Lenape grad Kevin Lauer anchors Rowan to #7 DMR in NCAA Division 3!!!!!

Lenape graduate Kevin Lauer’s 4:16.74 anchor leg gave Rowan a DMR win at the All-Atlantic Championships Friday in Rochester, N.Y.

Lauer’s personal-best split moved Lenape into the lead over second-place Ramapo and anchor Chris Andersen of Ramsey High, who split 4:17.46. Ramapo had a 30-100ths of a second lead going into the 1,600s.

Rowan finished with a 10:06.06 and Ramapo 10:06.49. They rank No. 6 and No. 7 in NCAA Division 3 this winter.

Rowan’s time is a facility record at Nazareth College’s Golisano Center. The previous mark was 10:33.43 by Ithaca last month.

Nick Neville, a junior from South Brunswick, led off with a 3:04.04 split for 1,200 meters and junior Vincent Delle from Old Bridge ran 400 meters in 50.74. Freshman Joe DeVito from Jackson Liberty split 1:54.57 to erase most of Ramapo’s lead, and Lauer, a sophomore and 2018 Lenape grad, did the rest.

Rowan ran within 6 1/2 seconds of the school record of 9:58.49 set two years ago by Nick Nocco of Southern Regional, Justin Bishop of Mainland Regional, Neville and Kevin Veltre of Brick Memorial when they placed fourth at NCAA Division 3 nationals in Birmingham, Ala.

Rowan’s trails only Williams [9:54.97], Washington [9:56.14], Tufts [10:00.29], North Central [10:05.07], Wisconsin-Whitewater [10:05.51] and SUNY Geneseo [10:05.62] on the NCAA Division 3 list.

Qualifying marks for NCAA Division 3 Championships must be made by Saturday.

The NCAA Division 3 Championships are scheduled for next Saturday and Sunday at Guilford College in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Gabay, Adler, Wechsler set to chase history in loaded Meet of Champions 3,200!!!!!

Austin Gabay, Oliver Adler and Ethan Wechsler are already among the fastest two-milers in South Jersey history.

On Sunday, they’ll have a chance to go even faster.

Gabay, Adler and Wechsler are the No. 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the 3,200 at the 52nd annual Meet of Champions, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Sunday on the 200-meter banked track Ocean Breeze in Staten Island.

It’ll be the first NJSIAA meet ever held outside New Jersey and the first ever held on a banked track.

The boys 3,200 is scheduled to go off at 1:55 p.m.

Gabay won the state Group 2 title in 9:12.77, Adler won Group 4 in 9:12.87 and Wechsler finished just behind Adler in 9:12.90.

The top two seeds are Foot Locker finalists Liam Murphy of Allentown, who ran 9:04.41 to win the Group 3 title, and Jack Jennings of Mendham, who ran 9:09.27, for second.

They’re also the top two seeds in the 1,600, and it remains to be seen what their plans are for Sunday.

Because they both have 4:12 speed, their presence would likely guarantee that the race goes out very fast – something like 4:32 or 4:33 through the mile wouldn’t be surprising.

But even if one or both of them chooses the mile – or doubles back – there’s still no shortage of very fast two-milers in the field.

State Group 4 XC champ Jackson Braddock of Southern [9:16.27], 9:10 outdoor two-miler Martin Riddell of Haddonfield [9:16.29] and Vidhur Polam of South Brunswick [9:16.63], who ran a 14-second PR last weekend, give the race seven two-milers who ran sub-9:17 last weekend.

Gabay, Adler and Wechsler are No. 6, 7 and 8 in South Jersey history and fastest South Jersey indoor two-milers since 2010, when Jonathan Vitez of Haddonfield set the South Jersey record of 8:58.81 and also the indoor Meet of Champions record.

Vitez is the only South Jersey boy who has ever run sub-9:10 (or the two-mile equivalent, which would be 9:13.21) at the Meet of Champions.

Here are the outdoor PRs of the seven seeds who ran sub-9:20 last weekend:

9:04.43 … Liam Murphy [Allentown]
9:08.62 … Jack Jennings [Mendham]
9:15.13 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson]
9:29.62 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East]
9:10.90 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee]
9:10.75 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield]
9:30.80 … Vidhur Polem [South Brunswick]

Disappointing the race will be missing Mainland Regional’s Kevin Antczak, who ran 9:09.38 last spring but has been hurt this indoor season.

