World record holder Bill “Peanut” Gaines wasn’t the only superstar runner at Clearview in the mid-1960s.

Clearview had a distance runner named Dan Morgan, who in 1966 set the South Jersey mile record of 4:23.3.

Some 54 years later, that mark is still No. 54 on the all-time South Jersey list, as you can see below.

Morgan’s 4:23.3 stood as the South Jersey record until Larry Rush of Overbrook ran 4:22.3 at the 1969 Meet of Champions in Jersey City.

Here’s what I haven’t been able to figure out: Where exactly did Morgan run 4:23.3?

My best guess is Easterns, which in 1966 was held at the 168th Street Armory for the first time. Marty Liquori won the race that year in 4:18.7. And we know Clearview was at Easterns that February because Gaines won the 60-yard dash in 6.4.

But results beyond the winners apparently don’t exist anywhere and although I found some stories about the meet in a couple New York papers they didn’t run full results.

So that’s our mystery for today. When exactly did Dan Morgan run 4:23.3?

Here’s the evolution of the S.J. indoor mile record, using the standard converions:

4:23.3 … Dan Morgan [Clearview], 1966
4:22.3 … Larry Rush [Overbrook], 1969
4:16.0 … Greg Stremmel [Gateway], 1974
4:14.1 … Marty Ludwikowski [Cherry Hill West], 1975
4:13.68 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:11.03 … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:09.96 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean city], 2011

One thing to keep in mind with the all-time South Jersey indoor 1,600 top-50 is that meets have been alternating between the 1,600 and mile for 40 years. Unlike events like the 440 and 880 that were retired as soon as the metric distances came into use in 1980, it’s not always easy to tell what race was run. So some of these converted mile times may have been 1,600s, and some of these 1,600s could be miles.

I thought about listing converting all the 1,600s to miles, since the mile distance has so much meaning. But converting up – converting a shorter distance to a longer distance – raises all kinds of convoluted statistical issues. You’re crediting runners for a distance they didn’t even run. So I converted all the miels down to 1,600s.

If you see an error, let me know in the comment section and I’ll research it and fix it. Thanks!

All-time South Jersey Indoor Boys 1,600-Meter Top 50

4:09.96y … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2011
4:11.03y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:11.89y … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.93y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2016
4:13.68y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:13.87y … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
4:14.1y … Marty Ludwikowski [C.H. West], 1975
4:15.2y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
4:15.52 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
4:16.0y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway], 1974
4:16.02 … Erik Johnson [Ocean City], 2012
4:16.3y … Rich Caton [Woodbury], 1979
4:16.61y … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2004
4:16.71y … Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
4:16.85 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2011
4:16.9y … Bob Marino [Williamstown], 1974
4:17.1y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
4:17.33y … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2004
4:17.51y … Connor Melko [Bishop Eustace], 2019
4:17.67 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2018
4:17.67y … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], 2020
4:18.21y … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:18.22 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
4:18.48 … Justin Kelly [Cherokee], 2018
4:18.50 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:18.53y … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2001
4:18.4y … Al Harden [Millville], 1979
4:18.4h … Mike Myers [Eastern], 2001
4:18.70y … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019
4:18.80y … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
4:18.83 … Tyler Jackson [Cherokee], 2020
4:19.03 … Noah Culbreath [Kingsway, 2014
4:19.40 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:19.7y … Chris Hageman [Paul VI], 1985
4:19.96 … Robert Rawls [Triton], 2011
4:19.97 … Steve Burkholder [Cherokee], 2010
4:20.08y … Jim Wyner [Mainland Reg.], 2004
4:20.37 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
4:20.43 … Owen Ritti [Ocean City], 2020
4:20.46 … Dale Johnson [West Deptford], 2014
4:20.51 … Ryan Birchmeier [Ocean City], 2008
4:20.54y … Brian Tetreault [Cinnaminson], 2007
4:20.55 … Nick Pschunder [Eastern], 2016
4:20.58 … John Richardson [Ocean City], 2002
4:20.65 … Colin Baker [Haddonfield], 2009
4:20.78 … Matt Nussbaum [Haddonfield], 2011
4:20.8y … Larry Rush [Overbrook], 1969
4:21.00 … Colin Kane [Delsea], 2019
4:21.09 … Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2014
4:21.1h … Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], 1988
4:21.54 … Mark Miller [Shawnee], 2017
4:21.70 … Isaiah Curbelo [Rancocas Valley], 2016
4:21.75y … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
4:21.80y … Yarayah Hawkins [Highland], 2019
4:21.91 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2020
4:21.8y … Don Morgan [Clearview], 1966
4:22.0y … Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
4:22.11 … Pat Stevenson [Bishop Eustace], 2001
4:22.11 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], 2019
4:22.17 … Brady Deckert [Delsea], 2011
4:22.19y … Rob Novak [Bordentown], 2005
4:22.24 … Kevin Lauer [Lenape], 2018
4:22.33y … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], 2009
4:22.53 … Skip Stiles [Haddonfield], 2002
4:22.62 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2014
4:22.79 … Steve Maine [Highland], 2014

