In her first javelin competition in two years, Hammonton graduate Alexa Gardner, a sophomore at Rutgers, threw a personal-best 152-7 Saturday at the Maryland B1G Invite at Kehoe Track and Field Complex in College Park.
Gardner actually PR’d three times in the competition.
She placed second to Penn State junior Madison Smith, who threw 165-7.
Gardner had a strong series, with three throws over 150 feet. She opened with a 137-10 before a personal-best 152-1 on her second attempt and then a 144-0. After a PR 152-2 on her first throw of the finals, she hit 142-8 on her fifth throw before popping the 152-7 on her final attempt.
Her previous PR was a 146-3 at the 2019 Metropolitan Championships at A.P. Randolph in New York. She last competed in the javelin at the 2019 Big Ten Championships in Iowa City in May of 2019.
Gardner’s throw is No. 5 in the Big 10 Conference so far this year. She’s the third South Jersey girl to hit 150 feet in the javelin already this spring. Brielle Smith of Oakcrest threw 157-5 for Stanford last weekend and RV graduate Danielle Staff of Monmouth hit 151-5 at Army last weekend.
At Hammonton, Gardner had a best of 142-1, when she won the 2017 state Group 3 title at Northern Burlington.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 