Egg Harbor senior Anthony Vazquez moved into the all-time No. 3 spot in the 55-meter hurdles in Atlantic County history Saturday with a 7.48 at the Bubble in Toms River.

Vazquez lowered his PR from 7.50, which he ran last month at the Bishop Loughlin Games at Ocean Breeze.

Vazquez was third in the 110-meter highs at the state Group 4 meet in 14.32 and brought na indoor PR of 7.69 into this winter.

He lowered that to 7.63 in the trials at the Loughlin Games before his 7.50 breakthrough in the final.

On Saturday, he ran 7.56 in the trials before his 7.48 in the final, where he won by nearly half a second.

The only faster times recorded by Atlantic County hurdlers are by St. Augustine’s Sincere Rhea, who ran his historic 7.10 last year in the trials at New Balance Nationals, and a 7.29 by Pleasantville’s Nate Harley back in 1996.

Vazquez’s time is No. 1 in South Jersey this year and No. 3 in the state, behind two Essex County hurdlers – Dwight Henry of Irvington (7.31) and Terrel Williams (7.34).

Vazquez also set a 55-meter dash PR of 7.70 on Saturday, which is No. 2 this winter in Atlantic County behind teammate Ahmad Brock’s 6.62 in the same race.

Antonio Tarantino is all the way back!

The Rutgers sophomore, in only his second meet in the last 10 months, beat a field of 194 sprinters Saturday in the 200-meter dash at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston in 21.16.

Tarantino, in only his second meet since last March, wasn’t far off his indoor PR of 21.05 set last March at IC4A’s on the same track.

Tarantino did not compete in the spring. He hasn’t run outside since his senior year at Paul VI, which was the spring of 2018. His outdoor 200 PR is 20.51 from the trials at New Balance, and his wind-legal PR outdoors is 21.07.

In his only previous 200 this winter he ran 21.47 at Vanderbilt earlier this month.

Tarantino ran in the first of 42 sections Saturday and edged LIU’s Kimorie Shearman, who was second in 21.24.

Tarantino’s time is No. 19 in NCAA Division 1 and No. 3 in the Big 10 Conference, behind only Samson Colebrooke of Purdue, who ran 20.88 in Nashville Saturday, and Wayne Lawrence, who ran 21.11.

At Paul VI, Tarantino was Meet of Champions winner in the 200

Freshman Ian Moore was the first collegian finisher in the 1,000 meters Saturday with a monster 2:26.29 at Boston University’s John Thomas Terrier Classic.

https://www.lancertiming.com/results/winter20/terrier/index.htm

That’s only three seconds off the school record of 2:23.15 set by legendary six-time All-America Dylan Capwell at Rutgers in 2015.

Moore, a Rancocas Valley graduate, placed fourth in Boston but was the first collegian, finishing behind Dage Minors of Bermuda (2:24.44), Luciano Fiore running unattached (2:24.64) and post-collegiate Patrick Gregory (2:26.05).

The second collegiate across the line was Vermont’s John Brenner, who ran 2:26.31 in a different section than Moore. There were more than 80 runners in the field.

Moore was seeded in the third section because of his 1,000 PR of 2:31.21 going in. He had run that last month on his home track in West Long Branch.

He won that race and bumped all but the top three in the seeded section and the second section.

Moore split 28.6 / 29.0 / 29.9 / 29.4 / 29.3. He won his section over Erik Ohrling of Western Ontario by 10 meters.

That’s 1:57.0 800 pace with an additional 200-meter lap added at the same pace.

Considering that Moore’s PRs coming into this season were 1:56.43 outdoors at the South Jersey Invitational in 2018 and 1:59.13 indoors last winter at the Armory, this is a remarkable performance.

He ran significantly faster per lap for 1,000 meters than his indoor PR for 800 meters!

Moore had a PR of 2:34.68 for the 1,000 coming into the season from a meet at Ocean Breeze a year ago this month as an R.V. senior.

So far at Monmouth, Moore has run four races at three distances and PR’d in all four – 1:22.09 for 600 meters, 2:31.21 and now 2:26.29 for 1,000 and 4:23.33 last weekend for the full mile.

Moore’s time is fastest by a South Jersey runner since Seneca graduate Alex McGrainer ran 2:25.20 at the 2017 Terrier Classic as a Rhode Island senior.

What’s the South Jersey alumni record for 1,000 meters?

Good question!

Paulsboro grad Fred Sharpe ran 2:23.64 in Boston in 2006, and Ford Palmer of Absegami ran 2:23.65 in 2012. Cinnaminson grad Brian Tetreault ran 2:23.74 in 2011 for Villanova.

Anybody know a faster time? Let’s give Ian something to shoot for!

Martin Riddell ran the fastest two-mile by a South Jersey runner this year Saturday afternoon, running 9:24.45 at the Ocean Breeze Invitational on Staten Island.

Riddell closed in 67.4 and placed third behind Matt Bogdan of Colts Neck (9:20.65) and Andrew Avila of Wilmington Charter in Delaware (9:21.30).

