From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Stockton sophomore Elaina Styer, competing in her first heptathlon, recorded three PRs on her way to one of the highest scores in NCAA Division 3 history.

Competing on Thursday and Friday at the TCNJ Invitational in Ewing, Styer won the event with 5,050 points, the 38^th-highest score in NCAA Division 3 history.

https://web4.ustfccca.org/iz/records-lists/atb-lists/36?view=full&gender=2

Styer earned All-America honors in the indoor pentathlon and had the top score in Division 3 and 6^th-highest in D-3 history, but this was her first full two-day outdoor multi-event competition.

Styer went into the 800, the final event, with 4,246 points and needed to run 2:25.25 to reach 5,000 points. She responded by finishing first in 2:21.43 for 804 points.

On Thursday, Styer ran a big PR and school-record 14.23 in the 100-meter hurdles, the 5^th-fastest time this year in NCAA Division 3 and good for 946 points. She high jumped 5-1 ¾ for 701 points, threw the shot a near-PR 35-8 for 587 points and finished Day 1 by running a 200 PR of 25.69 for 824 points.

On Friday, she long jumped 18-1 ½ for 706 points, then in her first javelin competition since a high school dual meet, she threw a 20-foot lifetime-best 99-4 for 482 points.

That led to the 800, where she ran 2:21.43 for 804 points and a final score of 5,050 points in her heptathlon debut.

Her score is 2^nd-highest this year in NCAA Division 3. Olivia Bohlen of Central College in Pella, Iowa, scored 5,136 points in a heptathlon at her home track this weekend. Styer and Bohlen finished 2^nd and 3^rd at indoor NCAA Division 3’s.

Styer is the 6^th South Jersey woman to score 5,000 or more points and the second to score over 5,000 this month in a heptathlon debut. Washington Township’s Dahlia Beasley, a sophomore at Kentucky, 5,143 last weekend in a multi-event in Austin.

5,870 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], April 14, 2016, Azusa, Calif.

5,640 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], May 12-13, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
5,565 … Shana Williams [Bridgeton], 1993, Buffalo

5,460 … Brianna Craig [Millville], May 12-13, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.

5,143 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], April 1-2, 2026, Austin, Texas
5,050 … Elaina Styer [Ocean City], April 9-10, 2026, Ewing

Ocean City’s Elaina Styer ran a huge hurdles PR and smashed the Stockton record again on a strong Day 1 of her first heptathlon Thursday at the TCNJ Invitational in Ewing.

Styer ran 14.23 with a legal 2.0 meters-per-second tailwind for a whopping 946 points, lowering her PR and school record from a 14.50 from the Osprey Open last week in Galloway Township.

Styer, 2^nd in the pentathlon at indoor NCAA Division 3 Nationals, scord 3,058 points on Day 1 of the heptathlon at TCNJ. This is her outdoor multi.

After her 14.23, which is No. 5 in NCAA Division 3 this year, Styer scored 701 points with a 5-1 in the high jump, 587 points with a near-PR 35-8 in the shot [she threw 35-9 ¼ at indoor nationals] and finished Day 1 by running a big PR 25.69 in the 200. Her previous 200 PR was a 26.43 last week at Stockton.

On Friday, she’ll contest the long jump, javelin and 800. Her PRs are 18-5 ¾ and 2:19.96 in the long jump and 800. She threw the javelin twice in high school with a PR of 79-2 in a dual meet at Egg Harbor.

Lisa Chatman of Eastern Regional set the Stockton school record of 4,418 points at 2006 Penn Relays.

Thirty-one women in NCAA Division 3 have scored 5,000 points in the heptathlon. The NJAC web site lists Katie Holmgren of Montclair State as the NJAC record holder with 5,200 points in 1997 but doesn’t list a meet, and that mark doesn’t appear on the all-time Division 3 performance list and I can’t find any record of it ever happening. An article in the April 20, 1997, Star-Ledger says she set a school record of 4,398 at the Panther Invitational in Pittsburgh to qualify for NCAA D-3 Nationals, but she finished last night at Nationals with 4,031 points. The NJAC meet record is 4,231 points and she did not finish at Penn. Needless to say I’m skeptical of that 5,200-point mark.

