Stockton University junior pole vaulter Lauren Preston cleared a personal-best 12-3 1/2 Thursday and placed fifth at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

Preston earned All-America honors for her performance at her first NCAA meet.

Preston had just PR’d at 12-2 1/2 in her last meet, the AARTFC Championships at St. John Fisher in Rochester last weekend, to qualify for nationals. Her lifetime best as recently as March was 10-6.

Preston, who attended Conrad Weiser High School just outside Robesonia, Pa., cleared 12-1 1/2 on her second attempt and then 12-3 1/2 on her first attempt. She missed three tries at another PR of 12-5 1/2. The official results don’t show what height she entered the competition.

With a top-8 finish, Preston becomes Stockton’s fifth pole vault All-America, joining Kim Marino of Middletown North (2003, 2004), Rachel Joseph of Livingston (2010), Chelsea Vaughan of Southern Regional (2014, 2015, 2016) and Millville’s Kaitlyn Derman (2018). Five of Stockton’s 11 All-America selections have been vaulters.

At Conrad Weiser, Preston had a PR of 10-6 from the 2018 PIAA District 3 AAA Championships at Shippensburg.

Cherokee graduate Abby Gilmore, a senior at Olivet Nazarene, ran a lifetime-best 2:15.22 split to help the Tigers reach the finals of the 3,200-meter relay at the NAIA Track Championships.

Gilmore ran the third leg for Olivet Nazarene, which ran 9:12.80 in Wednesday’s trials, the second-fastest time going into Thursday’s final.

Gilmore earned All-America honors indoors when Olivet Nazarene placed sixth at the indoor NAIA Championships in Yankton, S.D., with a time of 9:32.45.

In Wednesday’s trials, Lindsey DiazDeLeon, Mady Rogers and Rachel Shepard also ran for the Tigers, Shepard anchoring in 2:17.20.  

The 4-by-8 final is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on Thursday at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala. 

The top seed is Dordt University of Sioux Center, Iowa, which ran 9:09.52 on Wednesday. Olivet Nazarene will be in lane 6 for the final and Dordt in lane 4.

Gilmore is one of those remarkable stories that track and field presents us with once in a while.

Her 800 PR at Cheroke was 2:33.94, which she hit when she placed 35th at the 2017 South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Egg Harbor.

Tonight, she tries to lead her college to a national title! 

 

Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta advanced to the second round of the 800 on Day 1 of the NCAA Track Championships Wednesday.

Moronta, a freshman at Mississippi State, ran 1:49.84 to secure a wild-card qualifier into Friday’s second round. He placed 5th in the third of six heats of the 800 at the NCAA Championships East Regional at Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville.

He locked up the sixth and final wild-card qualifying berth, advancing to the second round by 1-100th of a second.

The first three finishers in each of six heats advanced automatically and the next-six fastest runners also advanced.

The second round, which is NCAA Championship quarterfinal round, is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. Friday. Twelve runners – the top three from each of three heats plus the next-three fastest – will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene June 6-9.

On Friday,Moronta will start in Lane 9 of the third heat in the quarterfinals. . 

Moronta is one of only seven freshmen still alive in the 800, and five of them are in his quarterfinal race Friday.

Moronta ran his PR of 1:49.33 two weeks ago at the SEC Championships at Texas A&M in College Station. This was his second lifetime race under 1:50.

Middle Township junior Keira Phillips ran the No. 9 400-meter hurdles time in the state this year Wednesday at the Cape May County Championships at Ocean City. 

Phillips won the 400IH in 1:04.44 in what appears to be her first major race this spring. It’s her first 400IH race on record since the 2019 Meet of Champions.

Phillips, 6th at the Group 3 states in 2019 with her previous PR of 1:05.03 ran XC this past fall but according to the MileSplit database didn’t run indoors in 2020 or 2021 and hasn’t run track since the spring of 2019. 

That makes Phillips’ time – especially in a highly technical event like the intermediates – even more impressive! 

Her time is No. 3 in South Jersey this spring, behind Clayton senior Amirah Sharpe (1:01.63) and Anne Rutledge of Egg Harbor Township (1:04.18). It’s fastest by any Cape May County runner since Rachel Stremme ran 1:03.82 to win the 2014 Cape-Atlantic Championships at EHT.

