Haddonfield’s Greg Pelose ran 1:54 and 4:15 at Group 2 states.
Three half-milers at 1:56 or faster? Three milers at 4:20 or better? A meet record in the 4-by-8? A third place in the 3,200?
The Haddonfield boys roared to their fourth outdoor Group 2 track state championship in seven years Saturday at South Plainfield, and they did it largely on the strength of an absurd performance in the longer track races.
Final team scores are still not available, but it appears that Haddonfield scored 38 of its 49 points in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 4-by-8.
Let’s take a look at how Haddonfield put together the fifth state championship in school history:
800-METER RUN: An incredibly fast race, with 17 runners under two minutes — including five from the unseeded heat — and 12 under 1:57. That’s insane. In fact, last place — last place — was 2:01.89.
As for Haddonfield, junior Austin Stoner ran 1:54.63 for third, junior Greg Pelose was fourth in 1:54.93 and senior Jack Wood ran seventh in 1:56.07.
Pelose has run 1:54.54, but the times were PRs for both Stoner and Wood. Stoner and Wood had both run their previous PRs at the Haddonfield Invitational, 1:54.98 for Stoner and 1:57.29 for Wood.
Pelose, Stoner and Wood now rank No. 2, 3 and 9 this year in South Jersey. They are ranked No. 6, No. 8 and No. 17 from the six state championship meets over the weekend.
10 points.
1,600-METER RUN: Pelose won in 4:15.10, with Stoner fourth in 4:19.66 and senior Danny Brennan sixth in 4:20.31. All three times are PRs of at least two seconds.
Pelose’s previous fastest 1,600 was a 4:17.41 at the Cherokee Night of Racing. Stoner’s was a 4:24.55 dating back to the Haddonfield Invitational last year, and Brennan’s was a 4:22.86 at this year’s Haddonfield Invite.
Pelose’s time is No. 11 out of all the state meets this weekend.
15 points.
3,200-METER RUN: Senior Chad Evans ran 9:39.05 for third place on a hot afternoon at South Plainfield. He ran a few seconds faster — in much better conditions — at the Cherokee Night of Racing.
3 points.
3,200-METER RELAY: Stoner, Wood, Pelose and senior Chris Goings won by 30 meters over Pleasantville in 7:53.27, not far off their season-best and South Jersey #1 7:52.11 from sectionals.
The Bulldogs broke the meet record of 7:58.43 set last year by a Haddonfield that included Pelose, Stoner, Goings and John Greenberg.
10 points
The Bulldogs’ 11 other points came in the field, from Jake Walter (third, shot put, 52-7 1/4), Kevin Wolf (fourth, discus, 152-3) and Ian Picking (sixth, pole vault 13-0).
Haddonfield’s previous state titles came in 1987 in Group 1 and in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in Group 2.
A monster triple by Sterling Pierce carried Rancocas Valley to the first state title in the program’s long and storied history this weekend.
Pierce was simply too good to be denied.
He won the 100-meter dash in 10.76.
He won the 200 in 21.77.
He anchored the 400-meter relay team, which ran a New Jersey-best 42.20 and broke the meet record of 42.60, set last year by Sayreville.
Rancocas Valley – a dead program before Jeff Dzuranin took over in 2013 — outscored Old Bridge, 47-36 to become the first Burlington County school to win Group 4 since Fred Rucker’s Lenape group 15 years ago.
And the Villanova-bound Pierce became Burlington County’s first triple winner at states since Delran’s Todd Lowber in 2000 and the first in Group 4 since future Olympic gold medalist Lamont Smith won the 200 and 400 and anchored the winning 4-by-4 in 1991.
For the sake of comparison, Pierce in one meet won more outdoor state titles than every Rancocas Valley boy in the previous 30 years combined. He’s the first R.V. boy ever to win two events (or three) at a state meet.