The complete all-time South Jersey 3,200 performance list is below.

Let’s take a look at the fastest Meet of Champions times ever by South Jersey runners. As you can see, Gabay, Adler and Wechsler – and Riddell as well – all have the potential to get into that top group if they even match their times on a slower flat track at states. Incredibly, four of the top seven South Jersey times in meet history came in that hot 2010 race with Vitez setting the pace!

As always, send me corrections and additions in the comments section!

8:58.81 … Jon Vitez, Haddonfield, 2010 [1st]
9:10.4y … Ken Medlin, Haddon Township, 1970 [1st]
9:11.7y … Mike Butynes, Sterling, 1970 [2nd]
9:11.9y … Johnny Englehardt, Willingboro, 1976 [5th]
9:13.33 … Mike Rankin, Paul VI, 2010 [7th]
9:13.58 … Mike O’Dowd, Colts Neck, 2010 [8th]
9:13.93 … Paul Szulewski, Williamstown, 2010 [9th]
9:14.9y-………Butynes, 1971 [2nd]
9:15.76 … Kevin Pumphrey, Highland, 1986 [1st]
9:16.0y … Mike Mantini, Gateway, 1978 [1st]
9:16.13 … Jimmy Daniels, Sterling, 2013 [5th]
9:16.57 … Aaron Groff, Cherry Hill East, 2016 [3rd]
9:17.55 … Greg Hughes, Mainland Reg., 2004 [3rd]
9:17.71 … Dave Forward, Shawnee, 2009 [5th]
9:18.59 … Kevin Antczak, Mainland Regional, 2019 [4th]

There are some other very good South Jersey runners in the field. Pitman senior Sebastien Reed ran 9:27.16 earlier this winter, Cherokee senior Chase Miller and Cherry Hill East junior Aidan Eyre both ran under 9:30 at states, and Delsea senior Noah Deckert qualified in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

ALL-TIME S.J. INDOOR 3,200 LIST
8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:10.4y ….. Ken Medlin, Haddon Township, 1970
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
9:12.77 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
9:12.87 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
9:12.90 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020
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
9:16.29 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], 2020
9:17.52 ….. Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
9:17.55 ….. Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
9:17.71 ….. Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009

The full performance list for the entire meet is here.

And final list for now … this is an amazing one! Seven performances from the 1970s are still on the all-time top-20!

ALL-TIME INDOOR MEET OF CHAMPIONS 3,200 LIST
8:58.81 … Jon Vitez, Haddonfield, 2010 [1st]
8:59.77 … Brian Leung, West Windsor South, 2008 [1st]
9:00.95 … Jeramy Elkaim, Livingston, 2010 [2nd]
9:01.86 … Doug Smith, Gill St. Bernard’s, 2008 [2nd]
9:02.00 … Tom O’Neill, Middletown North, 2013 [1st]
9:03.58 … Craig Forys, Colts Neck, 2007 [1st]
9:04.7y … Chris Inman, Essex Catholic, 1973 [1st]
9:04.8y … Tim Conheeney, Paramus Catholic, 1973 [2nd]
9:05.6y … Vince Cartier, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 1971 [1st]
9:06.2y … Chris Hallinan, Bernards, 1974 [1st]
9:06.11 … Devin Hart, Point Pleasant, 2018 [1st]
9:06.58 … Mohamed Khadraoui, Paterson Kennedy, 2004 [1st]
9:07.17 … Tyler Udland, Millburn, 2010 [3rd]
9:08.32 … Jordan Brannan, Colts Neck, 2017 [1st]
9:08.55 … Sean Poherence, Morris Hills, 2009 [1st]
9:08.7y … Carlos Bazo, Essex Catholic, 1972 [1st]
9:10.0y … Ed Taylor, Edison, 1976 [1st]
9:10.09 … Alex Roth, Princeton, 2017 [2nd]
9:10.27 … Chris Pannone, Hunterdon Central, 2004 [2nd]
9:10.4y … Ken Medlin, Haddon Township, 1970 [1st]

Here are the final performance lists for Sunday’s 52nd annual Meet of Champions!!!!!