Phillips also won the 800 Wednesday unpressed by 40 meters with a time of 2:31.51. Her PR is 2:25.14 from 2019 Group 3 sectionals at Delsea.

Eastern senior Jailya Ash recorded a fast double at the Olympic Conference Championships Wednesday, winning the 100-meter dash in 12.45 and the 100-meter hurdles in 14.29 at Washington Township.

She’s the first Eastern girl to win the conference title in the 100 since Olympic gold medalist English Gardner in 2010 and the first to win the high hurdles since Tiffany Riggs in 1993. She’s the first Eastern girl to win two events at the conference meet since Trina Ragsdale won the high hurdles in 14.4 and the long jump at 17-1 1/2 in 1990.

The only other girls to double the 100 and 100 hurdles in the last 30 years are Winslow’s Cidae’a Woods in 2014 (12.06, 14.16) and Wilson’s Jamillah Nock in 2003 (11.8, 14.0). Nock was actually credited with a tie for first in the 100 with Cherokee’s Ariel Brockman.

Ash is already No. 1 in New Jersey this spring with a 14.28 in the high hurdles and No. 6 in New Jersey and No. 2 in New Jersey in the 100 at 12.14. She didn’t run the 200 Wednesday but has run 25.04 this spring, which is No. 8 in the state and No. 4 in South Jersey.

Auburn senior Cade Antonucci from Holy Spirit easily advanced to next weekend’s NCAA Championships Wednesday at the NCAA East Preliminary round in Jacksonville.

Antonucci took two throws – 234-0 and 235-6 – and since he was in the final flight, he knew he was safely among the 12 throwers that qualified to NCAAs and didn’t need to take his final attempt.

Antonucci placed seventh of the 48 competitors. The cutoff for advancing to nationals was 225-6.

The top 48 performers in every event in each of two regions – East (of the Mississippi River) and West – qualified for these regional meets, and the top 12 competitors in each event advancce to Eugene for NCAAs.

Antonucci ranks No. 13 in NCAA Division 1 this year with a lifetime-best throw of 241-0, which he hit April 2 at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville back on April 2. NCAA Regionals was only his fourth meet of the season and only his 17th and 18th throws since the 2019 season ended at NCAAs. The 235-6 is his second-best throw this year.

Antonucci placed 24th at 2018 NCAAs and 13th in 2019. Last year’s outdoor season was cancelled.

Antonucci threw 220-11 in the javelin at Holy Spirit when he won the 2017 Meet of Champions. He also had PRs of 59-5 1/4 in the shot put and 169-1 in the disus.

Only one competitor in the West Region at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, hit over 235, so Antonucci will be the No. 8 seed in Eugene.

The NCAA Championships are scheduled for June 9-12 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The javelin final is slated for 6:15 p.m. on June 9.

Fantastic performance by Salem senior Bobby Arnold III to lead the Rams to the Salem County Championship on Tuesday on his home track.

Arnold scored 30 points, leading a 1-2-3 sweep in the intermediates, winning the 400 and triple jump and PR’ing in all three events.

What a day for Bobby Arnold!

Arnold won the 400 in personal-best 50.33 in a tough race with Woodstown senior Wayne Robinson, who ran 50.86. Arnold’s previous 400 PR was a 50.70 this past weekend in the Tri-County Conference Championships at Kingsway. Coming into the spring season, it was north of 54 seconds.

Arnold’s 50.33 is the fastest time in South Jersey Group 1 this year, just ahead of Robinson’s 50.42 at the Tri-County meet. It’s fastest by a Salem quarter-miler since Spenser Jarrett ran 49.49 in 2016.

Arnold won the triple jump with a PR of 43-7 1/4, surpassing his previous PR of 43-6 1/2 from this past indoor season at the Bubble in March. Arnold’s series was impressive – 43-0, 42-1 3/4, 42-11 1/2 and 43-7 1/4 for an average of 42-11 on his four legal jumps. Any one of those four jumps would have won the meet.

