From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

MIT’s Jacob Cobb from West Deptford ran the 10^th-fastest mile in NCAA Division 3 Friday in Boston.

Cobb lowered his PR a ridiculous 15 seconds with a 4:07.01 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.

His previous PR for a full mile was a 4:21.92 two years ago at a meet in Salem, Va. He did run 4:16.20 for the slightly shorter 1,600 meters in an outdoor meet at Haddonfield in May 2022.

In a different section of the same race, Kingsway graduate Kyle Rakitis, a Rutgers junior, PR’d with a 4:08.66. That’s No. 9 in Rutgers history.

Rakitis’s previous full mile PR was 4:10.09 in June 2021 at Hayward Field Nationals. His previous indoor PR was 4:12.55 at the 2022 Meet of Champions at the Bubble. His previous collge PR was 4:11.00 a year ago this week in Chicago.

MIT doesn’t have an all-time indoor top-10 on its web site.

Sophomore Jaylen Porter and seniors Solomon Wesley and Robert Proctor ran on the winning 4-by-4 team and placed 2^nd through 4^th in the open 400 Thursday, and Burlington Township placed 2^nd in the Central Jersey Group 3 meet in Tom River.

Porter, Wesley and Proctor were joined by senior Jzaydin Macklinz on the Falcons’ 4-by-4, which won with a 3:28.69. In the open 400, Porter ran 51.46 for 2^nd, Wesley 51.56 for 3^rd and Proctor 51.70 for 4^th.

Colts Neck won the meet with 59 points and Township scored 39. Moorestown was 4^th with 31 and Pennsauken 7^th with 24.

Also for Township senior Teddie Connie tied for 2^nd in the pole vault with an 11-0 clearance and senior Matthew Small threw 49-0 for 4^th in the shot put.

For Moorestown, junior Lucas Horner and senior Matthew Tang recorded 2^nd-place finishes, Horner with a 2:00.63 in the 800 and Tang with 11-0 in the pole vault. Also, junior Ethan Taylor ran 2:03.53 for 4^th in the 800,senior Connor Kortman cleared 11-0 for 4^th in the vault, senior Sean Sobin ran 51.72 for 5^th in the 400, and senior Shaymus Derer, Taylor, Horner and Sobin ran 3:33.09 for 3^rdin the 4-by-4.

Pennsauken’s junior Michael Lawrence, senior Jabari Sonnebeyatta and junior Long placed 2^nd, 3^rdand 4^th in the 55 in 6.61, 6.62 and 6.67, and Sonnebeyatta also placed 3^rd in the high jump at 5-6.

For Nothern Burlington, senior Marcus Sene ran 2:05.56 for 5^th in the 800 and junior Gabriel Carpio ran 51.80 for 6^th in the 400.

Senior Sianni Wynn won the 55 and 400 and sophomore Hope Edwards won the 800 and placed in two other events as Pennsauken won the 1^st indoor sectional title in program history Thursday in Toms River.

Pennsauken, scoring 38 points just in the 55 and 400, outdistanced 2^nd-place Colts Neck 72-42 to win the Central Jersey Group 3 championship at the Bubble.

Wynn won the 55 in 7.03, just shy of her meet record of 6.93 from last year, and the 400 in 56.47, breaking her own meet record of 56.68 that she set last year.

Edwards, who was part of the Moorestown team that won Central Jersey Group 3 last year, won the 800 in 2:21.11, placed 3^rd in the 400 in 58.16 and took 4^th in the hurdles in 8.76.

The Indians also got big performances from senior cousins Sanaya and Olivia Dupree. Sanaya placed 2^nd in the 55 in 7.23 and 4^th in the 400 with a 58.30, and Olivia won the hurdles in 8.21.

Pennsauken also won the 1,600-meter relay team without Wynn, with Olivia Dupree, Edwards, sophomore Rai’ana Rucker and Sayana Dupree running 4:02.29.

