower was third in the 3,200 [indoor PR 9:38.15].

Murray won the 400 in 49.63 for 10 huge points out of the gate for the Bulldogs and also anchored Haddonfield’s fourth-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:30.96.

Senior Josh Montana tied his PR and set an indoor PR of 13-6 in taking fifth place in the pole vault.

Haddonfield won its first state indoor title in 1987, then won four straight from 2000 through 2003 and over the last decade has won in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and this year. All came in Group 1 until the last two in Group 2.

The Bulldogs’ 11 overall state championships are fifth-most in state history.

There’s no slowing down the Winslow steamroller!

The Winslow girls won their second straight state Group 3 indoor state championship and their sixth in the last eight years, outscoring second-place Ramapo, 43-26.

In all Winslow has won eight indoor titles, plus a ninth as Edgewood. Only Columbia, with 10 titles from 1983 through 2014, has won more indoor girls state titles than Winslow.

As she has been so many times over the years, tireless senior Tionna Tobias starred for the Eagles with a fast dash-hurdles double.

Tobias won the 55-meter dash in 7.24 after a PR 7.23 in the trials and won the highs in 8.20, only 4-100ths off her PR of 8.16, set last winter in the Meet of Champions.

The state titles are Tobias’s fourth and fifth but her first on the track. The others came in the long jump and high jump.

Tobias’s best event, the long jump, isn’t contested at the indoor state meet, but she’ll have the chance to jump at Eastern’s next week. She was ranked 27th nationally last spring at 19-11 1/2.

Winslow also got points from junior Janeya Hammond [3rd in 400 in 59.43, 5th in 55, 7.37], freshman Jaia James [6th in 55, 7.39] and the 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 4:01.40.

Now, THAT’S a PR!

Gabriel Moronta lowered his 800 PR more than 2 1/2 seconds Saturday on his way to his first state title.

The Pleasantville junior ran away from the field with a 1:56.71 to win the state Group 2 800-meter run title Saturday at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

That’s No. 1 this year by a South Jersey half-miler and No. 4 in the state and No. 7 in Atlantic County indoor history, with six of the top-nine times in Atlantic County history coming from Pleasantville runners.

Moronta’s previous PR was a 1:59.48 at a meet at the Bennett Center in January. HIs fastest last year was a 2:02.44 outdoors and a 2:03.84 indoors, so he’s shown tremendous improvement this year at the Pleasantville 800 Factory.

On Saturday, Moronta led three runners under two minutes, with Matawan’s Dylan LoPresti second in 1:57.54 and Haddonfield’s Derek Gess third in 1:58.00.

Moronta was also fourth in the 400 with a personal-best 50.42 — his first time under 51 seconds indoors or out — and ran on P’ville’s third-place 1,600-meter relay time, which ran 3:29.47. Benjamin Clark, Kinderson Cajuste and Quentin Bundy joined Moronta on the 4-by-4 team.

ALL-TIME ATLANTIC COUNTY INDOOR 800 LIST
1:51.52 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.72 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:53.51 … Alan Laws [Pleasantville], 2007
1:53.68 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2013
1:55.13 … Joe Lewis [Pleasantville], 1998
1:56.43 … Eric Barnes [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
1:56.71 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2019
1:56.73 … Dan Galeano [Absegami], 2010
1:56.77 … Larry Ramirez [Pleasantville], 2010

What a state meet for Palmyra senior Sam Aviles!

Aviles won the 55-meter high hurdles in a personal-best 7.49 and took second in the 55-meter dash in 6.63, just 4-100ths off his PR set at sectionals.

That’s 18 points for Aviles at states, good enough to single-handedly lead Palmyra to third place in team scoring behind only Willingboro (56) and Mountain Lakes (20).

Let’s focus on Aviles’ progress in the hurdles, which has been steady and very impressive.

Aviles, the state champ at 100 meters last spring, entered the indoor season with a PR of 7.68 from the semifinals at Easterns on the fast Armory track.

