Meredith Updike won her second straight South Jersey Group 2 sectional title Friday in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, running a personal-best 1:02.66 at Delsea.

She’s the first to repeat in SJ-2 since Helena Leyrer of Buena in 2011 and 2012, and her time is fastest in SJ-2 since Leyrer ran 1:01.54 in 2012.

Updike’s previous PR was 1:02.71 when she won states last year. She moved up to No. 12 in Burlington County history and lowered her own school record.

Updike’s 1:02.66 is the 7th-fastest winning time in South Jersey Group 2 sectional history:

1999 Katrina Sye (Buena) 1:01.2
2012 Helena Leyrer (Buena) 1:01.54
2003 Kristina Keegan (H’field) 1:01.6
2009 Victoria Clark (Camden) 1:02.08
1995 Natalie Edwards (P’ville) 1:02.0
2010 Vanessa Arientyl (W’boro) 1:02.24
2019 Meredith Updike (Cinnaminson) 1:02.66

ALL-TIME BURLINGTON COUNTY 400IH LIST
59.03 … Tonya Lee (Rancocas Valley), 1988
59.66 … Mandie Dulin (Shawnee), 1997
1:00.1h … *Danielle Myricks (Willingboro), 2000
1:01.14 … Okechi Ogbuokiri (Willingboro), 2003
1:01.25 … Carly Pettipaw (Lenape), 2015
1:01.49 … *Mary Bohi (Seneca), 2009
1:01.99 … Evann Thompson (Lenape), 2012
1:02.24 … Vanessa Arientyl (Willingboro), 2010
1:02.33 … Rhea Mann (Willingboro), 2003
1:02.54 … Emily Kulcyk (Cherokee), 2010
1:02.60 … Nia Hinds (Burlington Twp.), 2016
1:02.66 … Meredith Updike (Cinnaminson), 2019
1:02.84 … Natasha Marshall (Palmyra), 2001
1:02.86 … Maddie Hummel (Holy Cross), 2012
1:02.86 … Brianna Snowden (Rancocas Valley), 2019
1:02.7h … Angela Williams (Pemberton), 1981
1:02.85 … Rachel Jochem (Seneca), 2006

South Jersey dominated the NCAA Division 1 East Preliminary javelin competition Friday in Jacksonville, with Florence graduate Curtis Thompson, Holy Cross graduate Chris Mirabelli and Holy Spirit’s Cade Antonucci all advancing to the finals next month in Jacksonville.

Three of the 12 qualifiers from the entire eastern half of the United States are South Jersey natives.

Thompson, the former U.S. and NCAA champion, placed third with a throw of 241-3 on his third and final attempt, behind teammates Anderson Peters (262-8) and Tyriq Horsford (PR 258-5).

Mirabelli finished ninth with a 219-5, also on his final attempt, and Antonucci took 11th with a 217-3 on his second throw.

The top 12 throwers advanced to the NCAA Championships in Austin June 5-8. The javelin final, which will also include the top 12 throwers from the West Prelims in Sacramento, is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on June 5.

Nick Mirabelli, a Texas A&M freshman out of Rancocas Valley and Chris Mirabelli’s younger brother, was getting ready to throw in the third and final flight in Sacramento. Both javelin competitions begin at noon, but since Sacramento is three hours behind Jacksonville it started three hours later.

Deptford grad Tyler Garland easily advanced to the 110-meter hurdles final Thursday at the NCAA Division 3 Championships outside Cleveland.

Garland, a sophomore at Rowan, ran 14.38 in the second of three qualifying rounds, finishing in a near dead heat with Eddie Mahana, a junior at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.

With only the winner of each of three heats advancing automatically, their times were taken to 1,000th-of-a-second, and Mahana was credited with a 14.372 with Garland in 14.380.

But Garland was safely among the six wild-card qualifiers. His 14.38 ranked second among the non-winners, behind only Mason Plant of Mount Union in Gambier, Ohio, who ran 14.31.

Overall, Garland’s time was fourth-fastest of 20 qualifiers, but he’s considered the fifth seed since he was the second-fastest non-winner.

https://results.deltatiming.com/ncaa/tf/2019-ncaa-d3-outdoor-championships/190523P016

The final is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Garland has a PR of 14.28 from the trials of the All-Atlantic Regionals at Cortland, N.Y., earlier this month.

Garland hasn’t lost a high hurdles final since the Widener Invitational in mid-April, when he was second to Mahana. He’s the NJAC and All-Atlantic champion.

Rancocas Valley graduate Danielle Steff threw a personal-best 164-2 in the javelin Thursday and advanced in the NCAA Division 1 track championships.