Here’s a list of all Rancocas Valley state champs in the program’s history:
2015 Outdoor Sterling Pierce, Group 4 100-Meter Dash (10.76)
Sterling Pierce, Group 4 200-Meter Dash (21.77)
JeSean Foster, Shaun Ellis-Bradley, Dyson Scott, Sterling Pierce, Group 4 400 Relay (42.20) 2006 Indoor
Phil Reid, Group 4 200-Meter Dash (23.01) 1999 Outdoor
Jason Cowden, Group 4 Javelin (190-11)
Jason Cowden, All-Group Javelin (202-8) 1991 Outdoor
Dan Morris, Group 3 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles (54.70)
Dan Morris, All-Group 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles (53.48) 1984 Indoor
Eugene Munford, Group 3 55-Meter High Hurdles (7.4) 1980 Indoor
Doug Atkinson, Group 3 3,000-Meter Run (8:57.8) 1977 Indoor
Barry Anderson, Group 3 High Jump (6-8) 1976 Indoor
Barry Anderson, All-Group High Jump (6-6) 1974 Outdoor
Greg Honsby, Group 4 880-Yard Run (1:54.9)
Greg Honsby, All-Group 880-Yard Run (1:54.7) 1973 Outdoor
Bill Robinson, Roger Schneider, Jerry Felton, Ken Maxson, Group 4 Mile Relay (3:24.2) 1969 Outdoor
Al Rich (Rancocas Valley), All-Group 120-Yard High Hurdles (15.0) 1964 Outdoor
*Don Mims (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 120-Yard High Hurdles (14.8) 1963 Outdoor
Herm Butler (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 Long Jump (21-10) 1961 Outdoor
John Stroud (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 High Jump (6-0?)
Pierce — coached by R.V. sprint coach Eric Warren — was incredible, but this wasn’t a one-man show.
Senior Zakiyy Williams placed second in the triple jump with a 46-6 3/4, senior Diante Bah tied his PR of 6-6 for fourth in the high jump, junior Robert Marks threw a personal-best 179 4 for fourth in the javelin and junior Isaiah Curbelo ran 1:56.26 for sixth in the 800.
And junior JeSean Foster and seniors Shaun Ellis-Bradley and Dyson Scott joined Pierce on the winning 400-meter relay team.
Rancocas Valley won every meet it entered this year – every dual meet, the Woodbury Relays, the BCSL and County Open, sectionals and states. Egg Harbor was second at Woodbury, sectionals and states.
Finally, here’s a list of all the South Jersey schools to win the boys Group 4 team title. R.V. finds itself in pretty good company!
Haddonfield always has tremendous distance runners. Penns Grove always seems to have terrific high hurdlers. And Bridgeton always has terrific throwers.
Willingboro is the same way with intermediate hurdlers.
Kenny Brosier on Friday became the 10th Willingboro intermediate hurdler to run sub-54 seconds when he won the state Group 2 title at South Plainfield in a personal-best 53.86.
No other South Jersey school is close to Willingboro in producing standout intermediate hurdlers.
Here’s a list of the 10 Boro 400 hurdlers who’ve broken 54 seconds. The list includes Chauncey Lamar, who ran 53.7 for Kennedy in 1978.
52.89 … Devon Patton, 1990
52.71 … Mike Morrison, 2003
52.92 … Shareef Muhammad, 2003
53.14 … Michael Bolling, 2000
53.1h … Darryl Merriman, 1982
53.5 ….. Marc Dickerson, 1979
53.63 … Dwayne Joseph, 2004
53.79 … Brandon Hill, 2013
53.86 … Kenny Brosier, 2015
53.7h … Chauncey Lamar, 1978 [JFK]
53.92 … Gerard Reynolds, 1990
Brosier edged Deptford senior Shaqulle Dixon by about 1 1/2 meters to win the state title Friday. Dixon ran 54.03.
Brosier has posted big PRs in his last two races. He took a PR of 55.06 from the Moorestown Invitational into sectionals, which he won in 54.48.
Here are the top 10 seeds for the Meet of Champions next week, with five of the top nine from South Jersey:
51.73 … Taylor McLaughlin (Union Catholic), 1st, Parochial A
52.93 … Cory Poole (East Orange), 1st, Group 4
53.35 … Ray Clark (Abraham Clark), 1st, Group 1
53.50 … Chris Mesiano (Schalick), 2nd, Group 1
53.59 … Thomas Zor (Millville), 2nd, Group 4
53.86 … Kenny Brosier (Willingboro), 1st, Group 2
54.03 … Shaquille Dixon (Deptford), 2nd, Group 2
54.05 … Marco Joseph (Paterson Eastside), 3rd, Group 4
54.08 … Ali-Quan Stokes (Oakcrest), 1st, Group 3
54.13 … Kelvin Almonte (Memorial-WNY), 4th, Group 4
For all of Willingboro’s 400IH tradition, Brosier is the first to win a state group title in the event in 21 years. Michael Bolling won the Meet of Champs in 2000 after placing second to Dwight Ruff in the state Group 4 meet. Ruff was called for a disputed false start in the Meet of Champs.
