Manhattan sophomore Ryan Addlesberger, a Cinnaminson High School graduate, was sitting in seventh place in the shot put Sunday with a best throw of 54-9 3/4 at the IC4A Championships in Boston with one throw to go.

Addlesberger made the most of his final throw, uncorking a near-PR bomb of 56-4, passing four throwers and moving into third place, where he finished.

Addlesberger set his PR of 56-5 3/4 two weeks ago when he won the Metro Atlantic Championships at the 168th Street Armory.

It’s been a huge breakthrough indoor season for Addlesberger, whose best throw last indoor season was a 50- 1/2 for fifth at the MAC championships and outdoor was a 51-7 1/4 when he was third at the outdoor MAC meet at Rider in Lawrenceville.

But he PR’d immediately at the start of indoors with a 53-4 1/2 in December in a meet at West Point, N.Y., then extended it to 55-4 at a meet at Towson (Md.) University in January.

He surpassed 56 feet (and 17 meters) for the first time at a meet at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island later in January, then won his first conference title at the Armory with his 56-5 1/2.

Addlesberger has twice been named MAC Field Performer of the Week this season and has also been named ATAX Manhattan College Student-Athletes of the Week.

Using the 16-pound college and international shot, Addlesberger has already surpassed his high school PR, set with the lighter 12-pound shot. His best indoor throw at Cinnaminson was a 54-1 3/4 that won the 2015 state Group 1 title by nearly six feet.

His outdoor high school PR was a monster 57-5 1/4 at the 2015 Burlington County Open at Maple Shade. He went on to win the outdoor state Group 2 title and place fifth at Meet of Champions.

Cherokee alums are having a big day at the ECAC Championships at Boston University. We’ll get to Sarah Robbie and her 800 PR later, but for now we’ll focus on Robbie’s former Cherokee High School teammate, Courtney Foster.

Foster, a senior at St. Joe’s, ran an indoor-outdoor personal-best 54.96 to win the ECAC 400-meter dash title Sunday. Foster broke her own indoor school record of 55.42 set Saturday in the trials and surpassed her outdoor school record of 55.03, which she set at George Mason last spring.

Before Saturday, Foster’s indoor PR was 56.16, set on the same track at the same meet last year.

In Sunday’s final Foster out-raced Liberty freshman Tanner Ealum, who was second in 55.10.

Foster is the Hawks’ first ECAC individual champion in 26 years, since Donna Crumety won the triple jump in 1991. The last St. Joe’s runner to win an ECAC title was Elaine McGillian, who won the 1,500 in 1986.

In addition to now holding the St. Joe’s indoor and outdoor 400 records, Foster is on the Hawks’ school-record teams in the 4-by-400 and distance medley indoors and 4-by-4 and sprint medley outdoors.

Foster was a two-time Burlington County Open 400 champ at Cherokee, where she had a PR of 56.11 from a fifth-place at the 2013 Meet of Champions. She was Meet of Champions indoor runner-up in 2013 with an indoor high school PR of 57.37 behind Olivia Baker of Columbia’s 54.72. She was also a South Jersey Group 4 champ at 200 meters.

Rowan scored in 16 of 21 events and more than doubled second place Utica in winning the 2017 ECAC Division 3 track and field championships this weekend at Ithaca.

Rowan scored 18 points in the high jump, 17 in the high hurdles and 10 in the long jump and won the 800- and 1,600-meter relays to roar to its second straight team title at the ECAC Division 3 track championships in Ithaca, N.Y.

Eastern Regional graduate Jeffrey Jon Tucker won the high jump at 6-9 3/4 on a jump-off with teammate Harrison Escoffrey after both cleared 6-8; Dave Benjamin, Oakcrest grad Chase Toliver and Penns Grove alum Jason Stefanski placed 2-4-5; and Tucker went 23-10 to win the long jump by 1 1/4 inches over Stockton’s five-time All-America Jared Lewis out of Deptford in a battle of former Olympic Conference stars.

That’s 45 points in just the high jump, high hurdles and long jump. Rowan outscored second-place Utica 115-53.

