Taylor Cox Of Union Catholic Chooses University of Georgia



Taylor Cox of Union Catholic, one of the nation's top track and field recruits, announced her long-awaited college decision on Sunday. 

The winner is the University of Georgia

Cox, a two-time national high hurdle champion and NJ MileSplit's Track Athlete of the Year last spring, also visited Kentucky, Texas, LSU, and Arkansas.

The Bulldogs are getting one of the greatest hurdlers/sprinters in New Jersey history! Check out what Cox has already done in her legendary career.

At the New Balance National Championships last June at Franklin Field in Philadelphia Cox shattered the meet record when she won the 100 hurdles in a wind-legal 13.38, which is tied for the third fastest time in New Jersey history. Cox broke the meet record of 13.41 set in 2023 by Camden Bentley of Ohio Speed.

The only two hurdlers in New Jersey history to run faster than Cox are state record holder Dawn Bowles of Neptune (13.30 in 1988) and Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic (13.34 in 2014). McLaughlin is the current world record holder in the 400 hurdles and a four-time Olympic gold medalist 

The electrifying Cox also ran the second leg on Union Catholic's 4x100 relay that finished second at the NB Nationals in 45.48, which broke the New Jersey record of 45.50 set by Montclair at the 1998 Penn Relays. 

Cox also burned up the track at the New Balance National Indoor Championships this past March at the Track at New Balance in Boston when finished first and smashed the New Jersey state record in the 60-meter hurdles in breathtaking fashion, stopping the clock at 8.11!! 

The 8.11 by Cox took down the state record of 8.17 that McLaughlin ran when she finished first as a sophomore at the 2015 New Balance Nationals at the New York Armory, and it places Cox tied for No. 6 in U.S. high school history and is No. 3 all-time by a junior.


The stunning victory by Cox in the hurdles capped off a sensational weekend for her in Boston. Two days earlier, she led off UC's sprint medley relay victory when the Vikings ran 3:54.62, a New Jersey record and the fifth fastest time in U.S. high school indoor history.

Cox's national championship puts an exclamation point on the greatest season in New Jersey indoor history by a female hurdler.

Cox finished the season with a perfect 7-0 record over the barriers, she broke 8.00 in all five of her hurdle races at 55 meters, and she ran under 8.30 in her two hurdle races at 60 meters. 

Cox also broke McLaughlin's meet record when she won her second straight New Jersey Indoor Meet of Champions title in 7.73, and broke another McLaughlin record by running 7.84 at the State Non-Public A Championships, the fastest time ever run in any State Group Championship meet.

In addition to her remarkable resume in the hurdles, Cox also has PRs of 6.90 in the 55-meter dash, 11.66 in the 100-meter dash, 24.56 in the 200-meter, and 57.33 in the 400-meter.