GINA NELSON HOLLOWAY
- Apr 30
- 2 min read
Updated: May 18
Trenton Central High School 1978 -- Sprinter
The late 1970’s were the Golden Era of Trenton High track with the 1978 boys’ team garnering most of the attention. But in terms of historic significance, one cannot understate the role of Gina Nelson Holloway, one of Mercer County’s greatest of all sprinters.
Matching teammate Dorothea Smith, Nelson Holloway became the first Trenton High girl to capture a Group state title. Around the same time Smith was winning the 220, Nelson Holloway was taking the Group IV 100-yard dash in 1977 in 11.1 seconds, before the state made the conversion to meters and before the days of fully automatic timing.
Nelson Holloway almost repeated her magic the following week, settling for second at the Meet of Champions behind the same competitor who also denied Smith the All-Group title, Woodbury’s Lori Lewis. But Nelson’s legacy didn’t end with these two meets, though Group IV at this time was filled with some of the most famous names in New Jersey track history including Joetta Clark, Michelle Glover and Carol Lewis. Nelson Holloway was also county and sectional champion in the 100 in 1977, and she was a member of four county and sectional-winning relays in that year and in1978.
At the same time, Nelson Holloway was finding fun in a second activity-- being a member of the TCHS varsity cheerleading squad.
But for the ages, all the cheers belong to Gina and Dorothea, truly pioneers in the history of Trenton High girls’ track annals.
MAJOR TITLES
NJ STATE CHAMPION GROUP IV 100 YARDS (1977)
2x CJ SECTIONAL CHAMPION GROUP IV: 100 YARDS (1977), & MILE RELAY (1978)
4x MERCER COUNTY CHAMPION: 100 YARDS (1977), 440 YARD RELAY (1977 & '78), MILE RELAY (1978)