Arnold’s 43-7 1/4 is No. 19 in the state this year, No. 4 in South Jersey, No. 4 in New Jersey Group 1 

In the intermediates, Arnold ran 58.10, winning by more than 4 1/2 seconds. That’s another PR, which it would have been as long as he crossed the finish line because according to MileSplit he had never run a 400IH before. It’s also No. 1 in New Jersey Group 1 this year.

Arnold appears to be a 1st-year senior track competitor, which makes his performance even more remarkable.

Also for Salem, sophomore Amare Smith led a 1-2 finish in the 100, senior Trevor Buzby led a 1-2-3 sweep in the high jump, senior Lester Coleman won the long jump with a 21-3 leap and junior Jayden Wright won the shot put its a 47-7 3/4.

Salem won the boys title 126-70 over Woodstown.

Terrific afternoon for Salem freshman Anna Buzby, who won the 400-meter intermediates and the 400-meter dash at the Salem County Championships.

Buzby ran 1:01.53 to win the 400 and 1:11.80 to win the intermediates on her home track.

Her 400 time is 2nd-fastest among all New Jersey Group 1 freshmen, behind a 59.57 by Kyle Castillo of Ridgefield. 

Her previous PR was 1:02.72 at the Tri-County Conference Championships at Kingsway last week. The 1:01.53 is the fastest by a Salem girl in at least 20 years.

Her 1:11.80 is fastest by a girl from Salem since Meghan Poinsett ran 1:07.33 at the 2010 South Jersey Group 1 sectionals at Egg Harbor. It’s also No. 2 among South Jersey 9th-graders this spring, behind Deptford’s Djassi Dean, who ran 1:11.44 at the Metuchen Relays. 

According to the MileSplit database, this is the first 400 intermediates race Buzby has ever run, with the possible exception of dual meets.

Buzby is also the 7th-fastest freshman half-miler in South Jersey this spring with her 2:32.68 at the Tri-County Championships.

Senior Julia Smith won the 1,600 (5:29.26) and 3,200 (12:28.10) and junior Mia LaMarra was second in both races and senior Tia Furbush won both horizontal jumps, helping Schalick win the girls team title over Woodstown , 107 3/4-95 1/2. 

Sterling graduate Jah’mere Beasley, a Rowan freshman, leads the South Jersey contingent to the NCAA Division 3 National Track Championships this weekend in North Carolina.

Beasley is entered in four events at the D-3 nationals, which begin Thursday at Irwin Belk Track on the North Carolina A&T campus in Greensboro.

He’s the No. 2 seed in the 100-meter dash with a qualifying time of 10.48 and the No. 4 seed in the 200 at 21.18. He’s also listed as one of the legs on Rowan’s 400-meter relay team, seeded 11th at 41.32, and 1,600-meter relay team, seeded 6th at 3:12.35.

On Thursday, the 4-by-1 trials are scheduled for 3:15 p.m., the 200 trials 5:10 p.m. and the 4-by-4 trials at 7:15 p.m. The 100 trials are set for 3:45 p.m. Friday and then on Friday the 4-by-1 final is at 12:15 p.m., the 100 final at 1:40 p.m., the 200 final at 2:50 p.m. and the 4-by-4 final at 4 p.m.

We’ll see which relays Beasley competes in. Rowan has the option of running different lineups in the trials and finals. But any way you line it up, it’s going to be a huge weekend for Beasley,

Here’s a look at all the South Jersey athletes scheduled to compete in Greensboro this weekend:

Men
100-Meter Dash: Jah’mere Beasley [Sterling], Fr., Rowan, 10.48 [#2]
100-Meter Dash: Julian Pratt [Camden], Sr., Rowan, 10.63 [#17]
200-Meter Dash: Jah’mere Beasley [Sterling], Fr., Rowan, 21.18 [#4]
400-Meter Relay: Rowan [Nana Agyemang, Fr. (Parsippany), Jah’mere Beasley, Fr. (Sterling), Donovan Clement, Fr. (Deptford), Julian Pratt, Sr. (Camden)] 41.32 [#11]
1,600-Meter Relay: Rowan [Amara Conte, Fr (Ferris), Jah’mere Beasley, Fr. (Sterling), Justin Bishop, Jr. (Mainland Regional), Francis Terry, Jr. (Sterling)], 3:12.35 [#6]
High Jump: Hunter Daly [Florence], Jr., Stockton, 6-9 1/2 [#7]
Javelin: Edgar Rosa [Paulsboro], Rowan, 197-3 [#7]
Hammer Throw: Jude Misko [Cherry Hill East], Sr., Rutgers-Camden, 200-9 [#2]
Hammer Throw: Darren Wan [Egg Harbor Township], Sr., Stockton, 190-10 [#9]

