From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

For the 6^th time, Ocean City’s Elaina Styer has broken the Stockton Univerity 60-meter hurdles record.

Styer ran 8.82 in the prelims Sunday at the TCNJ Last-Chance Meet at the Ott Center. She broke the school record of 8.83 that she set on Feb. 14 on the same track.

When Styer arrived in Galloway Township, the Stockton school record was 9.06, set by Jassina Surles of Williamstown High on March 4, 2016, in the ECAC Division 3 Championships at Ocean Breeze.

She initially broke it with a 9.03 at Ocean Breeze in December 2024, then matched that at Tufts in Medford, Mass., last March. She dropped the record to 8.93 at Ocean Breeze seven weeks ago, then to 8.89 at the Ott in early February, then 8.87 as part of pentathlon in Utica, N.Y., and then 8.83 at the Ott two weeks ago before this latest drop.

Styer spent her freshman year at Cornell and her best hurdles performance was 9.70 as part o a pentathlon at Boston University.

Styer is now ranked 19^th in NCAA Division 3 in the hurdles, and the top 22 make the field for NCAAs later this month in Birmingham. She’s the top-ranked D-3 woman in the pentathlon with her record-setting 3,747 to win the NJAC title.

No. 19

Jassina Surles, 9.06, March 4, 2016, Ocean Breeze, ECAC D-3

Styer
9.03 Dec. 5, 2025, Ocean Breeze
9.03 March 8, 2025, Tufts Final Qualifier, Medford, Mass.
8.93 Jan. 16, 2026, NYC Gotham Cup, Ocean Breeze
8.89 Widener Schuylkil Showdown, Feb. 1, 2026, Ott
8.87 Blue & Orange Invite and Multi, Feb. 6, 2026, Utica, N.Y. [in pentathlon]
8.83 Widener Indoor Classic, Feb. 14, 2026, Ott
8.82 TCNJ Last Chance, March 1, 2026, Ott

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde placed 3^rd in the shot put at the U.S. Championships Sunday at Ocean Breeze with a season-best 69-1 ¼ on his final throw. He will join Roger Steen and Jordan Geist representing the U.S. at the World Championships in Poland later this month.

This is Awotunde’s 6^th podium finish in the shot put at U.S. Nationals, including a win indoors last year and it will be his 5^th trip to the World Championships.

Although he doesn’t have the World Championships standard of 69-6 ½, Awotunde should be able to compete at indoor Worlds later this month in Kuyavian–Pomeranian, Poland, because only seven throwers in the world have thrown that far this year and when there aren’t enough auto qualifiers, the field of 16 is filled based on world ranking position, and Awotunde is currently ranked 10^th in the world.

They announced on the TV broadcast Sunday that all three U.S. throwers are headed to Worlds, so I’m not sure how that’s a lock yet, but apparently it is. Nobody ever explains these things and good luck trying to find anything on the USATF or World Athletics web site outlining exactly what the qualifying process is. Eithe way, this was Awotunde’s best performanec since he threw 69-4 ¼ at Outdoor Worlds in Tokyo last year and his best indoor throw since March of 2022, when he threw 73-1 ½ at Worlds in Eugene.

Awotunde opened with a 64-0 ½, improved to 66-0 ¼ on his 2nd throw and then hit. 67-11 on his final throw of the first round. After a foul to open the finals, he improved to 67-10 ¼ and then the big 69-1 ¼ on his 6^th throw.

Steen threw 71-6 ¾ for the win and Geist was 2^nd at 71-3.

Previously at Worlds, Awotunde placed 5^th indoors in 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia, with a 71-2 ¼, then placed 3^rd that spring at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., in 73-1 ½. In 2023, he was 11^th outdoors in Budapest with a throw of 65-6 ½ and last year he was 7^th in Tokyo outdoors with a 69-4 ¼.

Rowan’s Denirah Jones from Woodbury High became the first freshman to win the long jump at the New Jersey Athletic Conference indoor championships in 15 years and also placed 5^th in the 60.

Jones won the long jump with a 17-10 ¾, just a quarter of an inch off her PR of 17-11 from last month at the Armory.

She’s the first freshman long jump winner since South Brunswick’s Jamie Thompson of Rowan jumped 17-0 ½ at the 2011 meet at the Armory. She’s also the first long jumper from Rowan to win the conference title since Michelle McCauley from Franklin set the meet record and school record of 18-10 at the 2019 meet at Ocean Breeze.

Jones surpassed 17 feet on all six of her jumps, with a 17-9 ¾ and a 17-6 ¾ in addition to her winning 17-10 ¾.

Jones was Rowan’s top finisher in the 60 in 5^th place with a 7.92 after a 7.86 in the trials. She PR’d in February with a 7.80 at the Armory.

