St. Augustine senior Sincere Rhea lowered his hurdles PR and Camden County record to 7.29, tied for sixth-fastest in state history, at the Bullis Champion Speed Invitational at the Armory this weekend.

Rhea placed third in a loaded field. The race was won by national outdoor 110 highs champ Kurt Powder of Oscar Smith High in Chesapeake, Va., who ran a personal-best 7.04. Andre Turay of the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., was second in 7.26.

Those are the top three times in the U.S. so far this year, according to the MileSplit USA rankings. Powdar’s 7.04 is No. 2 in U.S. history.

Rhea’s previous PR was a 7.32 at the Armory last month.

Rhea, fourth at nationals last spring and the Meet of Champions winner last winter, is now tied for third-fastest in South Jersey history behind only Sultan Tucker of Delsea, who ran 7.18 in 1996, and Willingboro’s Isaac Williams, who ran 7.22 at the 2012 Meet of Champions.

ALL-TIME N.J. 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.07 … Cory Poole [East Orange Campus], 2017
6.9h … Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains], 1985
7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.19 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2012
7.22 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.29 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
7.29 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.29 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.31 … Akeem Lindo [East Orange Campus], 2018
7.32 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2018
7.32 … Stephan Fletcher [Princeton], 1983
7.32 … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.32 … Jeff Porter [Franklin Twp.], 2003
7.32 … Al-Tariq Dunson [East Orange], 2018
7.32 … Isaiah Greene [Newark West Side], 2018
7.34 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015
7.34 … Barry McClain [Trenton], 1981
7.34 … Devon Hill [Trenton], 2008
7.1h … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.35 … Todd Walthall [Seton Hall], 1988
7.35 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
7.35 … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], 1993
7.35 … Devon Hill [Trenton], 2008
7.36 … Tony Davis [Scotch Plains], 1982
7.36 … Jerome Pemberton [Hackensack], 1986
7.36 … Chris Stephans [Plainfield], 2001
7.36 … Christian Boateng [Old Bridge], 2011
7.36 … Greg Caldwell [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2012
7.37 … Ihmir Marsette [Weequahic], 2017
7.37 … Benjamin Aidoo [Sayreville], 2016
7.37 … Basil Campbell [Ewing], 2003
7.37 … Andrew Aguilera [Governor Livingston], 2017
7.38 … Mike Wasko [Sayreville], 1982
7.39 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000

ALL-TIME S.J. 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.22 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.29 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
7.29 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.29 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.32 … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.34 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015
7.1h … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.1h … Jim Little [Moorestown], 1976
7.1h … Marc Dickerson [Willingboro], 1979
7.1h … George Bland [Penns Grove], 1987
7.35 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
7.39 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
7.42 … Kevon Brown [West Deptford], 2009
7.42 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.43 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.43 … Edwin Alston [Winslow Twp.], 2015
7.45 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014
7.46 … Syteek Farrington [Camden], 2010
7.47 … Darius Holmes [Willingboro], 2012
7.48 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
7.48 … Tyrell Ross [Clearview], 2005
7.49 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
7.49 … Vince Rawlins [Eastern], 1991
7.49 … Chris Nichols [Willingboro], 1991

Woodbury senior Josh Washington annihilated his 55-meter dash PR this weekend at the Ocean Breeze Invitational.

Washington lowered his PR from 6.58 to 6.49 — nearly a 10th of a second — when he placed second to Daiyaan Hawkins of the Haverford School for Boys in suburban Philly.

In the trials, Hawkins led all qualifiers in 6.52 and Washington ran 6.58, which tied his PR from the Ursinus College Holiday Open last month in suburban Philly.

In the finals, Hawkins won in 6.45, outlining Washington, who was second in 6.49.

Washington’s time is No. 4 in New Jersey this year, No. 1 in South Jersey and also fastest by any Group 1 runner state-wide.

Washington is closing in on the school record of 6.43 set at the 2013 Meet of Champions by Anthony Everett, when he placed second by a 100th of a second to Haddon Heights’ Dominique Irons.

Washington’s time is No. 6 in Gloucester County history

The Gloucester County record is 6.34 by A.J. Bunton of West Deptford in 2006.