The hurdles were huge. Peter Girardi of St. John Fischer won in 8.24, but Benjamin was second in 8.29, Toliver fourth in 8.40 and Stefanski, the freshman from Penns Grove, fifth in 8.45.

Rowan also swept the two short relays, with Dior Hightower (Paul VI), Steven Jones, Jonathan Ramirez and Benjamin running a meet-record 1:30.25 and Marquis Tabb (Pemberton), Ramirez, Walter Victor (Gloucester Township Tech) and Jamil Jackson (Highland) running 3:21.36, with Jackson anchoring in 49.2. The previous 4-by-2 meet record was a hand-timed 1:30.2 set in 2008 by Springfield.

In those five events, Rowan scored 65 points — enough to win the team title. Utica finished second with 53 points. The team title is Rowan’s second ever and second in a row.

DMR: Kevin Veltre, Jackson, Eldershaw and John Meyer scored eight points with a third-place finish in the DMR in 10:07.27. Venter led off with a 3:06.1 split, with Jackson running 48.9, Eldershaw splitting 1:56.0 and Meyer anchoring in 4:16.4.

60-METER DASH: Hightower also placed sixth in the 60-meter dash in 7.07, not far off his season-best of 7.01.

 

400-METER DASH: In addition to his duty on the 4-by-4 and DMR, Jackson placed second in the open 400 in a season-best 49.32. His previous fastest time this year was a 49.90.

800-METER RUN: Eldershaw ran 1:56.42 in the open 800 for seventh place.

1,000-METER RUN: Veltre ran 2:23.60 for second place in the 1,000. He finished just 36-100ths behind winner Erik Winberg of Utica.

MILE RUN: Meyer ran 4:23.71 for eighth place.

3,000-METER RUN: Dan Henry was sixth in 9:13.48.

5,000-METER RUN: Zachary Helm finished seventh in 15:21.64.

TRIPLE JUMP: Escoffery placed third in 47-2 1/4, just three inches off his own school record. Zaire Weaver wasn’t far behind, seventh with a personal-best 46-0.

What a tremendous performance Saturday by Rowan University senior Christin Bettis at the ECAC Division 3 championships!

Bettis, a Hammonton graduate, destroyed her own PR and shattered a Rowan University school record set 27 years ago in winning the 3,000 meters in the ECAC meet at Ithaca, N.Y.

Bettis ran 9:52.64, winning by 60 meters over Alicia Belko of Stockton University via Rancocas Valley Regional in a 1-2 South Jersey finish. Belko ran 10:05.30, about eight seconds faster than her previous PR of 10:13.26 set at the Armory last month.

Bettis, whose previous 3,000 PR was 10:12.61, set just two weeks ago at the NJAC indoor meet at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island, N.Y., broke the Rowan record of 10:08.28, set in 1990 by Linda Vaughan.

Her time ranks Bettis No. 12 nationally in NCAA Division 3.

Bettis wired the field Saturday. She was out in 35.8, with Denise Ibarra of host Ithaca, Sabrina Herrman of NYU and Belko alongside her and the rest of the field quickly stringing out.

Bettis and Belko lost Herrman on the seventh lap, and Bettis opened up a gap on Belko with a 40.6 10th lap.

She closed very strong, 36.6 for her final 200, 74.7 for her final 400 and 2:33.5 for her final 800. Her last four laps were all under 40 seconds.

As for Belko, she came up just short of the school record of 10:02.70, set last month by current teammate Cassandra Hrusko of Manchester Township High School, who won the mile Saturday and also ran the 800.

On Friday, Bettis split 4:56 to anchor Rowan’s distance medley, which placed third in 11:58.66 and qualified for the NCAA Division 3 championships. Jessalyn Wright ran the 1,200, Brianna Angellella the 400 and Claire Incantalupo the 800.

Rowan’s DMR time is No. 8 nationally in NCAA Division 3.

Bettis was a Cape-Atlantic 3,200 champ and South Jersey Group 3 sectional champ as a senior at Hammonton in 2012. She had an outdoor PR of 11:03.70 from the 2012 Cape-Atlantic meet but an overall PR of 10:53.4 hand-timed indoors at the 2012 Varsity Classic at the Armory.