Pennsauken scored all 72 of its points on the track.

Burlington Township placed 5^th with 27 points, and Moorestown was 7^th with 24 points.

Burlington Township junior Nyla Pichette won the pole vault with a 1^st-attempt clearance 9-0. Moorestown senior Meredith Ortiz and was 2^nd, also at 9-0. Township junior Madison Monaghan and Moorestown senior Ashley Carey both cleared 7-0, Monaghan in 5^th and Carey in 6^th.

Burlingon Township senior Laila Fairweather placed 2^nd in the 400 in 58.13 and 3^rd in the 55 in 7.35.

Moorestown juniors Ella Brittain and Siyana Sheth placed 4^th and 6^th in the 1,600, Brittain in 5:20.88 and Sheth in 5:24.03. Brittain and Northern junior Rebecca Kearns took 5^th and 6^th in the 3,200 in 11:58.26 and 12:00.42.

In the 800, Northern Burlington senior Emma Price placed 2^nd to Edwards with a 2:21.29, and Moorestown junior Sophia DiFiore was 3^rd in 2:22.58.

Moorestown and Burlington Township both scored in the 1,600-meter relay, Moorestown 5^th in 4:15.08 with freshman Armani Robinson, freshman Juliet Stack Maya, senior Noorad Rashid and Fiore, and Township 6^th in 4:17.78 with junior Joy Willor, Fairweather, senior Jessie Haws and sophomore Blessin Sendolo.

Timber Creek graduate Ryan Jennings, a freshman at Arkansas, ran a lifetime-best 7.41 in the 60 this weekend in Fayetteville.

She ran 7.41 in the trials of the Woo Pig Classic at the Tyson Center before a 7.44 in the final. Jennings’ previous PR was a 7.48 at the Ott Center last January. This was her first collegiate 60.

World Athletics lists Jennings with a Aug. 6, 2007, birthday, which means she doesn’t turn 20 this year, which makes her eligible to compete at U.S. Junior Championships this summer.

Her 7.41 makes her 8^th-fastest among U.S. women who have Under-20 eligibility. She’s currently No. 31 on the world Under-20 list.

Jennings ran 23.79 in her only collegiate 200 so far, which is an indoor PR. She ran 23.46 in April with a legal 1.5 miles-per-second tailwind at Mt. SAC in Walnut, Calif. She’s No. 12 on the U.S Under-20 list in the 200.

Jennings is 15^th among NCAA Division 1 freshman in the 60 and 13^th in the 200.

All-Time South Jersey 60-Meter Dash Alumni List
7.10 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2019, New York
7.18 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2024, Clemson, S.C.
7.27 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2017, Clemson, S.C.
7.29 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2025, New York
7.34 … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], 2016, Geneva, Ohio
7.37 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2005, Boston
7.41 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2026, Fayetteville

Paul VI graduate Aliya Garozzo, who graduated from Penn and then earned a graduate degree at Duke, began her post-collegiate racing career in Winston-Salem, N.C., this past weekend with a big PR in the 400.

Garozzo, the fastest intermediate hurdle ever from South Jersey, ran 52.96 at the Camel City Sprints at JDL Fast Track on Saturday.

That ranks her 22^nd this year among U.S. women. It’s also well below the B qualifying standard of 54.00 for the U.S. Championships Feb. 28-March 1 at Ocean Breeze. The auto standard is 52.20. The qualifying window closes Feb. 22.

She dropped her indoor PR from 53.47 from the ACC Championships in Louisville this past March.

This was her first race since NCAAs in Eugene in June.

Garozzo’s 400IH PR of 55.77 at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., in April, was 16^th-fastest among U.S. women last year and is 2^nd-fastest ever by a New Jersey high school graduate, behind only world record holder and two-time Olympic 400IH gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 50.37 in the 2024 Olympic final in Paris.

Garozzo, from Sicklerville, has an overall 400 PR is an outdoor 52.54 this past March in Raleigh, N.C.

