Top Storylines To Follow At The NJSIAA Meet of Champions

NJ State Meet Coverage
Jim Lambert


Watch LIVE on MileSplit

Live from the track June 14th at 2:00pm ET. Field Events recorded for upload.

There are plenty of can't miss matchups, riveting rematches, and the potential for some historic performances that will make Wednesday's 54th meet at Franklin High School another classic meet. Start time is 2 p.m. The rain date is 2 p.m. on Thursday at Franklin.

Update: Meet Postponed to Thursday, June 15th

There will also be some big stars missing from the meet, and there is the usual uncertainty about who will run what.

We will get into all that and more as we get you all caught up and pumped up with some New Jersey track and field facts and numbers as we take a look at some of the top storylines to keep an eye on.

Here we go! It's time to get your Meet of Champions on! The greatest day of the season is here!


HISTORIC 3-PEAT

Bryce Tucker has several incentives to run fast when the Pennsauken stud attempts to become the first boy to ever win three straight 400 hurdle titles.

The Rutgers-bound Tucker, who ran a US No. 1 and NJ No. 8 all-time 51.40 at the South Jersey Sectional Championships, said he's targeting the state record of 50.14 set in 2017 by Cory Poole, who also holds the meet record of 50.72! How awesome would that be!! That might set off the biggest CodeRed alert of all all-time!!!

Another reason why Tucker will running as fast as he can is because right after the race he has to hustle to his high school graduation at Temple University. That's one heckuva double!!

Tucker's biggest threat to his historic three-peat attempt should come from Alex Sadikov of Ocean Township, who won the 400 at the M of C last year. Sadikov, who missed most of this season with a stress fracture, ran a Monmouth County record 52.18 to win the State Group 2 or 3 title last week.


NATE THE GREAT

Senior Nate Rayan of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, who has established himself as one of the best high hurdlers in state history, doesn't just want to win his first M of C title, he wants to doing something unforgettable.

After Rayan won the 110 HH in a Group 4 meet record 13.45, No. 2 in state history, he said he wants to make a run at the national record of 13.08, set by Wayne Davis of Southeast High in Raleigh, N.C. when he finished first at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships.

Whether Rayan can get that low remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, the meet record of 13.52 set in 1998 by Todd Matthews of Notre Dame will most likely be obliterated by the Clemson-bound Rayan.

How low can he go?? Can Rayan challenge the state record of 13.14 (converted from the 12.9 run by the great Renaldo Nehemiah of Scotch Plains-Fanwood in 1977) and the national record of 13.08. Time will tell! 


DEFENDING CHAMPS 

There are a total of nine athletes (two boys and seven girls) will be in action.  

The boys are Tucker and Sadikov (see the capsule above).

The girls are Christina Allen of River Dell (800), Emma Zawatski of Freehold Township (1600), Shea Burke of Point Pleasant Boro (high hurdles), Brooke'Lyn Drakeford of Piscataway (400 hurdles), Samantha Strydesky of Howell (high jump), Alexandra Bonn of Union Catholic (triple jump) and Emma Keating of Pompton Lakes (pole vault).   


MISSING STARS

Not all the big stars will be competing for a variety of reasons.

With the Brooks PR Invitational on Wednesday and the New Balance National Championships set to begin at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Thursday, some runners/teams had to make a choice between the meets.

One of the teams most affected by the unfortunate scheduling is the Union Catholic girls, who will be focusing on the NB National meet. That means that athletes such as indoor Meet of Champions winners Taylor Cox (hurdles) and Peyton Hollis (800), who are the state leaders in those events, and UC's state-leading 4x100 and 4x800 relays will not be competing. 

Nick Sullivan of CBA, who ran a Non-Public A meet record 9:02.50, the top time of all the Groups combined, is also skipping M of C to focus on the 2-mile at the NB Nationals on Friday. 

Also missing will be Collin Boler of Delbarton and Premier Wynn of Pennsauken.

Boler, who won the 800 at the M of C last spring and this past indoor season, is running in the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational on Wednesday in Washington, and he will stay out West to run the mile at the Nike Nationals in Oregon this Sunday. Boler will be chasing the magical sub 4 mile!! 

Wynn has his graduation ceremony on Wednesday night at Temple University, so he won't be at the meet. Wynn would have been the favorite to win the 400 (he's run 47.39 this season) and would have run on Pennsauken's 4x400 that ran a NJ No. 1 time of 3:14.78 to win the Group 4 title.


 KING OF THE RING

There has never been a discus competition at the Meet of Champions where more than competitor has thrown beyond 200 feet, but with all the firepower stepping into the circle, there is a good chance that could happen when Fabian Gonzalez of Southern and Benji Shue of Bergen Catholic clash in what could be an epic duel.