Steff, a sophomore at Monmouth, was among 12 women who advanced out of the NCAA East Preliminary Round at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville. They’ll be joined by 12 women from the West Preliminary Round at the NCAA Championships in Austin next month.

Steff came in with a PR of 163-1 a meet at Moravian last month. After throwing 143-11 and 151-4 on her first two attempts, she was sitting in 22nd place going into her third and final throw and needed to throw at least 162-5 to advance.

She not only hit 162-5, she popped a PR and came within two inches of the Monmouth school record of 164-4, set in 2014 by Kelsey Reese.

Steff moved up from No. 4 on the all-time Monmouth list to No. 2, passing Burlington Township graduate Faith Blamon, who threw 162-7 in 2017.

Steff’s 164-2 was 10th-best in the East and 17th-best including the throwers from the NCAA Division 1 West Preliminary Round in Sacramento.

Nationals run from June 5-8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin. The javelin is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. that Thursday, June 6.

Schalick graduate Samuel Gerstenbacher on Thursday advanced to the steeplechase finals at the NCAA Division 3 track championships outside Cleveland.

Gerstenbacher, a junior at Elizabethtown, ran 9:16.38 in the 3,000-meter race, advancing to the final at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

The top five finishes from each of two semifinal races advanced automatically and the next four fastest runners also advanced. Gerstenbacher was seventh in the second race, which made him the second-fastest non-auto qualifier.

Gerstenbacher closed in 70.9 seconds after running his six previous full laps in 73.5, 74.1, 74.3, 74.9, 75.2 and 74.9.

This is Gerstenbacher’s second NCAA Championships. He didn’t qualify for the final last year. Gerstenbacher ranks fourth in NCAA Division 3 with his school-record 9:00.21 in a last-chance meet at Swarthmore earlier this month.

The top 12 seeds all moved on along with the No. 15 and 17 seeds.

Cherokee graduate Matt Gross, who never won a sectional, county or conference title during his high school track career, earned All-America status in the javelin Thursday.

Gross, a sophomore at Rutgers-Camden, placed sixth in the javelin at the NCAA Division 3 Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Gross, seeded 12th, threw a personal-best 199-4, surpassing his previous PR of 197-0 set last week when he won the ECAC Division 3 title in New Haven. He’s now thrown between 195 and 199 feet in five meets this year.

At Cherokee, Gross only exceeded 165 feet in the javelin once, with a 177-9 when he placed second to RV’s Robert Marks at sectionals as a senior in the spring of 2016. He improved to 191-6 1/2 last year and is now an All-America in an event in which he had a PR fo 142-9 going into his senior year of high school.

For more on his background, click here.

On Thursday, Gross went into his fifth throw sitting in ninth place with a best throw of 193-1. But he passed three throwers with his 199-4, moving into sixth. He fouled on his final attempt.

Junior Jordan Entwistle of U. Mass-Dartmouth won the event at 210-10. Rowan sophomore Dan McAleavey, a sophomore from Howell and the NJAC champion, placed eighth at 197-7, less than two feet off his own PR of 199-6 set at a meet at The College of New Jersey last month.

Another Rowan athlete, freshman Julio LeBron from Memorial of West New York, placed 19th with a 172-3 on his third throw of the trials. He was one of only three freshmen in the competition.

 

The Rowan women ran a season-best 47.22 and advanced to the finals of the 400-meter relay Thursday at the NCAA Division 3 Championships outside Cleveland.

The team of sophomore Sidney McLeod-Whitener of Friends Central, junior Aaniyah Robinson of Passaic County Tech, sophomore Myiah Sturdivant of Timber Creek and junior Darielle Cross of Matawan takes the seventh-fastest time in the finals, scheduled for 12:05 p.m. Saturday at the SPIRE Institute track in Geneva, Ohio.

Rowan’s best previous time this year was a 47.40 at a meet at Widener last month with a slightly different lineup — freshman Kierston Johnson, McLeod-Whitener, Robinson and Cross.

Emory led all qualifiers at 46.55. The top two placers in each of two heats advanced automatically, along with the next five-fastest times. Rowan placed fifth in the second heat, which produced all the non-auto qualifiers.

Emory (46.55), Rhode Island College of Providence (46.77) and Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa (46.90) broke 47 seconds and then there were five schools between 47.15 and 47.31.

Senior Angela Bannan medaled in four races, and Julia Bannan led the throws team to 50 points as the Holy Spirit girls placed a close second in the South Jersey Parochial B Championships at Donovan Catholic in Toms River this week.

This is the fifth straight year the Spartans have placed in the top four at sectionals. Holy Spirit was 4th in 2015 and 2016, 3rd in 2017 and won it last year.

Trinity Hall of Tinton Falls won this year’s meet with 91 points, 12 more than Holy Spirit.

