From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Big race for Amariah Arango in Baltimore at the East Coast International Showcase at Morgan State, with a PR 2:13.32 to win the 800.

Arango’s time is fastest in New Jersey this year by a sophomore, just ahead of Moorestown’s Payton Derer, who ran 2:14.44 in Yeadon, Pa., last month.

Arango’s previous PR was a 2:16.48 just last month at Lenape. Before that it was 2:19.11 when she placed 4^th at the state Group 3 meet at the Bubble in February. So she’s improved by nearly six seconds in three weeks.

Arango broke the Winslow school record of 2:15.77 set in May by Ava Millner at South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals at Delsea.

Arango ran unpressed, winning by 30 meters.

Her time is 10^th-fastest on the all-time Camden County list and 10^th-fastest in New Jersey this year and 4^th-fastest by a South Jersey girl, behind Natalie Dumas [2:04.00], Dylan Hosty [2:09.27] and Carly Godfrey [2:13.19].

All-Time Camden County 800 List
2:00.11 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
2:07.33 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2009
2:08.87 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
2:09.27 … Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield], 2026
2:10.44 … Kadence Dumas [Eastern], 2023
2:11.45 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], 2017
2:11.80 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
2:12.33 … Grace Gutowski [Paul VI], 2025
2:12.85 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], 2008
2:13.32 … Amariah Arango [Winslow Twp.], 2026
2:13.74 … Briana Roberts [Pennsauken], 2016
2:13.34 … Holly Cosnett [Haddonfield], 2000
2:13.72 … Lindsay Colflesh [Haddonfield], 2021
2:13.74 … Brianna Roberts [Pennsauken], 2016
2:13.80 … Holly Cosnett [Haddonfield], 2000

Washington Township’s Dahlia Beasley put together a lifetime-best heptathlon at a recent meet in Gainesville, increasing her PR from 5,143 to 5,217 points in her 2^nd lifetime heptathlon.

That score is 6^th-highest in Kentucky history and 5^th-highest ever by a South Jersey woman.

Along the way, she recorded four wind-legal PRs.

Beasley opened with a 14.76 with a legal 1.6 tailwind for 874 points in the 100-meter hurdles. She ran 14.75 in Austin last month but that was aided by a 2.6 meters-per-second wind.

Next was the high jump, and Beasley cleared 5-5 ¼ for 806 points. Her PR is a 5-7 in her previous heptathlon in Austin last month.

Beasley threw 35-0 ½ in the shot for 574 points. That’s well beyond her previous PR of 30-7 from an indoor meet in Indianapolis in January.

Beasley sprinted to a 200 PR of 23.79 for a whopping 1,001 points. She’s run faster wind-aided, but this was a wind-legal PR, surpassing a 24.05 in Orlando in March.

Beasley went 18-7 ¼ with a legal 0.7 on her 1^st attempt for 750 points in the long jump. Only a few inches off her PR of 18-11 ¼ from an indoor meet in December in Nashville.

After throwing 73-1 in the javelin for 331 points, Beasley finished with an 800 PR of 2:15.87, worth 881 points.. Well below her previous PR of 2:19.00 from an indoor pentathlon in Fayetteville in January.

During her one year at Rutgers, Beasley didn’t compete in any multi-events, never hurdled, never ran an 800 and never high jumped.

She’s now No. 10 in the SEC after just her 2^nd lifetime heptathlon.

Here’s my best attempt at a South Jersey 5,000-point club:

5,870 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], Sam Adams Combined Events, April 14, 2016, Santa Barbara, Calif.
5,640 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], Big Ten Championships, May 12-13, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
5,565 … Shana Williams [Bridgeton], World University Games, July 14-15, 1993, Buffalo
5,460 … Brianna Craig [Millville], Big Ten Championships, May 12-13, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
5,217 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], Tom Jones Memoriał, April 16-18, 2026, Gainesville, Fla.
5,050 … Elaina Styer [Ocean City], TCNJ Invite, April 9-10, 2026, Ewing

She never ran one in high school. She never ran one at Penn. She never ran one at Duke. On Sunday, Aliya Garozzo tried something she had never done. An 800.