For the sake of comparison, her 1,600 PR in high school was 5:13.01. And she essentially ran the same pace today for 3,000 meters (39.5 per lap) as her high school PR for a race nearly half as long (39.2 per lap).

 

 

Jared Lewis continued his dominance of the NJAC horizontal jumps this past weekend, sweeping the long jump and triple jump for a second straight year at the New Jersey Athletic Conference indoor championships at the Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island, N.Y.

Lewis, a Stockton University junior from Westville and Deptford High, won the long jump with a meet-record 23-10 3/4 and won the triple jump at 48-6 1/2, about a foot off his own meet record of 49-6 1/4, set last year.

He won both events as a sophomore and was third in the long jump as a freshman. He also swept the long and triple jumps at the outdoor conference meet the last two years, so he’s now won eight consecutive NJAC titles with three conference meets to go!

Lewis is the only jumper in meet history to double the two horizontal jumps in consecutive years. In fact, it had been 10 years since any jumper doubled the long and triple at the indoor NJAC meet. Jamar Byrd of New Jersey City University – and a 2005 Vineland High graduate – won both at 22-9 3/4 and 43-5 1/4 in 2007. NJCU no longer has a track program, by the way.

Lewis, a five-time NCAA Division 3 All-America, is ranked No. 6 in Division 3 this season in the long jump with his 23-10 3/4 at the conference meet and No. 2 in Division 3 in the triple jump at 49-5 3/4 at the New York City Gotham Cup in January, also at Ocean Breeze.

For his career, Lewis has indoor PRs of that 23-10 3/4 in the long jump this past weekend in Staten Island and 49-6 1/4 from last year’s conference meet.

His overall PRs are 24-4 in the long jump from the Oscar Moore Invitational in Glassboro this past April and 50-7 from last year’s Division 3 nationals in Waverly, Iowa.

Curiously, Stockton has produced two NCAA Division 3 indoor individual national titles, and both were courtesy of a South Jersey long jumper-triple jumper.

In 1988, Shawnee High School graduate Greg Foster won the NCAA Division 3 long jump at 24-8 1/2 and the triple jump at 51-0 3/4.

Foster qualified for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, where he was the first contestant in the first flight of the first event of the competition.

This year’s NCAA Championships

 

Amir Brock moved into the No. 3 spot in South Jersey history on the all-time indoor 400-meter dash list with a monster race at Easterns Tuesday night.

The Egg Harbor Township senior ran an absolute PR 48.48, placing second to East Orange senior Cory Poole, who ran 47.82.

Brock’s time is No. 14 in the U.S. this winter.

Brock’s previous indoor PR was 49.19, when he was second to Haddonfield sophomore Luke Colehower’s 49.17 in the Meet of Champions last weekend. Brock has run as fast as 48.49 outdoors. He did that placing fourth at Group 4 states last spring.

In South Jersey history, only Camden’s Jade Smith (48.27 in 2002) and Lenape’s Mohammad Kanu (48.36 in 2000) have run faster than Brock indoors.

It appears Brock’s time is fastest ever indoors or outdoors by an Atlantic County 400 runner. Mike Patterson of Pleasantville ran 48.05 in the spring of 1997.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey indoor performance list:

South Jersey Indoor Boys 400-Meter List

48.27 … Jade Smith [Camden], 2002
48.36 … Mohammad Kanu [Lenape], 2000
48.48 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
48.50 … Alex Reber [Cherry Hill East], 2013
48.55 … Royce Reed [Bridgeton], 1995
48.64 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
48.68 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
48.75 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017
48.7h … Curt Mcintyre [Bridgeton], 1992
48.7h … John Morris [Camden], 2001
48.91 … Marlin Gross [Bridgeton], 2001
48.91 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
49.03 … Ian Moore [Lenape], 2001
49.05 … William Mobley [Eastern], 1990
49.11 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2012
49.0h … Eric Chekemian [Washington Twp.], 2001
49.19 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
49.1h … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], 2007
49.24 … Duke Mack [Pleasantville], 2007
49.26 … Tim Carey [Washington Twp,], 2010

