Kingsway rising senior Ryan Allen won his second national scholastic racewalk title Wednesday when he finished first in the 3,000-meter event at the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Allen finished in a personal-best 14:28.87. His previous PR over the 3,000-meter event was 15:50.14 in Virginia Beach in March.

He  had an eight-second leg just 600 meters into the race and a 17-second lead at the 1,000. He won by about 275 meters.

Allen also won the one-mile racewalk at the adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia Beach in February.

On Wednesday, Allen finished more than a minute ahead of second-place Isaac Gray of Rochester, whose time was 15:43.24.

Allen is the younger brother of Kingsway graduate and rising Cornell sophomore Sam Allen, who placed sixth in the 20,000-meter walk last week at the U.S. Olympic Trials just outside Eugene.

Allen also ran for Kingsway’s track team and had a 1,600 PR of 4:31.94 at Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township. That makes him the No. 5 returner in Gloucester County, behind teammate Kyle Rakitis [4:08.58] – who races in the mile on Saturday – as well as Jacob of West Deptford [4:18.59], Peyton Shute of Woodbury [4:29.28] and Andrew Littlehales of Delsea [4:30.19].

Considering the meet is now 3,000 miles away, it’s not surprising the South Jersey contingent at National Scholastic Championships is so small.

But a handful of South Jersey athletes will be competing at Hayward Field in Eugene starting Wednesday and running through Saturday.

One of the more intriguing South Jersey entries is the Haddonfield girls, who are entered in both the 3,200-meter relay on Friday and the distance medley on Saturday. Allison and Lindsay Colflesh and Sarah Naticchia will be on both teams. Olivia Stoner will join them on the 4-by-8 and Peyton Weiner on the DMR.

Haddonfield is No. 2 nationally in the 4-by-8 with its South Jersey-record 9:04.72 from the Cherokee Relays in May. Top-ranked Niwot (Colo.), which ran 8:55.86 in May at the Pomona Invitational  in Lakewood, Colo., is also entered.

Haddonfield is No. 7 nationally in the DMR with a 12:06.82 at the Blue Devil Classic in Westfield in early May. The South Jersey DMR record is Lenape’s 11:53.15 with Camille Franklin, Ana de las Heras, Emily McGee and Natalia Ocasio at Nationals in Greensboro in 2012. 

The state records are Columbia’s 8:45.37 at the 2014 Penn Relays and Red Bank Catholic’s 11:32.29 at the 2011 Nationals in Greensboro.

Here’s a look at all the South Jersey entries this week in Eugene:

BOYS
100-Meter Dash Trials, 9 a.m., Friday
Matt Mazero [Paul VI]

400-Meter Dash Trials, 5:15 p.m. Friday
Michael Mazero [Paul VI]

Mile, 6:45 p.m., Saturday
Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway]

5,000-Meter Run, 10:30 a.m., Saturday
Josh Forrest [Collingswood]
Aidan Groff [Cherry Hill East]
Brady Shute [Woodbury]

400-Meter Hurdles, 9:40 a.m., Friday
Treshan Stevenson [Millville]

3,000-Meter Racewalk, 10:50 a.m., Wednesday
Ryan Allen [Kingsway]

Long Jump, 6:30 p.m., Thursday
Greg Foster [Lumberton, Lawrenceville School]

Triple Jump, 1:30 p.m., Thursday
Floyd Whitaker [Highland]

400-Meter Relay, 11:35 a.m., Thursday
Paul VI [Matt Jenkins, Matt Mazero, Cameron Serafinelli, Michael Mazero]

800-Meter Relay, 1:35 p.m., Thursday
Paul VI [Cameron Serafinelli, Matthew Jenkins, Matt Mazero, Mike Mazero]

Four-Mile Relay, 11:20 a.m., Friday
Haddonfield [Tobias Janssen, Caleb Clevenger, John Hurly, Sean Eisenhower]

1,000-Meter Swedish Relay, 2:35 p.m., Wednesday
Paul VI [Matthew Jenkins, Cameron Serafinelli, Matt Mazero, Mike Mazero]