The Stanford-bound Gonzalez is the state leader in the discus with the 203-2.50 he unloaded to place second at the Penn Relays, and Shue, a sophomore, is right behind him with the 200-10 he threw at the Big North Championships. Those throws place Gonzalez No. 4 and Shue No. 6 on the national list this season.

Gonzalez is also favored to win the shot put as he brings a state-leading 65-9 into the ring with him. Shue has thrown 64-0 this season, but he may just focus on the discus because of abductor strain he suffered a couple weeks ago. St. Rose junior Josh Huisman (64-7) and Mount Olive senior Nick Frattina (63-4) will also be in the hunt for the shot put gold. Husiman won the shot at the Indoor Meet of Champions in March. 


CRAZY 8'S

There is lot to unpack in the boys and girls 800's.

First off, there is a bit of mystery surrounding who will run the girls 2-lapper. 

Defending champion Christina Allen of River Dell also qualified in the 1,600, and Monmouth County rivals Clemmie Lilley of Rumson and Cate DeSousa of Red Bank Catholic both won the 800 at the State Group Championships and both qualified in two individuals events.

Meanwhile, Union Catholic junior Peyton Hollis, who won the 800 at the Indoor Meet of Champions in March and is the state leader, will not compete. She is focusing on the New Balance Nationals, which begins on Thursday.     

Allen, who ran 2:11.07 to win last year, placed third in the Group 2 800 and won the Group 2 1,600 in 5:00.74.

Lilley won the Group 2 800 with a PR of 2:11.22, the fastest time of all the Group Championships combined, and she also ran a PR of 56.32 to place second in the 400.  

The Virginia-bound DeSousa, who won the 3,200 at the Indoor Meet of Champions, captured the Non-Public A 800 in 2:12.04, edging Hollis, and also won the Non-Public A 1,600 in 4:55.40. 

And let's not forget about Somerville senior Maddie Scheier, who won the Group 3 800 (a PR of 2:11.95), and also finished first in the Group 3 1,600.  

Which way will they go?

It seems like the best chance to win for all four is the 800, so maybe that's what sways them!! Stay tuned!

As for the boys 800, defending champion Collin Boler of Delbarton isn't competing (he is running the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in Washington on Wednesday instead), so that opens the door wide-open for multiple runners to have a shot to win.

Junior Luke Schagelin of Morris Knolls, the Group 3 champ, has run the fastest time in the field of 1:52.30, just ahead of Group 4 winner Gabriel Rodriguez of Union, who has gone 1:52.33. Rodriguez finished second to Boler last year. Also look out for Group 4 runner-up Raynier Galvez of Passaic Tech (1:52.78), Mark Viggiano of Ocean Township (1:53.27) and Group 2 champ Hayden Singer of New Providence, the Group 2 champ who has run 1:53.27.

THE X FACTOR

All eyes and watches will be on Seton Hall Prep star Xavier Donaldson!!

Donaldson, who is headed to Princeton University, should drop some sizzling times when he runs the 200 and anchors the 4x400.

Donaldson said his biggest target is to break 21 in the 200, something only four runners in state history have ever done. He ran a PR of and NJ No. 1 time of 21.25 when he won the Non-Public half-lapper on Saturday, but that came after he won the 100 and 400. Since he's skipping those other two races, sub 21.0 is well within his reach.

In the 4x400, Donaldson and teammates Nick Devita, Ryan Matulonis, and Brandon Williams are aiming to get as close to the meet record (3:10.70 by Winslow in 2003) as possible!!! They ran a 3:13.97, No. 10 in NJ  at the Non-Public A Championships. The state record of 3:09.91 was set by Camden in 2001.    


    CHASING A LEGEND

Freshman phenom Sianni Wynn of Pennsauken, who is already a student of the sport, is motivated by history and records. So after she burned up the oval with three big sprint PR's, highlighted by her NJ No. 1 time of 53.97 to win in the 400 at the Group 4 meet, so was crystal clear about her target for the Meet of Champions.

Wynn, who won the 55 dash and 200 at the indoor M of C, said she's coming for the state freshman record in the 400 of 53.78, which is held by the legendary Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic. McLaughlin, the World Record holder in the 400 hurdles and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, ran the 53.78 to finish first at the 2014 Non-Public A Championships. McLaughlin also owns the state record of 51.86, which she ran at the 2016 Meet of Champions.

Wynn also said she plans to run the 4x400 and said she could possibly also run either the 100 or 200. She won the Group 4 100 in a personal best and NJ No. 4 time of 11.82, and placed second in the 200 with another PR of 24.38. 

