Lilly Shapiro made history and Julia Jackson repeated it when the two superstars added to their remarkable legacies at Saturday's 43rd NJSIAA Girls Meet of Champions at the Bennett Center in Toms River.
Shapiro, a senior at Colts Neck, pulled off a historic double by becoming the first girl to ever win both the 1,600-meter run and the 800m at the same meet, while Jackson, a senior at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, duplicated the same daily double that she accomplished at the outdoor M of C by capturing the 400m and anchoring the winning 4x400 relay.
We haven't forgotten about Angelina Perez of Lakeland Regional, who electrified the crowd with a heart-pounding state record victory in the 3,200 in 10:00.90. Here is our story about Perez's performance.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The North Carolina-bound bound Shapiro, who narrowly missed the 1600m/800m double at the outdoor M of C last June, refused to come up short this time.
About 50 minutes later, Shapiro made a huge push just before the start of the bell lap to take lead in the 800 on her way to victory in 2:12.66, the 12th fastest time in meet history. Shapiro ran 65.1 for the final 400.
As Shapiro crossed the line in the in 800, she stretched her arms out as wide as possible and flashed an ear-to-ear smile as she soaked in the moment.
"I was just so happy,'' said Shapiro, who won the 800 at the M of C last June. "I tried to do this outdoors, but it didn't go as planned when I lost the 1,600. So to win both of these races just feels so good. I knew I couldn't let the 1,600 be slow and tactical like it was outdoors, so I ran much smarter this time so it wouldn't come down to the last lap.''
Shapiro will be chasing the state record of 4:43.16 set in 1983 by Michelle Rowen of Washington Township when she races at the New Balance Nationals next weekend at the NY Armory. Shapiro ran 4:45.39 in the mile in Boston last month, which is No. 2 in state history.
QUEEN OF THE QUARTER
It's hard sometimes for Julia Jackson to comprehend where she was a few years and where she is now.
"Freshman me would be in awe of what I am doing now,'' said Jackson.
Jackson, who took up track as a freshman at SPF just as a way to improve her fitness level for soccer, instead transformed herself into one of the greatest 400 runners in state history, which blows her mind.
Jackson proved her greatness again on Saturday with a wire-to-wire win in the 400m in 56.29, and splitting 57.4 as the anchor on the winning 4x400 relay that dropped its NJ No. 1 time down to 3:57.04, which is No. 16 nationally.
Jackson, the first girl from Scotch Plains-Fanwood to ever win an indoor M of C title, now has four M of C gold medals in her career. She also won the 400 and anchored the winning 4x400 at the M of C last spring.
The Duke-bound Jackson knows after what she did last spring and after running a NJ No. 4 all-time 54.08 to win the Eastern title last Tuesday, that she has a bullseye on her back whenever she races. But she has a way of dealing with that.
"There is a lot of pressure, but I just always run like there is always someone right on me,'' said Jackson. "That keeps me focused on running my fastest.''
In the 4x400, Jackson shared the baton with senior Grace Kennedy (58.5), Danielle Most (62.5), and Jenai Berry (58.7).
FINALLY
Winning a M of C title has been a goal for Christiana Nwachuku of Kent Place for a long time.
It almost happened in 2020 at Ocean Breeze when she finished second in the 55 dash at the M of C. Then last spring, she nearly pulled it off again, finishing third in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at the outdoor M of C in South Plainfield.
Knowing she was running out of opportunities to fulfill her dream, Nwachuku, now a senior, took advantage of her latest chance when she overpowered the field with a dominating victory in 7.02 in the 55 dash.
"I finally did it,'' said the UPenn-bound Nwachuku, who lowered her the state leading time to 6.95 to win the Eastern title last Tuesday. "I've always wanted to be a Meet of Champions winner. This is such a great moment for me.''
WINNING BY A CHIN
Anabella Chin had no idea if she won or lost. Nobody did at first.
That's how close the battle over the barriers was between Chin, a senior at Rancocas Valley, and Union Catholic junior Ajanae Thompson.
After a few nerve-wracking minutes of waiting for the official results, Chin got the news she was hoping for when it was announced that she won the 55 hurdles in 8.22, out-leaning Thompson, who was second in 8.23. Thompson, who came into the race undefeated this season and owns the No. 1 time in the state of 8.14, was also second in the 100 hurdles at the outdoor M of C last June.
Chin, who ran 8.21 when she won the Eastern title last Tuesday, is the first Burlington County girl to win the Meet of Champions hurdles indoors since Olympian Carol Lewis of Willingboro captured her second straight title in 1981.
"It was impossible to tell who won, and it was so hard to wait to find out,'' said Chin, who also ran a leg on RC's runner-up 4x400. "When we found it that I won, my coaches and teammates and I also went crazy. It's just an unbelievable feeling to accomplish such a huge goal.''