6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.47 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2018
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.49 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019

The South Jersey and state Group 1 races are shaping up to be terrific battles between Washington and Clayton’s Thomas Hampton, the top-ranked Group 1 sprinters in the state this winter, both from Gloucester County.

Here’s every South Jersey runner that’s run sub-6.50 fully automatic in the 55-meter dash:
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6.30 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.31 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.36 … Kenny Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
6.37 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.39 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2009
6.41 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.42 … Thomas Walls [Wilson], 2006
6.42 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
6.43 … George McKey [Willingboro], 1982
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.45 … Paul Wheeler [Willingboro], 1983
6.45 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
6.45 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
6.45 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
6.46 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 1996
6.46 … Darnell Charles [Oakcrest], 2012
6.46 … Kashif Miller [Haddon Heights], 2014
6.47 … Anthony Jones [Edgewood], 1982
6.47 … Darren Ford [Vineland], 2004
6.47 … Reggie Morton [Oakcrest], 2012
6.47 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
6.47 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2016
6.47 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2018
6.48 … Gary Gordon [Willingboro], 1995
6.48 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
6.48 … Caleb Williams [St. Joe’s-Hammonton], 2015
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.49 … Louis Smith [Burlington Twp.], 1997
6.49 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2001
6.49 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2016
6.49 … Ryquell Amstead [Millville], 2014
6.49 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019

Ocean City sophomore Alexa Palmieri recorded a big 3,200 PR Monday night at the Bennett Center and moved into the No. 2 spot on the 2019 South Jersey list with an 11:09.51 win.

Palmieri ran 11:09 despite winning by nearly 80 seconds, about a lap and a half  on the flat 200-meter track in Toms River.

Palmieri’s previous indoor PR was an 11:17.80 last year at states on the same track, so she reduced that by over eight seconds. Her overall PR was 11:15.24 at last spring’s Cape Atlantic meet at Bridgeton, where she placed second, only four seconds behind Mainland’s Alyssa Aldridge.

The only faster time so far this winter by a South Jersey girl over 3,200 meters belongs to Eustace senior Katy Storti, who ran 11:07.82 at the Bennett Center two weeks ago.

Palmieri’s time is No. 9 in the state so far this year. She’s the third Ocean City girl to run sub-11:10 since 2015, joining Meet of Champs winner Devon Grisbaum (10:45.20) and Alexa Weber (11:05.02 in 2017).

Bishop Eustace senior Katy Storti ran all eight laps between 37.9 and 38.8 on her way to a PR 5:06.25 for a full mile over the weekend at the Ocean Breeze Invitational in Staten Island.

Storti placed sixth in a very fast and deep race. Her time converts to 5:04.47 for 1,600 meters, which is intrinsically faster than Eustace’s indoor school record of 5:05.90, set in 2011 at the Armory by Meet of Champions XC champ Holly Bischof.

Storti’s time technically can’t be considered for 1,600-meter record purposes since there wasn’t a clock at 1,600 meters, and you can’t convert into a record, but for all practical purposes she broke Bischoff’s school mark.

Storti’s splits were crazy even: 38.3, 38.4, 37.9, 38.0, 38.2, 38.8, 38.6, 37.8. That’s out in 2:32.8 and back in 2:33.4.

Storti’s previous indoor PR was a 5:09.17 for 1,600 meters and her outdoor 1,600 PR is a 5:10.37, so this race was a nearly five-second personal-best.

This past fall, Storti placed 13th at the XC Meet of Champions at Holmdel. On the track, she was ninth in the 3,200 M-of-C last winter.

Storti’s time is fastest by a South Jersey girl this winter. It’s No. 22 in South Jersey history indoors and No. 6 in Camden County history.

Pennsauken sophomore Jade Pope and Winslow junior Nylah Perry ran the third- and fourth-fastest 400s by South Jersey girls this year Monday night at the Bubble.

Pope ran 58.36 and Perry 58.41 at the SJTCA meet in Toms River. Those are the two-fastest time this year at the Bubble.

Pope and Perry were separated by about five inches at the finish line.

Pope ran about half a second off her indoor PR of 57.79 from state’s last year. She ran 55.65 outdoors at the Meet of Champions.

Perry’s time is a personal indoor PR. She had just run 58.53 this past weekend at Ocean Breeze. She has run as fast as 56.99 outdoors.