GIRLS
5,000-Meter Run, 9:30 a.m., Saturday
Sophie Steidle [Collingswood]

High Jump, 6 p.m., Thursday
Tatina Carr [Timber Creek]

Heptathlon, 2:50 p.m., Friday – 6 p.m. Saturday
Bryanna Craig [Millville / Lubbock Coronado], Heptathlon

3,200-Meter Relay, 12:30 p.m., Friday
Cherokee [Nicole Clifford, Meghan Carroll, Erin Jackson, Kelsey Niglio]
Haddonfield [Allison Colflesh, Lindsay Colflesh, Olivia Stoner, Sarah Naticchia]

Distance Medley, 11:30 a.m., Saturday
Haddonfield [Allison Colflesh, Payton Weiner, Lindsay Colflesh, Sarah Naticchia]

We got a little sidetracked by the Olympic Trials, but there’s a lot more to wrap up from the 2021 high school season, and we’ll start with Willingboro’s Malachi James, who capped a terrific freshman season with two top-8 finishes at the M-of-C.

James ran a PR 10.76 in the 100 trials at South Plainfield before placing fifth in the final with a 10.84, and he ran eighth in the 200 in 22.07. James ran 21.82 earlier this year.

James finished the year as the No. 15 freshman nationally in the 100 and 14 in the 200, according to the MileSplit database.

He’s the first freshman ever to place in the top-10 in the Meet of Champions in both the 100 and 200. 

His 5th-place in the 100 is the highest by any South Jersey freshman in any event at the M-of-C since 2012, when Dominique Irons of Haddon Heights was second in the triple jump.

The last freshman to medal in the 100 was Camden’s Jamar Ervin in 2000, when he set a national freshman record of 10.35 that still stands.

Ervin, like James, was coached by Martin Booker.

James is the fastest New Jersey freshman in the 100 since Ervin 21 years ago. A few freshmen have run faster in the 200 – Shamali Whittle of  Hamilton North ran 21.75 just two years ago (and doubled the M-of-C sprints this year with 10.55 and 20.95). 

It’s not clear what the South Jersey 200 freshman record is. James likely already has it. The MileSplit database goes back 20 years and doesn’t show anyone faster than James’ 21.82. Ervin didn’t run many 200s and never went under 22 seconds. Burlington’s Brondon Jenkins won a state Group 1 title in the 200 as a freshman in 1993 in 22.26 – a year later he ran 21.46 and won the M-of-C while attending Delran. But it looks like 22.26 was his fastest time in 1993.

The last freshman in the top-eight at a M-of-C in the 200 was Washington Township’s Clayton Crosse, who was eighth in 2015 in 22.27. 

Including converted hand times, James’ 10.76 is No. 12 in Burlington County history and fastest by a Willingboro sprinter since 1986, when Kenny Reynolds and Malik Crawford both ran hand-timed 10.5s, which converts to 10.74, or slightly faster than James ran in the M-of-C trials.

His 200 time is fastest by a Willingboro sprinter since Antonio Abney ran 21.75 in 2007.

James is the No. 3 New Jersey returner for 2022, behind two current juniors – Whittle and Fitzroy Ledgister of St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City, who ran 10.60 at the South Hudson Championships in Kearney. He’s the No. 8 returner in the 200 and shares the No. 1 spot in South Jersey with Pennsauken sophomore Ejani Shakir, who also ran 21.82.

It was a difficult day for South Jersey’s two entries in the 10,000-meter run Saturday morning at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

With temperatures in the mid-80s, Mount Laurel’s Marielle Hall, a 2016 Olympian and a Haddonfield graduate, ran 34:35.79 and Mount Holly’s Erika Kemp, a Rancocas Valley graduate, dropped out after 6,400 meters at Hayward Field.

Hall has a 10,000 PR of 31:05.71 from the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and has a season-best 31:21.78 this year from a meet at Serra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in February.

Kemp has run 31:35.63 for 10,000 meters – also at Serra Catholic but in December of 2020. This was her first 10,000 of 2021.

Hall ranks No. 8 in U.S. history at 10,000 meters and Kemp is No. 34. 