Bannan, a multiple state medalist in the 800 and 1,600, ran 2:26.86, 5:32.13 and 12:10.53, placing 6th in the 800, 5th in the 1,600 and 3rd in the 3,200. She also ran a leg on the second-place 3,200-meter relay team.

Julia Bannan, a sophomore, led a 1-2-3 sweep in the shot put with a winning throw and personal-best 33-5. Senior Ariana Mack (30-7 1/2) and soph Kat Patittuci (29-11 1/4) placed second and third. Mack won the discus at 116-3 and Julia Brannan was second with another PR of 113-5. Both of Mack’s throws were PRs as well. Bannan also placed third in the javelin, with soph Morgan Keil taking fifth.

Junior Melody Pugliese placed second in the 200 and led off the fourth-place 1,600-meter relay team. Pugliese, junior Jenna Bradberry, freshman Vanessa DeJean and junior Megan McCully ran 4:32.34.

Holy Spirit also took second in the 3,200-meter relay in 10:42.66 with Bradberry, DeJean, Bannan and freshman Paige Snyder.

Paul VI capped an outstanding two days in Toms River with a 3:53.43 win in the 1,600-meter relay at the South Jersey Parochial A sectionals.

Senior Carly Schmidt, junior Blair Daniel, sophomore Abigail Lutz and junior Aliya Rae Garozzo beat New Jersey #1 Union Catholic by more than half a second. Union Catholic ran 3:54.17.

Paul VI ran within a second of the school record of 3:52.49 they set at New Balance Nationals last June.

PVI’s time is No. 3 in South Jersey this year, behind only Winslow and Rancocas Valley, who ran 3:51.70 and 3:51.76 in different races at the Penn Relays.

Daniel also ran on Paul VI’s 400-meter relay team, which ran 48.72 and placed a close second to Union Catholic. Senior Keyann’a Watkins, junior Skyler Harris and senior Aaliyah Vandergrift also ran on that team.

Paul VI already ranks No. 9 in the state and No. 5 in South Jersey with a 48.62 at the Olympic Conference meet earlier this month at Washington Township.

Garozzo also won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.45 after a career-best 14.29 in the trials. That’s No. 5 in the state this year and No. 4 among South Jersey hurdlers. Her previous PR was 14.38.

Garozzo won the intermediates in 1:02.15 on Monday.

Junior Kambi Walker (5-4, second in HJ) and Vandergrift (35-1 1/2, 3rd in TJ) also had top-three finishes for Paul VI. Vandergrift had placed third in the 100 on Monday. Junior Maura McGowan won the javelin Monday with a personal-best 108-6, and the 4-by-8 team of seniors Julia Bruno, Amelia Smith and Miranda Zevallos along with Lutz took second in the 4-by-8 in 10:03.55.

Paul VI scored 102 points in the two-day meet, finishing second only to Union Catholic, the top-ranked team in New Jersey.

Derek Gess ran the fastest 800 in South Jersey this year Monday night on his home track at Haddonfield Distance Night.

The Haddonfield senior out-raced Cinnaminson junior Austin Gabay to the finish line in a personal-best 1:53.88, fourth-fastest in the state this year. Gabay ran a PR 1:54.73. They’re the two-fastest times in New Jersey Group 2 this year and the two-fastest S.J. times as well.

According to the MileSplit database, Sean Dolan of Hopewell Valley (1:52.81), Alfred Chawonza of St. Benedict’s (1:52.94) and Nicholas Medeiros of Old Bridge (1:53.57) are the only half-milers in the state who’ve run faster than Gess this spring.

Gess’s previous PR was a 1:54.37 at states last year. The only faster times in Haddonfield history that I could find were turned in by Greg Pelose in (1:53.25) in 2016 and Ben Potts in 2011, both also at Haddonfield Distance Night. Has anybody else from Haddonfield run sub-1:54?

Gess led four Haddonfield runners under two minutes Monday night. And all four PR’d!

Senior Ethan Spellmeyer ran 1:55.69, Greg Eisenhower 1:57.29 and Martin Riddell 1:59.05. Do the math and that adds up to a 7:45.91 for a 3,200-meter relay. Hopefully, they get a chance to run one at nationals.

Spellmeyer’s previous PR was 1:55.74 at the Bensalem Invitational in April. Eisenhower’s PR was 2:00.38 last year at the Haddonfield Invitational. Riddell’s PR was 2:00.50 at the same meet.

Including Andrew Gostovich, who ran 1:56.87, and Josh Potter, who ran 1:59.31, the Bulldogs now have six half-milers under two minutes this year. They’re ranked 1, 5, 8, 11, 21 and 23 in South Jersey.