He lowered that to 7.64 in the prelims of a SJTCA meet at the Bennett Center late last month and then to 7.56 in the finals.

After a 7.58 to win sectionals, he lowered his PR twice more this weekend, down to 7.50 in the trials at states and 7.49 in the final.

He’s now sitting fourth in the state going into Meet of Champs and Easterns and No. 9 on the all-time Burlington County list, where he’s fastest in seven years.

Aviles is No. 8 in South Jersey this winter in the 55, which makes him one of only two boys in South Jersey ranked in the top 10 in both the dash and the hurdles. Deptford senior Tyriq Bundy is No. 5 in the 55 [6.57] and No. 9 in the hurdles [7.81].

Aviles continues a long, colorful tradition of terrific hurdling at Palmyra. He’s the fifth state high hurdles champ in Palmyra history, following Charlie Pratt and Belmont Flournoy in the 1950s, Warren McGee in the 1970s, Bob Howard in the 1980s and national champion Will Brown in the 2000s.

He’s also Palmyra’s first state champion in 13 years, since Brown won a bunch of them in 2005 and 2006.

ALL-TIME BURLINGTON COUNTY 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.1h … Jim Little [Moorestown], 1976
7.1h … Marc Dickerson [Willingboro], 1979
7.35 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
7.40 … Lance Reed [Willingboro], 1982
7.46 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.47 … Darius Holmes [Willingboro], 2012
7.49 … Chris Nichols [Willingboro], 1991
7.49 … Sam Aviles [Palmyra], 2019
7.50 … Darren McCluskey [Cherokee], 2011
7.4h … Dave Bannar [Rancocas Valley], 1976
7.4h … Eugene Mumford [Rancocas Valley], 1984
7.4h … Doug Newman [Willingboro], 1986
7.4h … John Sease [Willingboro], 1978
7.4h … Ed Loges [Shawnee], 1992
7.56 … Dwayne Robinson [Moorestown], 1989
7.60 … Mike Brown [Lenape], 1997
7.62 … Jusson Boyd [Willingboro], 2007
7.64 … Edgar Gantt [Rancocas Valley], 1998
7.65 … Jayaire King [Willingboro], 2019
7.66 … Napolean Suarez [Pemberton], 2000
7.69 … Rashaan Richardson [Pemberton], 2015
7.69 … Aliya Haqq [Rancocas Valley], 2017

ALL-TIME S.J. 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.22 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.29 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
7.29 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.29 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.32 … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.34 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015
7.1h … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.1h … Jim Little [Moorestown], 1976
7.1h … Marc Dickerson [Willingboro], 1979
7.1h … George Bland [Penns Grove], 1987
7.35 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
7.39 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
7.40 … Lance Reed [Willingboro], 1982
7.42 … Kevon Brown [West Deptford], 2009
7.42 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.43 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.43 … Edwin Alston [Winslow Twp.], 2015
7.45 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014
7.46 … Syteek Farrington [Camden], 2010
7.46 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.46 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.47 … Darius Holmes [Willingboro], 2012
7.48 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
7.48 … Tyrell Ross [Clearview], 2005
7.49 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
7.49 … Vince Rawlins [Eastern], 1991
7.49 … Chris Nichols [Willingboro], 1991
7.49 … Sam Aviles [Palmyra], 2019

Palmyra has one of the richest track histories in South Jersey, and Aviles won a state title 67 years after legendary Charlie Pratt – who went on to win the 1957 U.S. decathlon title – won the first.