Bogdan and Riddell rank No. 1 and No. 2 in New Jersey so far this year.

Riddell has an indoor PR of 9:18.81 for 3,200 meters from last year’s Meet of Champions at the Bennett Center. That converts to a 9:22.05 for two miles, so Riddell on Saturday was only two seconds off his indoor PR. He’s run as fast as 9:10.75 outdoors.

St. Augustine graduate Sincere Rhea PR’d twice in the 60-meter high hurdles this weekend at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational in Lexington, Ky., placing 4th in a loaded field in the final Saturday in 7.86 after a 7.89 in the trials on Friday.

Rhea, a Penn State freshman, edged Caleb Wilt, competing unattached, by 3-1,000ths of a second for fourth place.

Rhea finished behind two seniors and a junior. Iowa’s Jaylan McConico, the defending indoor Big 10 champ, won in 7.72, with Ashland junior Trevor Bassitt second in 7.75 and then Cincinnati senior Arthur Greenlee IV in 7.80.

Rhea, national indoor champ last winter and Meet of Champions 400 winner, entered the weekend with a PR of 7.98 over the 42-inch highs.

With his 7.86, Rhea moves into the No. 2 spot among freshmen on the NCAA Division 1 performance list, behind only Clemson’s Devon Brooks (7.80).

His time is No. 3 in the Big 10 Conference behind McConico (7.66) and Iowa’s Jamal Britt (7.82), who finished behind Rhea on Saturday – 6th in 7.92.

Rutgers freshman Claudine Smith, who’s already broken the Rutgers triple jump school record, ran a PR 8.63 in the 60-meter hurdles Friday.

Smith placed third in the finals of the invitational section of the 60-meter highs at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University’s Track & Tennis Center.

Smith ran 8.77 in the trials before finishing third in the final behind Olympic hurdler (and bobsledder) Lolo Jones, who won in 8.32, and Jada Harris of the University of Massachusetts, who ran 8.38.

The 8.63 makes Smith the No. 3 performer in Rutgers history behind Shameka Marshall (8.19 at the 2005 ECAC Championships in Boston) and Debra Deutsch (8.48 at the 1980 NCAA Championships at Cobo Hall in Detroit).

Marshall, like Smith, hails from Atlantic County. She graduated from Oakcrest and was a two-time long jump All-America at Rutgers and now coaches at Temple.

Smith’s previous college PR was an 8.78 at the TCNJ Invite at the Armory earlier this month.

Her overall PR over 60 meters was 8.64 from the trials of the New Balance Indoors last March at the Armory.

Smith jumped 41-7 last weekend at the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational in Nashville to break the school triple jump record.

The previous mark was 41-5 by Bryanna Grant of Cranford at the 2017 ECAC Championships in Boston.

The 41-7 is an indoor PR. Her previous indoor triple jump PR was 40-1 1/2 as last winter as a senior at Atlantic City, when she placed 5th at the New Balance Nationals at the Armory. Her overall triple jump PR is 42-2 from this past June, when she won the Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington Regional in Mansfield Township.

Smith’s 41-7 also makes her the No. 5 freshman triple jumper in NCAA Division 1 and No. 2 jumper in the Big 10 behind Leah Moran of Indiana, who has a 43-1 1/2 to her credit.

Cinnaminson graduate Tom Long, a senior at Rider, unleashed an insane 4:05 anchor to lead Rider to second place in the DNR Friday at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University.

Long anchored Rider to a time of 9:51.98 and second behind Wagner, which ran 9:49.54 on Trausti Thorstein’s 4:03 anchor.

Kevin Heredia (3:04.2) from Clifton High, Jerome Boyer of Edison (49.4) and Mike Mazzei from Bishop Ahr (1:52.8) led off for Rider to set up Long, whose FAT time was 4:05.53.

https://www.lancertiming.com/results/winter20/terrier/200124F037.htm

The DMR team broke the school record of 9:56.63, set last year at IC4A’s on the same track with Long running the leadoff 1,200. Russell Malko (Hunterdon Central), Heredia and Danniel Belay (Gaithersburg, Md.) also ran on that team.

Long specialized in the 800 at Cinnaminson and much of his college career. He ran 1:57.60 as a senior in 2016 at Easterns at the Armory and had an outdoor PR of 1:55.49 at states as a junior.

He ran 1:54.11 as a college freshman and then began focusing on the mile last indoor season, when he broke 4:20 three times, including his 4:15.77 PR.

Last spring he had a huge 800 breakthrough with a 1:51.73 at outdoor IC4As at Princeton and ran a 3:55.43 for 1,500, equivalent of a 4:14.26 mile.

That all led to his monster performance on Friday in Boston.

What an incredible performance today by Kristin Siegle!!!!!

Siegle, a Rider senior and Buena graduate, took 11 seconds off her indoor mile PR Friday with the second-fastest time in Rider history!