Samir Fontilus , a Williamstown junior, recorded a huge long jump PR Wednesday, leaping 22-0 ¼ in a tri-meet at Clearview. [I apologize for calling him Fontilus Samir, but that’s how he was listed in the results!]

No wind guage of course, but Fontilus’ previous PR was a 20-0 ½ in December at the Ott Center, so this is a two-foot lifetime best. Samir’s previous outdoor PR was a 19-6 ¾ from last May at Delsea.

That’s the No. 7 jump in New Jersey this year and No. 3 in South Jersey, behind Schalick junior David Stewart [22-6 last week at Schalick] and Bishop Eustace’s Noah Glenn [22-1 ¾ in Ewing].

Teammate Chance Gibbons also had a big jump, placing 2^nd at 21-8 (listed on MileSplit as Gibbons Chance, but I’m pretty sure his name is actually Chance Gibbons. If I’m wrong, my apologies and please let me know!).

Also over 21 feet if these results are correct on what may have been a slightly breezey day in Harrison Township were Clearview senior Gavin Seaver [21-4], Timber Creek sophomore Landon Graves [21-3 ¼, three-foot PR], Timber Creek sophomore Devin Perry [21-2 ¼, five-foot PR] and Williamstown senior Bamba Jayden [21-1, 14-inch PR].

No series information available.

Dazzling quad win Wednesday for Williamstown junior Timia Waters in a tri-meet at Clearview.

In what looks like her 1^st meet this year, Waters won the 200 in 25.84, the 100-meter hurdles in 14.78, the long jump with an 18-3 and the triple jump at 38-0.

Wow!

The 200, 100-meter highs and long jump are all PRs.

Waters triple jumped 38-8 ¾ indoors at the Armory in January, but her previous PRs in the three other events were 17-10 ½ in the long jump at the Ott Center in February, 26.00 at the Ott also in February and 15.00 at South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals last May at Pennsauken.

Looks like Waters is No. 1 in New Jerey so far in the triple jump, No. 2 in the hurdles, No. 2 in the long jump and No. 2 in the 200. The long jump mark is No. 9 in Gloucester County history. She’s already No. 3 all-time Gloucester County in the triple jump.

All-Time Gloucester County Long Jump
19-4 ¾ …… Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], 2011
19¬2 ………. Robin Taylor [Deptford], 1980
18-11 ½ … Tisifenee Taylor [Woodbury], 2002
18-10 ½… Karissa Watson [Williamstown], 2019
18-10 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], 2024
18-10 ¼ … Anna Stewart [Glassboro], 1977
18-8 ¾ … Tacqyaya Tobias [Our Lady of Mercy], 2011
18-8 ½ … Tina Walls [Williamstown], 1982
18-3 … Timia Waters [Williamstown], 2026
18-2 ½ … Sabrina Burrell [Delsea Reg.], 2012
18-2 …… Jessica [West Deptford], 2005
18-1 ½ … Angel Roots [Kingsway], 1985
18-1 ½ … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2014
18-1 …… Jasmin Jones [Kingsway], 2015
18-0 …… Maya Yiadon [Glassboro], 1994
18-0 … Denirah Jones [Woodbury], 2025

All-Time Gloucester County Long Jump
39-7 ½ … Zenee Gadson [Glassboro], 2012
39-6 … Jessica Mills [Deptford], 2005
38-8 ¾i … Timia Waters [Williamstown], 2026
38-0 ¼ … Nalah Abul-Qasim [Williamstown], 2019
38-0 ¼ … Caleah Allen [Williamstown], 2012
37-5 …… Jewel Brown [Clayton], 2011
37-4 ½ … Della Sartore [Glassboro], 2008
37-2 …… Jasmin Jones [Kingsway], 2016
36-10 … Lauren Kilson [Clearview], 2006
36-9 ¼i … Jasmin Jones [Kingsway], 2016

 

In just her 2^nd 400-meter hurdles race since June of 2024, Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis, a Clemson freshman, ran a PR 59.59 at the Texas Relays.