For 22 years, Williamstown’s Tony Uzdavines held the South Jersey 800 mark, and today – 44 years after he ran 1:56.0 for 880 yards as a junior at the 1976 Meet of Champions – he’s still got an all-time South Jersey top-20 mark!

Uzdavines’s 1:56.0 converts to 1:55.3 for 800 meters. Put him on the banked Armory speedway instead of the slow, flat Jersey City Armory floor, and that 1:55.3 would look more like a 1:53.3.

Uzdavines actually broke the S.J. indoor record twice in 1976, his junior year, and tied it once in the winter of 1976.

First, he ran 1:58.3 at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association meet at Widener’s Schwartz Center in Chester, Pa. (doubling back after a 52.5 quarter), which tied the S.J. record that was set in 1953 by Merrill Pratt of Palmyra at the Spiked Shoe Meet in Philadelphia and matched in 1969 by Wayne Jenkins of Deptford at the Meet of Champions at the Jersey City Armory in 1969 (after writing this I researched the Spiked Shoe Meet and learned it was actually held during the indoor season but outdoors at Franklin Field, so Jenkins really held the S.J. 880 record outright!).

At the state Group 2 meet, Uzdavines took sole possession of the S.J. record, winning the state title by 12 meters in 1:58.0 over Gary D’Alzonzo of West Orange, who was second in 2:00.2.

Then he demolished his own record with his 1:56.0 for the full 880 at the Meet of Champions. Uzdavines came back and won the M-of-C 880 the next year as well, this time in 1:56.6.

That stood as the South Jersey record all the way until 1998, when Joe Lewis of Pleasantville ran 1:55.16, and it stood as the Gloucester County mark for 35 years – when Steve Butenewicz of Delsea ran 1:55.00 in 2011. Willingboro’s Marvin Lewis lowered the S.J. mark to 1:54.80 in 2001, Alan Laws took it down to 1:53.51 in 2007 and then it stayed there until the 2013 heroics of the Clark twins and Kingsway’s Derrell Manhertz.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey boys indoor 800 top-50! Please send corrections and additions to me in the comment’s section!

All-Time South Jersey boys indoor 800 top-50

1:51.52 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.72 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.80 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2013
1:52.46 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
1:53.51 … Alan Laws [Pleasantville], 2007
1:53.68 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2013
1:54.53 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
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
1:55.19 … Jayden Greene [Washington Twp.], 2020
1:55.42 … Kevin Cianfarino [West Deptford], 2014
1:55.3h … Tony Uzdavines [Williamstown], 1976
1:55.77 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2004
1:55.84 … Matt Poskus [Cinnaminson], 2007
1:55.93 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2017
1:56.02 … Dave Sitzer [Cherokee], 1999
1:56.07 … Stephen Marrone [Washington Twp.], 2010
1:56.13 … Joe Lewis [Pleasantville], 1998
1:56.2h … Roger Lawyer [Willingboro], 1988
1:56.37 … Ian Waterhouse [Rancocas Valley], 2004
1:56.43 … Holland Sherrer [Cumberland Reg.], 2011
1:56.43 … Eric Barnes [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
1:56.46 … Jalen Jones [Burlington Twp.], 2017
1:56.49 … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2016
1:56.50 … Brian Laskowski [Bishop Eustace], 2008
1:56.52 … Rob Novak [Bordentown], 2005
1:56.4h … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2005
1:56.60 … Andrew Rivielo [Eastern], 2003
1:56.69 … Sean Watson [Willingboro], 1995
1:56.71 … Wayne Riley [Willingboro], 1997
1:56.73 … Dan Galeano [Absegami], 2010
1:56.75 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2020
1:56.77 … Larry Ramirez [Pleasantville], 2010
1:56.93 … Mark Weems [Washington Twp.], 1999
1:57.18 … Alan Laws Jr. [Pleasantville], 2007
1:57.34 … Ford Palmer [Absegami], 2008
1:57.41 … Ahmad Rutherford [Willingboro], 2003
1:57.50 … Yarayah Hawkins [Highland], 2019
1:57.51 … Ross Stoudt [Cherokee], 2012
1:57.59 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2011
1:57.60 … Tom Long [Cinnaminson], 2016
1:57.63 … Alex Best [Pleasantville], 2007
1:57.64 … Michael Twist [Eastern], 2013
1:57.66 … Aidin Hendriks [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
1:57.81 … Drew Viscidy [Cherokee], 2012
1:57.82 … Tyler Somers [Cherokee], 2011
1:57.90 … Noah Culbreath [Kingsway], 2014