A day after shattering the Ivy League long jump record, Lumberton’s Greg Foster broke the Ivy League hurdles record.

Foster, a Princeton senior, won a dramatic battle with Penn senior Shane Gardner at the Ivy League Championships at the Armory.

Both were timed in 7.69, with Foster getting the edge by 2-1,000ths of a second – 7.683 to 7.685.

Foster and Gardner will share the Ivy League record, which Gardner set at last year’s meet when he ran 7.75 in Ithaca.

Foster’s previous PR was 7.77, which he ran at the Ott Center in January. Gardner led all qualifiers in Saturday’s trials with a 7.79, with Foster 2^nd in 7.81 in a separate semifinal race.

Foster won the long jump Saturday at 27-0 ½, which broke his own Ivy League record of 26-10 ½ from February in Fayetteville. That’s also No. 2 in NCAA Division 1 this year and No. 10 in the world.

Foster’s time is No. 10 all-time by a New Jersey high school graduate and 5^th-fastest by a South Jersey alum. Foster’s training partner, Chris Serrao of East Brunswick and Rutgers, ran 7.55 in January at the Ott.

7.46 … Jeff Porter [Franklin Twp.], Feb. 1, 2014, Mondeville, France
7.50 … Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], March 10, 1989, Madrid, Spain
7.50 … Anwar Moore [Camden], Feb. 24, 2008, Boston
7.52 … Jack Pierce [Woodbury], Feb. 25, 1995, Fairfax, Va.
7.55 … Devon Hill [Trenton], March 10, 2012, Nampa, Idaho
7.55 … Chris Serrao [East Brunswick], Jan. 17, 2026, Philadelphia
7.58… Jamir Brown [Riverside], Feb. 27, 2026, Boston
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], Jan. 25, 2025, Lubbock, Texas
7.66 … Cory Poole [East Orange], Feb. 14, 2020, Clemson, S.C.
7.69 … Guy Rose [Wayne Hills], Feb. 24, 2001, State College, Pa.
7.69 … Greg Foster [Lumberton / Lawreneville Prep], March 1, 2026
7.72 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], Jan. 9, 2015, Houston
7.73 … Todd Matthews [Notre Dame], Feb. 17, 2001, Blacksburg, Va.

Foster and Gardner are now ranked at No. 26 in NCAA Division 1 this year

Delsea’s Elisia Lancaster recorded the 3rd-best throw of her life an placed 2nd in the weight throw Sunday at the USATF Championships at Ocean Breeze.

It’s the first national championship podium finish for Lancaster

Lancaster, competing for Shore Athletic Club, threw 74-9 on her 2nd attempt and finished 2nd to 2024 NCAA champion Jalani Davis from Ole Miss, who won with an 81-6.

Lancaster’s 74-9 is her best January of 2024, when she threw 78-2 and 77-2 ¼ in back-to-back meets in Champaign, Ill., and Bloomington, Ind.

The 2nd-place finish is Lancaster’s best ever at a U.S. championship. She finished 5th in the weight at 2024 indoor nationals in Albuquerque.

Lancaster had solid series, with a 70-0 ¼ opener, the 74-9 on her 2nd throw, then 72-10 ½, 72-1 ½ and 73-3 ½ before finishing with a foul.

Lancaster was an All-America in the weight at Southern Illinois after beginning her track career at Rowan College at Gloucester County in Deptford and Towson (Md.) University. She has a hammer PR of 222-7 from Princeton this past May.

It’s been more than two decades since Eastern had a half-miler run sub-1:57, but senior Brandon Lamon ended that streak with a 1:56.85 at Ocean Breeze and followed that up with a 2nd-place finish in the state Group 4 meet at the Bubble Saturday.

Lamon, who had never even placed at a sectional meet, ran 1:58.10 at states and took 2nd to Tahj Wilson of Toms River North, who ran 1:57.60.

Lamon is Eastern’s fastest 800 runner since Andrew Riviello set the school record of 1:56.60 at the 2003 Meet of Champions at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym. Lamon bumped Michael Twist for the No. 2 all-time spot at Eastern. Twist ran 1:57.64 at 2013 Easterns at the Armory.

Nicholas Pschunder set Eastern’s outdoor record of 1:53.79 when he place 4th at the 1990 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield. Lamon ran 2:00.42 last spring at Cherokee but didn’t compete at sectionals.