The showcase events are fully seeded, the final performance list has been updated and we’re now just three days away from what promises to be the greatest indoor Meet of Champions ever.

After beginning life on Jadwin Gym’s slow, flat track, then moving to a slightly faster but hardly elite track at the Bennett Center in 2007, the Meet of Champions begins its third life Sunday at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island, a fast, banked 200-meter track that is guaranteed to produce faster times than the Bubble in Toms River.

Remember, MileSplit is streaming the meet live. Click here for details: https://accounts.milesplit.com/live/20283-njsiaa-meet-of-champions?ref=live-377274-widget&site=31

And click here for the final M-of-C performance lists! Final 2020 indoor M-of-C performance list!

Hoping for PR’s for everybody!

Woodstown’s Madeline Hunt goes into M-of-C after recording best triple jump ever by S.J. Group 1 girl!!!!!

Woodtown senior Madeline Hunt broke the Salem County triple jump record Monday evening at the Last-Chance Meet of Champions qualifier at the Bubble.

Hunt jumped 35-8, a huge PR over her PR of 34-2 3/4 from Easterns at the Armory last month. Hunt jumped as far as 36-5 1/2 last spring, when she took third at Group 1 states at Franklin High.

Her jump is the farthest ever by any South Jersey Group 1 jumper and the best in New Jersey this year by a Group 1 athlete. It’s also in the all-time South Jersey top 20.

She’ll compete Sunday in the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

The outdoor Salem County record is 37-6 1/2, set in 2012 by Woodstown’s Alexa DiGregoria at Group 2 states at South Plainfield.

The multi-talented Hunt is also a 9-6 pole vaulter and took third at states this past weekend and qualified for the M-of-C. She’s also a 25-foot shot putter, 16-1 long jumper, 65-second quarter-miler and 4-10 high jumper. So hopefully a heptathlon or two is in her future.

ALL-TIME S.J. INDOOR TRIPLE JUMP LIST
40-1 1/2 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
38-4 … She’quell Higgs [Winslow Twp.], 2013
38-0 1/2 … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
37-10 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2013
37-7 … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
37-2 1/2 … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], 2020
37-1 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
36-9 1/4 … Jasmin Jones [Kingsway], 2016
36-8 3/4 … Olivia Wright [Winslow Twp.], 2020
36-8 1/2 … Leah Ellis [Millville], 2019
36-6 1/2 … Maryn Hess [Winslow Twp.], 2017
36-6 1/2 … Janell Rowe [Sterling], 2016
36-6 … Javona Ford [Millville], 2010
36-5 … Shevell Higgs [Winslow Twp.], 2020
36-4 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008
36-2 3/4 … Kiah Walton [Burlington Twp.], 2014
36-0 1/2 … Taliya Rogers [Rancocas Valley], 2016
36-0 1/2 … Keyanna Meade [Burlington Twp.]. 2018
35-8 ……. Madeline Hunt [Woodstown], 2020
35-6 1/2 … Tabatha Haskins [Shawnee], 2004

Timber Creek grad Myiah Sturdivant of Rowan riding a 400 PR into Division 3 regional meet!!!

Timber Creek graduate Myiah Sturdivant, a Rowan junior, goes into this weekend’s All-Atlantic Region Championships as the No. 8 quarter-miler in NCAA Division 3 Atlantic Region.

Sturidvant, a two-time NJAC 400 champ, is coming off an indoor PR 57.44 in her last meet – Fasttrack Invite at Ocean Breeze two weeks ago – which earned her a No. 19 national ranking in NCAA Division 3.

Her previous indoor PR was a 57.97 when she won last year’s NJAC Championships at Ocean Breeze.

Sturdivant has run as fast as 56.30 outdoors – that was her winning time at the 2018 outdoor NJAC meet in Ewing. At Timber Creek she ran 59.21 outdoors to win the 2015 Camden County Championships at Haddon Township her sophomore year. Her indoor PR was 1:01.16 her sophomore year at sectionals.

