The Scotch Plains-Fanwood trio of senior Julia Jackson, senior Grace Kennedy, and junior Jenai Berry put on a remarkable show in the girls 400-meter run at the Varsity Classic on Monday night at the Amory’s New Balance Track and Field Center in New York.
The Duke-bound Jackson, Kennedy, and Berry finished 1-2-3 in the race with the three fastest times run in the state this season, and they also combined with junior Danielle Most to win the 4×400 relay with the No. 1 time in the state this season.
In the 400, Jackson dropped her NJ No. 1 time down to a personal indoor best 54.92, which is US No. 5 this season. Kennedy was second in 56.26, and Berry was third in 58.67. The 56.26 by the Lehigh-bound Kennedy is faster than the current school indoor record at Lehigh (57.44).
In the 4×400, Kennedy led off with a 58.67 carry, Most went 63.83, Berry ran 58.44, and Jackson anchored in 56.50 to bring SPF across first in 3:57.46, the fastest time in the state this season and No. 12 in the nation.
In other Union County highlights, Christiana Nwachuku of Kent Place sparkled in the sprints.
The UPenn-bound Nwachuku took over the state lead in the 200 with a winning time of 24.74, and matched her NJ No. 1 time in the 55 dash by winning that race in 7.10.
The Westfield girls ran a NJ No. 6 time of 9:34.62 to win the 4×800. Westfield also went 1-2-3 in the boys 1,600 as Avery Keith won with a PR of 4:25.32, Liam Maurillo was second in 4:27.11, and Benjamin Hacker placed third in 4:28.15.
Alexandra Bonn of Union Catholic soared a NJ No. 2 17-9 to win the girls long jump.