Garozzo ran 2:07.06 in her first lifetime 800 at the Duke Twilight Invitational in Durham, N.C. Not a bad debut!

Obviously, Garozzo is world class in the 400-meter hurdles [54.90] and national class in the 400 [52.43] and she’s run as fast as 13.52 in the high hurdles. But this was a first for the Sicklerville native.

Garozzo was out fast in 60.77 and came back in 66.29. Her 2:07.06 is No. 11 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list.

Winslow’s Jasmine Jackson shattered the South Jersey record and the New Jersey sophomore record in the 100-meter hurdles Saturday in Baltimore.

Jackson ran 13.39 at an invitational at Morgan State in Baltimore, 5^th-fastest in state history and 7^th-fastest in the U.S. this year.

Jackson broke the South Jersey record of 13.65 that World Champion Nia Ali of Pleasantville ran at 2006 Greensboro Nationals and she broke the state sophomore record of 13.52 set by Taylor Cox at the 2023 USATF Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Her time was achieved with legal wind of 1.4 meters per second. Any mark made in a straightaway race or horizontal jump with a wind reading of 2.0 or below is considered legal for record and performance list purposes.

Jackson ran 13.44 in the trials with a legal 0.8 wind.

Jackson’s previous PR was 13.73 from West Philly Nationals last June, which was No. 3 in South Jesey history and tied for 13^th on the all-time state list. She was unpressed in Baltimore, winning by nearly half a second over Aaliyah Mullings of Hydel Group of Schools in St. Catherine, Jamaica.

Jackson’s time is No. 2 on the U.S. Under-18 list and No. 9 on the world Under-18 list.

Only seven women from South Jersey have ever run faster at any point in their lives:

All-Time New Jersey Alumni 100-Meter Hurdles List
12.34 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], Oct. 6, 2019, Doha, Qatar
13.11 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow], May 25, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
13.19 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 17, 2025, Norfolk, Va.
13.28 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow], May 15, 2015, Starkville, Miss.
13.29… Jailya Ash [Eastern], May 12, 2023, Villanova, Pa. [+0.9]
13.30 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], May 28, 2005, New York
13.36 … Samantha Sharper [Wilson], May 12, 2013, Houston [+0.1]
13.39 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp.], May 3, 2026, Baltimore [+1.4]
13.61 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], May 4, 2002, Storrs, Ct. [+0.6]
13.64 … Magenta Taylor [Willingboro], March 24, 2001, Houston [+0.9]
13.65 … Aliya Garozzo [Paul VI], April 6, 2024, Philadelphia [+1.1]

All-Time New Jersey 100-Meter Hurdles List
13.18 … Taylor Cox [Union Catholic], 2025
13.20 … Dawn Bowles (Neptune), 1985
13.34 … Sydney McLaughlin (Union Catholic), 2014
13.35 … Charmaine Walker (Plainfield), 1997
13.39 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp,], 2026
13.50 … Porscha Dobson (Kent Plaeace), 2003
13.60 … Sofia Swindell [Lawrenceville School], 2025
13.65 … Nia Ali (Pleasantville), 2006
13.67 … Patricia Dziekonska (West Windsor-Plains. North), 2014
13.67 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
13.69 … Grace O’Shea [Ramapo], 2019
13.71 … Lanyka Brown (Metuchen), 1996
13.72 … Nichole Hill (Oakcrest), 1997
13.73 … Kim Turko (North Edison), 1997
13.77 … Amber Williams (Roxbury), 2001
13.78 … Lakeema Lewis (Plainfield), 1998
13.82 … Trier Young (Neptune), 2005
13.84 … Lenaami Morton (Camden), 2017
13.85 … Carol Lewis (Willingboro), 1980
13.85 … Danielle Delgado (Franklin Twp.), 2013
13.85 … Sherese Price (Pleasantville), 1998
13.86 … Amaya Chadwick (Union Catholic), 2017
13.88 … Zonya Cross (Edgewood), 1983
13.88 … Amber Williams (Roxbury), 2001
13.89 … Dashona Ransome (Irvington), 2012
13.90 … Kim Henry (Old Bridge), 2003
13.91 … Kayann Richards (Columbia), 2010
13.91 … Samantha Jensen (Central Regional), 2012
13.91 … Ajanae Thompson [Union Catholic], 2022
13.95 … Selena Lewis (Elizabeth), 1998
13.95 … Morgan Harvey (North Hunterdon), 2013
13.96 … Ashley Adams (Plainfield), 2006
13.98 … Tramaine Shaw (Piscataway), 2004
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods (Winslow Twp.), 2014
13.99 … Imani Gilliam (Pennsauken), 2004
13.99 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018