Here’s a list of Willingboro’s state champions in the intermediate hurdles:
1979 – Marc Dickerson, Group 4 (38.6) [330 yards]
1982 – Darryl Merriman, Group 4 (53.1)
1989 – Gerard Reynolds, Group 4 (54.0)
1990 – Gerard Reynolds, Group 4 (53.92)
1990 – Devon Patton, Meet of Champions (52.89)
1994 – Kenyon Reid, Group 4 (54.48)
2000 – Michael Bolling, Meet of Champs (53.60)
Brosier on Friday also took fifth in the 400 in 49.71. Teammate David Miller was sixth in 49.96. With Tyler Davidson going 49.26 at the County Open, Willingboro now has three 400 guys under 50 seconds this year.
With Brosier, Miller, Davidson and Tyshen Hernendez, Willingboro is the No. 4 seed in the 1,600-meter relay on Saturday.
Jessica Woodard couldn’t have picked a better time to turn in the best performance of her life.
Woodard, a 2013 Cherokee High graduate and currently a freshman at Oklahoma, threw the discus a personal-best 176-8 to place 11th at NCAA West Regionals and qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Woodard was seeded 28th with her previous PR of 173-0, set at the Rafer Johnson-Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational last month at UCLA.
The top 12 finishers from each of two regional meets this weekend advanced to the NCAA Championships June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Woodard was sitting in 16th place after throwing 167-9 on her first attempt and was in 21st place after fouling on her second throw. But she powered her way into the top 12 on her third and final attempt.
She wound up qualifying by eight inches.
Woodard is now the No. 5-ranked freshman in NCAA Division 1, behind Katelyn Daniels of Michigan State (193-9), Maggie Ewen of Arizona State (186-8), Josie Natrasevschi of Brown (183-9) and Agnes Esser of Minnesota (178-5).
One other record Woodard broke Friday has stood for more than 26 years. That’s the Burlington County alumni record in the women’s discus.
On May 6, 1989, Pemberton graduate Lillian Rivera, competing for Texas Southern in the Southwestern Conference championships in Houston, threw 174-6. That stood as the best throw ever by a Burlington County native.
Ocean City’s Devon Grisbaum racing at the Armory this winter.
It’s been a long time since Ocean City’s Devon Grisbaum lost a 3,200, and she’ll face a loaded field Saturday when she shoots for a state Group 3 title.
Grisbaum, the Meet of Champions winner indoors, ran the fastest 3,200 in New Jersey this year at sectionals, winning by over 90 meters with a 10:41.57. She wasn’t far off her PR of 10:39.15, set when she was sixth at Meet of Champions last spring.
Even though she’s a Meet of Champions winner, Grisbaum has actually never won a state group title. But she’s been close. Grisbaum ran a very fast 18:33 at Holmdel at the state Group 3 XC meet, taking third behind West Morris Central’s Sierra Castaneda and Catherine Pagano of Northern Highlands. This winter, she ran 10;54 at indoor states at the Bubble, taking second to Grace Dwyer of Hamilton North, who ran 10:50.
On Saturday, she’ll be one of five girls that broke 11 minutes at sectionals toeing the line at states at South Plainfield. Pagano is the No. 2 seed at 10:45.33, with Olivia Viparina of Roxbury (10:53.37), Castaneda (10:55.86) and Amanda Bakley of Pennsauken (10:59.56) also under 11 and Julia Guerra of Indian Hills (11:00.51) and Dwyer (11:01.57) very close.
Grisbaum hasn’t lost a 3,200 since indoor states. She holds the Cape May County and the Cape-Atlantic League outdoor records with her 10:39.15 (although Brittany Sedberry ran 10:19.30 indoors in 2006).
Here’s a look at all the all-time South Jersey outdoor 3,200-meter list:
That’s what Middle Township senior John Mooers pulled off at the South Jersey Group 2 meet at Central Regional.
Mooers extended his discus PR from 170-11 to 185-11, No. 6 in South Jersey history, a meet record and a Cape May County record.
