EHT’s Johnson dominates sprints at sectional meet

After winning the 100-meter dash and coming in eighth in the 400 meters Friday, Egg Harbor Township's Tejay Johnson returned to his home track Saturday at the South Jersey Group 1, Group 4, and Non-Public A track and field championships and showed why he's one of the top sprinters in New Jersey.

Johnson cruised to victory in the 200 meters with a time of 22.11 seconds, then anchored the 4x400 relay to first place in 3 minutes, 19.72 seconds.

"We take pride in our relay," Johnson said. "The relay is what we do - we get hyped for the event, which is why we're undefeated this season."

As any top athlete, Johnson recognizes his strengths and weaknesses.

"I'm pretty tall for a sprinter, so I know in the 100 I have to get a quick start to be successful, and the 400 is a bit too long for me," the 6-foot-2 Johnson said. "The 200 is my favorite race – it fits my speed better. I'm concentrating on that and the 100 at the state meet."

The first six finishers at the sectional meet will move on to the state Group 1, Group 4 and Non-Public A meet next weekend at Egg Harbor Township.

The Group 4 meet was won by Toms River South with 61 points. Eastern (54), Egg Harbor Township (50.5), Washington Township (46) and Toms River North (40.5) rounded out the top five.

In the Group 1 meet, Woodbury's Terrance Tolbert, Penns Grove's Stephon Bell and Pennsville's Tyler Cummings each won two events during the two-day meet to lead their teams to first, second and third place, respectively.

Tolbert won the 100 and 200 meters, and finished third in the 400; Bell took the 400 intermediate and 100 high hurdles and finished eighth in the 200; and Cummings broke the tape first in the 1,600 and 3,200 and finished second in the 800.

"In the 1,600, I knew I had to set the pace early, " Cummings said. "I did a 63-second third lap and took it out and hung on in the final lap.

"I was seeded fifth in the 800, which isn't my best distance, but I did my personal best and was able to take a second. The 3,200 is the race I've been training for all season, but after the 800, I was tired, so I didn't think much about the time, as much as winning the race to get us team points."

In the Non-Public A meet, Paul VI's Brett Pierce won the 100 and high jump, Josh Sherman of Holy Cross took first in the triple jump, and St. Augustine's A.J. Murphy won the 400.