Looks like Eastern is not entered in Easterns at the Armory on Wednesday, but Lamon will race at the Meet of Champions on Sunday at Ocean Breeze. He goes into the 800 as the No. 9 seed:

1:55.83 … Keandre Kelly [Union Catohlic], 1st, Parochial B
1:56.06 … Ciaran Brosnan [Union Catholic], 2nd, Parochial B
1:57.04 … Connor Polen [Newark Academy], 3rd, Parochial B
1:57.43 … *Quintin Clemons [Union Catholic], 4th, Parochial B
1:57.60 … *Tahj Wilson [Toms River North], 1st , Group 4
1:56.67 … **Liam Angley [St. Peter’s Prep], 1st, Parochial A
1:57.62 … Josh Crawford [Woodstown], 1st, Group 1
1:58.07 … *Brady McHugh [Shore Regional], 2nd, Group 1
1:58.10 … Brandon Lamon [Eastern], 2nd, Group 4
1:58.25 … Seven Garcia [Hackensack], 3rd, Group 4
1:58.35 … Ryan Foley [Mount Olive], 1st, Group 3
1:58.53 … Brady Byrne [Chatham], 2nd, Group 3
1:58.68 … Ronald Ciaccia [Old Bridge], 4th, Group 4
1:58.78 … *Nikos Davlouros [Westfield], 5th, Group 4
1:58.87 … Karson Chew [Woodstown], 3rd, Group 1

Cherokee graduate Fejiro Akiri, a senior at Rutgers-Newark, won her 1st conference title Saturday after four prior podium finishes.

Akiri threw 51-0 ¼ on her final attempt to win the weight by three inches over TCNJ’s Allison Lavin.

Akiri previously placed 3rd in the shot at the 2022 indoor meet, 4th in the shot outdoors in 2022, didn’t compete in 2023 or 2024, then took 3rd in the shot and 4th in the weight indoors in 2025, 2nd in the shot and 3rd in the hammer outdoors in 2025.

Akiri threw within 10 inches of her weight PR of 51-11 ¼ from a meet last March in Ithaca, N.Y. She also has PRs of a school-record 42-11 ½ in the shot, a school-record 150-0 in the hammer and 114-5 in the discus.

She also placed 5th in the shot at the conference meet with a season-best 38-6.

Rowan sophomore Nyla Jones from Timber Creek won her 3^rd straight NJAC hurdles title Friday .

Jones ran 8.87 to win the 60-meter hurdles at the Ott Center. Jones is No. 9 in NCAA Division 3 with her 8.69 at Widener in February. That was 1-100^th of a second off the Rowan indoor record of 8.68 set by Aspen McMillan at 2019 Division 3 Nationals in Roxbury, Mass.

Her 8.87 was off her PR but is still tied for 2^nd-fastest in meet history behind only McMillan’s 8.77 in 2019 and tied with McMillan’s 8.87 in 2018. McMillan set the meet record of 8.76 in the 2019 trials.

Jones won the 60 highs last year in 8.95 at the Ott and she won both the 100-meter highs in 14.85 and the 400-meter intermediates with a school-record 1:00.42 last spring in Ewing. She went on to earn All-America honors with a 5^th-place in the 400IH at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

Jones also placed 2^nd in the 200 Friday with a PR 25.11 and ran on Rowan’s 2^nd-place 800-meter relay team, which ran a school-record 1:40.65. Sophomore Paige Franklin of Williamstown, sophomore Ava Reilly of Toms River East and sophomore Amari Pinkett from Egg Harbor township also ran on the 4-by-2.

The Rowan women won the NJAC team title for the first time since 2017.

Rowan’s Seth Clevenger from Haddonfield smashed the NJAC mile record Friday with a solo 4:02.08 at the Ott Center.

Clevenger, No. 4 in NCAA Division 3 history with his 3:59.41 in Boston on Feb. 6, broke the New Jersey Athletic Conference meet record of 4:10.18 set by Ramapo’s Jeremy Hernandez at the 2018 meet at Ocean Breeze.

Clevenger broke away from the pack on the fourth lap and came through the half in 2:02.20. He then reeled off his last four 200s in 30.32, 29.97, 30.20 and 29.41, closing in 1:59.90 and 59.61.  He won by 50 meters.

In addition to his No. 4 all-time ranking in D-3 in the mile, Clevenger is No. 3 in the 3,000 with his 7:54.87 at the Armory in January and has the D-3 record at 3,000 meters with 13:32.09 in Boston in February.

Cherry Hill East sophomore Addison Weiss raced into the all-time South Jersey top-20 in the indoor 3,200 Saturday at the Bubble.

Weiss placed 3^rd in the Group 4 3,200 in 10:47.46, which makes her 14^th-fastest in the state this year, 2^nd-fastest in South Jersey behind Julia Flanagan of Holy Cross and 2^nd-fastest sophomore behind Amelia Pattwell of Middletown South, who ran 10:33.33 in the state Group 3 meet.