The previous meet record was a 185-0 set by Bridgeton’s legendary Braheme Days Jr. at the 2013 meet.
Mooers’ PR coming into his senior year was 163-3 from last year’s sectional meet, where he placed second. He extended it to 170-11 when he won the Woodbury Relays.
The only other throwers in New Jersey over 180 feet this year are Sean Brennan of Union Catholic, who threw 182-2 at the Parochial A North meet this weekend, and Kevin Benson of Toms River North, who threw 180-2 at the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals.
Mooers is the No. 1 seed in the Group 2 state meet by more than 20 feet. The next-best Group 2 throw at the various sectional meets was a 164-3 by sophomore Jordan West of Rahway at the North 1 Group 2 meet.
The Cape-Atlantic League has always been a hotbed for throwing, and not surprisingly four of the top six discus throwers in South Jersey history are from the Cape-Atlantic.
Mooers is No. 6 in South Jersey history. Here’s the full list of 180-foot throwers:
Good luck trying to figure out Gabrielle Bennett’s best event.
She’s the No. 1 hurdler in New Jersey after running 14.47 in the trials on her way to winning the 110 highs at the South Jersey Group 3 meet at Central Regional.
She’s the No. 1 high jumper in New Jersey after a 5-8 at the Woobury Relays, and that matches the No. 3 mark in South Jersey history. She won sectionals this past weekend at 5-6.
She’s even the No. 5 triple jumper in South Jersey with a 36-11 1/2 for second place at sectionals.
Bennett, who will continue her career as a jumper, hurdler and pentathlete at U. Mass, is so versatile she throws the shot put sometimes in dual meets and even ran cross country in the fall.
But Bennett’s strongest event is probably the long jump, and she became only South Jersey’s 10th 19-foot jumper Saturday in Bayville.
Bennett added a foot to her PR with a 19-2 1/2 jump to win the Group 3 sectional title. Her previous PR was 18-1 1/4 from the Woodbury Relays. It’s the No. 1 jump in New Jersey this year.
Bennett now ranks No. 7 in South Jersey history including both indoor and outdoor performances and is less than seven inches from the school record of 19-9 1/4 set by former teammate Cidae’a Woods two years ago.
We figured we’d take a look at every long jumper in South Jersey history who’s gone 18-5 or better, indoors or outdoors. Here’s what that list looks like:
What a year it’s been so far for Bennett, who scored 38 points at sectionals, leading Winslow to its third consecutive sectional title. She’s unbeaten in the hurdles, unbeaten in the high jump other than the Penn Relays, and No. 1 in the state in three events.
At the Group 3 state meet this weekend at South Plainfield, Bennett will be the top seed in the high hurdles, top seed in the long jump, she’ll share the No. 1 seed in the high jump and she’s No. 4 seed in the triple jump.
Sterling Pierce, shown here racing the 4-by-4 at the Penn Relays, is New Jersey’s No. 1 sprinter.
Sterling Pierce entered sectional weekend with PRs of 10.87 and 21.75.
So much for that.
Pierce, Rancocas Valley’s speedy senior, ran three races this weekend and PR’d in each one. Competing at the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Egg Harbor Township’s Eagle Stadium, he ran 10.73 in the 100-meter dash trials, 10.72 to win the 100 final and 21.64 to win the 200.
The 10.72 and 21.64 are the fastest times any New Jersey sprinter ran over the weekend at the 18 various sectional meets.
It’s also the fastest 100-200 double in the FAT era at the South Jersey Group 4 meet. The previous fastest was by T.J. Johnson of Egg Harbor, who won the two sprints in 10.75 and 21.68 in 2009.
Pierce, who’ll be a freshman at Villanova this fall, is Rancocas Valley’s first sectional double winner in 11 years and only the third since 1975!
The others were hurdler Edgar Gantt in S.J.-4 in 1998 (14.3 and 54.2 hand-timed) and Ian Waterhouse as a junior in C.J.-4 in 2004 (1:53.2 and 4:19.3).
Pierce, whose father Jack ran for Woodbury High School and was an Olympic bronze medalist in the 110 hurdles at the 1992 Olympics, helped Rancocas Valley win its first sectional title since 1977 with his double win.