Nico Morales isn’t done with the pole vault just yet.

Morales, the greatest pole vaulter South Jersey has ever produced, competed in his first post-graduate meet recently and vaulted within two inches of his indoor PR.

Morales, competing unattached after graduating from Rutgers in the spring, cleared 17-4 ½ at the Vandervilt Invitational, placing 2^nd to Tennessee senior Blake Sifferlin, who cleared 17-8 ½.

Morales, a Delsea gradaute, has an indoor PR of 17-6 ½ from Boston this past February. His lifetime best is 17-9 in Piscataway this past April.

Morales passed through 16-8 ¾ and cleared 17-0 ¾ on his 1^st attempt and 17-4 ½ on his 2^nd attempt before taking three jumps at 17-8 ½.

South Jersey’s only other 17-footer is Morales’ former teammate, Noah Kriesman of Cherry Hill East, who cleared 17-3 ½ in Columbia, S.C., in April of 2024.

Morales ranks 5^th in state history on the all-time New Jersey alumni list, behind Bradley Jelmert of Watchung Hills, who cleared a state-record 18-10 ¼ in Albuquerque last month; former Rutgers teammate Kevin O’Sullivan of Hillsborough, who cleared 18-2 ½ at the Ott Center last month; and former Rutgers teammate Kevin O’Sullivan, also from Hillsborough, who cleared 18-0 ¾ in Tampa this past April.

Cinnaminson’s Austin Gabay ran a big indoor 800 PR this weekend in Indianapolis. Gabay, a Butler senior, ran 1:50.62 at the Fairgrounds Invitational at Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Gabay hasn’t run many 800s, but his previous indoor PR was 1:52.11 from last January at the same meet. He has a 1:50.41 outdoors from this past April in Allendale, Mich.

Gabay’s time is 7^th-fastest in the Big East Conference so far this season.

Gabay PR’d with a 3:59.19 mile a year ago this month in Boston, and he’s now PR’d in the 800 and 3,000 this winter. He ran 7:56.98 in Boston in December.

Gabay is running a mile in Boston this weekend at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.

Rowan freshman David Brown from Edison took over the NCAA Division 3 high jump lead from teammate Jamile Gantt at Ocean Breeze this past weekend.

Brown became Rowan’s 3^rd 7-footer and 1^st in eight years when he cleared 7-0 ½ at the Fastrack National Invite.

His clearance puts him in a tie for 20^th-best in NCAA Division 3 history. He’s the first Division 3 high jumper over seven feet in nine years, since James Willingham of Louisiana College cleared 7-0 ¼ at a meet in Lake Charles, La., in 2017. He’s the first D-3 freshman to clear 7-0 ½ or better since Rowan’s Jeffrey Jon Tucker from Eastern in a meet in Winston-Salem in February 2015.

Brown had a PR of 6-10 in high school from his win at the state Group 4 meet at the Bubble this past February. He cleared 6-8 ¼ in his first meet for Rowan at Ocean Breeze last month, then PR’d with a 6-11 at the Armory a week later.

At Ocean Breeze on Friday, he cleared 6-6 ¾, 6-8 ¾ and 6-10 ¾ on his first attempt before getting over the bar at 6-0 ½ on his 2^nd attempt. He took three tries at 7-2 ½, which would eclipsed Rowan’s overall program record of 7-2 ¼ set by Tucker at the 2018 Penn Relays.

Note that the official results show Brown clearing 7-0 ¾, but his clearance came at 2.15 meters, which converts to 7.053806 feet, which equals 7 feet and 0.645672 inches, which rounds to half an inch, not three quarters of an inch.

Rowan sophomore Noah Wampole PR’d at 6-10 ¾ for 2^nd place and tied for 2^nd-best in NCAA Division 3 with Rowan junior Jamile Gantt of Paulsboro, who did not compete Friday.