You won’t see Gene Pratt’s name on this list, but the Palmyra star held the South Jersey indoor 400-meter dash record – actually, the 440-yard dash record – for nearly two decades.

Pratt ran 50.4 in 1958 to set a South Jersey mark that lasted until Bill Galbraith ran 50.3 to place second to Neptune’s Mike Peniston at the 1976 Meet of Champions.

Pratt, part of the legendary Palmyra Pratt family, ran his 50.4 at Madison Square Garden according to a list of South Jersey indoor records that appeared in the Courier-Post on Feb. 6, 1970.

That mark was matched by Jerry Clark of Deptford, when he won the 1967 state Group 3 race at the Jersey City Armory.

Here’s the mystery: When did Gene Pratt run 50.4? Millrose never had a 440 – they always ran 300, 600, 1,000, etc. back then. What other meet could he have run at the Garden? There’s no mention of it in the Inquirer or Courier-Post throughout 1958.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that my earliest New Jersey Track Annuals, from the late 1960s, don’t list Pratt’s 50.4.

In any case, Willingboro’s Jeff Bradford was first in South Jerey under 50 seconds with his 49.5 at the 1983 state Group 4 meet at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym, and Olympic gold medalist Lamont Smith was first under 49 seconds with his 48.68 at the 1991 Meet of Champions, also at Jadwin.

47.90 … Brandon Outlaw [Moorestown], 2018
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
48.74 … John Morris [Camden], 2001
48.75 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017
48.79 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
48.7h … Curt Mcintyre [Bridgeton], 1992
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
49.13 … 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
49.24 … Zachariah Murray [Haddonfield], 2019
49.26 … Tim Carey [Washington Twp,], 2010
49.2h … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
49.2h … Maurice Young [Camden], 2002
49.45 … Devon Patton [Willingboro], 1990
49.53 … Carl Smith [Camden], 2005
49.58 … Barry Bethea [Eastern], 2010
49.62 … Alex Dessoye [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
49.63 … Daniel Fenton [Millville], 2019
49.5h … Jeff Bradford [Willingboro], 1983
49.5h … Brian Bennett [Edgewood], 1985
49.65 … Marquan Jones [Pennsauken], 2016
49.65 … Aaron Younger [Delsea], 2007
49.66 … Matt Kordos [Buena], 1999
49.67 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
49.67 … Ahmad Brown [Holy Spirit], 2020
49.70 … Isaiah Whaley [Atlantic City], 2019
49.72 … Norman Morris [Penns Grove], 2015
49.72 … Francis Terry [Sterling], 2016
49.76 … Nick Brown [Bridgeton], 1999
49.81 … Sherman Goree [Camden], 2007
49.85 … Sean Mayers [Cherokee], 2002
49.86 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2017
49.86 … Akmed Muhummed [Oakcrest], 2012
49.88 … Darius Holmes [Willingboro], 2012
49.89 … Tarence Walker [Pleasantville], 2017
49.98 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
49.98 … Steve Greer [Eastern], 2008
50.03 … Mike Patterson [Pleasantville], 1997
50.03 … Marvin Lewis [Willingboro], 2001

Darrell Bush ran one indoor 200 in his entire high school track career. And he set a South Jersey record that still stands.

Bush won the 200 at Easterns in 2012 in 21.53, breaking the South Jersey record of 21.62 set 10 years earlier on the same track by Washington Township’s Todd Dutch when he won Easterns.