Kingsway graduate Sam Allen placed 6th in the 20,000-meter racewalk Saturday morning at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Oregon.

Allen, a 2020 Kingsway graduate who recently finished his freshman year at Cornell, covered the 12.4-mile course in Springfield, Ore., in a personal-best 1:37.59.

With 1,000 meters to go, Bricyn Healey had closed to within eight seconds of Allen, but Allen closed in 4:52 for his final kilometer, holding off Healey by 19 seconds for a top-six finish.

His kilometer splits ranged from 4:31 for the first 1,000 to a couple 5:22s for his 17th and 19th kilometers.

Allen, who just turned 19 on May 6 and races for Shore Athletic Club, was the youngest competitor in the field of 15 walks who qualified.

The race was won by 20-year-old Nick Christie, who finished in 1:30.48, more than a minute ahead of Daniel Nehnevaj.

Allen’s previous best over a 20,000-meter course was 1:38.26, which he recorded last month in Manchester Township, N.J.

Allen was not projected to finish in the top 10 by Track and Field News, so a 6th-place finish is quite an achievement for the Woolwich Township native.

Allen was the first South Jersey walker to compete in the Olympic Trials since Willingboro native Cliff Mimm in 1988. His father Bob was a member of the 1960 Olympic team.

At Kingsway, Allen competed in both track and XC in addition to independent racewalking. He was 6th man on the 2019 Kingsway cross country team that placed third at Group 4 sectionals.

Jessica Woodard placed seventh in the shot put late Thursday night at the U.S. Olympic Track Trials.

Woodard’s best throw went 59-0, well short of her PR of 62-3 1/2, which she threw last month in Tucson.

With a top-three finish, Woodard would have made the U.S. Olympic team headed for Tokyo next month, but she fell about three feet short.

It was a disappointing finish for Woodard, who earlier in the day threw 60-3 1/4 on her only attempt in the qualifying round, which does not carry over to the finals. That wound up being her best throw of the day.

In the finals, she opened with throws of 57-0 3/4 and 58-8 3/4 and then fouled. She was the eighth and final qualifier to reach the second round of the finals, earning her three more throws. 

As the last qualifier, Woodard threw first in the second round of the finals, and she improved slightly to 59-0 on her first throw, moving her into seventh place. She finished with a 58-6 and then a foul on her final attempt.

Woodard had thrown at least 60 feet in her last six meets and seven of eight this year. 

This is the fourth consecutive top-10 finish at nationals for Woodard, who placed 8th in 2017, 9th in 2018 and 6th in 2019. The meet was not held last year.

A solid start for Jessica Woodard Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Woodard, a 2013 Cherokee High School graduate, easily advanced to the second round of the shot put at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

She took one throw and hit 60-3 1/4, almost exactly two feet below her lifetime best of 62-3 1/2, which she threw in Tucson last month and makes her No. 17 in U.S. history.

Her throw was 6th-best of the first round, although place does not matter at this point.

All that matters is that Woodard was one of the top 12 throwers in the first round who advance to the finals, scheduled for 11 p.m. EST on Thursday evening.

Because the first round and second round are considered separate meets and throws don’t carry over, there was no need for Woodard to take anymore throws after hitting 60-3 1/4 because it was impossible for that throw to not be in the top 12 after each of the 22 entrants had gotten three attempts.

The cutoff for advancing wound up at 56-11 1/2.

On Thursday evening, the 12 throwers who advanced will get three more attempts and the top eight in that group will then get three more. The top seven qualifiers Thursday – including Woodard – have the Olympic standard of 58-0 3/4. 

Woodard threw 58-2 1/4 in the prelims in the 2016 Trials, while she was a sophomore at Oklahoma, and made the finals in Eugene but did not get a legal throw in the final.

She placed 8th at USATF Nationals in 2017, 9th in 2018 and 6th in 2019. The meet was not held last year.

The mile is in good hands in 2022. South Jersey returns five sub-4:20 milers next year and four more who ran 4:24 or faster. It has to be one of the deepest groups of returning milers ever.