He also anchored R.V.’s winning 400-meter relay team, with JeSean Foster, Dyson Scott and Zakiyy Williams, and anchored the Red Devils’ 4-by-4 team, which also included Isaiah Curbelo, Joshua DeJesus and Samuel Keleekai.
RV’s secret weapon over the weekend was tireless senior Diante Bah, who scored 22 points in four events (second in 110HH, third in HJ, third in LJ, fifth in 400IH).
All in all, it was a remarkable performance by Rancocas Valley, whose 136 points are second-most in meet history, behind only Winslow’s 140 in 2003.
The Red Devils scored across the board, with 27 points in the sprints, 22 in the distance races, 10 in the hurdles, 26 in the relays, 30 in the jumps and 19 in the throws.
You don’t cover all the events without a terrific staff, and third-year head coach Jeff Dzuranin has one, with Eric Warren coaching sprints and Matthew Joseph throws. They’re assisted by Damon Petras, a former Lenape athlete under Fred Rucker and currently an RV girls assistant, who works with the horizontal jumpers, and Lonnie Stanley, who helps out with the hurdlers.
To understand how special this year has been for R.V., consider where the program was before Dzuranin and his staff took over in 2013. The program had one dual meet win in two years and had scored 19, 10 and 12 points in the last three County Opens.
Now they’re in position to challenge for the first state title in school history.
The NJSIAA has released the performance lists for this weekend’s state championship meets.
To download the lists covering the Group 2, Group 3 and Parochial A meets at South Plainfield, click here. For the lists covering the Group 1, Group 4 and Parochial B meets at Egg Harbor, click here.
For a copy of the state championship program, with meet records and all-time team champions, click here.
The Rancocas Valley Red Devils celebrate after winning the program’s first sectional title since 1977.
Ten South Jersey schools won South Jersey sectional team championships at various locations this weekend.
In the next few days, we’ll focus on some of the individual standouts at sectionals and look ahead to states next weekend.
But for now, let’s take a look at those 10 sectional champions and how they won their title.
South Jersey Group 1 Boys – Haddon Township
Luke Petela won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, leading 1-2-3 Haddon Township sweeps in the 800 and 3,200 and a 1-2-4 finish in the 1,600. That’s insane. That’s also 70 points in three distance events.
Petela ran 1:53.78, 4:26.77 and 9:59.52, with Township junior Owen Long second in all three (1:57.39, 4:26.92, 9:29.71).
Petela and Long also ran on the winning 3,200-meter relay team, along with Joe Domanico and Randy Ladd.
Chris Gandolfo was third in the 1,600 and Joe Dinerman was third in the 800. Ladd was fourth in the 3,200.
Haddon Township outscored second-place Penns Grove, 120-89.
The sectional title is the program’s sixth overall but only its second in the last 24 years. Township won Group 2 in 1971 and 1972 and Group 1 in 1989, 1991 and 2012.
South Jersey Group 2 Boys – Haddonfield
For all the program’s accomplishments, this was the Bulldogs’ first South Jersey sectional title in 22 years and sixth overall. Haddonfield won Group 3 in 1968 and Group 1 in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1993.
This title was a rarity in that Haddonfield didn’t win a single individual event. But the Bulldogs still were able to outscore Deptford by 10 points.
Key events — not surprisingly — were the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, where Haddonfield piled up 44 points.
In the 1,600, Greg Pelose, Austin Stoner and Danny Brennan ran 1-3-5 for 18 points; in the 800, Stoner, Pelose and Jack Wood went 2-4-5 for 14 points; and in the 3,200, Danny Brennan and Chad Evans ran second and fourth for 12 points.
Stoner, Wood, Pelose and Chris Goings ran a hot 7:52.11 for a 75-meter win in the 3,200-meter relay.
Haddonfield also got a second place from Ian Picking in the pole vault.
South Jersey Group 3 Boys – Oakcrest
Oakcrest has been a very solid program for the last decade and won its fifth title in school history and fourth since 2007. The Falcons came out on top after a wild three-way team battle with Delsea and Timber Creek, Oakcrest finishing with 84 points, Delsea 79 and Timber Creek 74.