Here’s a look at every state champ in the program’s history:

ALL-TIME PALMYRA STATE CHAMPIONS
2019 Indoors
Sam Aviles, Group 1 55-Meter Hurdles [7.49]
2006 Outdoors
Will Brown, Group 1 110-Meter Hurdles [14.18]
Will Brown, Group 1 400-Meter Hurdles [53.71]
Will Brown, All-Group 110-Meter Hurdles [14.13]
2006 Indoors
Will Brown, Group 1 55-Meter Hurdles [7.85]
Will Brown, All-Group 110-Meter Hurdles [7.71]
2005 Outdoors
Will Brown, Group 1 110-Meter Hurdles [14.31]
Will Brown, Group 1 400-Meter Hurdles [55.56]
2004 Outdoors
Will Allison, Group 1 Long Jump [22-4 3/4]
2002 Indoors
Jamal Harris, Group 1 55-Meter Dash [6.75]
1994 Outdoors
Marvin Bass, Group 1 High Jump [6-9]
Chris Eberly, Group 1 Javelin [187-8]
1994 Indoors
Marvin Bass, Group 1 High Jump [6-4]
1993 Indoors
Marvin Bass, Group 1 High Jump [6-6]
1992 Outdoors
Greg Willis, Group 1 Discus [157-8]
1988 Outdoors
Ron Trampe, Group 1 Shot Put [52-11 1/2]
Ron Trampe, Group 1 Discus [148-11]
1987 Indoors
Lenny Hunt, Group 1 High Jump [6-2]
1986 Indoors
Rodney Coon, Group 1 400-Meter Dash [53.5]
1985 Outdoors
Group 1 1,600-Meter Relay [Rodney Coon, Joe Grimes, Ron Tucker, Tim Howard], 3:25.9
1985 Indoors
Ron Tucker, Group 1 55-Meter Dash [6.5]
1981 Outdoors
Norm King, Group 1 800-Meter Run [2:00.0]
Bob Howard, Group 1 110-Meter Hurdles [14.8]
Group 1 1,600-Meter Relay [Ernie McCombs, Bob Howard, Kim Harris, Norm King], 3:22.4
1979 Outdoors
Derek Holloway, Group 1 100-Yard Dash [10.2]
Derek Holloway, Group 1 200-Yard Dash [22.2]
Warren McGee, Group 1 120-Yard High Hurdles [14.4]
Warren McGee, Group 1 330-Yard High Hurdles [38.9]
1978 Outdoors
Otto Birkhead, Group 1 100-Yard Dash [10.0]
Derek Holloway, Group 1 220-Yard Dash [22.5]
1975 Outdoors
Kevin Holloway, Group 2 100-Yard Dash [9.7]
Kevin Holloway, Group 2 220-Yard Dash [21.4]
1959 Outdoors
Bob Stanford, Group 2 100-Yard Dash [10.0]
Steve Weeks, Group 2 High Jump [6-1]
Elwood Young, Group 2 440-Yard Dash [51.3]
1956 Outdoors
Al Hinson, Group 2, 880-Yard Run [NA]
1954 Outdoors
Merrill Pratt, Group 2 880-Yard Run [1:56.8]
Belmont Flournoy, Group 2 120-Yard Hurdles [NA]
1953 Outdoors
Merrill Pratt, Group 2 880-Yard Run [1:58.2]
1952 Outdoors
Charlie Pratt, Group 2 High Hurdles [NA]
Charlie Pratt, Group 2 Low Hurdles [NA]
Charlie Pratt, Group 2 Long Hurdles [NA]

Woodrow Wilson senior Denisha Page joined Lauren Princz atop the New Jersey 55-meter dash leader board Saturday when she won the Group 2 state title.

Princz won the Marine Corps Holiday Classic 55 in 7.12 and Page matched that with her PR of 7.12 on Saturday at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Page’s previous PR was 7.16 in the trials at Eastern’s last year and her season-best this year was a 7.20 in the prelims at sectionals before a 7.19 in the trials at states.

Most impressive is the Page ran 7.12 unpushed. She won by three meters over Lily Orr of Rumson-Fair Haven, who was second in 7.41.

Page moved into the all-time South Jersey top-20 with her performance Saturday and remained undefeated in the dash this winter.

Most importantly, she won her second state title in a row and placed herself among the favorites for the Meet of Champions next weekend.

Page placed second in the Meet of Champs last spring in the 100 and third in the 200.