13.39 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp,], 2026
13.65 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
13.72 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], 1997
13.73 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp,], 2025
13.80 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
13.84 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
13.85 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1980
13.85 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
13.88 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow], 2014
13.99 … Imani Gilliam [Pennsauken], 2004
13.99 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018

12.30 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], July 21, 2023, Monaco

13.11 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow], May 25, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.

13.28 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow], May 15, 2015, Starkville, Miss.

13.30 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], May 28, 2005, New York

Brianna Growalt, an Atlantic Tech junior, moved into the all-time South Jersey 100-meter hurdles top-10 Monday at the Atlantic County meet.

Growalt ran a windy 13.87 [2.9] in the trials but the final was one of the few wind-legal races in the meet [1.7], and she won in 13.98, dropping her PR from 13.99 last month at the Moorestown Invitational.

That 1-100^th of a second was enough to move her from a tie for 11^th-fastest to a tie for 10^th-fastest, with Winslow’s Cidae’a Woods, who ran 13.98 at the 2014 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.

Growalt’s 13.98 is fastest in New Jersey this year, just ahead of Winslow’s Jasmine Jackson, who ran 14.04 at Lenape last month but has a legal 13.73 from West Philly Nationals this past June.

Growalt also won the 200 in 24.92 with an excessive 2.3 tailwind and she won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:02.99. Only a 2^nd to Mainland senior Camryn DeMorat in the long jump with a 17-9 ½ to DeMorat’s 18-3 [no wind gauge at the long jump] kept her from a quad win.

Mainland doubled up on Egg Harbor, 210-101, to win the team title.

Junior Veronika Andreev won the 100 in 12.18 [2.6] and the triple jump at 34-10 [no wind gauge] and placed 2^nd in the high jump with a 4-10 and 3^rd in the 200 [26.35] for 34 points.

And senior Emma Preissman swept th 800 [2:21.49], 1,600 [5:16.33] and 3,200 [11:57.35] for 30 points.

All-Time South Jersey 100-Meter Hurdles List
13.65 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
13.67 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
13.72 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], 1997
13.73 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp.], 2025
13.79 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow], 2012
13.84 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
13.85 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1980
13.85 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
13.88 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow], 2014
13.98 … Brianna Growalt [Atlantic Tech], 2026

13.99 … Imani Gilliam [Pennsauken], 2004
13.99 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018

Atlantic City senior Jaylen Day, who began the day with a wind-legal PR of 11.13, ran the 11^th-fastest 100 in South Jersey history Monday at the Atlantic County Championships at Egg Harbor.

Day ran a PR 10.75 [with legal 1.7] in the prelims, behind only Oakrest’s Davon Hannah, who ran 10.74 but in a wind-aided race [4.4].

On a day where most races were wind-aided, Day got into the only qualifying heat that wasn’t. Mainland senior Chris Keena [10.86w], Egg Harbor sophomore Derreck Doughty [10.93w] and Holy Spirit junior Zaki Marcus [10.98w] also broke 11 in the prelims.

The final was legal at 1.7 and Day won it in 10.58, with Doughty [10.76] and Marcus [10.93] also sub-11.

Day’s 10.58 is 2^nd-fastest with legal wind in Atlantic County history, behind only Julian Onesti’s 10.56 [+0.8] last May at the state Parochial A meet in Galloway Township.

Day’s time is fastest in New Jersey this year. Seven of the 16-fastest times in South Jersey history have been recorded since 2022.

Day also won the high jump at 6-2 and ran a leg on Atlantic City’s 400-meter relay team, which placed 3^rd in 43.74.

