BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer
Tiffany Grant had been building for the moment all year.With 100 meters remaining in the girls 400, the Ocean Township junior held a slight lead over her rival, Franklin’s Symone O’Connor. The state championship would come down to which of them could hold back the pain the longest and keep her form as the lactic acid built up. For Grant, it was a small price to pay for the goal at hand.
“I fought through it, I wanted it that bad,” said Grant.
Grant held off fatigue and O’Connor to win the Meet of Champions title in a personal best of 54.34, with O’Connor posting a 55.06.
Grant and O’Connor had a history going into the race. O’Connor was the 400 runner-up last spring to the graduated Essence Carson from Newark-East Side. Grant was fourth in that final. During the indoor season, Grant was runner-up and O’Connor was fifth.
“She’s so strong,” said Grant. “I had to go out hard and stay with her. At 170 meters I knew she was there.
“I just focused on using my arms,” she added.
The middle 200 has been Grant’s concern all year. It’s the reason she ran 800-meter races for the Spartans during the dual-meet campaign to build up her endurance. The extra-distance races paid off last week, when Grant was able to push hard down the backstretch, and still have enough left in the final 100 meters to run faster than she ever has and win her first MOC title.
“It’s a great feeling,” she said. “I worked so hard. It’s great to finish with a state championship and a pr [personal record]. I couldn’t ask for more.”
Her string of pb’s this spring have continued a trend for the Spartan.
“Ever since I started track, each season my times have dropped,” she said. “I’ve been very consistent. The hard work keeps paying off.”
Grant’s talented teammate, Georgina Nembhard, took her place among the state’s best sprinters by placing in both the 100 and 200.
The sophomore turned in a 12.28 in the 100 in taking fourth and ran 24.73 for the 200 in placing sixth.
Red Bank Regional’s Christina Nelson was involved in the MOC’s fastest en-masse girls 1,600 ever. The Buc junior was one of the eight girls who ran under 5:00. She was eighth in a personal best 4:59.74.
Southern Regional’s Danielle Tauro, who pushed the fast pace from the gun, won in 4:47.55.
Monmouth Regional’s Charles Cox has a very bright future in front of him. The sophomore confirmed he is one of the best sprinters in the state by placing in both the boys 100- and 200-meter dashes.
He put down a 10.97 in the century, finishing fifth, and then matched that placing in the 200 with a 21.90 (his best half lap of the season).
Grant wins Golden West
If Grant verified that she was the best 400 runner in New Jersey on June 8, Saturday she proved she is among the country’s elite when she won the Golden West Invitational in Folsom, Calif.
Grant didn’t need a personal best to beat a field that included top sprinters from throughout the country. Her 55.33 beat Shewanda Woodard from Texas, who ran 55.99.
The scholastic season comes to an end today and tomorrow in Greensboro, N.C., with the Nike Nationals. Individual and relay events will be contested in this national championship contest.