Oakcrest did a lot of its damage in the field, scoring 52 of its 84 points away from the track, with Terrence Smith winning the javelin, three scorers in the high jump, Ray Rodriguez third in the pole vault (13-6), Jordan Ingrum and Tyler Clybourn going 2-3 in the long jump (22-6, 21-11 1/4), Enaje Johnson-Hutto second and Prescott Nimley placing 2-6 in the shot,
The Falcons also got big points in the intermediates, with Ali-Quan Stokes and Quadir Thomas going 1-4, and got second in the 4-by-4 with Stokes, Tyler Clybourn, Christian Dennis and Kevin Stokes.
South Jersey Group 4 Boys – Rancocas Valley
A monumental performance by the Red Devils, who won their second sectional title in school history and first since the 1977 team won Group 3.
Sydney Pierce had a monster double, winning the 100 in a N.J. #1 10.72 and the 200 in a N.J. #2 21.64 along with anchor legs on R.V.’s winning 4-by-1 and third-place 4-by-4. So Pierce had a hand in 36 points.
The 800 was huge for the Red Devils, with juniors Isaiah Curbelo (1:55.97) and Joshua DJesus (1:58.06) finishing 1-3. DeJesus was also second in the 1,600 in 4:21.21, a four-second PR.
Jose Colon-Cruz and Jacob Tyndale joined Curbelo and DeJesus on the winning 4-by-8, which ran 8:00.98.
Zakiyy Williams did his thing in the horizontal jumps, blasting a meet-record 47-4 1/2 to win the triple jump and taking second at 21-7 in the long jump
Diante Bah had a monster weekend for R.V., with a PR 14.86 for second in the high hurdles, third in the high jump at a PR-matching 6-4, 21-5 for third in the long jump and fifth in the intermediates (PR 56.82). That’s 22 huge points for Bah.
Dyson Scott also placed in both sprints for R.V., and Robert Marks (174-9 win in the javelin), Chris Bright (PR 154-9 in the disc) and and Maurice Johnson (shot) added a surprising 19 points in the throws .
R.V.’s 133 points are second-most in S.J. Group 4 meet history. Winslow scored 140 in 2003.
South Jersey Group 1 Girls – Schalick
Schalick finished 35 points ahead of second-place Haddon Heights, 107-72, with Haddon Township just behind with 68 points.
Josephina Koomson led a 1-4 finish in the highs, and Alexia Lee led a 1-4 finish in the triple jump. Koomson was also second in the 100.
Tierrny Wiltshire (second in 400), Superia Ryan (second in discus), Amanda Chomo (second in 800) and Olivia Gerstenbach (third in 3,200, fourth in 1,600) also scored big points.
Schalick also took second in the 4-by-4 and 4-by-8, with Amanda Chomo, Taylor Ismail, Olivia Moor and Wiltshire on the 4-by-4 and Chomo, Avery Bramell, Paige Nelson and Gerstenbach on the 4-by-8.
Schalick won its fourth title overall and first since 2011. The Cougars also won in 1996 and 2002.
South Jersey Group 2 Girls – Sterling
The Silver Knights won their first title in 33 years, edging Haddonfield 91-85 and denying the Bulldogs a fifth consecutive title.
Shaniyla Johnson won the discus and Justine Thomas was first in the pole vault to lead the way for Sterling.
Sydney Coppolino led three scorers in the 800 with a 2:18.18 and led a 1-2 finish with twin sister Madison in the 1,600, both under 5:15. Sydney Coppolino also ran third in the 400IH with a PR 1:06.25.
The Knights clinched the team title when Candace Daywalt, Julie Stratton, Aliya Harrison and Julie Stratton finished fourth in the 4-by-4 in an eight-second season-best 4:06.40. Sterling needed to finish sixth or better to clinch the team title.
Sterling also got big points from Janlle Rowe (second in triple jump, third in long jump) and Rachel Adamski (second in javelin)
South Jersey Group 3 Girls – Winslow Township
The title was Winslow’s third in a row, fifth since 2004 and eighth overall (including three won as Edgewood – Group 3 in 1979 and Group 4 in 1983 and 1985).
Only Haddonfield (17), Paulsboro (nine) and Woodbury (nine) have won more in South Jersey girls track history. Shawnee has also won eight.
Huge weekend for Gabrielle Bennett, who soared a personal-best 19-2 1/2 to win the long jump, ran 14.60 for first in the high hurdles, cleared 5-6 and won the high jump on misses over Natalie Cowan of Hammonton and got second in the triple jump with a 36-11 1/2. Only Vashti Hanna of Cumberland, who PR’d at 37-4 in the triple, denied Bennett a rare quad win.