Rowan is also ranked No. 5 in the Atlantic Region in the 4-by-4, with Sturdivant scheduled to run with junior Danielle Nicklas, senior Melina Johnson and freshman Madison Hart at the All-Atlantic Championships this weekend at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.

Sturdivant is also slated to run the 400 on Rowan’s distance medley, presumably with senior Dianne Ferraro of South Plainfield on the 1,200, freshman She’Lynn Clarke of Glassboro on the 800 and sophomore Madison Edwards of Cinnaminson on the 1,600.

EHT’s versatile Gabrielle Germann leads South Jersey long jumpers into Meet of Champions!!!

Egg Harbor senior Gabrielle Germann hasn’t long jumped a lot, but she’s jumped far. And this weekend she’s one of the top seeds in the showcase long jump at the Meet of Champions,

The long jump isn’t contested at the NJSIAA’s indoor sectional and state series, but it is held at the Meet of Champions, with athletes qualifying by mark and not by performance in a qualifying meet.

Germann hit 17-6 last spring at the Cape Atlantic Meet at Bridgeton and only jumped twice this winter but hit 18-4 1/4 at Easterns, good for second place to Pope John senior Bridget McNally.

That 18-4 1/4 is the best mark this winter by a South Jersey girl. Millville’s Bryanna Craig (18-1 1/4) and Timber Creek’s Tierra Hooker (18-1) are also well over 18 feet. Hooker, defending M-of-C champ in the high jump, isn’t long jumping on Sunday at Ocean Breeze, but Craig and Germann are.

Germann’s 18-4 1/4 is No. 3 in Atlantic County history and only 2 1/4 inches off the Atlantic County indoor record of 18-6 1/2, set in 2016 by Holy Spirit’s Asia Young. Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith was also well over 18 feet last year with an 18-5.

It’s also No. 16 in South Jersey history.

Germann is not just a long jumper.

She ran an indoor-outdoor PR 59.03 for third in the 400 at sectionals and then took sixth at states in 59.52. The 59.03 is fastest this winter by an Atlantic County quarter-miler.

She also ran 7.49 in the 55 and placed fourth at sectionals, then nearly made the dash finals at states, placing ninth overall in 7.50 and missing the final by 1-100th of a second.

And she ran with juniors Jaidyn Mulloy, Lauren Princz and Anne Rutledge on EHT’s fourth-place 4-by-4 team, which ran 4:09.60 for fourth at Group 4 sectionals.

ALL-TIME S.J. INDOOR LONG JUMP LIST
21-7 1/2 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
19-8 1/4 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow], 2016
19-8 ……. Cidae’a Woods [Winslow], 2014
19-7 1/2 … Helen Wilks [Bridgeton], 1993
19-3 …….. Leah Ellis [Millville], 2019
18-9 …….. Shameka Speed [Bridgeton], 2002
18-8 3/4 … Artrelia Turner [Wilson], 1984
18-7 1/4 … Shelly Bailey [Woodbury], 1982
18-6 1/2 … Tisifinee Taylor [Woodbury], 2002
18-6 1/2 … Asia Young [Holy Spirit], 2016
18-5 3/4 … Lindsey Walsh [Lenape], 2008
18-5 1/4 … Tacquaya Tobias [Our Lady of Mercy], 2011
18-5 …… Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
18-4 3/4 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
18-4 1/2 … Kristin Tricocci [Cinnaminson], 2004
18-4 1/4 … Gabrielle Germann [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
18-2 3/4 … Sable Loper [Woodrow Wilson], 2005
18-1 3/4 … Emily Carson [Haddonfield], 2013
18-1 ……. Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2015

Haddonfield girls set record for largest margin of victory in their 9th state Group 2 championship!!!

The Haddonfield girls continue to do things that very few – if any – girls track programs have ever done.

In their record-setting state championship on Sunday, Haddonfield won by the largest margin in meet history, and one of the reasons was a remarkable performance by its three milers.

Juniors Sarah Naticchia, Allison Colflesh and Payton Weiner all ran under 5:10 and finished second, third and fourth, behind Voorhees junior Emma McGill, who ran 4:59.15. Naticchia ran 5:07.21, Colflesh 5:08.31 and Weiner a personal-best 5:09.83.