Bush and Dutch still rank No. 7 and No. 9 in meet history at Easterns. Dutch took the S.J. record in 2002 from Olympic gold medalist Lamont Smith, who ran 21.85 in the trials at indoor nationals at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse in 1991. Smith went on to place third in the final in 22.04.

Bush’s time is No. 6 in state history and Dutch is No. 8.

Bush technically ran two indoor 200’s in high school. He ran 21.81 in the trials at Easterns before his 21.53 in the final.

He went on to enjoy a stellar career at LSU, where he ran 21.01 and 45.49 and was on the 4-by-400 team that won the NCAA Division 1 title in Albuquerque in 2014 in 3:04.10.

What is it about Woodbury, a town of 9,852 with a small Group 1 high school? It produced Olympic steeplechaser Browning Ross, Olympic hurdler Jack Pierce and NCAA relay champ Darrell Bush!

21.53 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2012
21.62 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2002
21.82 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
21.7h … A.J. Burton [West Deptford], 2006
21.85 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
21.86 … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], 2007
21.89 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
21.91 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
21.96 … Mike Bolling [Willingboro], 2001
22.00 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017

21.9h … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2002
21.9h … Carl Smith [Camden], 2005
22.04 … A.J. Dawson [Holy Spirit], 2013
22.06 … Albert Newark [Camden], 1996
22.12 … Philip Reid [Rancocas Valley], 2006
22.13 … Tyriq Bundy [Deptford], 2019
22.0h … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
22.21 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2017
22.1h … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2003
22.34 … Louis Smith [Burlington Twp.], 1998

22.2h … Mohammad Kanu [Lenape], 2000
22.37 … Joel Bartow [Lenape], 2014
22.38 … Ray Wilson [Pleasantville], 2007
22.38 … Will Rapp [Cherokee], 2009
22.40 … Curtis McIntire [Bridgeton], 1992
22.40 … Royce Reed [Bridgeton], 1994
22.3h … Sean Mayers [Cherokee], 2002
22.47 … Elias Rivera [Millville], 2020
22.52 … Marquan Jones [Pennsauken], 2016
22.52 … Khion Smith [Deptford], 2019

22.4h … Chad Smith [Willingboro], 2004
22.55 … Devin Anderson [Mainland Reg.], 2019
22.56 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
22.56 … Brandon Boggs [Rancocas Valley], 2017
22.59 … Daequan Kim [Bordentown], 2009
22.60 … Kevin Merrigan [Cherokee], 2008
22.60 … Michael Drake [Cherry Hill East], 2007
22.5h … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000
22.64 … Brandon Outlaw [Mooretown], 2017
22.65 … Dennis Davis [Edgewood], 1999

22.68 … Josh Raines [Rancocas Valley], 2006
22.68 … Sherman Goree [Camden], 2007
22.69 … Lamar Goffney [Woodrow Wilson], 2008
22.70 … Jeremiah Atoki [Vineland], 2015
22.71 … Antwone Swaby [Atlantic City], 2020
22.73 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
22.5h … Tyree Jackson [Camden], 1999
22.6h … Dwayne Lewis [Camden], 2004
22.6h … Marcus Turner [Eastern], 2005
22.6h … Chris Steliga [Cherokee], 2007

22.75 … Jimmy Vargo [Delsea], 2019

Let’s all wish one of the greatest families in New Jersey track history the best of luck in their new home in Texas!

Raffael Craig, the 2019 New Jersey girls track Coach of the Year at Millville High, has accepted a coaching position at Texas Tech University in Lubbock as he begins a college coaching career.

Craig was the 1999 scholastic indoor pentathlon national champion for Millville and Big East pentathlon champ for U. Conn.

The family is moving early next month from Millville to Lubbock, and Craig’s two high school-age daughters – Bryana and Autumn – will attend Coronado High School in Lubbock. Bryana will be a junior this fall and Autumn a sophomore.

Bryana in 2019 won the national scholastic outdoor heptathlon title and broke the national freshman record twice, including a score of 5,094 points when she placed 4th in the U.S. Under-20 Championships as a 15-year-old one year ago this week in Florida. That score is No. 44 in U.S. high school history with two years to improve on it.

She lost her sophomore outdoor season but did win the high jump at the Meet of Champions this past winter and placed in three other events.