Curtis’s previous PR was 59.80 at the state Group 3 Championships at Delsea in 2024. She ran 1:00.58 at a meet in Orlando a week earlier in her only previous race this spring.

Curtis spent last year at Virginia Tech but never competed.

Her 59.59 is fastest by a Clemson freshman in five years, since Kori Carter ran 59.10 at the NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonville in 2021.

She’s currently No. 13 in the ACC and No. 3 among freshmen behind Arabella Wilson of Duke [57.93] and Stanford’s Addie Pendergast [58.96].

She’s the No. 10 freshman in all of NCAA Division 1.

Curtis hit 40-8 ¼ in the triple jump indoors and has gone 40-6 outdoors. She jumped 41-9 ½ when she won the state Group 3 title at Delsea in 2024.

Curtis is the 3^rd South Jersey woman to run sub-60 this spring. Aliya Garozzo of Paul VI ran 55.69 in Raleigh and Natalie Dumas of Eastern ran 59.96 in Deptford. Arianna Smith of Pennsville, who ran 56.11 last spring, hasn’t raced yet outdoors.

Fourteen South Jersey athletes made the cut for individual events at the Penn Relays. Acceptances were announced Tuesday.

Remember, qualifying marks must come from the indoor season (or early outdoors) other than the javelin and discus (and formerly the 400 hurdles), which aren’t contested indoors so outdoor marks from last spring can be used.

Here’s a look at the individuals headed to Franklin Field for the 130^th running of the Penn Relays April 23-25. Invites for the 4×8 and DMR will be out next week. Click here for the full schedule.

BOYS
Ben Andrus, Haddonfield, mile [5:20 p.m., Friday, April 24]: Andrus has a mile PR of 4:13.60 from last June in Lincroft, but his qualifier was a 4:14.39 at Ocean Breeze on Feb. 1, 9^th-fastest in South Jersey history. He hasn’t raced yet outdoors.
Supreme Stradford, Cherry Hill West, high jump [9:30 a.m., Friday, April 4]: Stradford was 3^rd in New Jersey indoors with a 6-8 clearance to win the state Group 3 meet at the Bubble.
Mason Henry, Deptford, pole vault [9:30 a.m., Friday, April 4]: Henry was the state leader indoors with a 15-6 to win Easterns at the Armory and then he cleared 15-0 to win the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.
Mason Murray, Delsea, pole vault [9:30 a.m., Friday, April 4]: The other Mason pole vaulter from a Gloucester County school starting with “De” is Mason Murray, who had several 14-6 clearances indoors.

GIRLS
Dylan Hosty, Haddonfield, mile [6 p.m., Friday, April 24]: Hosty set a South Jersey freshman mile record of 4:53.67 at the Ott Center, 7^th-fastest in the state indoors and 4^th-fastest on the all-time South Jersey list.
Egypt Bolan, Lindenwold, high jump [10 a.m., Thursday, April 23]:: Bolan returns to Franklin Field, where she won the national title in June with a 5-10 ¾ clearance. She qualified for Penn with a 5-10 in January at Ocean Breeze.
Phallen Still, Collingswood, high jump [10 a.m., Thursday, April 23]: Still cleared 5-6 when she placed 3^rd at the Meet of Champions indoors at Ocean Breeze.
Leeya Joseph, Winslow, long jump [10 a.m., Thursday, April 23]: The versatile Joseph [7.45, 12.29, 58.97, 19-1 ½, 35-1 ¾] goes to Penn in the long jump, which she won at the Meet of Champions indoors at Ocean Breeze with a meet-record 19-foot leap.
Angelina Brown, Rancocas Valley, long jump [10 a.m., Thursday, April 23]: Brown will join Joseph in the long jump after soaring 18-10 to win Easterns at the Armory last month. Brown has already gone 18-5 in her outdoor opener.
Ma’Syiah Brawner, Winslow, triple jump [Noon, Thursday, April 23]: This is Brawner’s 3^rd trip to the Penn Relays. She placed 14^th as a sophomore with a 37-7 ¾ and 6^th last year with a 39-11 ½. Her qualifier this indoor season was a 39-1 ¾ at Millrose at the Armory in February. She surpassed 40 feet twice last spring.
Timia Waters, Williamstown, triple jump [Noon, Thursday, April 23]: Waters, a junior, makes it three South Jersey girls in the triple jump. She jumped 38-8 ¾ indoors at the Armory and went on to place 5^th in the Meet of Champions.
Mitra Sampson, Hammonton, shot put: [9:30 a.m., Thursday, April 23] Sampson’s shot qualifier came at the state relays, where she threw 40-11 ¼. She PR’d with a 42-9 ¾ last spring at the state Group 3 Championships in South Plainfield.
Hannah Nuhfer, Delsea, discus [9 a.m., Thursday, April 23]: Like Bolan, Nuhfer returns to the site of her national title. Nuhfer won the discus at West Philly Nationals in June at Franklin Field with a South Jersey-record 178-9. She’s already got a 170-8 in the books this spring. Nuhfer could have entered the shot based on her South Jersey-record 48-0 indoors. Athletes are only allowed to enter one individual event.
Sunsarai Moore, Glassboro, discus [9 a.m., Thursday, April 23]: Moore got her qualifier when she threw 155-2 at Delsea last May. She could have gotten in also in the shot, where she has a 42-1 ½ from Armory Nationals last month in New York.