The intermediates were big for Winslow, with Brittany Preston, Jordan Austin and Shayla Rivers all running 1:04-point and taking second, third and fourth,behind Daijah Davis-Hines of Timber Creek, who won in 1:02.69. Ciarra Johnson was second in the shot, nearly hitting 40 feet.
Shayla Rivers, Maryn Hess, Jordan Austin and Amiaya Melvins ran 4:00.27 to win the 4-by-4, and the all frosh-soph 4-by-1 team of Tyianna Williams, Ananda Smith-Stroud, Flora Ahirakwe and Ziani Smalls ran 49.20 for another relay win.
South Jersey Group 4 Girls – Lenape
Lenape turned in one of the greatest performances in South Jersey sectional history, scoring a South Jersey Group 4-record 133 points — 23 more than the previous meet record of 110, set two years ago by Cherokee.
The Indians scored in every track event other than the 3,200 — which they didn’t enter. They outscored second-place by 52 points, the largest margin of victory in S.J.-4 history.
There were a number of stars for Lenape, but senior Carly Pettipaw and sophomore Jasmine Staten performed out of their minds, combining for 78 out of a possible 80 points. Pettipaw won four events and Staten had three firsts and a second to Pettipaw.
Pettipaw won the 400 in 56.59, reclaiming the school record that Staten took from her last weekend at the Burlington County meet. Staten was a step behind in 56.76, just off her 56.63 PR.
Pettipaw also won the 800 in 2:14.27, another PR, won the intermediates in 1:01.49, a school record, and ran a leg on the winning 1,600-meter relay team with Samantha Maynes, Shannon Storms and Marissa Topoloski.
All Staten did was win the 200 in a PR 24.81, edge Millville’s top-seeded Rachell Armstead by 1-100th of a second with a big PR 14.82, jump a PR 18-4 to win the long jump and take second to Pettipaw in the 400.
Soon after Pettipaw and Maynes opened the meet by scoring 16 points in the intermediates, Shannon Storms and Cassie Hoxit went 1-2 in the pole vault, both clearing 9-6. That’s 34 points in the first two events (Hoxit tied for second), and it was pretty much over already.
Other big contributors for Lenape: Camille Franklin (5:00.49 for second in 1,600), Maynes (14.99, 1:04.16 for third in both hurdles), Megan Quimby (2:16.70 for fourth in the 800), Topolski (PR 58.44 for fourth in the 400) and the 400-meter relay team of Maynes, Ariel Mitchell, Shannon Storms and Topolski (third in 49.55).
South Jersey Parochial B Boys – St. Joe’s-Hammonton
Tremendous meet for Ben Mitchell, whose quad include individual wins in the intermediates, high jump and long jump along with a leg on the winning 4-by-4,.
Mitchell and Erick Colon went 1-2 in the high jump for 18 big points for the Wildcats and led three St. Joe’s scorers in the long jump with a big 22-3 1/2 jump.
Caleb Williams swept the 100 and 200 with a fast 10.76-21.91 double, and edged teammate Rocco Ordille for the win in the 100.
Ordille, Williams, Davore Mewborn and A’Laam Horne won the 400-meter relay in 42.88, and Jordan Davis, Ricky Quirindongo, Horne and Mitchell won the 4-by-4
Central Jersey Group 3 Girls – Northern Burlington
Northern couldn’t have written a better script. This was the first time the Greyhounds have hosted a sectional, and the NBC girls wound up winning their first sectional title on their home track.
Senior Ashley Edwards and sophomore Kayla Jackson led the way for Northern, which outscored Middletown North by 19 points, winning by an 80-61 margin. Edwards and Jackson had a hand in 56 of Northern’s 80 points — 34 for Edwards, 22 for Jackson.
Edwards popped a big 18-7 to win the long jump and junior teammate Ty Horne took second by a quarter of an inch. Edwards also won the triple jump with a 37-6 1/2 and was second in the high hurdles (by 1-100th of a second) and third in the 200.
Jackson won the 400 in a PR 57.94 and was third in both the 100 and 200.
Precious Williams (second in javelin) and Ashley Dunteman (third in 3,200) also had big performances for the Greyhounds.