Overall, New Jersey returns 14 sub-4:20 milers and 29 sub-4:24 milers. At the Meet of Champions last weekend, 11 of the first 16 finishers were underclassmen, including five of the first seven South Jersey runners.

Going deeper, an incredible 23 underclass South Jersey milers ran sub-4:35, including four freshmen under 4:34.

Next year is going to rock when it comes to the 1,600. Hopefully all 23 of them line up at the South Jersey Invitational, the conditions are perfect, somebody takes it out fast and the whole group runs 4:15 or faster! Hey, ya never know!

Let’s take a look at the fastest South Jersey returners in 2021, a list that begins of course with Meet of Champions winner Kyle Rakitis of Kingsway:

4:08.58: *KYLE RAKITIS, KINGSWAY: Rakitis is undefeated at 1,600 meters this year and never ran slower than 4:12.63, his time when he won states. He’ll run one more 1,600, at the National Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on July 3. Rakitis is No. 2 in South Jersey history, behind Brett Johnson’s 4:08.51 in 2008 and No. 23 in state history.

4:18.08: *TOBIAS JANSSEN, HADDONFIELD: Janssen focused on the 3,200 at states, but he got down to 4:18.08 when he won the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township in May. He was also under 4:20 at the Haddonfield Invitational in a terrific race that also saw Brady Shute of Woodbury and Josh Forrest go under 4:19.

4:18.59: *JACOB COBB, WEST DEPTFORD: Cobb had a very consistent season in both the 1,600 and 3,200. He ran 9:19.89 early in the season and lowered his 1,600 PR from 4:21.64 at the Haddonfield Invite to 4:19.62 at states to 4:18.59 at the Meet of Champions, where he was the No. 2 South Jersey (and Gloucester County), finisher behind only Rakitis.

4:19.15: *ZEB HINKER, LOWER CAPE MAY: Hinker has always run XC but this was his first season of track, and after a few races in the 4:25-4:30 range he had a breakthrough at sectionals with a 4:22.43, then ran 4:19.37 at states and 4:19.15 for 11th at the Meet of Champions. That’s the fastest time by a Cape May County underclassman since Miles Schoeder of Ocean City ran 4:11.46 in 2010.

4::19.61: **PATRICK DITMARS, CHEROKEE: Ditmars was the top sophomore in the Meet of Champions, placing 14th in 4:20.23. He PR’d at 4:19.61 at states, which made him the No. 2 sophomore in the state, just a fraction behind Ryan Beegle of Chatham, who ran 4:19.50 at sectionals.

4:21.07: *BILLY CLEWELL, CAMDEN CATHOLIC: Clewell ran two PRs in a challenging Meet of Champions double, going 1:58.56 in the 800 – his first time under two minutes – and 4:21.07 in the 1,600 for 16th place overall. He was the No. 11 underclassman in the 1,600 and No. 7 underclassman.

4:21.08: *JAKE BUNIVA, LENAPE: When Buniva ran 4:21.08 at sectionals, it was a 12 1/2-second PR and made him Lenape’s fastest miler since Burlington County record holder Ryan Garvin, who ran 4:11.15 at the 2009 Meet of Champions (as part of a remarkable double with 1:53.84 in the 800 in his final high school race).

4:22.60: *DENNIS FORTUNA, TRITON: Fortuna’s focus this year was the 3,200, and he ran 9:28.26 at the Cherokee Night of Race back in April. But in his one serious foray at 1,600 meters he ran 4:22.60 at the Camden County Championships.

4:23.92: *ANDRE FAIGAL, RANCOCAS VALLEY: That 4:23 at sectionals was a 12-second PR and makes him one of three Burlington County underclassmen under 4:25 this spring.

