From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Rowan’s Damitrius Hester popped the No. 7 javelin throw in NCAA Division 3 history Saturday at the season-opening Stockton Invitational in Galloway Township.

Hester, a Mahwah graduate, threw 236-4 on his 2^nd attempt, breaking the Rowan and NJAC records and recording the best throw by a D-3 athlete in three years, since Will Lawrence of Wisconsin-Platteville threw 236-8 at the 2023 Division 3 Championships in Rochester, N.Y.

Greg Peloso from Wayne Valley held the previous Rowan and NJAC record with the new implement at 230-11 in Ewing in April of 2022, and that was the top mark in NCAA Division 3 that year. Peloso went on to place 2^nd to Lawrence at 2023 Division 3 nationals with a 227-9.

Hester’s previous PR was 218-4 from his 2^nd-place finish at D-3 Nationals this past May in Geneva, Ohio.

Hester only took three throws, but each was beyond his previous PR. He opened with a PR 224-6, then hit the monster 236-4 and a 231-6. He passed his final three throws.

Montclair freshman Markos Hantsoulis from Highland Park, who won West Philly Nationals this past June, was 2^nd with a 221-7 on his final throw. That’s a nearly 20-foot PR over his 203-9 from a meet last April in Old Bridge. In his first college meet, he’s now No. 4 all-time in NJAC history behind Hester, Peloso and Rutgers-Camden national champ Tim VanLiew from Deptford, the D-3 record holder at 247-10 from 2013 nationals in LaCrosse, Wisc.

Rowan, which won the Division 3 indoor national championship earlier this month, only brought its javelin throwers to Stockton Saturday. Freshman Dylan Fitzpatrick from Burlington Township, in his collegiate debut, threw a PR 195-1 for 3^rd place. Fitzpatrick’s high school PR was 188-1 from Central Jersey Group 3 Sectionals in Jackson this past May. He had four throws beyond that Saturday, with a 190-6, a 192-4 and a 192-10 in addition to his 195-1.

Another Rowan freshman, Drue Chauhan from Quakertown, placed 4^th with a 185-10 on his 1^st collegiate throw. That’s just shy of his PR 187-10 last May in Coatesville.

Rowan’s school record with the old javelin is 258-5 by Hopatcong’s Mike Juskus, who won three D-3 national titles and a D-1 national title after never throwing the javelin in high school. That 258-5 remains the meet record at D-3 Nationals with the old jav.

Williamstown senior Jasiah Gibbons lowered his PR again Saturday morning and raced his way into the 60-meter hurdles final at Virginia Beach Nationals.

Gibbons, who ran 7.95 in the qualifying Friday, ran 7.94 in the first of two semifinals, and his time was 5^th-fastest overall of the 16 hurdlers in the semis.

He advanced to the final as a “small-Q” qualifier with the fastest time in the field that didn’t place first or second in one of the semis. The final is scheduled for 1:56 p.m. Sunday.

Gibbons moved up to 7^th-fastest in South Jersey history and 15^th-fastest in state history.

All-Time New Jersey 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.63 … Cory Poole [East Orange Campus], 2017
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.65 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.73 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
7.74 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.79 … Nathaniel Rayan [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2023
7.85 … Chris Serrao [East Brunswick], 2022
7.87 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2002
7.88 … Yverson Alexandre [Hillside], 2025
7.90 … Corey Nelms [Neptune], 2006
7.90 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.90 … Essien Plummer [Neptune], 2026
7.92 … Michael Perry [North Brunswick], 2026
7.92 … Elvin Marte Feliz [North Brunswick], 2026
7.94 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.94 … Ihmir Marsette [Weequahic], 2017
7.94 … Akeem Lindo [East Orange Campus], 2017
7.94 … Jasiah Gibbons [Williamstown], 2026
7.95 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.95 … Ron Jules [Toms River East], 2003
7.96 … Danyne Brown. [Camden], 1999
7.96 … Joshua Evans [Irvington], 2009
7.96 … Andrew Aguilera [Governor Livingston], 2017
7.97 … Jason Keiser [East Brunswick], 2025
7.97 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2011
7.99 … Zach Gizzone [Union Catholic], 2013
7.99 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.99 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015

All-Time South Jersey 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.65 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.73 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
7.74 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2023
7.87 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2002
7.90 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.94 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.94 … Jasiah Gibbons [Williamstown], 2026
7.95 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.96 … Danyne Brown. [Camden], 1999
7.99 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.99 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015

In her first outdoor college meet, Vanderbilt freshman Sofia Day of Mainland Regional ran a big PR of 4:32.32 Thursday to win the 1,500 at the River City Relays at Hodges Stadium on the North Florida campus in Jacksonville.

