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
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 
As always keep up the good work. Is there a chance you will list the top 300 meter times?
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Hey Ruck — I’m going to try and make a list of the top 300, 600, 1,000 and 1,500 times. Won’t be able to do top 50 on those events but will try to do top 20’s or at least top 10’s. Hope you’re well.
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Now that his HS INDOOR CAREER IS OFFICIALLY OVER WHEN WILL YOU FINALLY GET AROUND TO UPDATING THE RECORDS XANDER RBERTS-BOGIN OF PHS
GREYHOUNDS IS THE NEW SO.JERSEY ALL TIME INDOOR RECORD HOLDER IN THE 500M 104.02 & 60OM 120.27 THOSE ARE BOTH ALL TIME INDOOR RECORDS THAT HE WORKED VERY HARD FOR AND TIED FOR #4
IN 400M 48.5 IT’S ONLY FAIR TO THIS YOUNG
MAN THAT HIS ACCOLADES ARE RECORDED!
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Have you noticed that none of the all-time lists have been updated since 2020? Take a look at any of the lists. They run through 2020.
Stop screaming for a minute and understand that I put those lists together during the shutdown as a service to the South Jersey track and field community. I don’t have the time to update them. Maybe one day I will. There are literally hundreds of performances from 2021 through 2023 that haven’t been added and you’re the only person that’s ever gotten angry about it.
Nobody has ever kept all-time South Jersey lists before and I spent months putting those lists together researching marks from as far back as the 1940s and 1950s. It was a massive undertaking and I was happy to provide that service to South Jersey athletes, coaches, parents and track and field fans. Most people thanked me for that.
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We do appreciate what you do, we are not originally from so.jersey,so we had no idea that NOONE has been doing this, it’s a lot different than no.jersey it’s done pretty good,all I do it’s give you guy’s a heads up on the accomplishments he’s achieved because what I did notice it wasn’t changing and I had no clue why, as far as maybe you taking my typing it capital letters as screaming,well, first of all it’s easier for me to see!IF A PARENT PROUD OF THEY’RE KIDS ACCOMPLISHMENTS FACING THE ODDS HE HAS, YOU DON’T KNOW OUR STORY ALL YOU KNOW IS HE’S A ATHLETE IN pleasantville,but
He’s made so jersey history,I just thought that’s news he represents SO JERSEY PROULY!claim him Back is all I ask!
The BOGIN FAMILY!
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CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIX OR UPDATE
PLEASANTVILLE GREYHOUNDS SENIOR CAPTAIN
XANDER RBERTS-BOGIN IS THE NEW INDOOR
ALL TIME RECORD HOLDER IN SO.JERSEY WITH MARKS OF; 1.04.03 500M
1.20.27 600M AND #5 ALL TIME 400M 48.45
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CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIX OR UPDATE
PLEASANTVILLE GREYHOUNDS SENIOR CAPTAIN
XANDER RBERTS-BOGIN IS THE NEW INDOOR
ALL TIME RECORD HOLDER IN SO.JERSEY WITH MARKS OF; 1.04.03 500M
1.20.27 600M AND #5 ALL TIME 400M 48.45
He is stuff has NEVER been added fair is fair he worked extremely hard for it!
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