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South Jersey Group IV girls track and field: Nijgia Snapp snaps her own group record in 400-meter dash
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EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Nijgia Snapp lulled her opponents into a false sense of hope Friday night.
The Oakcrest High School standout yawned three times as she stepped onto the track for the South Jersey Group IV 400-meter dash championship.
That didn't mean Snapp wasn't at her best, however.
Once the gun sounded, she was full of energy.
Snapp dominated and broke her own Group IV meet record. Snapp won in 54.90 seconds. That broke her mark of 55.15 set last year. Chelsea Cox of Southern Regional was second in 57.15.
"It's a nervous habit," Snapp said with a laugh about her yawns.
Snapp was one of five local athletes to win South Jersey Group IV titles at Egg Harbor Township. Jill Smith of Southern Regional won the 1,600. Dana Keister of Absegami took first in the shot put and teammate Alex Romanelli won the long jump. Brooke Kott of Millville won the 400 hurdles.
The two-day meet continues at 10 a.m. today. The top six finishers in each event, plus ties, qualify for the state group championships next weekend.
Snapp is one of the nation's top scholastic runners. Still, her performance Friday was still somewhat surprising considering the strength of the field. She was never threatened. It is rare to see someone win a South Jersey Group IV dash so easily.
"I went out at a comfortable pace," Snapp said.
Snapp never looked back and did not know how far out in front she was.
"I don't really think about that," she said.
Snapp will try to defend her state Group IV title next weekend. Her performance Friday bodes well for the rest of the championship season.
"I just have to keep getting faster and faster," Snapp said.
Smith, from Southern, is also one of the nation's best runners. She easily defended her 1,600 title. Smith pulled away with 300 meters left and won in 4:55.47. Smith ran the last quarter in 67 seconds. Caitlin Orr of Lenape chased Smith to the finish line and was second in 4:59.91.
The field ran as a pack for the first three laps.
"It was a really clean race," Smith said. "I think we all worked together. There was no reason to kill each other. We all wanted to get a good time."
Kott has had an outstanding career at Millville, but her victory in the 400 hurdles was the senior's first South Jersey title.
Kott (1:03.47) held off Cherokee's Emily Kulcyk (1:03.86) in the final strides.
"I got off to a good start," Kott said, "but I heard her hit a hurdle (on the backstretch), and I knew she was there."
Kott's time was a personal best.
"I knew the Cherokee girl had a fast time coming in," Kott said. "I was hoping I would get it done. I went out so fast. I was surprised I had enough left at the end. I had to give it my all."
Absegami's Keister came into the shot put expecting good things to happen.
"I had in my mind I was going to throw 40 feet," she said. "We've been building up to this."
Keister won with a put of 40 feet, 7.75 inches, more than three feet better than second-place Andria Leach of Lenape.
The winning put came on Keister's second of six attempts.
"It relaxes you," she said of getting such a good effort early in the competition.
Keister, a senior, won the javelin last year.
"I like to switch it around," she said with a laugh of her South Jersey victories.
Romanelli's South Jersey title was her first. She jumped 16-3.25. Erica Schroen of Toms River North jumped 16-1.50 to finish second.
"I really wanted to win," said Romanelli, who is also from Absegami. "I was the top seed."
Her distance, however, was not what she wanted. No competitor jumped her best.
"They added new sand into the pit," Romanelli said. "It goes up. It's just like jumping into a hill."
But distances and times fade as the years go by. What Romanelli and other first-place finishers will remember is that they were South Jersey champions.
Note: The Group I boys and girls meet also is being held at EHT. No local athletes qualified Friday to advance to the state group championships.
E-mail Michael McGarry:
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Posted in SPORTS | HIGHSCHOOL | BREAKING NEWS on Saturday, May 23, 2009 12:40 am Updated: 2:05 am.
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