This was Weiss’s 1^st race ever under 11 minutes. Her previous PR was 11:03.97 at the Ott Center in January, so this was about a 16-second PR. Weiss didn’t run indoors as a freshman and never ran anything over 800 meters outdoors. So this was only her 3^rd lifetime 3,200, and it’s No. 6 all-time in Camden County.

Weiss is only a little more than five seconds off the school record of 10:42.22 set in 2007 by Theresa Cattuna at the 2007 state Group 4 meet at the Bubble, where she placed 2^nd to Ashley Higginson of Colts Neck. Cattuna set the Cherry Hill East outdoor record of 10:34.79 at the 2007 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield, where she was 3^rd behind Higginson and Nicol Traynor of Ridge.

Weiss also ran a lifetime-best 5:05.12 for 6th in the 1,600.

Kingsway junior Aubrey Bishop also ran under 11 for the first time, placing 4^th at states in 10:55.85. That’s 7^th-fastest all-time indoors in Gloucester County.

There are now six South Jersey girls under 11 minutes, the most ever in one indoor season. In addition to Flanagan [10:38.95], Weiss and Bishop, Ocean City sophomore Riley Tolson [10:49.99], Audubon senior Riley Fayer [10:57.28] and Paul VI senior Giovanna Mantuano [10:59.61] have also run under 11 minutes.

Weiss goes into the Meet of Champions a week from Sunday at Ocean Breeze as the No. 12 seed.

Meet of Champions 3,200 Top Seeds
10:19.56 … Allison Lee, West Windsor-Plainsboro North [1^st, Group 3]
10:33.33 … **Amelia Pattwell, Middletown South [2^nd, Group 3]
10:33.56… *Cayleigh Kaiser, Union Catholic [1^st, Parochial A]
10:35.44 … *Katherine Keating, Ridgewood [1^st, Group 4]
10:36.32 … Lexie Mizzone, Voorhees [1^st, Group 2]
10:39.08 … Cali Buxbaum, Wall [2^nd, Group 2]
10:39.94 … Amelia Szep, Middletown North [3^rd, Group 3]
10:40.25 … *Alexandra Klein, Shore Regional [1^st, Group 1]
10:40.40 … Molly Domurat, Hunterdon Central [2^nd, Group 4]
10:43.91 … *Kaitlyn Hathaway, Rumson-Fair Haven [3^rd, Group 2]
10:45.24 … ***Jennifer Friedman, Ridge [4^th, Group 3]
10:47.46 … **Addison Weiss, Cherry Hill East [3^rd, Group 4]
10:48.20 … Kajol Karra, Princeton [5^th, Group 3]
10:49.99 … **Riley Tolson, Ocean City [6^th, Group 3]

All-Time South Jersey Indoor 3,200-Meter List
10:13.41 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlimgton], 2025
10:15.71 … Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2006
10:23.49y … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2011
10:29.90y … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009
10:33.95y … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2016
10:38.11 … Megan Venables [Highland], 2011
10:38.90 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
10:38.95 … Julia Flanagan [Holy Cross], 2026
10:40.03 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
10:40.80 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2017
10:42.06 … Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 2012
10:42.22 … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2007
10:43.2y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983
10:45.20 … Devon Grisbaum [Ocean City], 2015
10:45.40y … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
10:46.63 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], 2013
10:47.46 … Addison Weiss [Cherry Hill East], 2026
10:48.28 … Abby Waddington [Clearview], 2023
10:48.78 … Shelby Cain [Haddonfield], 2014
10:49.12 … Madison Coppolino [Sterling], 2017
10:49.46 … Alyssa Condell [Timber Creek], 2016
10:49.99 … Riley Tolson [Ocean City], 2026
10:51.65 … Kerry O’Day [Cherokee], 2024
10:52.05 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007
10:52.53 … Allie Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2020
10:52.82 … Maeve Smith [Ocean City], 2024
10:53.4h … Christin Bettis [Hammonton], 2012
10:53.89y … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2020
10:55.29y … Ann Klocke [Bishop Eustace], 1996
10:55.58 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
10:55.85 … Aubrey Bishop [Kingsway], 2026
10:56.66 … Jordan Hatfield [Schalick], 2025
10:57.28 … Riley Fayer [Audubon], 2026
10:57.53 … Michaela Schlemo [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2023
10:57.68y … Ava Thomas [Haddonfield], 2024
10:57.95 … Katy Storti [Bishop Eustace], 2019
10:59.02 … Catherine Van Horn [Triton], 2005
10:59.04 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
10:59.13 … Vickie Ajimoko [Williamstown], 2013
10:59.26 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024