Even with just one full season of high school track, Craig is already an all-time South Jersey great. She has PRs of 5-8 in the high jump, 18-5 1/4 in the long jump, 14.49 in the 100-meter high hurdles, 1:03.36 in the intermediates, 56.30 in the 400 and 2:21.32 in the 800.

Autumn Craig’s freshman year was off to a promising start before it was cut short by injury. She cleared 5-0 1/2 in the high jump, which made her the No. 3 freshman high jumper in the state and No. 1 in South Jersey.

Under Raffael Craig, Millville won the South Jersey Group 4 title last spring by one point over Rancocas Valley and then shared the state Group 4 title with R.V. when both teams finished with 54 points.

The Craigs may be living the area, but the family has made a huge impact on South Jerey track, and they’ll never be forgotten. And we’ll make sure to pass along Bryana and Autumn’s successes as they embark on a new chapter in their life!

Who holds the South Jersey record for the 55-meter dash?

It’s a great question with no easy answer.

In 1967, Clearview junior Bill “Peanut” Gaines tied the world record of 5.9 for 60 yards, which is the exact same distance as 55 meters. It’s actually 54.864 meters — about five inches shy of 55 meters — but for statistical purposes they’re the same distance. All track historians list marks for 60 yards alongside those for 55 meters.

Peanut’s mark was hand-timed, which isn’t surprising, considering fully automatic timing hadn’t been invented yet.

Generally, hand-timed marks are converted for list purposes by adding 0.14 seconds for races where the starting line and finish line are the same and by 0.24 for races where the start and finish are different, such as a 55.

So Peanut’s 5.9 would convert to a 6.14.

Gaines’ mark was achieved at an AAU meet, which is probably why Ed Grant’s New Jersey Track and Field Annual never listed it as a record, although it did list it separately. But Gaines was racing in the meet to get the best competition, which shouldn’t be a reason to reject a record. He was one of the top sprinters in the world. He wasn’t going to find competition in regular high school meets. And the indoor season back then was very short, so Peanut didn’t have a lot of options. He did compete for Clearview that winter and the meet was in-season. There is absolutely no reason not to consider it for record purposes.

Damiere Byrd, a former Timber Creek sprinter and current New England Patriots wide receiver, is generally acknowledged as the South Jersey record holder and co-state record holder in the 55.

Byrd ran a FAT 6.26 en route to a 6.74 in the 60-meter dash at the 2011 New Balance Nationals at the Armory. Mario Heslop of Franklin Township matched the state record with a 6.26 in the trials at New Balance Nationals at the Armory in March 2018.

Before Byrd, Camden sophomore Jamar Ervin held the South Jerey record and a share of the state record with a 6.30 at the Archbishop Malloy Stanner Games at the Armory on Jan. 14, 2001. That broke the accepted South Jersey record of 6.31, set in 1984 by Olympic gold medalist Dennis Mitchell of Edgewood at 1983 Easterns at Jadwin Gym in Princeton, and tied the accepted state record set in 1995 by the late Joe Dawkins of Hackensack at 1995 Nationals at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, en route to 3rd-place in the 60-meter dash in 6.78.

So who’s the South Jersey record holder? Gaines or Byrd?

It’s both.

It’s the only fair way.

Today starts the all-time indoor South Jersey top-50 lists!

All-Time S.J. Indoor 55-Meter Dash Top-50

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
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.45 … Paul Wheeler [Kennedy], 1983
6.45 … Miekel House [Rancocas Valley], 2020
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 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019
6.47 … Ahmad Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
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 … Malachi Melton [Cedar Creek], 2019
6.50 … Darian English [Woodrow Wilson], 1993
6.50 … Jamaal Harris [Palmyra], 2002
6.50 … Zachary Clarke [Camden], 2008
6.50 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2007
6.50 … Rasheed Grandy [Absegami], 2010
6.50 … Bobby DeMarco [Holy Spirit], 2008
6.51 … Mikhail Micheaux [Eastern], 2013
6.52 … Dennis Davis [Edgewood], 1999
6.52 … Jamar Byrd [Vineland], 2005
6.52 … Sean McPherson [Delsea], 2010
6.52 … Davon Tucker [Sterling], 2015
6.52 … Shai Mumford [West Deptford], 2014
6.52 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2014
6.52 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
6.53 … Justin Frazier [Pennsauken], 2009
6.53 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2012
6.53 … Aidan Burns [Clearview], 2018
6.53 … Cameron Dobbins [Williamstown], 2015