Not only did that score Haddonfield 18 points in the one event, it made Haddonfield the first New Jersey school with three girls under 5:10 in the same indoor race since Mendham in 2013 with Reagan Kolakowski [5:03.98], Abby Seel [5:04.23] and Mackenzie Barry [5:08.61] in the North Section 2 Group 3 sectionals in 2013 at the Bennett Center.

No South Jersey school has done that in the last 20 years, although Lenape came very close in 2010 with Caitlin Orr [4:57.72], Natalia Occasion [4:58.48] and Amanda Restivo [5:11.42]

(I apologize to the Haddonfield program for this post being a few days late, but it took me a while to look up that last stat!)

Naticchia and Colflesh ran slightly faster at sectionals but this was Weiner’s first time under 5:10 indoors. Her previous indoor PR was a 5:12.74 at sectionals.

Naticchia also took third in the 3,200 in 11:10.36, and junior Lindsay Colflesh and junior Olivia Stoner went 2-5 in the 800, Colflesh in 2:16.62 – a huge PR – and Stoner in an indoor PR 2:22.82. Colflesh’s previous indoor 800 PR was 2:19.84. She’s gone as fast as 2:14.87 outdoors, last spring at states. Stoner ran 2:23.34 at sectionals.

So that’s 18 points in the 1,600, nine in the 800 and six in the 3,200 for 33 for the distance team.

There was much more to Haddonfield’s performance than its usual dominance in the long track races.

Senior Rachel Bonnet won the high jump at 5-2 on fewer misses over senior Nina Casselberry of Cedar Creek. It was Bonnet’s first time over 5-2 indoors and Casselberry’s first time over 5-2 indoors or outdoors.

Junior Robin Rosen cleared 10-6 for second place in the pole vault, behind only junior Julia Greeley of Seneca, who cleared 11-0.

Bonnet and Grace Kegler both placed in the hurdles, Bonnet in fifth in 8.90 and Kegler sixth in 8.93. It was the first time under 9.00 for both of them.

Haddonfield also placed fourth in the 1,600-meter relay in 4:10.73, with junior Grace Donch and freshman Maya Carey joining Lindsay Colflesh and Weiner.

Haddonfield’s 39-point margin of victory — 59-20 win over Rahway – is the largest in Group 2 meet history. The previous largest margin of victory was 34, when Buena beat Hopewell Valley 62-28 in 1999.

The team title was Haddonfield’s ninth overall but first since 2016. Only Columbia and Winslow, with 10 each, have won more.

Haddonfield won its first three state titles from 2000 through 2002 in Group 1 and then 2008 and four straight from 2013 through 2016 in Group 1. This year’s is the Bulldogs’ first in Group 2.

Mainland graduate Alyssa Aldridge records huge 5,000 PR, top freshman at Big East Championships!!!!!

Georgetown freshman Alyssa Aldridge, a graduate of Mainland Regional, placed sixth in the 25-lap race at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, Monday in 16:43.26. She was the top freshman in the race.

Aldridge’s previous collegiate PR was an 18:17.93 outdoors at Princeton last spring. She ran 17:24.43 at New Balance Nationals as a Mainland sophomore in the winter of 2016 at the Armory.

She also ran 9:44.27 in the 3,000, just about two seconds off her PR of 9:42.24, which she ran at Boston University last month.

Her 5,000 time is No. 10 in NCAA Division 1 among freshmen and No. 1 among Big East freshmen.

This is Aldridge’s second year at Georgetown, but she’s a freshman for indoor track because she didn’t compete indoors last year.

I put together an all-time Georgetown indoor 5,000 list, which really shows just how incredible this program has been over the years.

Aldridge is less than one second per lap from the top-10 on an incredible prestigious list. How many other New Jersey women are on the list? Josette Norris of Tenafly is No. 2, Christi Constantin of Kittatinny Regional is No. 3 and Katie McCafferty of Oak Knoll Academy in Summit and Cathy Feeney of Wayne Valley are on there as well!