The only faster times by South Jersey girls were turned in by Eastern junior Jewel Ash, who ran 57.82 this past weekend at the Armory, and freshman Bryanna Craig of Millville, who ran 58.14 last month at Ocean Breeze.

The banked Armory and Ocean Breeze tracks are both much faster than the Armory’s flat 200-meter oval.

Cinnaminson junior Meredith Updike made it three girls under 60, finishing third in 59.73, an indoor or outdoor personal best. Updike just ran an 800 PR of 2:22.93 – a Cinnaminson indoor school record – this past weekend on the same track.

Seven other girls ran sub-62 in a very fast race.

Oakcrest’s Shaunajah Davis Roberts (60.32), Pemberton’s Ariana Harrell (60.70), Pennsauken’s Keyoura Smith (61.37), Haddonfield’s Lindsay Colflesh (61.69) and Seneca’s Madison Melvin (61.83) did it in the last section of the race.

In the sixth of seven sections, Shawnee’s Amanda Demo (61.21) and Leisha Jackson (61.44) were the first across the line.

Connor Melko closed in 2:07.2 and 62.3 to win the mile at the Ocean Breeze Invitational Saturday on Staten Island, N.Y.

Melko, a Bishop Eustace senior, outran Camden Gilmore of Loyola Blakefield, who was second in 4:20.14 and closed in 62.1. Cherokee’s Ethan Wechsler took third in a PR 4:20.21.

For comparison purposes, those times convert to 4:17.51 for Melko and 4:18.70 for Wechsler for 1,600 meters.

Melko’s previous indoor PR was 4:22.78 at last year’s Meet of Champions. His outdoor PR of 4:16.20 came last spring at a Holmdel Twilight Series meet.

Wechsler’s PR was 4:34.16 indoors last year at Toms River and 4:22.70 outdoors, also at Holmdel.

Looks like Eustace’s previous indoor school record was 4:23.86 over a full mile by Andy Arnold in 2009.

Melko led the pack through 220 meters in 33.0 and the quarter in 66.62. He came through the half in 2:12.70 before reeling off laps of 31.7, 32.5, 31.9 and 30.5 over the final 880.

Melko and Wechsler are now ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in South Jersey this year and No. 5 and 6 in New Jersey.

Wechsler’s time is fastest by a Burlington County miler indoors in 10 years, since Shawnee’s Dave Forward ran 4:16.71 at Eastern’s, converted from a full mile.

Eastern grad Cole Pschunder of Rutgers ran a nearly two-second mile PR in Boston on Saturday.

Pschunder won the fourth of 11 sections of the mile in the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston College in 4:11.99, breaking his mile PR of 4:13.70 set at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational last year on the same track.

The race produced six sub-4 efforts and 18 Division 1 and post-graduate runners went under 4:10.

Pschunder’s time makes him fourth-fastest in Rutgers history. Here’s the top 5:

4:05.9h … Ron Speirs [Metropolitan Championships, Princeton], 1973
4:11.05 … Luke Wiley [IC4A Championships, Boston], 2017
4:11.60 … Curtis Richburg [IC4A Championships, Boston], 2012
4:11.99 … Cole Pochender [John Thomas Classic, Boston], 2019
4:12.11 … Conor Murphy [Hemery Valentine Invitational, Boston], 2018

Pschunder ran 4:16.85 for 1,600 meters in high school, which is the equivalent of about a 4:18.6 full mile. His indoor 1,600 PR was 4:20.55.

So considering a 4:11.99 is the equivalent of 4:10.53 for 1,600 meters, Pschunder has gotten more than six seconds faster in college than he was in high school.

Cole Pschunder is apparently the same person as Nick Pschunder, which is how he is listed in various results.

Huge shot put PR for Cinnaminson graduate Ryan Addlesberger Saturday in Boston!

Addlesberger, a senior at Manhattan, won the shot at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic with a 57-3 1/2.

That’s nearly a foot beyond his previous PR of 56-5 1/2, which he achieved twice — indoors at the 2017 Metro Atlantic Championships at the Armory in New York and again this past spring at the NCAA East Prelims in Tampa.

Addlesberger opened with a 53-10 1/4 and followed that with the 57-3 1/2 winner. He added a 54-11 3/4 to close out the trials, then went 55-4 1/2 and a 56-5 1/2 that matched his previous PR.

