Tilly O'Connor of St. Rose ran one of the fastest times in Monmouth County history and took over the state lead and Lucas Reguinho of Elizabeth continued his comeback with a big victory to highlight the action in the 1,600-meter run at the Holmdel Twilight Series Royal Rumble on Wednesday night.
Watch: Tilly O'Connor in Heat 21 runs 4:46.63
Watch: Lucas Reguinho in Heat 26 runs 4:14.90
The Villanova-bound O'Connor stopped the clock with a PR of 4:46.63, the No. 1 time in NJ this season, No. 16 in state outdoor history (including converted mile times), and No. 4 all-time in Monmouth County history! O'Connor's previous best was 4:48.16, which she ran at Holmdel's Season Ender last June. Sophomore Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington was the second girl to finish, running a PR of 4:58.91 to become first girl from her school to go sub break 5!!!!.
The only girls in Monmouth County history to run faster than O'Connor for 1,600 are Lilly Shapiro of Colts Neck (4:40.15 in 2021), Olympian Ajee' Wilson of Neptune (4:43.92 in 2010), and Molly McNamara of Red Bank Catholic (4:44.90 in 2011).
On the boys side, the Louisville-bound Reguinho, who missed the whole indoor season with an injury, led five runners under 4:20 and a parade of PR's with a winning time of 4:14.90, which is NJ No. 5, a school record, and PR by exactly 2 seconds. Cherokee senior Patrick Ditmars was second in 4:17.15, junior Avery Keith was third in 4:17.65, junior Nate Roberts of Summit placed fourth with a huge PR of 4:18.98, and senior Daniel Cortese of Westfield was fifth with a PR of 4:19.72.
In the 800 SMR's, Red Bank Catholic won the boys race in 1:38.91 and Pope John XXIII won the girls race in 1:51.76
Senior Sean Line of Pope John, who won the shot and discus at the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Championships on Monday, finished first in the boys discus with a throw of 143-3, and junior Julia Saporito of Holmdel won the girls discus with a throw of 109-4.
Watch the top seeded heat from Holmdel Twilight Royal Rumble
Boys Top 10 Finishers - Full Results
| 1 | Lucas Reguinho | 12 | Elizabeth HS | 4:14.90 | 26 | |||
| 2 | Patrick Ditmars | 12 | Cherokee HS | 4:17.15 | 26 | |||
| 3 | Avery Keith | 11 | Westfield HS | 4:17.65 | 26 | |||
| 4 | Nate Roberts | 11 | Summit HS | 4:18.98 | 26 | |||
| 5 | Daniel Cortese | 12 | Westfield HS | 4:19.72 | 26 | |||
| 6 | Damani Brown | 12 | Rahway HS | 4:20.40 | 26 | |||
| 7 | Brian Theobald | 12 | St. Rose HS | 4:20.47 | 26 | |||
| 8 | Hunter Celkupa | 10 | Colts Neck HS | 4:20.86 | 26 | |||
| 9 | Owen Horevay | 12 | Lakeland Regional HS | 4:21.06 | 25 | |||
| 10 | Andrew Krok | 11 | Colts Neck HS | 4:21.69 | 26 | |||
Girls Top 10 Finishers - Full Results
| 1 | Tilly O'Connor | 12 | St. Rose HS | 4:46.63 | 21 | |||
| 2 | Liliah Gordon | 10 | Northern Burlington Reg. HS | 4:58.91 | 19 | |||
| 3 | Rosemary Shay | 11 | Middletown South HS | 4:59.16 | 17 | |||
| 4 | Leanna Johnston | 12 | Immaculate Heart Academy | 4:59.75 | 19 | |||
| 5 | Courtney Kaiser | 11 | Union Catholic Reg. HS | 5:01.02 | 18 | |||
| 6 | Angelina George | 10 | Manasquan HS | 5:01.27 | 17 | |||
| 7 | Julia Shanes | 12 | Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 5:01.60 | 17 | |||
| 8 | Megan Donlevie | 12 | Shore Regional HS | 5:02.74 | 18 | |||
| 9 | Kadence Dumas | 12 | Eastern Regional HS | 5:03.12 | 18 | |||
| 10 | Sarah Butler | 12 | Rumson-Fair Haven HS | 5:10.42 | 16 | |||