And …

All-Time Easterns Boys 400-Meter List

47.13 … Zyaire Clemes (Trenton), 2014
47.20 … Lance Wigfall (East Orange Campus), 2003
47.30 … Taylor McLaughlin (Union Catholic), 2014
47.31 … Rai Benjamin (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.), 2014
47.45 … Ray Williams (Scotch Plains), 2002
47.54 … Najee Glass (St. Peter’s-Jersey City), 2011
47.69 … Kedar Inico (Campus Magnet, N.Y.), 2001
47.71 … Melville Rogers (Transit Tech, N.Y.), 2002
47.75 … Shaquan Brown (JFK Paterson), 2005
47.76 … Adian Sanderson (Ewing), 2004
47.82 … Cory Poole [East Orange], 2017
47.87 ……… Glass, 2011
48.04 … Sean Lowe (St. John’s Prep, N.Y.), 2004
48.07 ……… Clemes, 2013
48.20 … Sam Stubbs (Newburgh Free Academy, NY), 2005
48.22 … Clayton Gravesande (Franklin Twp.), 2010
48.24 … Bryant McCombs (Old Bridge), 2005
48.26 … Clayton Parros (Seton Hall Prep), 2008
48.27 … Charles Cox (Monmouth), 2007
48.36 … Mohammad Kanu (Lenape), 2000
48.40 … Bryan Susser (Colonie, N.Y.), 2001
48.45 … Roanal Gill (Ballou, Washington, D.C.), 2001
48.48 …….. Sanderson, 2003
48.48 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Township], 2017
48.52 … Jason Morgan (Lawrence, N.Y.), 1999
48.52 … Richard Stewart (Plainfield), 2003
48.53 … Mark Filandro (Indian Hills), 2010
48.57 … Garrett Ellis (Union Catholic), 2008

Brock also anchored Egg Harbor’s 800-meter relay team, which placed fifth in 1:31.23, seventh-fastest in New Jersey this year.

Rachel Vick did something very few girls milers have done at Easterns the last quarter of a century.

She ran fast.

The mile for some reason has generally been a slow affair at Easterns. Probably because the top girls generally anchor DMRs as their teams look for Penn Relays qualifiers.

Ten girls ran sub-4:56 for the full mile at Easterns when the meet was in Boston in the 1980s, most notably Washington Township’s Michelle Rowen, whose 4:43.1 at the 1983 meet in Boston was No. 4 in U.S. history at the time and remains the meet record.

But in the 26 years from 1990 through 2016, only two did ran sub-4:56 — Erin Donohue of Haddonfield with her 4:54.73 in 2001 and Maddy Berkson of Classical High in Providence, R.I., whose 4:50.11 in 2014 was fastest at Easterns in 31 years.

In fact, from 1990 through 2013, a span of 24 years, Donohue was the only girl to even break 5:00 at Easterns. Even when the meet moved to the fast track at the Armory.

On Tuesday night, Vick, a Kingsway High School senior, put that trend to shame. She not only became the first Kingsway boy or girl ever to win an Easterns title, and she not only won the mile, she did it in extraordinary fashion, running 4:55.96 and beating the field by 15 meters.

(An aside – I’m surprised Kingsway alum Denise Liles, a member of the U.S. Junior National gold medal-winning 400-meter relay team, didn’t win the Easterns 60-yard dash in the 1980s but she may not have run indoor track.)

Vick went out in 2:32.6 and led a pack of nine girls that was at or below 2:34 at the 880-yard mark. She came back in 2:23.5 for the back 880, including 68.0 for the final 440 and a sick 31.4 for her final 220.

Flynn was the only girl that was still close to Vick with 400 meters left, but Vick put her away with that 31.4 final lap.

Vick is only the fourth South Jersey girl ever to win the Easterns mile title, 34 years after Rowen ran 4:43.1 in Boston — still a meet record. The two Haddonfield girls, Erin Donohue in 2001 and Briana Gess in 2015, are the only other South Jersey winners in meet history.

OK, let’s go to the lists!

Vick’s time is fifth-fastest in South Jersey history. We converted all 1,600-meter run times to mile times.

