Virginia Military Institute junior Nick Petriello won the pole vault this past weekend in his first competition in over a year.

Petriello, who attended Gloucester County Tech and competed for Delsea, recorded his first collegiate win, clearing a collegiate indoor personal-best of 12-3 1/2 at the VMI Keydet Invitational at his home track in Lexington, Va.

Petriello cleared 11-9 3/4 and 12-3 1/2 on his first attempt at 12-9 1/2. Petriello’s outdoor PR is 13-7 1/4, set at the 2019 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. 

Petriello was a sectional runner-up and two-time state medalist in the pole vault at Delsea. He cleared 13-0 outdoors and 12-6 indoors at Delsea.

Maryland senior Bria Mack, a Williamstown graduate, opened her 2021 indoor season with a win in the 60-meer dash at Penn State Saturday.

Mack ran 7.61 to win the event at the Nittany Lion Opener at the Horace Ashenfelter track in State College, Pa.

It was Mack’s first race since last year’s indoor Big Ten Championships, when he she also ran 7.61. Mack ran just 3-100ths of a second off her PR of 7.58, which she ran on the same track two years ago at the Penn State National. She ranks No. in Maryland history at 7.58 but only 13-100ths off the school record of 7.45, set in 2000 by Stacy Minott at the ECAC Championships in Boston.

Mack won the 55 at the 2017 indoor Meet of Champions and the 100 at the 2016 and 2017 Meet of Champions.

In his first race in 11 months, Penn State sophomore Sincere Rhea ran within 12-100ths of his high hurdles PR Saturday on his home track in State College.

Rhea, a St. Augustine graduate and native of Maurice River Township in Cumberland County, won the 60-meter highs at the Nittany Lion Opener at the Horace Ashenfelter track in 7.88, not far off his PR of 7.76, set last February in the trials at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio. He went on to place third in the Big Ten final in 7.82 and finished the year as the No. 2-ranked freshman in NCAA Division 1, behind only Brithton Senior of South Dakota, who ran 7.74 at the Summit League Championships in Fort Wayne, Ind.

In the early going in this COVID-delayed season, Rhea’s 7.88 ranks 8th in Division 1 and third in the Big 10, behind Jamal Britt of Iowa [7.85] and USC transfer Ayden Owens of Michigan [7.87].

On Saturday, Rhea edged Caleb Dean of Maryland, who was second in a personal-best 7.95. 

Rhea also ran the 200 and placed second in 22.21 behind Nadale Buntin of Rutgers (via John P. Stevens High in Edison), who ran a PR 21.66. Buntin was competing in his first race in nearly two years, since transferring from Monmouth. Rhea has run as fast as 21.38 indoors

Rhea is No. 2 in Penn State history in the 60-meter highs, behind only Guy Rose (a graduate of Wayne Hills High in Passaic County), who ran 7.69 at the 2001 Big Ten Championships in State College.

No. 3 on the Penn State indoor hurdles list is Michael Timpson, who ran 7.82 in 1986. Timpson went on to spend nine years in the NFL and caught 42 passes for 484 yards and two TDs for the Eagles in 1997.

Rutgers freshman and Delsea graduate Nico Morales made his collegiate pole vaulting debut Saturday with a win and a near-PR.

Morales, in his first collegiate meet, won the vault at the Nittany Lion Opener at the Horace Ashenfelter track in State College with a 15-5 3/4 clearance, which is just a quarter of an inch off his indoor PR of 15-6, which he hit twice – at last year’s state Group 3 meet in Toms River and the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze, his last official competitions.

Morales’ overall PR is a 15-7 at the 2019 Tri-County Conference Championships outdoors on his home track at Delsea.

Morales is No. 2 in South Jersey indoor history behind only his brother Marco, who cleared 16-0 at a SJTCA meet in Toms River in February. Marco is also a freshman at Rutgers but hasn’t competed yet this indoor season.

Morales’ 15-5 3/4 ranks No. 10 in Rutgers indoor history and is the Scarlet Knights’ best mark since Northern Valley Regional graduate Chris Mazzacano cleared 15-10 1/2 four years ago at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

It’s the top indoor mark by a South Jersey vaulter for Rutgers, supplanting a 15-3 by Matt Mancini of Cinnaminson at the 2010 Big Ten meet at the Armory.

Syracuse freshman Ethan Wechsler ran his first collegiate track race Friday, running 8:33.54 for 3,000 meters. Wechsler raced at the Virginia Tech Invitational at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va.

Wechsler has never run a 3,000 before. He has a 3,200 PR of 9:10.90 from the spring of 2019 and an indoor 3,200 PR of 9:12.20 from last year’s Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze 10 months ago. That was his last race on  the track.

His 8:33.54 converts to about a 9:14.62 for two miles or a 9:11.39 for 3,200, so it’s essentially an indoor PR.

Wechsler finished third in the second of two sections of the race, just behind Dave Whitfield, running unattached, who ran 8:31.90.Overall, Wechsler finished only 8 1/2 seconds behind the first collegiate, Bashir Mosavel-Lo, a junior at Virginia Tech.

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It’s not much, but it’s something!

South Jersey does have the start of an indoor track season.

Millville junior Leah Ellis, competing under the Camden Track Club banner, placed third in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump Saturday at the 27th annual Hispanic Games at the 168th Street Armory.

Because New Jersey high schools are not yet allowed to compete indoors, Ellis – and every other athlete at the annual meet – competed independently for a club team, Camden Track Club.

Ellis, who’s been a top-10 placer in the Meet of Champions in three events – high hurdles, long jump and triple jump – didn’t hurdle Saturday, but she did compete in both horizontal jumps.

She placed third in the long jump at 17-4 3/4 and was fifth in the triple jump with a 35-5. It was her first meet since last year’s indoor Meet of Champions 10 months ago.

Also, Paul VI sophomore Briyel Brown ran 7.70 for eighth in the 55-meter dash trials. She missed the finals by 12-100ths of a second. 

According to Armory rules, all athletes had to compete fully masked.