ALSO UNDER 4:35:
4:25.42 … *Owen Ritti [Ocean City], SJ-3 Sectionals
4:25.68 … *Linden Wineland [Mainland Regional], SJ-3 Sectionals
4:28.69 … *Scott Hubbard [Audubon], SJ-1 Sectionals
4:29.28 … ***Peyton Shute [Woodbury], Group 1 Sectionals
4:30.19 … *Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], Haddonfield Distance Night
4:31.94 … *Ryan Allen [Kingsway], SJ-4 Sectionals
4:32.94 … ***Owen Karcsh [Eastern], Group 4 Sectionals
4:32.95 … *Jeffrey Heineman [Kingsway], Holmdel Twilight
4:32.96 … *Makaio Kelii [Audubon], SJ-1 Sectionals
4:33.16 … **Alex Boyko [Cinnaminson], Haddonfield Distance Night
4:33.84 … ***Jorge Cruz [Wildwood], Group 1 Sectionals
4:34.48 … *Aiden Dickinson [Cherokee], Cherokee Last Chance
4:34.55 … **Cole Knoedler [Highland], Haddonfield Distance Night
4:34.90 … *Justin Penny [Lenape], Wash. Twp. dual meet

*** – freshman in 2021
** – sophomore in 2021
** – junior in 2021

Here’s how close the Meet of Champions triple jump was:

Going into the final group of jumps, Faith Bethea of Snyder led the competition with a 37-7 jump, Kiley Mironenko of Waldwick was second at 37-5 1/2 and Egg Harbor’s Mariah Stephens was third at 37-3 3/4.

So as they warmed up for the finals, Stephens jumped sixth out of the eight finalists, with Mironenko seventh and Bethea eighth.

With one jump left, nobody had improved on their best jumps of the competition, and Bethea – who already had four jumps over 37 feet – was one jump away from a Meet of Champions title.

Stephens lined up for the final jump of her high school career, and when the official yelled out the measurement – 37-10 1/4 – it put her in the lead.

That was exciting, but there were two jumps to go, and Mironenko and Bethea both had PRs beyond Stephens’ best jump. Mironenko has jumped 37-11 and Bethea – undefeated all year – had a state-leading PR of 39-9.

Mironekno went 36-8 1/4 on her final jump and then it was down to Stephens and Bethea, who is ranked in the top 40 nationally.

Bethea had already jumped 37-7, 37-0 1/2 twice and 37-6 1/4 and when she landed on her final jump of the day she was in almost exactly the same spot as Stephens on her final jump.

Anything from 37-10 1/4 or better gives Bethea the win. Anything at 37-10 or less gives Stephens the win.

The measurement? Would you believe exactly 37-10?

Since Bethea had a superior second jump, a tie would have given her the championship. So Stephens won herself a Meet of Champions by literally the smallest possible margin – one quarter of an inch.

That actually only ties the record for closest Meet of Champions triple jump 1-2 finish in meet history! 

In 2002, Ebony Foster of Hillsborough jumped 37-0 and edged Trisha McGowan of Ridgewood by a quarter of an inch. In fact, the top six that year were all separated by just 6 3/4 inches!

As for Stephens, she became the second straight Atlantic County M-of-C triple jump winner. In 2019, Claudine Smith of Atlantic City won. Oakcrest’s Shameka Marshall won the title in 2001, and the only other South Jersey M-of-C triple jump winners are Pennsauken’s Thananya Wooden in 2000 and Jessica Mills of West Deptford in 2005. So three of the five S.J. winners are from Atlantic County.

Bethea and sprinter Lauren Princz, who won the 200, gave Egg Harbor two Meet of Champions after the school produced just one in meet history – Princz in the 200 in 2018.

Incredibly, Egg Harbor is the first South Jersey school in 40 years with two different girls winning a Meet of Champions title in the same year. 

The only other school to accomplish that was Willingboro in both 1980 and 1981 with Michelle Glover and Carol Lewis. Glover swept the 100 and 200 in 1980 and 1981 and Lewis the 100-meter hurdles and long jump. 

What has to happen for Curtis Thompson to lock up an Olympic berth?

It’s a difficult, complicated question and one that the USATF – the governing body for track and field in the United States – provides no answers to.

In fact, it’s a question nobody provides any answers to.

It’s a strange way to run a sport, leaving people to just guess who’s on an Olympic team. You’d think this is something they’d want people to know. And the amount of incorrect information that was out there Monday evening was unfortunate but understandable considering the actual process that determines Olympians is not only ridiculously complicated but also a virtual state secret that doesn’t appear to be published anywhere.