That’s the equivalent of a 4:54.11 full mile. Day’s lifetime best was a 4:55.19 last month indoors in Nashville. Day won by a full 20 meters over Ana Markovina of the host Ospreys.

Day came through 1,100 meters in 3:23.86 and then closed in a blazing 68.47 for her final 400 meters.

Day doubled back Friday and ran 2:12.21 in the 800. That’s an outdoor PR and just off her lifetime-best 2:02.05 from the 2024 indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

Day ran one 800 indoors last month in Nashville and was timed in 2:12.88. That was part of a double where she ran a lifetime-best 4:55.19 mile.

Day had a very abbreviated outdoor season as a high school senior, with just two low-key 400 races. These were her first 800 or 1,500 / 1,600 / mile races outdoors since June of 2024, when she won state Group 4 titles in the 800 and 1,600 at Delsea.

It looks like Eastern won the mixed 1,600-meter relay at Virginia Beach Nationals Friday night, but there are no names listed either in the entries or results.

With two boys and two girls, Eastern ran 3:35.10, breaking the meet record 3:39.71 set by Haverhill (Mass.) in 2023.

Thanks to the Eastern girls track and XC Twitter account for providing Eastern’s actual lineup. Ashton Gage did indeed lead off, splitting 50.56, then junior Poetry Anderson, who hadn’t run anything over a 200 all year, split 1:01.72, setting up half-miler Brandon Lamon, who split 50.26, with Natalie Dumas anchoring with a hot 52.56.

 Presumably, Natalie Dumas was one of the girls on the Eastern team. The next-fastest female 400 runners at Eastern this year was Adriana Marella, so she may have run the other 400. She ran 61.20 back in December at Ocean Breeze but hasn’t raced in six weeks so maybe it wasn’t her.

On the guys side, Ashton Gage was likely one of the quarter-milers. Gage ran 49.58 at the Ott Center in January and just ran 21.92 for 200 meters two weeks at the Meet of Champions. The other guy on the team? Paul Moore was next-fastest over 400 meters this year for Eastern at 51.54 at the state Group 4 meet at the Bubble.

If anyone knows who actually ran for Eastern please let me know and I can update this post.

Either way, Dumas likely ran a very fast leg because if the two guys averaged 50.5 seconds and the second girl ran 61, that leaves a 53.1 for Natalie.

Williamstown senior Jasiah Gibbons ran the 8^th-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in South Jersey history Friday in qualifying at Virginia Beach Nationals.

There were no times listed in the results for several hours, although Gibbons was listed as a qualifier in the heat sheets for the semifinals. But they have finally fixed the results and Gibbons ran 7.95, the 3^rd-fastest qualifying time out of 63 runners.

Gibbons had a previous PR of 8.54 for the 60-meter highs from last years Boston Nationals. He won the state Group 4 race in 7.29 over 55 meters.

His time is 19^th-fastest in state history and 4^th-fastest this year.

Camden juniro Jaleel Dickerson-Dempsey also qualified for the semifinals with an 8.18 in the quarters.

The semis are scheduled for 8:50 a.m. Saturday with Gibbons racing in lane 5 in the first of two races. The top two finishers in each semi plus the next four-fastest advance to the final, scheduled for 1:56 p.m. Sunday.

All-Time New Jersey 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.63 … Cory Poole [East Orange Campus], 2017
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.65 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.73 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
7.74 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.79 … Nathaniel Rayan [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2023
7.85 … Chris Serrao [East Brunswick], 2022
7.87 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2002
7.88 … Yverson Alexandre [Hillside], 2025
7.90 … Corey Nelms [Neptune], 2006
7.90 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.90 … Essien Plummer [Neptune], 2026
7.92 … Michael Perry [North Brunswick], 2026
7.92 … Elvin Marte Feliz [North Brunswick], 2026
7.94 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.94 … Ihmir Marsette [Weequahic], 2017
7.94 … Akeem Lindo [East Orange Campus], 2017
7.95 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.95 … Ron Jules [Toms River East], 2003
7.95 … Jasiah Gibbons [Williamstown], 2026
7.96 … Danyne Brown. [Camden], 1999
7.96 … Joshua Evans [Irvington], 2009
7.96 … Andrew Aguilera [Governor Livingston], 2017
7.97 … Jason Keiser [East Brunswick], 2025
7.97 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2011
7.99 … Zach Gizzone [Union Catholic], 2013
7.99 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.99 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015