Another Cinnaminson alum was ninth in the same competition.

Kamron Kobolak, a freshman at Rutgers, was ninth with a 50-4 throw. He has a PR of 51-2 with the 16-pound ball from a meet at The College of New Jersey last month.

Holy Greg Hughes!

Mainland junior Kevin Antczak destroyed his PR Saturday and moved into the N.J. No. 1 spot in the 3,200 with a negative-split breakthrough 9:20.96 for a full two miles at the Ocean Breeze Invitational in Staten Island, N.Y.

That converts to a 9:17.71 for 3,200 meters, fastest in New Jersey this year and tied for No. 14 in South Jersey history.

Antczak opened in 4:42.94 and came back in 4:38.02, closing in 2:16, 64.4 and 30.1.

Just for the sake of comparison, Antczak’s indoor 1,600 PR is 4:34.78, so factoring in the conversion from he ran about one second off his 1,600 PR in the second half of his two-mile run!

Antczak finished second and nearly caught Owen Johnson of Calvert Hall in Towson, Md., who ran 9:20.93. Johnson led by about 25 meters with 800 meters to go and 20 meters with 600 meters to go before Antczak began closing rapidly.

Antczak’s strong finish left him just inches short of Johnson at the finish line but did give him the fastest time by a South Jersey two-miler indoors since Aaron Groff of Cherry Hill East ran 9:16.09 in 2016.

Antczak’s converted time is very close to the Atlantic County record of 9:17.52, set in 2014 by Hammonton’s Lou Corgliano at the Meet of Champions.

Hughes is the Mainland indoor school record holder at 9:17.55 from the 2004 Meet of Champions.

Antczak’s previous indoor PR was 9:57.62 at last year’s Meet of Champions. His outdoor PR is 9:34.31 from states last year.

Here’s all the sub 9:18 indoor 3,200 times I could find:

• 8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
• 9:11.1y ..… Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1970
• 9:11.2y ..… Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
• 9:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
• 9:11.9y ….. Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976
• 9:13.33 ….. Michael Rankin [Paul VI], 2010
• 9:13.93 ….. Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
• 9:14.31 ….. Jimmy Daniels [Sterling], 2013
• 9:15.8y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
• 9:15.82y … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1986
• 9:16.09 ….. Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2016
• 9:15.55 … Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
• 9:17.52 … Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2014
• 9:17.71 … Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
• 9:17.71y … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019

Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta and Quentin Bundy led a deep, fast boys 800 Saturday at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association meet at the Bennett Center.

Seven boys ran 2:01-point or faster, and five of them PR’d. You know we’re getting into the heart of the track season when someone runs 2:01 and doesn’t even place in the top six.

Moronta, a junior, lowered his indoor PR from 2:00.06 to 1:59.48 with the win. Bundy, a senior, was second in 1:59.90, a season best but just off his indoor PR of 1:58.60 set when he was 10th at last year’s Meet of Champions.

Absegami junior Keishaun Joga was next in 2:00.24, a 4 1/2-second PR! Joga’s previous 800 PR was a 2:04.80 just a couple weeks ago on the same track.

Cinnaminson junior Austin Gabay finished fourth in 2:00.68, which is an indoor PR since he’s never run an 800 indoors before. Gabay, more of a 1,600-3,200 runner, does have an outdoor 1:58.32 to his credit.

Camden’s versatile junior Dontae Guest was next across the line in 2:01.32. Guest, who runs everything from the 400 to the high hurdles to cross country, had a previous 800 PR of 2:03.48 from last year’s sectionals outdoors. He hadn’t run one indoors.

Pitman junior Sebastien Reed took fifth in 2:01.83. Like Gabay, he’s more of a 1,600-3,200 guy, and the 2:01 was a five-second PR. His indoor PR was a 2:06.38 from a couple weeks ago. He’s got a 2:05.94 from last spring.

Absegami senior Oratile Moeng was 2-100ths of a second back of Reed with a 2:01.85, which took down his indoor PR of 2:02.71 from last year and is within a second of his overall 800 PR of 2:00.83 from the Cape Atlantic Meet last spring.

All seven are now ranked among the top 12 in South Jersey this year, ranging from Moronta at No. 4 to Moeng at No. 12.