Women
Javelin: Isabelle Deal [Washington Twp.], Ursinus, 136-6 [#16]
1,600-Meter Relay: Amanda Demko [Shawnee], Fr., The College of New Jersey, 3:47.51 [#5]

And here’s an additional list of non-South Jersey athletes competing for South Jersey colleges at NCAAs:

Men
Pole Vault: Keith Holland [Central Regional, Jr., Stockton, 4.95 [#5]
Long Jump: Nana Agyemang [Parsippany], Fr., Rowan, 7.54 [#2]
Long Jump: Ahmir Johnson [Wissahickon, Pa.], Fr., Rowan, 7.48 [#3]
Triple Jump: Ahmir Johnson [Wissahickon, Pa.], Fr., Rowan, 14.72 [#8]
Discus: Ian Bain [Northern Valley Regional], Rowan, 167-4 [#10]
Javelin: Dan McAleavey [Howell], Rowan, 204-7 [#3]
Javelin: Julio Lebron [Memorial West New York], Rowan, 193-6 [#13]

Women
100-Meter Hurdles: Nicole Notaranni [South Brunswick], Rowan, 14.20 [#8]
Pole vault: Lauren Preston [Conrad Weiser], Stockton, 12-2 1/4 [#18]

Here’s a complete list of men’s entries and here is a list of the women’s entries.

You can find the meet schedule here:

PR’s all over the place in a wild 800 Monday at Haddonfield Distance Night.

Kingsway junior Kyle Rakitis continued his hot racing with a 1:53.41 win, leading three half-milers under 1:56 and an incredible 15 under two minutes. Five others ran under 2:02 and a total of 26 ran 2:03 or faster.

The race produced 12 of the 16-fastest 800 times in South Jersey this year.

This was a half-mile lover’s dream.

Let’s take a look:

1. KYLE RAKITIS [KINGSWAY], 1:53.41: Rakitis, who is already No. 2 in New Jersey at 4:10.15, ran a PR of 1:53.41, the No. 5 time in New Jersey this year and fastest by a South Jersey runner. It’s No. 32 in South Jersey history and No. 6 in Gloucester County history, fastest since 2014. It’s also No. 2 on the all-time Kingsway list, b behind Derrell Manhertz, who ran 1:51.02 at the 2013 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield. It’s also fastest by any South Jersey junior since 2016, when Moorestown’s Kevin Fox ran 1:52.60 at a previous Haddonfield Distance Night.

Here’s a look at the all-time Gloucester County top-10:

1:49.72 … Rich Caton [Woodbury], 1979
1:49.74 … Fred Sharpe [Paulsboro], 1997
1:51.02 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2013
1:52.76 … Kevin Cianfarini [West Deptford], 2014
1:53.04 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
1:53.41 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
1:53.44y … Tony Uzdavines [Williamstown], 1977
1:53.43 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
1:53.49 … Steve Butenewicz [Delsea Reg.], 2011
1:53.4y … Wayne Jenkins [Deptford], 1968
1:53.61 … Steve Morrone [Washington Twp.], 2010

2. BRADY SHUTE [WOODBURY], 1:55.26: The Woodbury junior, who has already run 4:18.07 and 9:21.93, made it a 1-2 Gloucester County finish, thanks to a 56.7 second lap. The Cornell-bound Shute had a previous 800 PR of … well, according to MileSplit he had never run an 800 before. Not sure about this, but his time could be the fastest by a Woodbury half-miler since Rich Caton ran 1:49.72 in 1979. Anybody else run a fast 800 for Woodbury? Matt Singleton maybe? It’s No. 2 in South Jersey this spring.