But that’s the reality of track and field today in the U.S. They don’t make it easy to be a fan of the sport. Imagine watching the Super Bowl and not only not knowing who wins the game for 10 days but not even knowing what the process actually is to determine the winner?

That’s what we’re talking about here!

Thompson, a Florence graduate, on Monday evening in Eugene uncorked a 271-7 when he won the Olympic Trials in Eugene. It’s the 3rd-best javelin throw in Olympic Trials history with the current javelin implement and the No. 18 throw in the world this year, only a few inches short of Thompson’s personal best of 271-11 from 2016.

When you win an event at the Olympic Trials with one of the best performances in the world, you’d think you’d have an Olympic spot locked up.

But the selection process isn’t that easy. Not even close.

And the ridiculous thing is nobody even knows exactly what that process is. It doesn’t appear to be written anywhere – not on the USATF web site or the World Athletics web site. People covering the meet in Oregon didn’t understand it, people tweeting about Thompson’s performance didn’t understand it, even Jim Lambert and I didn’t understand it and we spent all day trying to figure it all out.

Messages sent to the USATF asking for an explanation went unanswered and you can Google all you want you’re just not going to find out how the process works.

But Lambo and I finally cobbled together enough information from various sources to get this figured out, and here’s how it works:

✔️  Every event has a performance standard that World Athletics (formerly IAAF) sets. If you reach that standard and finish in the top three in your country’s Trials, you are an Olympian.

✔️ The javelin standard is 278-10, a mark that only three Americans have EVER hit: Breaux Greer in 2007 (91.29), Tom Petranoff in 1991 (89.16) and Tom Pukstys in 1997 (87.12).

✔️ Thompson’s 271-7 is his best throw during the Olympic qualifying period, so he needs to be ranked in the top-32 by the IAAF to make the U.S. Olympic team.

✔️ That throw ranks Thompson No. 18 in the world this year. But it doesn’t mean he’s ranked No. 18 in the world by World Athletics.

✔️ You can find the rankings here: https://www.worldathletics.org/stats-zone/road-to/7132391?eventId=10229636&qualificationType=q4 (warning – it doesn’t always work. Good luck.)

✔️ It’s not clear what exactly determines an athlete’s ranking and it’s not explained anywhere, but it appears from context to be based not just on performances but also place in various meets with a premium on major meets.

✔️ Every performance is given a numerical rating, and an athlete’s top-five ratings are combined and averaged out to determine their ranking number. The meets that are considered appear to go back as far as 2018.

✔️  Before the Trials, Thompson was sitting in the No. 32 spot in the ranking system. The World Athletics web site that shows the so-called “quota” rankings has not been updated with Thompson’s performance Monday in Eugene.

✔️ The five performances that formed his ranking before the Trials were the 2019 U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Iowa; the USATF Showcase in Prairie View, Texas, earlier this month; the USATF Grand Prix in Eugene in April; the 2018 NACAC Championships in Toronto; and the USATF Throws Fest in Tucson, Ariz.

✔️ Thompson received 1,222 points for the USATF Throws Fest, 1,190 for the NACAC meet, 1,116 for the Grand Prix, 1,164 for the USATF Showcase and 1,112 for the 2019 nationals. That’s 5,584 points for an average of 1,170 points, which is the figure that ranked him 32nd.

✔️ There’s no way of knowing exactly how many points Thompson gets from throwing 271-7 at the Trials because the formula is not explained anywhere, but it has to be somewhere over 1,222 since it was a superior performance to the one that earned him 1,222. Let’s say conservatively he earns 1,230 points. By subtracting his worst performance in the top five (1,112 from 2019 Nationals) and adding 1,230, his total increases by 118 and his average increases from 1,170 to 1,194. That moves him up to 27th in the ranking system. (Curtis told us this morning that he is actually now 28th, so our estimate was close!).

✔️ The cut-off for qualifying is June 30. But considering how difficult it is to move up or down in a ranking system that considers meets going back at least three years, it won’t be easy for four throwers to pass Thompson in the next eight or nine days.