15:53.64 … Kate Landau, 1997
16:02.10 … Josette Norris, 2019
16:04.55 … Christi Constantin, 1993
16:04.71 … Samantha Nadel, 2015
16:04.84 … Paige Hofstad, 2018
16:05.98 … Melissa Grelli, 2008
16:10.96 … Emily Jones, 2011
16:14.13 … Marni Kruppa, 2001
16:20.79 … Mary German, 1991
16:21.16 … Audrey Belf, 2016
16:22.70 … Caryn Landau, 1994
16:24.25 … Haley Pierce, 2015
16:24.88 … Nicole Lee, 2004
16:25.29 … Elizabeth Brenden, 1988
16:27.81 … Regina Gonzales, 1997
16:28.93 … Natasha LeBeaud, 2006
16:31.76 … Lisa Ogrodnick, 2008
16:32.83 … Kristen Gordon, 1999
16:34.40 … Rochelle Sceats, 2010
16:35.35 … Sarah Cotton, 2016
16:36.52 … Autumn Eastman, 2016
16:37.81 … Sarah Scholl, 2002
16:37.81 … Joanna Stevens, 2014
16:38.32 … Madeline Perez, 2018
16:39.92 … Joline Staheli, 1996
16:40.63 … Katie McCafferty, 2009
16:41.37 … Emily Enstice, 2001
16:41.76 … Janelle Thomas, 1996
16:43.26 … Alyssa Aldridge, 2020
16:43.38 … Fran Lord, 1995
16:44.08 … Amanda Pope, 2002
16:44.0h … Catherine Feeney, 1991

Vineland graduate Najeaya Singleton records shot put PR and #10 mark in St. John’s history at Big East Championships!!!

Najeaya Singleton, a St. John’s sophomore from Vineland, threw a personal-best 46-8 3/4 Monday to place fourth in the shot put at the Big East Conference Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Singleton had just set her PR of 46-2 3/4 in late January at the Metropolitan Championships at Ocean Breeze. Before that she had a PR of 43-11 3/4 from a meet in mid-January at Ocean Breeze.

As a freshman at St. John’s, Singleton threw 42-0 3/4 indoors and 42-0 outdoors. So she’s now added more than 4 1/2 feet to her collegiate PR since December.

School officials haven’t bothered to update the all-time performance list on the school’s web site since 2017, but updating from results on TFRRS.org from the last few years, it looks like she’s now No. 10 in school history indoors.

Singleton threw 46-2 3/4 indoors at Vineland and was a state indoor Group 4 champ. She threw 44-9 3/4 outdoors. She was also a Meet of Champions discus runner-up in the spring of 2018 and had a PR of 143-2.

Haddonfield’s Zachariah Murray shatters Marquette school record in 400 meters at Big East Championships!!!!!

15831762158505124Marquette freshman Zachariah Murray, a 2019 Haddonfield graduate, demolished his 400 PR Monday afternoon and placed fourth in the 400 at the Big East Conference Championships.

Murray ran 47.98 – his first time under 48 seconds indoors or outdoors – and placed second in the second of two races in the two-section final. He was the No. 2 freshman in the race, behind only Villanova’s Anthony Brodie.

He broke the school record of 48.24 set two weeks ago by Julian Wright at the Grand Valley State Big Meet Invite in Allendale, Mich. Before that the school record was 48.30 by Kyle Winter in a meet in South Bend, Ind., in 2012.

Murray’s time is fastest by any Marquette quarter-miler indoors or outdoors in 19 years and third-fastest in the program’s history behind John Rydeski, who ran 47.13 in a meet at East Landsing, Mich., in 1981, and a 47.57 by Marek Krawczyk in a meet at Madison, Wisconsin., in 2001.

Murray’s previous PR was a 48.41 at that same meet at Grand Valley State on Feb. 14. He ran 48.64 in Sunday’s trials.

At Haddonfield, Murray won the outdoor state Group 2 title last spring at 48.45 and PR’d at 48.11 with a third place in the Meet of Champions. His indoor PR was 49.24 from the Emerging Elite race at Nationals last March at the Armory, where he placed fourth.

For an incredible story about Murray and what he overcame to get where he is now, check out this story from last winter in the Courier-Post by Josh Friedman:

https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/sports/high-school/track/2019/02/14/haddonfield-high-track-zachariah-murray-non-hodgkins-lymphoma/2861213002/