6.73 … Michelle Glover (Willingboro), 1981

6.88 … Patti Dunlap (Camden), 1979

6.91 … English Gardner (Eastern), 2010

6.95 … Bria Mack (Williamstown), 2017

6.95 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.), 2014

6.95 … Denise Mitchell (Edgewood), 1983

7.00 … Amandi Rhett (Moorestown), 2000

7.00 … Iyanli Kollock (Our Lady of Mercy), 2017

7.01 … Aliyah Taylor (Rancocas Valley), 2017

7.05 … Dana Burnett (Williamstown), 1996

7.07 … Aliya Harrison (Sterling), 2018

7.07 … Annie Johnson (Shawnee), 2012

7.07 … Audrey Wilson (Deptford), 2009

7.07 … Magenta Taylor (Willingboro), 1999

7.07 … Angela Clyburn (Egg Harbor Twp.), 1991

7.09 … Ste’yce McNeil (Winslow Twp.), 2012

7.09 … Emily Carson (Haddonfield), 2013

7.09 … Lauren Princz (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2018

7.11 … Jamie Walker (Haddon Hts.), 2006

7.12 … Assante Johnson (Camden), 2009

7.12 … Dennisha Page (Woodrow Wilson), 2019

7.14 … Shonda Burroughs (Vineland), 1999

7.17 … Nia Lawrence (Pemberton), 2013

7.17 … Kiara Lester (Deptford), 2014

7.17 … Krystal Cantey (Winslow Twp.), 2006

7.17 … Jailya Ash (Eastern), 2019

7.18 … Sherese Price (Pleasantville), 1997

7.19 … Latoya Benson (Washington Twp.), 2001

7.19 … Adia Starnes (Timber Creek), 2017

7.20 … Medina Salaam (Camden), 1974

7.20 … Nia Ali (Pleasantville), 2006

7.20 … Fametta Lewis (Wilson), 2007

7.20 … Tacquaya Tobias (Our Lady of Mercy), 2010

7.20 … Cidae’a Woods (Winslow Twp.), 2013

7.20 … Gabrielle Farquharson (Williamstown), 2011

Willingboro rolled to its 13th state indoor title Friday, and it’s second in a row, and to put that in context – this is the first time since 1987 and 1988 the Willingboro boys have won outright state indoor championships in back-to-back years.

Coach Martin Booker’s Chimeras piled up 56 points — fourth-most in Group 1 history — in steamrolling the field. Mountain Lakes was a distant second with 20.

Willingboro’s 36-point margin of victory is largest in Group 1 since 2010, when Haddonfield won by 36 1/2 points, 66-28 1/2 over Hasbrouck Heights.

Jayaire King led the way with a win in the 400, third place in the high hurdles and a leg on the winning 4-by-4 team. You can read more about Jayaire’s performance here.

The Chimeras also scored big in the high jump behind junior Nate Robertson (6-4) and Kameron Smith (6-2), who placed second and third.

Other Boro scorers were sophomore Deonte Allen, second in the shot put at 42-5 3/4; senior Kevin Peterson, fourth in the high hurdles at 8.12; and junior Jason Dingle, fourth in the pole vault at 12-0.

Here’s a list of the most points scored in indoor state group 1 history:

66 … Haddonfield, 2010

65 … Pleasantville, 1996

58 … Pleasantville, 2008

56 … Willingboro, 2019

55 … Haddonfield, 2016

55 … Glassboro, 2009

55 … Newark Science, 1994

54 … Pleasantville, 2013

54 … Haddonfield, 2003

53 … Haddonfield, 2002

53 … Metuchen, 1999

52 … Haddonfield, 2001

50 … Haddonfield, 2011

And here’s a list of all of Willingboro’s state titles:

1983 – Group 4

1986 – Group 3

1987 – Group 3

1988 – Group 3

1989 – Group 3 [tied with Bridgeton & Monmouth Regional]

1990 – Group 4

1995 – Group 4

1997 – Group 4

2000 – Group 3

2002 – Group 3

2012 – Group 2

2018 – Group 1

2019 – Group 1

So for all of the program’s historic achievements, this is the first time the Chimeras have won indoor state titles in back-to-back seasons since 1988 and 1989 and the first time they’ve won outright titles in consecutive seasons indoors since 1987 and 1988.