3. BRETT SHEA [CHEROKEE] 1:55.80: Shea lowered his PR from 1:56.60, which he ran in a dual meet earlier this month. His time is fastest by a Cherokee runner since 2013, when Shawn Wilson ran 1:55.41 at Group 4 states at Egg Harbor. He’s now No. 3 in South Jersey this year.

4. TYLER GREENE [OCEAN CITY], 1:57.33: Greene’s 800 PR was 2:03.36 from 2020 indoor sectionals at the Bubble. He’s Ocean City’s fastest half-miler since legendary Brett Johnson ran 1:53.49 at the 2008 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield. He moved up to No. 7 in South Jersey this year.

5. DAVID KENNY [ST. AUGUSTINE], 1:57.46: Kenny just missed his PR of 1:57.16, which he set in March at Cherokee. He’s already St. Augustine’s fastest 800 runner since Chris Gough ran 1:57.08 in 2011. His time is No. 8 in South Jersey.

6. JOSHUA THALER [TIMBER CREEK], 1:57.52: Thaler followed his PR 1:57.32 from his Camden County Championships win with a near PR. He’s Timber Creek’s fastest 800 runner since Dominick Munson ran 1:57.26 in. 2015. He’s No. 9 in South Jersey this spring.

7. MICHAEL HENRY [TIMBER CREEK], 1:57.92: In his first-ever serious 800, Henry lowered his PR by nearly six seconds and ran the No. 11 time in South Jersey this year. He had run 2:04.60 in a dual meet back in March.

8. ANDREW BAYNA [HADDON HEIGHTS], 1:57.97: A nice PR for Bayna, who had run 1:59.53 at the Camden County Championships last weekend. Not sure what Haddon Heights’ school record is, but the Garnets’ haven’t had anybody run this fast in at least 20 years. No. 12 in S.J.

9. NICO GRILLI [CHEROKEE], 1:58.14: The Burlington County 1,600 champ dipped down for a rare 800 and smashed his PR of 2:04.21 from the 2019 Haddonfield Distance Night with the No. 13 time in South Jersey this year.

10. JEFF HEINEMAN [KINGSWAY], 1:58.41: The second underclassman to cross the line, Heineman dropped his PR from 1:58.69 from the Cherokee Winter Distance Festival with the No. 14 time in South Jersey.

11. AIDAN WINKLER [EGG HARBOR TWP.], 1:58.66: Huge PR for Winkler, whose preyious best was a 2:03.85 in the winter of 2020 at the Bubble. He’s now No. 15 in South Jersey this year.

12. CONOR JACOB [CHEROKEE], 1:58.86: Jacob, the first sophomore across the line, ran sub-2:00 in his first serious venture at 800 meters. His time is No. 2 among South Jersey 10th-graders this spring, behind only Bryce Tucker of Pennsauken [1:56.07], and No. 16 in South Jersey.

13. LATHAN BROWN [DEPTFORD], 1:59.45: Brown, another sophomore, dropped more than three seconds from his PR of 2:02.70 from last month in Metuchen. Brown is the No. 4 sophomore in South Jersey this year.

14. COLE KOLODZIEJ [WASHINGTON TWP.], 1:59.52: Kolodziej, who has run 9:42.83 for 3,200, trimmed more than four seconds off his 800 PR.

15. TOBIAS JANSSEN [HADDONFIELD], 1:59.53: Janssen has run 4:18.08 and 9:23.20, and added an 800 PR to his outstanding junior season. His previous PR was a 1:59.64 on the same track in March.

Also under 2:03 were Ocean City senior Drew Tarr [2:08.58], West Deptford junior Jacob Cobb [2:00.68], Ocean City junior Owen Ritti [2:01.02], Audubon junior Scott Hubbard [2:01.13], Cherokee freshman Nick Kuenkel [2:01.25], Pitman junior Cole Sharpnack [2:02.05], Cherry Hill East senior Aidan Groff [2:02.10], Cherokee sophomore Thomas Bromley [2:02.46], Highland senior Cole Wassell [2:02.79], Brendan Schlatter [2:02.84] and Eastern freshman Owen Karcsh [2:02.97].

Wow!!!