10.28 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024 [+0.3]
10.32 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024 [-1.4]
10.41 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2010 [+0.1]
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003 [+1.2]
10.47 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983 [+0.0]
10.55 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2002 [-2.7]
10.55 … Donte Davis [Burlington City], 2025 [+1.3]
10.56 … Julian Onesti [St. Augustine], 2025 [+0.8]
10.57 … Jamil Benjamin [Cumberland Regional], 2006 [+1.4]
10.57 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024 [+0.9]
10.58 … James Burrus [Moorestown], 2022 [-2.5]
10.58 … Anthony Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2003 [+1.4]
10.58 … Jaylen Day [Atlantic City], 2026 [1.7]
10.59 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest] 2012 [+1.2]
10.61 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017 [+1.5]
10.61 … Quayd Hendryx [Burlington Twp.], 2025 [+1.3]

Wind-Aided [or no wind gauge]

10.18 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024 [nwi]
10.21 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024 [nwi]
10.35 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2000 [2.0]
10.36 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2010 [nwi]
10.46 … Julian Onesti [St. Augustine], 2025 [2.5]
10.47 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009 [nwi]
10.48 … Donte Davis [Burlington City], 2025 [2.5]
10.49 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017 [nwi]
10.53 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
10.54 … Fabian Santiago [Oakrest], 2010 [nwi]
10.55 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], 2022 [nwi]
10.56 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024 [+0.9]
10.57 … Geof Navaro [Absegami], 2008 [nwi]
10.59 … Lloyd Shambry [Gateway], 2024 [nwi]

Holy Cross senior Julia Flanagan broke 5 minutes for the first time and shattered a 33-year-old school record in the 1,600-meter run Monday at Haddonfield Distance Night.

Flanagan ran 4:58.38, 9^th-fastest in Burlington County history, 7^th-fastest in New Jersey this year and fastest by a South Jersey girl.

She broke the school record of 5:00.6 set in 1993 by Kari Vigerstol when she won the Meet of Champions at South Plainfield, edging Shawnee’s Liz Moore in a 1-2 Burlington County finish.

Flanagan’s previous PR was 5:01.79 last June in Middletown Township, Monmouth County.

Also under 5:10 were Paul VI senior Giovanna Mantuano [PR 5:01.51], Cherokee senior Sofia Recinto [PR 5:03.47], Williamstown senior Sophia Aldridge [PR 5:06.71] and Moorestown sophomore Peyton Derer [5:07.53].

Audubon’s Emma Camm ran 5:13.83 for 6^th, and her time is 4^th-fastest among New Jersey freshmen this year and more than a 10-second PR.

All-Time South Jersey 1,600-Meter Run List
4:41.16 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
4:45.91 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:47.80y … Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield[, 2026
4:48.73y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:48.82y … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:49.11 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
4:49.26 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:51.43 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017
4:51.84 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2023
4:52.95 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2009
4:54.25 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2021
4:54.71 … Megan Hartman [Ocean City], 1994
4:54.76 … Allison Colflesh [Haddonfield], 2021
4:54.88 … Bridget Flynn [Holy Spirit], 2012
4:55.41 … Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2004
4:55.45 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
4:55.66 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
4:55.66 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
4:55.70 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
4:55.90 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2019
4:55.9h … Dawn Cody [Paul VI], 1982
4:56.01 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2012
4:56.08 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2016
4:56.43 … Liz Locke [Kingsway], 2010
4:56.55 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
4:56.68 … Claudine Evangelista [Triton], 2000
4:56.81 … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:56.84 … Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 2011
4:56.23 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:57.39 … Alyssa Condell [Timber Creek], 2016
4:57.48 … Felicia O’Donnell [Delsea], 2011
4:57.63 … Nicole Lipieta [Kingsway], 2021
4:57.96 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], 2013
4:58.38 … Julia Flanagan [Holy Cross], 2026
4:58.68 … Maeve Smith [Ocean City], 2025
4:58.86 … Madison Coppolino [Sterling], 2017
4:59.06 … Jordan Hadfield [Schalick], 2025
4:59.38 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009
4:59.27 … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2005
4:59.37 … Sofia Day [Mainland Reg.], 2024
4:59.54 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007
4:59.60 … Brittnee Bynoe [Willingboro], 2004
4:59.72 … Katie Van Horn [Triton], 2005
4:59.6h … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:59.80 … Sydny Warner [Seneca], 2018
4:59.89 … Destiny Stanford [Kingsway], 2017

Dylan Hosty smashed the South Jersey freshman 800 record and posted the No. 4 time in South Jersey history Monday evening on her home track at Haddonfield High School.