Just for the record, here’s a look at all of Willingboro’s state relay titles and outdoor state titles.

The boys have won 14 state relays titles, 13 indoor state titles and 12 outdoor state titles and the girls have won nine relay titles, six indoors and four outdoors.

That’s a total of 39 state championships now for the Chimera boys and 19 for the girls — 57 state team titles and counting for the Boro!

BOYS

State Relays (14)

1982 [Group 4]

1983 [Group 4]

1985 [Group 3]

1986 [Group 3]

1987 [Group 3]

1990 [Group 4]

1996 [Group 4]

2000 [Group 3]

2001 [Group 3]

2002 [Group 3]

2003 [Group 3]

2005 [Group 3]

2012 [Group 3]

2015 [Group 1]

2017 [Group 1]

2018 [Group 1]

2019 [Group 1]

Indoor States (13)

1983 [Group 4]

1986 [Group 3]

1987 [Group 3]

1988 [Group 3]

1989 [Group 3]

1990 [Group 4]

1995 [Group 4]

1997 [Group 4]

2000 [Group 3]

2002 [Group 3]

2012 [Group 2]

2018 [Group 1]

2019 [Group 1]

Outdoor States (12)

1979 [Group 4]

1981 [Group 4]

1982 [Group 4]

1986 [Group 3]

1988 [Group 3]

1989 [Group 3]

1990 [Group 4]

1991 [Group 4]

1993 [Group 4]

1994 [Group 4]

2002 [Group 3]

2003 [Group 3]

GIRLS

State Relays (9)

1992 [Group 4]

1993 [Group 4]

1995 [Group 4]

1997 [Group 4]

2002 [Group 3]

2003 [Group 3]

2004 [Group 3]

2005 [Group 3]

2010 [Group 2]

2019 [Group 1]

Indoor States (6)

1980 [All-Groups]

1981 [Group 4]

1998 [Goup 3]

2002 [Group 3]

2003 [Group 3]

2004 [Group 3]

Outdoor States (4)

1980 [Group 4]

1981 [Group 4]

1999 [Group 3]

2002 [Group 3]

The only New Jersey schools with more indoor state championships than the Willingboro boys are Christian Brothers Academy (23) and Asbury Park (15 but none since 1996).

What a remarkable breakthrough race Friday for Emily Wallace! And what a breakthrough meet for Collingswood.

Wallace, a junior at Collingswood, lowered her 55-meter dash PR from 7.42 to 7.29 and won her first state title at the state Group 1 meet at the Bennett Center.

Wallace, who also placed in the 400 and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay team, had a hand in 24 of Collingswood’s 39 points as the Panthers outscored second-place Highland Park 39-24.

Her 55 win was the key to Collingswood’s first championship in school history.

Wallace’s best time coming into the season was a 7.60 from December last season. She lowered that to 7.46 in her first indoor meet this past December, then to 7.42 when she won sectionals.

She posted only the third-fastest time in the trials Friday at 7.47 but saved it all for the final, where she ran away from the field. Rebecca Kneppel of Butler was second in 7.41.

Wallace is now sixth-fastest in South Jersey this year and 12th in New Jersey. Her time is fastest winning time in the state Group 1 race by a South Jersey sprinter since Emily Carson of Haddonfield won the 2013 race in 7.16.

Wallace also placed fourth in the 400 in 1:00.33, with teammate Dash Cruz just behind in sixth.

Other Collingswood scorers: Senior Quinn Basewitz placed fifth in the 1,600 in 5:24.1, sophomore Sophie Steidle ran 11:46.45 for second in the 3,200, and senior Samantha Hamrick was fourth in the 800 in 2:28.42.