Siegle lowered her PR from 5:06.21 to 4:55.34 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University’s Track & Tennis Center. She had run 5:06.21 last February at the Fastrack National Invite at Ocean Breeze.

Siegle, an Estelle Manor native, placed 18th overall and 12th among collegiate runners out of well over 100 milers.

The only faster performer in Rider history is Emily Ritter, who ran 4:44.33 in 2015. Ritter was from Georgetown, Del., and ran for Sussex County Tech.

Siegle has never run a competitive outdoor mile in college. Her outdoor 1,500 PR is 4:39.94, which is the equivalent of a 5:02.34 mile.

So this was the equivalent of a seven-second PR in any conditions.

To put this massive breakthrough race in perspective, Siegle’s indoor PR at Buena was 5:23.16 for 1,600 meters, which equals a 5:25.03 for a full mile. That was at 2015 states at the Bennett Center.

So she’s now 30 seconds faster than her best indoor race in high school.

Her outdoor PR was 5:15.09, equal to a 5:16.92 full mile.

How fast is that? Consider that Siegle never broke 5:15 for the mile (or 1,600) indoors or out until 11 months ago.

Now she’s averaging 36.9 for eight laps on a 200-meter track.

This is incredible!

Take a look at this progression since freshman year of high school:
2020: 4:55.34 [mile]
2019: 5:06.21 [mile]
2018: 5:30.94 [mile]
2017: 5:18.04 [mile]
2016: 5:38.04 [1,600]
2015: 5:24.86 [1,600]
2014: 5:32.42 [1,600]
2013: 5:32.37 [1,600]

Siegle’s time is No. 2 in the Metro Atlantic Conference, behind only Lithuanian Egle Morenaite of Iona, who ran 4:51.96 at the Penn 8 Team Select at Ocean Breeze a few days earlier.

Siegle ran 37.9 / 35.7 / 37.0 / 37.1 / 36.4 / 36.8 / 37.3 / 37.1 for even splits of 2:27.6 out and 2:27.7 back.

Siegle ran in the second of 10 sections, placing sixth in her section.

Deptford graduate Tyler Garland broke the 8.0-second barrier in the 60-meter high hurdles for the first time Friday and won the event at the Dr. Sander Columbia Invitational at the Armory.

Garland led Syracuse’s three South Jersey hurdlers to a 1-3-6 finish with a personal-best 7.97.

His time is fastest this year by a Big East Conference hurdler.

Garland, a transfer from Rowan, broke his PR of 8.01 set last weekend at the Southern Tier Collegiate Open at Ithaca’s Barton Hall. He remains undefeated in the 60-meter highs in his first year hurdling on the Division 1 level.

Adams, a Winslow Township graduate, ran 8.09, placing third by 1-1,000th-of-a-second. Adams ran 8.088 and Jesus Serrano of BYU ran 8.089. Adams had run 8.19 in the trials and had to run the final out of lane 8 but still matched his PR of 8.09 set at Ithaca last weekend.

Smith, a freshman from Deptford, ran a personal-best 8.09 in the trials and 8.13 in the final for sixth place. His previous PR over the 42-inch highs was 8.14 in the Greg Page Relays last month at Cornell.

Syracuse’s hurdlers are coached by one-time Winslow superstar, Auburn All-America and Olympic Trials finalist Reuben McCoy.

Delsea graduate Elisia Lancaster, a junior at Towson, popped a weight throw PR of 61-4 to win the event at the Towson (Md.) Invitational.

Lancaster, a six-time All-America thrower on the JUCO level at Rowan College South Jersey, won by about eight inches over senior teammate Lauren Coleman, who threw 60-5 1/4.

Lancaster’s previous weight throw PR was 56-10 3/4 while competing for RC-SJ last February in a meet at Kutztown (Pa.) State.

Lancaster also took second in the shot put at 40-7 3/4, placing second to Coleman, who threw 49-4 1/2. Lancaster has an overall shot PR of 43-11 1/4 outdoors from a meet in 2018 at Penn State. Her indoor PR is 41-5 1/4 from the same meet last February at Kutztown.

On the CAA performance list, Lancaster ranks 4th this winter in the weight throw behind Erica Belvit of Northeastern (63-11 1/2), Michelle Obijaku of Towson (63-10 1/4) and Coleman (61-8 1/4).

Towson hasn’t updated its online media guide in five years, but through 2015 the school record in the weight throw was 59-8 1/4.

I went through each season of Towson women’s weight throw performances since then on Direct Athletics, and it appears Obijaku (64-10 last year), Coleman (61-8 1/4) and Lancaster (61-4) are the first three 60-footers in school history.

So apparently Lancaster is No. 3 on the all-time Towson indoor weight throw performance list. Which doesn’t exist.

Lancaster has a PR of 182-2 in the hammer throw, which obviously is only thrown outdoors. She threw that last April at Towson, before she attended Towson.

At Delsea, Lancaster was a sectional champ in the shot put and a sectional runner-up in the discus.