All-Time Hand-Time List
5.9 … Bill “Peanut” Gaines [Clearview], 1967
6.1 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
6.2 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
6.2 … Paul Wheeler [Kennedy], 1983
6.2 … Kenny Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
6.3 … George Hartsfield [Glassboro], 1965
6.3 … Manny Small [Williamstown], 1975
6.3 … Charles Johnson [Buena], 1975
6.3 … Luis Moore [Overbrook], 1976
6.3 … Mike Parker [Salem], 1981
6.3 … Anthony Jones [Edgewood], 1983
6.3 … George McKey [Willingboro], 1982
6.3 … Darien English [Woodrow Wilson], 1990

60-Meter Dash
6.70 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2011
6.83 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.87 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.93 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
7.01 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 1999
7.02 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
7.03 … Gary Gordon [Willingboro], 1995
7.03 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 1996
7.04 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2018
7.06 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
7.06 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
7.08 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013

Before we move onto the all-time South Jersey indoor top-50 lists tomorrow morning, let’s recap all the outdoor lists!

Here, compiled for the first time ever, are all-time South Jersey top-50 lists for all 24 major events contested in New Jersey outdoor track.

Once track and field returns, we will update these lists in real time so athletes, coaches, historians and journalists will have a handy resource to compare performances and see how modern marks compare to those from South Jersey’s rich track history.

It’s been difficult for all of us – athletes, coaches and fans – to endure the first spring of our lifetimes without track and field. Hopefully, these lists can provide a small diversion until cross country and track resume.

As always, please forward all corrections and additions to me in the comment section!

GIRLS OUTDOOR TOP-50 LISTS

100-Meter Run
200-Meter Run
400-Meter Run
800-Meter Run
1,600-Meter Run
3,200-Meter Run
100-Meter Hurdles
400-Meter Hurdles
High Jump
Long Jump
Triple Jump
Pole Vault
Discus
Shot Put
Old Javelin
New Javelin
400-Meter Relay
800-Meter Relay
1,600-Meter Relay
3,200-Meter Relay
6,400-Meter Relay
Super Sprint Medley
Sprint Medley
Distance Medley

BOYS OUTDOOR TOP-50 LISTS

100-meter dash
200-meter dash
400-meter dash
800-meter run
1,600-meter run
3,200-meter run
110-meter hurdles
400-meter hurdles
Long jump
Triple jump 
Pole vault
High jump
Shot put 
Discus 
Old javelin
New javelin
400-meter relay
800-meter relay 
1,600-meter relay
3,200-meter relay
Super sprint medley
Sprint medley
Distance medley
6,400-meter relay
Shuttle hurdles

When the Edgewood girls ran 59.00 in the shuttle hurdles 21 years ago, they didn’t just set the South Jersey record. And they didn’t just set the state record.

No, Yvette Murry, Kierra Clemons, Pam Richardson and Dennean Davis also set the national record.

Edgewood and Pennsauken went 1-2 in the shuttles at the 1999 East Coast Relays at Morristown High School, becoming the first schools in South Jersey history – and the only ones until last spring – to break 60 seconds.

Edgewood broke the South Jersey record of 1:01.94 that it set a year earlier at the 1998 East Coast Relays (with Lanae Thomas, Christina Matthews, Ohlaysha Gonzalez and Davis) and broke the state (and meet) record of 1:00.22 set by Notre Dame at the 1997 East Coast Relays on the same track. Edgewood broke the national record of 59.2 set in 1997 by William Penn of Philadelphia.

Pennsauken, with the team of Alethia Jenkins, Thananya Wooden, Sheena Ohlig and Sophie Solomon, placed second in 59.52, which was No. 2 in state history and also top-10 in U.S. history at the time.

And a shoutout to the 1994 Moorestown team, which ran 1:02.0 at the Long Branch Relays. The only results from the 1994 Long Branch Relays I found are in the Asbury Park Press, but they didn’t list any names from the winning teams. We know Shatich Rivers and Shavonna Ross were two of the legs. Who else ran that day 26 years ago for the Quakers?