Chin joined Aliyah Taylor (200 dash in 2017) as the only girls in Rancocas Valley history to win an indoor M of C crown, and she's the first Burlington County girl to win the Meet of Champions 55-meter hurdles in 41 years. Two-time Olympic long jumper Carol Lewis of Willingboro won the race in 1980 and 1981.
The victory is especially sweet for Chin after a stress fracture cut her season short last spring.
"I thought I just had shin splints, so I just kept running through it, but it turned out to be a stress fracture, which was tough to deal with,'' said Chin, who ran on RV's winning 4x400 as a freshman at the outdoor M of C in 2019. "But That just made me even more hungry to come back my senior better than ever.''
When I first started out as a freshman I was a bit of track project,'' said Chin. "I never would expected all thus, but I just kept working hard.''
LAWSON RULES THE 200
Montclair senior Kiya Lawson, the state leader in the 200m wit a 24.38, remained undefeated against NJ competition in that race by burning a 25.02 to win by nearly a full second over Union junior Sierra Latonnel, second in 25.98.
Lawson's 25.02 is No. 5 in meet history and No. 3 all-time at the Bennett Center. She's the first Montclair winner on the track at this meet since Sophia Wallace won the 55 dash in 2004.
Lawson came back later in the meet to place sixth in the 55 dash in 7.31 (7.20) in the trials.
RECORD BREAKERS
The last event of the day provided plenty of fireworks when junior Kelsey Niglio (2:15.0), sophomore Kerry O'Day (2:21.4), freshman Megan Niglio (2:21.1), and Nicole Clifford (2:14.8) combined to give Cherokee the victory in the 4x800 relay in a meet record 9:13.42.
That broke the record of 9:14.47 set in 2017 by Ridge.
"I knew what the record was, and when I was coming around the track and heading for the finish I saw the clock and kept pushing to make sure we broke it,'' said Clifford, 5:03.37 "My teammates all ran great and gave me a lead, so I wanted to make sure that I kept us in front the whole way and get that record.''
Cherokee has a season best 4x800 time of 9:07.81, which is NJ No. 1 and US No. 4. The Chiefs will be aiming for a national title in the 4x800 at the New Balance National Championships this weekend in New York.
PR'd To A Title!
Madison Stevens continued her amazing late season surge in the circle by unloading a PR bomb of 43-1 to capture the shot put title.
Stevens, a sophomore a Columbia, improved her PR by more than three feet to defeat Mendham senior Melissa Aymil, second with a PR of 42-5½. Casey Sullivan of Demarest, the state leader with a 44-11 and the outdoor M of C winner in the shot put, finished ninth with a 37-5.
Stevens, now tied for the second best throw in the state this season, hit 40 feet for the first time last week when she placed second (40-0.25) behind Olivia Prescott of West Orange at the State Group 4 meet.
This marks the first major win of the season for Stevens, who also finished second at the North Jersey, Sect. 2 and Essex County Championships.
ALEXANDRA THE GREAT
Alexandra Bonn of Union Catholic has been waiting along time to set a new personal best in the triple jump.
The wait finally ended on Friday night, and it couldn't have come at a better time as Bonn soared a personal best 37-2 1/2 on her first attempt to win the tripe jump. Bonn, a junior, edged Lodi senior Amanda Barrett, who soared 36-11, which is a huge PR of more than one foot.
Bonn, who also finished sixth in the long jump with a 17-5, is now tied for the No. 1 jump in the state this season.
AIR ALANNA
Alanna Woolfolk of Clayton added the indoor title to the outdoor crown she won in the high jump last spring by clearing a PR matching 5-6. As a freshman at Delsea last June, Wooolfolk cleared 5-6 to captured the outdoor title.
Norina Khanzada, a senior at Tenafly and the state leader with a 5-7, placed second on misses with a 5-4.
FINLEY SOARS
Randolph senior Erin Finley couldn't have picked a better time to produce the best jump of her life.
The Boston College-bound Finley, who came into the meet with a long jump PR of 17-6.50, exploded with an 18-1.50 win the long jump by just an inch over Millville senior Leah Ellis (18-0). Plainfield senior Celine-Jada Brown, the state leader with a 18-8.75 and the M of C outdoor champ in the event last spring, finished third with a 17-8.50.
CLUTCH HUTCH
Talia Hutchinson of Ridgewood has come a long way in a year. One foot to be exact.
Hutchinson, who made 10-6 as a sophomore last spring when she was 18th at the Meet of Champions in the pole vault, continued to take her game to new heights when she soared over the bar with a PR of 11-6 to bring home the title on Friday night.
Hutchinson, whose previous best of 11-0 she made multiple times this season, is now tied her for No. 3 in the state rankings for this season with her 11-6.
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