Rowan junior Isaiah Davenport from Pleasantville matched his PR, clearing 6-8 ¾ for the 2^ndstraight meet. He’s now tied for 8^th in Division 3 along with freshman Jayden DeLeon of Rutgers-Camden and Highland.

Another Rowan jumper, junior Arrington Rhym, cleared 6-8 ¾ earlier this season and is also part of that tie for the No. 8 spot.

So overall Rowan is sitting at No. 1, =No. 2, =No. 2, =No. 8, =No. 8 in the high jump. Another Rowan high jumper, Damarion Potts, has a 6-8 ¼ to his credit but not yet this year.

It’s impossible to jump exactly 7-0 in an NCAA Meet because 2.13 meters is 6-11 ¾ and 2.14 meters is 7-0 ¼ and competitors can only have the bar set at metric heights.

7-0 ½ … David Brown [Edison], 2026
7-0 ½ … Jeffrey Jon Tucker [Delsea], 2015
7-0 ¼ … Harrison Escoffery [], 2018

Pennsauken has another sprinter among the state leaders. Senior Sanaya Dupree joined Sianni Wynn in the New Jersey top-10 at 55 meters with a big PR 7.19 Monday night at Ocean Breeze.

Dupree matched her PR of 7.35 in the trials and then dropped to 7.19 in winning the final. That’s 9^th-fastest in New Jersey this year and 3^rd-fastest among South Jersey sprinters, behind Wynn’s U.S. No. 11 6.86 at the Ott Center last month and Winslow senior Olivia Okaro’s 7.12 at Ocean Breeze in December.

Wynn and Dupree will be racing in the 55 and various other events Thursday in the Central Jersey Group 3 meet at the Bubble. Wynn is the meet record holder in the 55 with a 6.93, the 400 at 56.68 and the 55-meter hurdles with 8.10.

Haddonfield ran the 3rd-fastest 3,200-meter relay in New Jersey this year Monday at Ocean Breeze. Unfortunately, the results have disappeared from the live results site, and I only know they ran 7:56.97 because I scribbled the time down after the race. Come on, Ocean Breeze!

So no splits and no other results from the race, but based off the entry list the lineup was seniors Benjamin Andrus, Aaron Keith, Peter Simpson and Brandon Stoner.

The only faster times in New Jersey this year are Scotch Plains All-Star Program’s 7:37.96 and Woodstown’s 7:55.62, both at the Millrose Games last week at the Armory.

Haddonfield’s time is No. 14 in the U.S. this year, according to the MileSplit national databse. Haddonfield is also No. 3 nationally in the DMR with its 10:10.12 at the Ott Center last week.

This is only Haddonfield’s 3rd time under 8:00 indoors along with a 7:55.44 at the Armory in 2010 and a 7:57.56 at the Armory in 2019. The time is No. 14 in South Jersey indoors and 2nd-fastest on the all-time Camden County list behind that 7:55.44 some 16 years ago with Ben Potts, Jonathan Vitez, Matt Nussbaum and Colin Baker.

7:43.64 … Cherokee, 2012
7:45.55 … Pleasantville, 2013
7:47.50 … Kingsway, 2020
7:48.92 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017
7:51.45 … Washington Twp., 2009
7:51.78 … Cherokee, 2000
7:52.77 … Pleasantville, 2006
7:52.95 … Willingboro, 2003
7:53.64 … Willingboro, 2002
7:54.76 … Pleasantville, 2007
7:55.40 … Washington Twp., 2008
7:55.44 … Haddonfield, 2010
7:55.62 … Woodstown, 2026
7:56.97 … Haddonfield, 2026
7:57.28 … Rancocas Valley, 2018
7:57.29 … Oakrest, 2009
7:57.56 … Haddonfield, 2019
7:58.08 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2016
7:58.5h … Willingboro, 1983
7:59.05 … Pleasantville, 2015
7:59.51 … Pleasantville, 2012
7:59.84 … Kingsway, 2014
7:59.91 … Kingsway, 2013