All-Time S.J. Indoor Girls Mile List

4:43.16 …… Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983
4:51.15 ……. Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
4:53.29m … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
4:55.06m … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014
4:55.96 …… Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:56.29m … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:58.84m … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2016
4:59.45m … Caitlin Orr [Lenpae], 2010
5:00.21 m … Natalie Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
5:01.03 m … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee], 2014
5:01.13 m … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
4:57.8h …… Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
5:02.19 …… Lisa Burkholder [Cherokee], 2004

Now here’s the all-time Easterns performance list, with Vick at No. 10 in meet history – pretty lofty spot among some notable names!

All-Time Easterns Mile Performance List

4:43.1h … Michelle Rowen (Washington Twp.), 1983
4:45.09 … Ceci Hopp (Greenwich, Ct.), 1981
4:50.11 … Maddy Berkson (Classical, R.I.), 2014
4:52.31 … Eileen Ellig (Rutland, Vt.), 1985
4:52.36 … Shola Lynch (Hunter, N.Y.), 1986
4:52.37 … Patty Weigand (Conestoga, N.Y.), 1986
4:52.55 … Nnena Lynch (Hunter, N.Y.), 1987
4:53.36 … Lisa Welch (Peabody, Mass.), 1981
4:54.73 … Erin Donohue (Haddonfield), 2001
4:55.05 ……… Wiegand, 1987
4:55.24 ……… N. Lynch, 1989
4:55.87 ……… N. Lynch, 1988
4:55.96 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:55.98 … Hannah Bonaguidi (Delaware Valley), 2016
4:56.19 … Jessica Drop (Coginchaug Reg., Ct.), 2016
4:56.86 … Laurie Glynn (Winchester, Mass.), 1981
4:57.56 … Wendy Delan (Bonny Eagle, Maine), 1986
4:58.2h … Toni Ann Angione (Bergenfield), 1984
4:58.64 … Lily Flynn [Ursuline School, N.Y.), 2017
4:58.72 … Cathy Feeney (Wayne Valley), 1988
4:58.99 … Carolina Beroutsos (Nightingale Bamford, N.Y.), 2016
4:59.25 … Brian Gess (Haddonfield), 2015
4:59.57 … ? Norton (East Islip, N.Y.), 1989
4:59.78 … Kathy Good (Randolph), 1981
4:59.85 … Denise Dougherty (New Canaan, Ct.), 1981
5:00.02 … Michelle Rorke (Bronxville, N.Y.), 2002
5:00.37 … Jaclyn Marshall (Kings Park, N.Y.), 2008
5:01.31 … Christina Engel (Mount Olive), 1992
5:01.54 … Barbara Strehler (Trinity Episcopal, Va.), 2009
5:01.62 … Laura Cummings (Bay Shore, N.Y.), 2004
5:01.72 … Emily Sherrard (Hopewell Valley), 2005
5:01.77 … Mary Liz McCurdy (Bay Shore), 2003
5:01.79 … Sarah McCurdy (Bay Shore, N.Y.), 2008
5:01.81 … Amanda Corbosiero (Mt. St. Dominic, N.J.), 2013

Vick’s previous indoor mile PR was a 5:03.71, converted from a 5:01.96 over 1,600 meters, when she won states last month. So this was roughly an eight-second indoor PR!

Vick’s overall PR is 5:01.07 last spring at sectionals, which converts to a 5:02.82 full mile. So Vick essentially ran seven seconds faster Tuesday night than she ever had before.

How about one last list?

The mile has been run at Easterns since the inception of the girls meet in 1980. Here’s a list of the winner of the race every year it’s been held:

All-Time Easterns Girls Mile Winners

1980 … Shelly Steeley [Bishop O’Connell, Pa.], 4:57.4
1981 … Ceci Hopp [Greenwich, Ct.], 4:45.09
1982 … Chris Curtin [Mepham, N.Y.], 4:49.30
1983 … Michelle Rowen [Washington, N.J.], 4:43.16
1984 … Toni Ann Angione [Bergenfield, N.J.], 4:58.2
1985 … Eileen Ellig [Rutland, N.Y.], 4:52.37
1986 … Shola Lynch [Hunter, N.Y.], 4:52.36
1987 … Nnenna Lynch [Hunter, N.Y.], 4:52.55
1988 … Nnenna Lynch [Hunter, N.Y.], 4:52.87
1989 … Nnenna Lynch [Hunter, N.Y.], 4:55.24
1990 … Leanne Burke [Randolph, Mass.], 5:02.71
1991 … Christine Engel [Mount Olive, N.J.], 5:09.84
1992 … Christine Engel [Mount Olive, N.J.], 5:01.31
1993 … Monal Chokshi [Bridgewater, N.J.], 5:08.25
1994 … Austin [Foxboro, Mass.], 5:18.01
1995 … Helena Kimball [Londonderry, N.H.], 5:07.93
1996 … Autumn Fogg [Hunterdon Central, N.J.], 5:02.92
1997 … Dara Crocker [Columbia, N.J.], 5:04.11
1998 … Megan Howell [Suffern, N.Y.], 5:07.62
1999 … Cate Guiney [Middletown South, N.J.], 5:03.39
2000 … Lindsey Gallo [Howell, N.J.], 5:08.11
2001 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield, N.J.], 4:54.73
2002 … Michelle Rourke [Bronxville, N.Y.], 5:00.02
2003 … Mary Liz McCurdy [Bayshore, N.Y.], 5:01.77
2004 … Laura Cummings [Bayshore, N.Y.], 5:01.62
2005 … Emily Sherrard [Hopewell Valley, N.J.], 5:01.72
2006 … Callie Hogan [Bay Shore, N.Y.], 5:02.48
2007 … Amanda “Peanut” Marino [Jackson, N.J.], 5:02.64
2008 … Jaclyn Marshall [Kings Park, N.Y.], 5:00.37
2009 … Barbara Strehler [Trinity Episcopal, Va.], 5:01.54
2010 … Alyssa LaGuardia [DePaul Catholic, N.Y.], 5:07.02
2011 … Dana Giordano [Bernards, N.J.], 5:04.28
2012 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee, N.J.], 5:05.88
2013 … Amanda Corbosiero [Mt. St. Dominic, N.J.], 5:01.81
2014 … Maddy Berkson [Classical, R.I.], 4:50.11
2015 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield, N.J.], 4:59.25
2016 … Hannah Bonaguidi [Delaware Valley, N.J.], 4:55.98
2017 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway, N.J.], 4:55.96

Just a four-second PR for Derek Gess.

Yikes.

Gess, who has focused mainly on the 1,600 for Haddonfield indoors, dipped down to the 800 Tuesday night, and the Haddonfield sophomore ran 1:55.93 for fourth place at the 83rd annual Eastern States Championships at the 168th Street Armory.

That’s the fastest indoor 800 time by a South Jersey sophomore in eight years — since Tivo Rivera of Kingsway ran 1:55.16 for second behind Xavier Fraction of Washington Township in the 2009 Meet of Champions at the Bubble in Toms River.

Gess has run 4:21 for 1,600 meters, but his indoor 800 PR before Tuesday was 1:59.82, which was good for 17th place in the Ocean Breeze Invitational in January. He has run 1:56.66 outdoors, when he placed fourth at sectionals last spring.

Gess’s time is a Haddonfield school record and fastest this year by a South Jersey half-miler. It also appears to be a Camden County record, which is interesting since it’s No. 18 on the all-time South Jersey indoor list (below) and Camden County is the most populous county in South Jersey, so you would think somebody from Camden County at some point had run faster than 1:55.93, but as far as we can tell, the mark is his.

Of the 17 faster times, eight are from Gloucester County, five from Atlantic County, three from Burlington County and one from Cumberland County.