Deptford senior Damon Morton, junior Xavion Holmes, senior Larry Norman and senior Kareem Brown ran the fastest shuttle hurdles in New Jersey so far this year Saturday at the Spartan Relays on their home track.

Deptford won the race in 1:00.91, 5th-fastest in Gloucestre County history, with five of the six-fastest times on record credited to Deptford hurdlers in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2026.

Deptford set the Gloucester County record of 59.91 last year at the Woodbury Relays with Ryan Sanchez, Norman, Marcus Hood and Kamaldeep Singh.

59.91 … Deptford, 2025
1:00.48 … Washington Twp., 2012
1:00.94 … Deptford, 2016
1:01.50 … Deptford, 2023
1:00.91 … Deptford, 2026
1:01.18 … Deptford, 2018
1:01.67 … Washington Twp., 2011
1:01.80 … Washington Twp., 2023
1:01.98 … West Deptford, 2014
1:02.08 … Delsea, 2009

Millville’s Leah Howard, now a junior at Texas A&M, is back at it, with a 153-7 in the Texas Relays javelin Saturday in Austin.

Howard had a very good series, opening with a 147-8, then 145-0 and after a foul, 147-7, then the 153-7 and a 150-0.

She is No. 3 in the Big 12 so far this season, behind BYU junior Alyssa Keller [165-3 in Los Angeles last weekend] and TCU senior Sydney Juszczyk [157-1 in Fort Worth two weeks ago].

Howard is No. 8 in South Jersey history with her PR of 164-4 from May 2024 in Waco, Texas.

Howard will be returning home later this month to compete in the Penn Relays for the first time since 2023, when she placed 3^rd in the high school javelin as a Millville senior with a throw of 148-7. The Penn Relays javelin is held on the grass fields adjacent to the Ott Center, across the Northeast Corridor train tracks from Franklin Field.

Rancocas Valley senior Angelina Brown long jumped 18-5 Saturday at the Don Danser Invitational.

What makes that truly impressive is that it was the first time she had ever long jumped at an outdoor track meet.

Brown focused on the 100 and 200 as a freshman, she mainly high jumped as a sophomore and she sprinted and high jumped as a junior.

But she started long jumping this indoor season and had a 17-3 breakthrough at Ocean Breeze in January and then a school-record 18-10 to win Easterns at the Armory last month. She also ran 7.18 and 25.33 indoors and cleared 5-6 in the high jump.

But Saturday she finally got a chance to long jump outdoors and she recorded the best jump in New Jersey this year. That 18-5 is only 5 ¼ inches shy of the R.V. outdoor record of 18-10 ¼ set at the 1994 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield by Demya Walker, who went on to play pro basketball for 13 years.