All-Time South Jersey 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.65 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
7.73 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
7.74 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2023
7.87 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2002
7.90 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.94 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.95 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
7.95 … Jasiah Gibbons [Williamstown], 2026
7.96 … Danyne Brown. [Camden], 1999
7.99 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.99 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015

Josh Awotunde, a 2013 Delsea graduate, throws Sunday in the World Championships at the Kujawsko Pomorska Arena.in Torun, Poland., about 25 miles east of Bydgoszcz.

This will be Awotunde’s 5^th  trip to Worlds. In 2022 indoor Worlds in Belgrade, Serbia, he placed 5^th with a throw of 71-2 ¼ and then outdoors that spring in Eugene he placed 3^rd with a 73-1 ½. In 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, he placed 11^th at 65-6 ½. Then last year outdoors in Tokyo he placed 7^th in the final with a 69-4 ¼.

Awotunde qualified this year by placing 3^rd at the U.S. Championships at Ocean Breeeze earlier this month with a 69-1.

Awotunde ranks 12^th in the world this year with his season-best 69-1. He threw his PR 73-8 ½ when he won the 2025 U.S. Championship at Oregon’s Hayward Field. That’s No. 17 in world history and No. 10 in U.S. history.

The shot put at Worlds is scheduled for 11:23 a.m. Central European Time, which is 6:23 a.m. here.

Natalie Dumas, one of the greatest middle-distance runners in U.S. scholastic track history history, will race indoors two more times in her historic high school career.

Dumas is entered in the 400 and 800 at Virginia Beach Nationals this weekend. This is the 3rd and as far as we can tell the final indoor “national meet.”

In the 400, Dumas has run in 53.68 this indoor season and 51.14 last spring, 6th-fastest in U.S. scholastic history. It looks like the one faster seed based on times this year is Kadia Rock of SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, who ran a PR 53.51 in a meet in February in Geneva.

Dumas’s indoor PR and South Jersey record is 53.55 from last year’s Meet of Champions win at Ocean Breeze. Dumas won the 400 last year at Virginia Beach Nationals with a 53.66.

Dumas is coming off a fast 2:05.30 indoor PR and South Jersey indoor record, at Armory Nationals. She set the state record of 2:00.11 in June at West Philly Nationals, 5th-fastest in U.S. history.

Dumas is also listed as anchor for Eastern’s sprint medley team, which also includes junior Poetry Anderson, senior Knoelle Whittle and junior Jolie Merhi.

The 400 in Virginia Beach is scheduled for 2:55 p.m. Saturday with the 800 following at 8:45 p.m. The sprint med is 3:50 p.m. Sunday.

Several other South Jersey athletes are entered in the two-day meet, which runs Saturday and Sunday.

You can find the full entries here: https://www.milesplit.com/meets/704187-adidas-track-nationals-2026/entries/1259554

Order of events here: https://adidastfnationals.com/schedule

✔️ Summer Schaeffer of Pennsauken will run the 60 and 200. She ran 7.21 for 55 meters indoors at the Ott Center and 25.30 this past weekend at Boston Nationals.

✔️ Junior Grace Gutowski of Paul VI is entered in the mile. She has a PR of 5:02.06 from Parochial A states last spring in Galloway Township.

✔️ Paul VI senior Giovanna Mantuano from Paul VI will race the two-mile. She ran 10:54.33 over 3,200 meters at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

✔️ Senior Laila Fairweather of Burlington Township is entered in the 60-meter dash and 400. She ran 7.35 for 55 meters at the Bubble and 57.36 at the Ott.

✔️ Haddonfield junior Nina Fisicaro will compete in the pole vault. Fisicaro cleared 11-0 twice indoors and placed 3rd at Group 2 states.

✔️ Junior Timia Waters of Williamstown is entered in the long jump. Her best jump this year was a 17-10 ½ at the Ott in January.

BOYS
✔️ Eastern senior Ashton Gage, who has sprinted 6.50, 21.92 and 49.58 this indoor season, is entered in the 200 and 400 and will anchor an Eastern 4-by-2 team and race on the sprint medley.