Racing at Haddonfield Distance Night, Hosty won the 800 in 2:09.27, breaking the South Jersey freshman record of 2:12.04 set by Washington Township’s Kami Joi Hickson at the 2017 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

The only South Jersey half-milers to run faster are three legends – Natalie Dumas, Marielle Hall and Erin Donohue. Hosty set the South Jersey indoor 800 mark of 2:14.66 at the Ott Center in January.

Hosty’s time is 5th-fastest in New Jersey this year. It’s fastest by a South Jersey Group 2 runner in 17 years, since Hall, an Olympian, ran 2:07.33 at the 2009 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.

West Deptford senior Kayla Romanoski finished second with a PR 2:14.94, and eight other girls broke 2:20, six from South Jersey: Triton junior Lyla Briggs [2:17.05], Cherokee senior Alyssa Suriano [2:18.36], Cherokee senior Madeline Meder [2:18.90], Paul VI senior Claire Magee [2:19.36] and Moorestown junior Sophia DiFiore [2:19.93].

All-Time South Jersey 800 List
2:00.11 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
2:07.33 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2009
2:08.87 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
2:09.27 … Dylan Hosty [Haddonfield], 2026
2:09.2h … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1999
2:09.50 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
2:09.84 … Rachel Stremme [Ocean City], 2014
2:10.1h … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
2;10.44 … Kadence Dumas [Eastern], 2023
2:10.55 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], 2019
2:10.57 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2009
2:10.79 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], 1991
2:10.9h … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985

Huge day for Georgian Court freshman Daizhae’ Brown from Mays Landing and Cedar Creek High School at the Coastal Athletic Conference Championships over the weekend in Lakewood.

Brown won two events and had a hand in 38 of Georgian Court’s 147 points in a meet they won by 18 points over Goldey-Beacom of Pike Creek Valley, Del.

Brown won the long jump with a PR 18-10 ½ with legal wind (+0.9), won the triple jump with a PR 34-2 ¾ on her only legal jump since there were no other competitors (+0.0), ran 12.39 with legal wind (-0.9) for 2^nd place in the 100, placed 5^th in the high jump at 4-11 ¾ and anchored the 3^rd-place 400-meter relay team, which ran 49.65.

Her long jump is No. 4 in school history and her triple jump and high jump marks are both No. 10.

Brown is already 4^th on the all-time Georgian Court performance list in the 100 at 12.26 from a meet last month at Millersville.

The Lions won their 9^th consecutive CAC team title, all under head coach Mike Murawski of Cinnaminson and a state high jump champion at Holy Cross.

Muhlenberg freshman Kadon Harris, who has been running the 400-meter hurdles for less than a year, won the event at the Centennial Conference Championships Sunday with a PR and school-record 54.73. He also won the high jump.

Harris won the intermediates at Gettysburg’s Musselman Stadium by over a second over Tyler Caswell of Johns Hopkins and Glen Rock, who was 2nd in 55.88.

Harris’s previous PR was 54.81, which he ran last June when he placed 9th in the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken.

He broke the Muhlenberg school record of 55.16 set in 2008 by Brendan Kirk of Hawthorne, Passaic County, in 2008 at a meet at Moravian in Bethlehem.

Harris didn’t run the intermediates until late in his senior year at Gloucester, and his first race was last year’s Camden County Championships at Haddon Township in May, where he ran 59.19. But he dropped to 56.60 in his next race a week later, winning South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals at Delsea.

Harris also won the high jump at the Centennial Confernce meet at 6-3 ¼ and led off Muhlenberg’s 2nd-place 4-by-4 team. His high jump PR is 6-4 ¾ from a meet at Ocean Breeze in February, No. 3 on the all-time Muhlenberg indoor list.