That’s the only mark in the top 50 that pre-dates 1999, and it’s still No. 14 in South Jersey history. And as of the end of the 1994 season, it was the only South Jersey mark in the all-time New Jersey top-40.

And finally a tip of the hat to Eastern’s team from last spring, which ran 59.52 at the Don Danser Relays at Lenape, No. 2 in South Jersey history and fastest in 20 years, with the team of Jailya Ash, Jewel Ash, Abigail Brocco and Analiese Bulgin.

(One mystery is where William Penn ran its 59.2 in 1997. The 1998 U.S. Track Annual says it was April 22 in Philadelphia – that’s the week before Penn. A search of the Inquirer’s database turns up nothing.)

All-Time S.J. Girls Outdoor Shuttle Hurdles Top-50

59.00 … Edgewood, 1999
59.52 … Eastern, 2019
59.85 … Pennsauken, 1999
1:00.14 … Buena, 2012
1:00.18 … Winslow Twp., 2014
1:00.46 … Winslow Twp., 2013
1:01.17 … Woodrow Wilson, 2002
1:01.38 … Winslow Twp., 2017
1:01.58 … Millville, 2019
1:01.68 … Winslow Twp., 2002
1:01.6h … Woodrow Wilson, 2005
1:01.82 … Winslow Twp., 2012
1:01.94 … Edgewood, 1998
1:02.0h … Moorestown, 1994
1:02.1h … Willingboro, 1997
1:02.16 … Wilson, 2003
1:02.17 … Winslow Twp., 2015
1:02.51 … Mainland Regional, 2018
1:02.53 … Lenape, 2008
1:02.59 … Paul VI, 2018
1:02.68 … Mainland Reg., 2018
1:02.83 … Buena Reg., 2013
1:02.86 … Edgewood, 2001
1:03.23 … Willingboro, 2019
1:03.49 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
1:03.53 … Winslow Twp., 2019
1:03.62 … Absegami, 2017
1:03.70 … Lenape, 2008
1:03.73 … Highland, 1998
1:03.73 … Absegami, 2016
1:03.79 … Camden, 2015
1:03.7h … Pennsauken, 2000
1:04.07 … Lenape, 2007
1:01.4h … Woodrow Wilson, 2004
1:04.22 … Edgewood, 1997
1:04.24 … Burlington Twp., 2007
1:04.24 … Winslow Twp., 2008
1:04.26 … Woodrow Wilson, 2001
1:04.30 … Millville, 2012
1:04.51 … Lenape, 2015
1:04.68 … West Deptford, 2016
1:04.85 … Winslow Twp., 2010
1:04.98 … Winslow Twp., 2009
1:05.0h … Bridgeton, 2004
1:05.24 … Millville, 2008
1:05.26 … Willingboro, 1997
1:05.2h … Buena, 2004
1:05.37 … Williamstown, 2012
1:05.3h … Ocean City, 1998
1:05.3h … Willingboro, 2002
1:05.49 … Pleasantville, 1998
1:05.49 … Camden, 2016

The 2020 National Scholastic Championships are off.

After initially exploring a move from Greensboro, N.C. – the meet’s home since 2006 – to Sioux Falls, S.D., meet officials on Monday decided to cancel the event entirely as COVID-19 cases in South Dakota increased.

Meet officials had promised to announce a decision on the meet’s fate by Monday but it never happened. However, the news was reported Monday evening by Newsday running reporter Jordan Lauterbach.

https://twitter.com/jlauterbach1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1272689983623704577&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fny.milesplit.com%2Farticles%2F281833%2Fnsaf-pulls-plan-for-late-july-national-meet-in-south-dakota

As of Tuesday morning, five hours after Lauterbach’s tweet, the NSAF still showed the meet on as scheduled, running from July 30 through Aug. 2.

Nationals have been held at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro on the campus of North Carolina A&T& University since moving across North Carolina from Raleigh after the 2005 meet.

But North Carolina AT&T’s campus is closed through at least the end of August, so the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation, which operates the meet, announced last month that if the meet were held it would move to the 10,000-seat Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, which obviously would have eliminated – or severely curtailed – New Jersey participation.

The NSAF does not currently have a sponsor for outdoor nationals. The meet in the past has been sponsored by Nike, Foot Locker, American Airlines, adidas and until recently New Balance. 

New Balance withdrew its sponsorship earlier this spring and announced that it would hold a national high school championship meet of its own starting in 2021.