How is it possible that eight half-milers from Gloucester County (population 291,479) have run faster than any half-milers from Camden County (population 510,923)? Who knows. It’s the kind of thing that makes track fun.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey indoor list:

1:51.52 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.72 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.80 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2013
1:53.51 … Alan Laws [Pleasantville], 2007
1:53.68 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2013
1:54.80 … Marvin Lewis [Willingboro], 2001
1:54.81 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2013
1:54.82 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
1:55.00 … Steve Butenewicz [Delsea], 2011
1:55.14 … Shannon Sherrer [Vineland], 2002
1:55.14 … Zach McBride [Lenape], 2002
1:55.16 … Joe Lewis [Pleasantville], 1998
1:55.16 … Tivo Rivera [Kingsway], 2009
1:55.19 … Isaiah Curbelo [Rancocas Valley], 2016
1:55.42 … Kevin Cianfarino [West Deptford], 2014
1:55.3h … Tony Uzdavines [Williamstown], 1976
1:55.77 … Carmen Capella [Washington Twp.], 2004
1:55.93 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2017

As for Gess, he crossed the line behind only Dalton Hengst of Mcdonough School in Maryland (1:54.76), Billy Hill of Franklin Township (1:55.31) and Byron Simmons of St. Benedict’s (1:55.57). Gess’s official splits are 27.8 / 28.7 / 29.0 / and 29.2 for out in 57.5 and back in 58.2.

 

Rancocas Valley junior Aliyah Taylor lowered her indoor PR more than a second – from 56.24 to 55.21 – and destroyed the field Tuesday night at the 83rd annual Eastern States Championships at the 168th Street Armory.

Taylor’s historic performance moved her into the No. 12 spot in the U.S. this year, No. 10 spot on the all-time New Jersey indoor 400-meter dash list, No. 5 in South Jersey history and No. 6 in the meet’s prestigious history.

Wow!!!!!

Taylor, who surpassed her outdoor PR of 55.79, out-raced Leah Anderson of Cardinal Spellman, who was second in 55.62 in what was essentially a two-person race. Nobody else dipped under 57 seconds.

Taylor is only the third South Jersey girl ever to win the 400 at Easterns, joining Willingboro’s Okechi Ogbuokiri (55.14 in 2003) and Nijgia Snapp of Oakrest (54.91 in 2008).

Her time is fastest by a New Jersey girl at Easterns in nine years, since Snapp’s 54.91 back in 2008.

Taylor was second in the Meet of Champions to Olympian Sydney McLaughlin, but with McLaughlin not contesting the 400 Tuesday night, Taylor didn’t have to race the national record holder.

Here you can see where Taylor stacks up against the best indoor quarter-milers in state history:

ALL-TIME N.J. INDOOR 400 LIST
51.84 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2016
53.49 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2014
54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.64 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1998
54.70 … Janine Davis [Queen of Peace], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
54.98 … Tawana Watkins [Paterson Kennedy], 2002
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2010
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.32 … Amber Allen [Passaic Vo Tech], 2009
55.34 … Symone O’Connor [Franklin Twp.], 2006
55.42 … Jennifer Edobi [Union], 2014
55.49 … Kristen Mahon [Notre Dame], 2006
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.59 … Tiffany Grant [Ocean Twp.], 2006
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.6h … Emily Carrollo [Pope John], 2008
55.75 … Emilie Cowan [Columbia], 2014
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
55.91 … Ajee Wilson [Neptune], 2011
55.94 … Sam Anderson [Matawan], 2014
55.95 … Natalie Englese [Cranford], 2010

And in South Jersey history:

ALL-TIME S.J. INDOOR 400 LIST
54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
56.21 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1997
56.24 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
56.34 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
56.44 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2006
56.62 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
56.65 … Britney Kott [Millville], 2009
56.76 … Simone Thomas [Willingboro], 2003
56.85 … Emily Duffey [Lenape], 2912
56.88 … Marcene Jack [Mainland Reg.], 2004
56.90 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1999

The all-time Easterns list is very tough to get into, but you see where Taylor sits, behind some truly great names and ahead of many others!