✔️ Eastern senior Brandon Lamon, who PR’d at 1:56.60 at the Meet of Champions, will race the 800 and anchor Eastern’s SMR.

✔️ Camden junior Jaleel Dickerson-Dempsey, the state Group 2 55 hurdles champ at 7.73, will run the 60-meter highs.

✔️ Jasiah Gibbons of Williamstown, the state Group 4 hurdles champ, is also entered in the hurdles. He ran 7.29 for the 55-meter highs, 11th-fastest in state history. He’ll also run on Williamstown’s sprint med, with Dominic Burgio anchoring, and anchor the Braves’ shuttle hurdles.

✔️ Lenape senior Dev’yne Smith, who hit 45-0 ¼ at the Bubble in January, is entered in the triple jump.

✔️ Bishop Eustace senior Noah Glen, 7th in the pentathlon at Armory Nationals, will compete in the two-day multi in Virginia Beach.

✔️ Thomas Howard Jr. of Rancocas Valley is in the 200. He ran 21.33 at Boston Nationals last year.

✔️ Haddonfield senior Brandon Stoner, the South Jersey Group 2 champ, will race the 800.

✔️ Glassboro senior Jaeden Wesley, 7th in the state Group 1 XC race at Holmdel, is entered in the 3,200.

✔️ Haddon Township junior Kyle Stephens, the South Jersey Group 1 sectional champ, will throw the shot.

✔️ Salem’s Ahmad Tucker, who jumped 19-11 ½ at the Ott, No. 2 freshman in New Jersey this year, will shoot for the 20-foot barrier in the freshman long jump. He’s also running the freshman 55.

Bishop Eustace senior Noah Glenn earned All-America honors in the pentathlon at Armory Nationals over the weekend.

Glenn placed 7^th with 3,303 points in five events.

He began with an 8.56 in the 60-meter hurdles for 856 points, his highest total of the competition. He long jumped 21-1 for 682 points, threw the shot 36-0 ¼ for 545 points, high jumped 5-10 ¾ for 627 points and finished by running 1,000 meters in 3:06.37 for 603 points.

Glenn’s strongest event as you can see is the hurdles. He placed 3^rd at the tate Parochial B meet in 8.07 and then PR’d with 7.83 in the Meet of Champions, the fastest time by a Parochial B hurdler this year.

Glenn also has PRs of 6-2 in the high jump from the Bubble in January, 21-2 ¼ from the Ott Center in January, 39-5 from the Bubble in January and 3:04.56 in the 1,000 from Ocean Breeeze in February.

The Bishop Eustace pentathlon record is 3,449 by Chris Feigenbutz in 1999.

Glenn’s score is 4^th-highest in South Jersey history behind Millville’s Raffael Craig [3,814 in 1999], Bridgeton’s Jamil Sanders [3,632 in 1994] and Feigenbutz. Craig and Feigenbutz both recorded their highest score at 1999 Roxbury Nationals at the Reggie Lewis Center outside Boston. They placed 1^st and 6^th.

Delsea senior Hannah Nuhfer made it two All-America performances in three days with a 2^nd-place finish in the shot put at Boston THE TRACK Nationals Sunday.

On Friday, Nuhfer threw 47-10 ¾ – just 1 ¼ of an inch off her South Jersey record of 48-0 – to place 4^th at Armory Nationals. Two days later in Boston, she placed 2^nd with a throw of 46-3 ¼.

Nuhfer led the shot in Boston until the final round of throws, when Sophia Marie Rivera of Ephrata High outside Lancaster threw a PR 46-5 ¾ to move into the lead by 2 ½ inches.

Nuhfer had a strong series, with three throws over 46 feet – 46-2 ¾, 46-3 ¼ and 46-2 ½ – and earned her 3^rd All-America honor with two this past weekend along with her discus win at West Philly Nationals this past June, where she set a South Jersey-record 178-9.

Nuhfer goes into her final season of high school track with three South Jersey records – discus outdoors and shot indoors and out. This spring, she’ll look to build on her outdoor shot record of 47-9 from South Jersey Group 3 sectionals this past May at Delsea.

She’s one of only two throwers in state history to reach 48 feet in the shot and 175 feet in the discus. Alyssa Wilson of Donovan Catholic in Toms River threw 57-5 ½ and 182-0 in 2017. Wilson went on to become a shot, disc and hammer All-America at UCLA and a hammer throw All-America at Texas State.