The Haddonfield girls have held the South Jersey four-mile relay record for 20 years now, and nobody has gotten close.

Haddonfield’s Mary Mulholland, Erin O’Donnell, Holly Cosnett and Erin Donohue teamed up to run 20:48.7 in 2000, breaking the South Jerey record of 21:50.9 set in 1995 by Bishop Eustace – by more than a minute!

Haddonfield didn’t break the record at East Coast Relays or Nationals. They actually did it at the Ike Willie Open at Rowan University in Glassboro, and they led two other teams under 21:45. Cherokee ran 21:24.1 [with Lauren Jones, Erin Chiarulli, Melissa Razo and Michelle Bilicki] and Wilson ran 21:43.9 for second and third, and those marks to this day are No. 3 and No. 8 in South Jersey history.

Eustace’s previous South Jersey record was actually set the first weekend of the 1995 season, with Adrianne del Sol, Roxanne Hughes, Kathleen Linck and Ann Clock
at the Camden-Gloucester County Relays on April 8, 1995, at Farnham Park in Camden and winning by more than three minutes!

It’s a tough event to run fast because it’s hard to find good competition, good conditions and four people who run well on the same day.

But this year’s Haddonfield girls team sure seemed like it had a very good chance to break the record after Allison Colflesh [5:03.82], Sarah Naticchia [5:04.24], Payton Weiner [5:06.12] and Lindsay Colflesh [5:19.64 full mile in January but 2:15.31 in March] totaled sub-20:34 indoors.

Their PR’s – 5:03.82 for Allison Colflesh, 4:55.90 for Naticchia, 5:03.53 for Weiner and 5:17.79 (converted from full mile) for Linday Colflesh – add up to 20:12.27, which would be No. 2 in state history (behind Roxbury’s 19:50.87 in 2006). And based on that 2:15.31 and a very early 5:17, you know Lindsay Colflesh would have been right there with the other girls in a big late-season mile.

But all four girls are back next year and hopefully will get a shot at that mark. For now, here’s the all-time list!

All-Time S.J. Girls 6,400-Meter Relay Top 50

20:48.7h … Haddonfield, 2000
21:07.81y … Shawnee, 2014
21:24.1h … Cherokee, 2000
21:24.30y … Bishop Eustace, 2010
21:32.24 … Woodrow Wilson, 2001
21:35.0h … Lenape, 2012
21:36.25 … Haddonfield, 2007
21:43.9h … Woodrow Wilson, 2000
21:44.25 … Kingsway, 2019
21:44.7h … Cherry Hill East, 2006

21:45.26y … Bishop Eustace, 2019
21:45.63 … Lenape, 2010
21:46.23 … Haddonfield, 2019
21:48.31 … Cherokee, 2004
21:50.31 … Bishop Eustace, 2009
21:50.40y … Lenape, 2006
21:50.9h … Bishop Eustace, 1995
21:51.47 … Washington Twp., 2009
21:52.05 … Washington Twp., 2012
21:52.70 … Shawnee, 2002

21:55.72 … Kingsway, 2017
21:57.91 … Shawnee, 1998
22:02.42 … Washington Twp., 2011
22:02.95 … Moorestown, 2002
22:03.9h … Haddonfield, 2008
22:05.0h … Moorestown, 2000
22:05.2y … Paul VI, 1983
22:06.67 … Ocean City, 2004
22:07.68 … Clearview, 2002
22:07.9y … Paul VI, 1992

22:09.12 … Cherokee, 2007
22:09.87y … Highland, 2003
22:10.47y … Ocean City, 2003
22:13.2h … Haddonfield, 2006
22:14.83 … Moorestown, 2001
22:16.58 … Lenape, 2014
22:18.74 … Lenape, 2011
22:19.20 … Seneca, 2017
22:22.0h … Shawnee, 2001
22:25.3h … Shawnee, 1994

22:25.79 … Rancocas Valley, 2011
22:28.86 … Haddonfield, 2017
22:29.11 … Lenape, 2008
22:30.43 … Clearview, 2017
22:30.5h … Bishop Eustace, 1996
22:32.5h … Eastern, 2008
22:33.3h … Washington Twp., 2006
22:37.34 … West Deptford, 2008
22:38.49 … Triton, 2010
22:40.3h … Moorestown, 2005

22:40.44 … Kingsway, 2014