Lilly Shapiro added to her remarkable resume with another jaw-dropping performance when the senior at Colts Neck smashed the state record in the steeplechase on Saturday in her debut in the event!
Shapiro, on the left in the photo above, covered the 2,000-meter race in 6:41.87, the No. 1 time in the nation this season, at the Georgian Court High School Challenge in Lakewood. That sliced nearly five seconds off the NJ record of 6:46.67 that another Colts Neck legend, Ashley Higginson, ran when she placed third at the 2007 Nike Outdoor National Championships.
The University of North Carolina-bound Shapiro, who has won the last two Meet of Champions titles in the 800 (one indoors and one outdoors) and was named All-State in all three seasons, dropped a 76.6 final 400 to put an exclamation point on her historic victory.
Colts Neck junior Ava Wilmot, pictured next to Shapiro, also made a very impressive steeple debut by finishing second to her teammate in 7:24.81. Shapiro and Wilmot both qualified for the National Championships with their times.
Colts Neck is now home to the three fastest female steeplechasers in NJ history. Shapiro is now No. 1 with her 6:41.87, Higginson is No. 2 with her 6:46.67, and Allison Linnell is No. 3 with the 6:56.72 she ran to finish fifth at the 2008 Nike National Championships.