There are no horizontal jumps in the NJSIAA’s indoor state meets, so Delsea senior Khaliel Burnett focused on the Varsity Classic at the Armory, where he won the long jump and triple jump with indoor personal bests in both events. One day later, his teammates won the South Jersey Group 2 title.
Burnett jumped 22-2 1/2 to win the long jump and 47-10 to win the triple jump. Both are the No. 1 marks in South Jersey this winter, and the triple jump is No. 1 in the state and No. 12 nationally, according to the Milesplit database.
Burnett’s outdoor PRs are 22-4 1/2 in the long jump, from when he won Group 3 sectionals as a sophomore, and 48-9 1/2 in the triple from last spring, when he won the Meet of Champions.
Burnett broke the Gloucester County indoor triple jump record of 47-1 that he set in December at the Len Pietrewicz Invitational at the Armory.
Even without Burnett scoring, Delsea one day earlier easily won the South Jersey Group 2 title, 89-59, over Deptford at the Bennett Center.
Senior Michael Szwed set indoor PRs of 51.09 and 1:59.73 in sweeping the 400 and 800, seniors Bill Goldsborough [56-11] and Will Sneathen [50-0] went 1-2 in the shot put, sophomore Nico Morales cleared 13-6 to win the pole vault and junior Colin Kane took second in 1,600 [4:28.24] and fifth in the 3,200 [9:49.67].
Also for the Crusaders, senior Tymir Kizee ran third in the high hurdles [7.79] and senior Keon Grady, who like Burnett is a 22-foot long jumper, placed second in the high jump [6-0].
The team title was Delsea’s fifth in the 11-year history of indoor sectionals but first since 2012.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 