Girls Outdoor Track and Field | 6/15/2025 2:52:00 PM
In most races, nearly all the attention is on what is happening at the very front, with the primary focus on who wins.
But there is so much more to a race than that. There are so many other great performances, personal bests and captivating storylines behind the champion.
A perfect example of that came in the girls 1,600-meter run at the NJSIAA Track and Field Meet of Champions on a sun-splashed day at Pennsauken High School on June 4.
The atmosphere was electric as NJ's best went toe-to-toe and shoulder-to-shoulder on the biggest stage in the state. Among them was Union Catholic sophomore Kayla Devine, who never stopped believing in herself and has shown as much resiliency as any runner in the state as she battled her way back through injuries to become one of the state's best distance runners.
As Devine took the starting line, she had no idea of the full extent of the story she was about to write — or the uncanny connection it would have to her family's history.
Devine, as gritty and determined as any distance runner you'll ever see who combines a blue-collar work ethic with great natural talent, leveled up to the challenge by running the best race of her life, placing sixth with a personal best time of 4:54.70. Devine's finish put an exclamation point on a remarkable 1-2-6 finish in the race by a trio of star-studded UC sophomores. Paige Sheppard won the race in a state record 4:37.65 and Sophia Thompson was second in 4:45.43!
That's not all.
Forty years ago, at Frank Jost Field in South Plainfield, Devine's mother, Amy Holcomb, also finished sixth in the 1,600 at the Meet of Champions as a senior at Holmdel High School.
"I actually had no clue she had gotten sixth place before my race," Kayla later reflected. "I think if I had known getting on the starting line, maybe I would've had more motivation to place higher knowing I could've beaten her. I knew going into it there were a lot of girls that had run similar times to me, so it definitely wasn't going to get on the podium. If I'm being completely honest, I was aiming to place higher than I did. Maybe if my mom had gotten a place higher, I would've too!"
When Devine finished and discovered the eerie parallel with her mother's performance four decades earlier, she was stunned.
"When I found out that my mom had also finished sixth in the 1600 40 years prior, I was definitely surprised," Kayla said. "The parallel seemed so crazy to me. Also, since I only found this out after my race, it's not like I went into the race intentionally seeking the same place. It just kind of happened by chance."
After the race, Devine and her mom compared notes on their respective races and marveled at how the sport had evolved.
"We talked about the similarities in that we placed the same, but we also talked about the differences in times between the two races," Kayla said. ''While I had run a 4:54, she had run a 5:04, yet we still earned the same place. There was also about a 10-second difference between what first place ran 40 years ago and what first place ran this year. I think this shows how much improved technologies and training have changed the sport."
While sixth place with a time of 4:54.70 is what will always be reflected in the results, Devine walked away with something even more meaningful: a deeper connection to the sport, her family, and her own legacy.
Together, Devine and her mother have woven an unforgettable story, which is a testament to how track and field can bridge generations in ways no stopwatch ever could.
