Cory Poole got the very rare triple that he just missed last year when the East Orange star turned in one of the greatest performance in meet history at Saturday's 49th NJSIAA Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington High School in Columbus.
Poole, headed to the University of Florida, won the 400 hurdles for the second straight year in a meet record 50.72, captured his second straight 110 hurdle title in 14.05 despite losing his shoe near the end of the race , and split 46.5 on the winning 4x400 that ran a NJ #1 3:12.89, No. 6 in meet history.
Poole is just the fourth boy in state history to win three gold medals at the outdoor M of C. Reuben McCoy of Winslow (2004), and Jermaine Collier of Trenton (2012) and Fabian Santiago of Oakcrest (2012) are the only other three to pull off the M of C hat trick. Poole is also just the second boy in meet history to win both the HH and IH in back-to-back years. Craig Morris of Monmouth pulle doff that double in 1989 and 1990.
"After just missing this triple last year when we were second in the 4x400, it really feels good to get it this time and put my name up there with some of the best guys ever from New Jersey ,'' said Poole. "It guess it puts me right up there with them.''
Poole will continue his pursuit of the NJ high school 400 hurdle record (50.20 set in 2015 by Taylor McLaughlin of Union Catholic) at the New Balance Nationals next weekend at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.