ALL-TIME EASTERNS 400 LIST
54.40 … Zola Golden (Arlington, N.Y.), 2014
54.87 … Neisha Bernard-Thomas (Tilden, N.Y.), 2000
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp (Oakcrest), 2008
54.98 … Tawana Watkins (Paterson Kennedy), 2002
55.14 … Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro), 2003
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.23 … Dominique Blake (Harry S Truman, N.Y.), 2004
55.25 … Elizabeth Mott (New Rochelle, N.Y.), 2008
55.27 … Paris Peoples (Cardozo), 2016
55.32 … Amber Allen (Passaic County Vo-Tech), 2008
55.35 ……… Allen, 2009
53.39 ……… Watkins, 2001
55.42 … Jennifer Edobi (Union), 2014
55.44 … Kyle Plante (Colonie, N.Y.), 2009
55.49 … Kristen Mahon (Notre Dame), 2006
55.55 ……… Allen, 2010
55.59 … Tiffany Grant (Ocean Township), 2006
55.74 … Michelle Brown (Seneca), 2010
55.94 … Samantha Anderson (Matawan), 2014
56.01 … Chinny Offor (Half Hollow Hills, N.Y.), 2002
56.21 … Mia Campo (St. Mary’s-Jersey City), 1998
56.24 … Leah Anderson (Cardinal Spellman, N.Y.), 2016
56.25 … Tiffany Grant (Ocean Twp.), 2005
56.27 ……… Ogbuokiri, 2002
56.31 … Shevonna Stoddart (Uniondale, N.Y.), 1999
56.32 ……… Campo, 1999
56.32 … Olivia Baker (Columbia), 2012
56.30 … Ashley McLaughlin (Uniondale, N.Y.), 2007
56.34 … Janine Davis (Queen of Peace), 2002
56.35 … Charlene Lipsey (Hempstead, N.Y.), 2008
56.45 … Nikeshia Brown (Hempstead, N.Y.), 2003
56.47 ……… Watkins, 2000
56.52 … Dominique Watkins (Abraham Clark, N.J.), 2013
56.53 ……… Mahon, 2007
56.65 … Britney Kott (Millville), 2009

Taylor, who would have been one of the top seeds in the 55 or the 200, skipped those in favor of doubling the 400 and 4-by-200, and her 23.8 anchor — fully automatic 23.804 — led the Red Devils to third place in 1:42.53.

That time is No. 13 in South Jersey history. Here’s every time under 1:44.00.

1:40.77 … Moorestown, 2000
1:41.14 … Woodrow Wilson, 2006
1:41.19 … Camden, 2008
1:41.28 … Woodrow Wilson, 2006
1:41.30 … Winslow Twp., 2017
1:41.42 … Moorestown, 1999
1:41.70 … Willingboro, 2002
1:41.78 … Winslow Twp., 2014
1:41.98 … Camden, 2009
1:42.20 … Camden, 2007
1:42.45 … Deptford, 2015
1:42.49 … Winslow Twp., 2013
1:42.53 … Rancocas Valley, 2017
1:42.5h … Willingboro, 2003
1:42.66 … Willingboro, 2000
1:42.75 … Eastern, 2003
1:42.85 … Washington Twp., 1999
1:43.01 … Winslow Twp., 2016
1:43.26 … Camden, 2004
1:43.42 … Woodrow Wilson, 2008
1:43.47 … Camden, 2002
1:43.47 … Camden, 2006
1:43.53 … Eastern, 2002
1:43.56 … Timber Creek, 2015
1:43.56 … Winslow Twp., 2015
1:43.58 … Willingboro, 2001
1:43.59 … Woodrow Wilson, 2004
1:43.99 … Winslow Twp., 2004

OK, one more list because I just thought of this.

This list shows where Taylor ranks among the fastest quarter-milers indoors or outdoors in South Jersey history! Looks like Taylor is already No. 15 on the all-time combined list. Watch out this spring!

52.91[o] … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2009
53.51[o] … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
53.64[o] … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
54.19[o] … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
52.91[o] … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2009
54.00[o] … English Gardner [Eastern], 2007
54.04[o] … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1998
54.36[o] … Shakira Dancy [Winslow], 2016
54.51[o] … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1998
54.62[o] … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2008
54.75[o] … Faleesha Dowe [Penns Grove], 2014
54.93[o] … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.0h[o] … Nichole Bartley [Highland], 1992
55.06[o] … Shameka Speed [Bridgeton], 2003
55.21[i] … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.21[o] … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2006
55.24[o] … Jasmine Still [Woodrow Wilson], 2005
55.2h[o] … Loretta Thompson [Camden], 1979