In the 400, Wynn could have a rematch with Elizabeth's Cynthia Boakye, wo ran a NJ N. 2 54.71 to place second to Wynn at the Group 4 meet. Boakye, who hasn't announced her race plans yet, defeated Wynn to capture the Group 4 200 and would be the favorite to win that race based on he state-leading 23.98. Boakye also qualified in the 100, so she has some choices to make.

The favorite in the girls 100 dash is Naylah Jones of Timber Creek, who has run a state-leading 11.75.

BATTLE OVER THE BAR

Alanna Woolfolk of Clayton and Samantha Strydesky of Howell, who have combined to win the last four Meet of Champions titles in the high jump, could stage an epic battle over the bar.

As a freshman in 2021, Woolfolk won the outdoor M of C title and then captured the 2022 indoor M of C crown as a sophomore. The UPenn-bound Strydesky came back to win the last two M of C title, outdoors last year and indoors this year).

Woolfolk, who won her third straight State Group 1 title, has cleared a state-leading 5-8 three times this season. Strydesky is undefeated this season, including a win at the Penn Relays. She has made 5-7 this season and owns a PR of 5-8.

Also keep an eye out for Chatham senior Elsa Spoor, the Group 3 champ who ahs cleared 5-7.


HISTORIC DOUBLE

No athlete (boy or girl) has ever pulled off the triple jump/400 hurdle double at the Meet of Champions, but Sophia Curtis of Ocean City is position to become the first.

Curtis, a junior, won the TJ and 400 hurdles at the State Group 3 Championships, is undefeated in the 400 hurdles this season, and is undefeated vs. U.S. competition in the triple jump (she was the top American at the Penn Relays). Curtis is the state leader in the triple jump with a 40-10.25 (more than a foot ahead of the rest of the state), and she's run the second fastest in the state in the 400 hurdles of 1:00.42, just behind the state leading 1:00.39 run by Morristown junior Aaliyah Murphy at the State Group 4 Championships. 


RECORD WATCH

Leah Howard of Millville, who broke the Group 4 meet record in the javelin on Saturday, has her sights set on something much bigger, and Brian Sullivan of Hillsborough will be seeking some redemption in the pole vault when both stars take aim at the meet records.

Howard, who has thrown a NJ No. 2 all-time 163-1 this season, is chasing both the meet and state records!!! The meet record of 163-8 and the state record of 168-6 are both held by Brielle Smith, who graduated from Oakcrest in 2019.

O'Sullivan, who had an off day when he finished third at the Group 4 meet, has cleared 16-6.50, which is NJ No. 2 all-time. So the meet record of 16-4.75 by Brian McSweeney of East Brunswick in 2021, is well within his reach. In case you are wondering, the state record is 17-4.50 by Adam Sarafian at the 2004 Shore Conference Championships.              


GOING THE DISTANCE

So who is going to win the distance races?

Zawatski, who has won three M of C titles (one in each season), and Tilly O'Connor of St. Rose, seeking her first M of C crown, are the obvious favorites.

Zawatski, the defending champ in the 1,600, is class of the field and comes in with the NJ No. 2 4:49.31 that she ran to win Group 4.    

The Villanova-bound O'Connor, who has been very close to winning in the past, has run seven seconds faster than anyone else in the 3,200 with her 10:18.08 (she's also the state leader in the 1,600 at 4:48.06). The next fastest runner in the state is Kent Place's Lindsay Hausman (10:25.69), another runner who has been agonizingly close to winning a M of C title. Hausman had an off race at the Non-Public A Championships. It wouldn't be surprising to see her bounce back and be a major factor in this race.

As for the boys, Micah Lawson of Rahway always comes up big when it matters most. He pulled off a shocking win at the XC M of C in the fall, and executed his race plan to perfection to win the 1,600 at the indoor M of C. I've learned never to bet against Lawson!

In the boys 3,200, Lucas Reguinho of Elizabeth, who won the state Group 4 XC title before missing the whole indoor season with an injury, has a great blend of toughness, talent, and closing speed. For those reasons, and the fact that he's the fastest guy in this race at 9:03.48, Reguinho is the pick to win.

So that means that Union County has a legitimate shot to sweep the boys 800, 1,600, and 3,200, and Monmouth County has very good chance to do the same in the 800, 1,600, 3,200!!!!

How incredible would that be!!!!


NJSIAA Meet of Champions Coverage

The meet is scheduled to take place on June 15th at 2:00pm at Franklin HS in Somerset, NJ.


NJSIAA Group State Championships Coverage

All of our NJSIAA Group State Championship coverage will be linked below. All the race videos we had from the weekend have been reuploaded for both locations.

Groups 1, 4, NPA

Groups 2, 3, NPB

Merges & Overall Group Content