Nothing like a 15-foot PR to make your weekend.
That’s what Middle Township senior John Mooers pulled off at the South Jersey Group 2 meet at Central Regional.
Mooers extended his discus PR from 170-11 to 185-11, No. 6 in South Jersey history, a meet record and a Cape May County record.
The previous meet record was a 185-0 set by Bridgeton’s legendary Braheme Days Jr. at the 2013 meet.
Mooers’ PR coming into his senior year was 163-3 from last year’s sectional meet, where he placed second. He extended it to 170-11 when he won the Woodbury Relays.
The only other throwers in New Jersey over 180 feet this year are Sean Brennan of Union Catholic, who threw 182-2 at the Parochial A North meet this weekend, and Kevin Benson of Toms River North, who threw 180-2 at the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals.
Mooers is the No. 1 seed in the Group 2 state meet by more than 20 feet. The next-best Group 2 throw at the various sectional meets was a 164-3 by sophomore Jordan West of Rahway at the North 1 Group 2 meet.
The Cape-Atlantic League has always been a hotbed for throwing, and not surprisingly four of the top six discus throwers in South Jersey history are from the Cape-Atlantic.
Mooers is No. 6 in South Jersey history. Here’s the full list of 180-foot throwers:
- 216-11 Ron Dayne (Overbrook), 1996
- 199-6 Braheme Days Jr. (Bridgeton), 2013
- 197-0 James Plummer (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2013
- 192-5 Josh Awotunde (Delsea), 2013
- 189-7 Ray Wilks (Bridgeton), 1995
- 185-11 John Mooers (Middle Twp.), 2015
- 185-10 Russ Willett (Penns Grove), 1985
- 185-7 Matthew Huckabe (Timber Creek), 2010
- 185-5 Ken Manahan (Deptford), 1976
- 181-10 Jason Winrow (Cumberland Reg.), 1989
- 180-3 Howard Clark (Pennsauken), 1998
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 