We’re only two days away from the 52nd annual Meet of Champions, which begins at noon Saturday at the track adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in South Plainfield.

The meet was originally scheduled for the dazzling, brand-new, state-of-the-art track-only facility at Rutgers University in Piscataway, which is the sort of venue a meet this good deserves and the sort of venue South Plainfield will never be.

But at least there’s a meet this year, which wasn’t the case in 2000.

Here’s a list of handy links that will help enhance your enjoyment of the Meet of Champions!

Complete Meet of Champions performance list: Click HERE.
2021 Meet of Champions Program: Click HERE.
Complete South Jersey M-of-C top-10 seeds: Click HERE.
Order of events: Click HERE (and then scroll to page 14)
Boys Meet Records: Click HERE.
Girls Meet Records: Click HERE.
All-time Meet of Champions boys winners: Click HERE.
Most boys winners by school: Click HERE.
All-time girls winners: Click HERE.
Most girls winners by school: Click HERE.
All-time boys top-20 performance list: Click HERE.
All-time girls top-20 performance list: Click HERE.
All-time South Jersey Top-50 performance lists: Click HERE.
Watch live on MileSplit [subscription required]: Click HERE.

Eight South Jersey natives – five throwers, two distance runners and a sprinter –  head out to Eugene this coming week to contend with the greatest American athletes for a berth on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team.

The Trials are scheduled to run from Friday through June 27, a week from Saturday, at the University of Oregon’s historic Hayward Field.

You can watch the Trials on NBC and NBC Sports Network. Here’s the full TV schedule.

And here’s a look at the South Jersey contingent:

Josh Awotunde
Event: Shot put
Age: 26
Hometown: Franklinville
High School: Delsea
College: South Carolina
PR: 71-1 1/2
Season-Best: 71-1 1/2
2021 U.S. ranking: #4
Seed: #6
Schedule: Men’s shot put trials, noon, Friday, June 18; men’s shot put finals, 6:30 p.m., Friday, June 18.

Curtis Thompson
Event: Javelin
Age: 25
Hometown: Florence
High School: Florence
College: Mississippi State
PR: 271-11
Season-Best: 267-2
2021 U.S. ranking #1
Seed: #1
Schedule: Men’s javelin qualifying, Saturday, June 19, 2:15 p.m.; men’s javelin finals, 4:15 p.m., Saturday, June 19.

Cade Antonucci
Event: Javelin
Age: 26
Hometown: Mays Landing
High School: Holy Spirit
College: Auburn
PR: 249-9
Season-Best: 249-9
2021 U.S. ranking #10
Seed: #12
Schedule: Men’s javelin qualifying, Saturday, June 19, 2:15 p.m.; men’s javelin finals, 4:15 p.m., Saturday, June 19.

Johnnie Jackson
Event: Hammer throw
Age: 26
Hometown: Cherry Hill
High School: Cherry Hill East
College: LSU
PR: 237-1
Season-Best: 237-1
2021 U.S. ranking #12
Seed: #13
Schedule: Men’s hammer trials, Friday, June 18, 12:05 p.m.; men’s hammer finals, 4:25 p.m., Sunday, June 20.

English Gardner
Event: 100-meter dash
Age: 29
Hometown: Voorhees
High School: Eastern
College: Oregon
PR: 10.74
Season-Best: 11.13
2021 U.S. ranking #19
Seed: #19
Schedule: Women’s 100-meter dash trials,6:37 p.m., Friday, June 18; women’s 100-meter dash semifinals,  6:03 p.m., Saturday, June 19; women’s 100-meter dash finals, 7:51 p.m., Sunday, June 20.

Marielle Hall
Event: 10,000-meter run
Age: 29
Hometown: Mount Laurel
High School: Haddonfield
College: Texas
PR: 31:05.71
Season-Best: 31:21.78
2021 U.S. ranking #5
Seed: #4
Schedule: Women’s 10,000-meter run final, 6:44 p.m., Saturday, June 26.
(Hall also qualified in the 5,000. She has a PR of 15:02.27 and qualified with a 15:30.86 last year but scratched and will only race the 10,000.

Erika Kemp
Event: 5,000-meter run, 10,000-meter run
Age: 26
Hometown: Mount Holly
High School: Rancocas Valley
College: North Carolina State
PR: 15:26.18, 31:35.63
Season-Best: 15:26.18 (qualified for 10,000 last year)
2021 U.S. ranking #37 (not ranked in 10,000)
Seed: #14 5,000, #14 10,000
Schedule: Women’s 5,000-meter run semifinals, 5:54 p.m., Friday, June 18; women’s 5,000-meter run finals,5:40 p.m., Monday, June 21;  Women’s 10,000-meter run final, 6:44 p.m., Saturday, June 26.

Jessica Woodard
Event: Shot put
Age: 26
Hometown: Marlton
High School: Cherokee
College: Oklahoma
PR: 62-3 1/2
Season-Best: 62-3 1/2
2021 U.S. ranking #11
Seed: #7
Schedule: Women’s shot put trials, 1:30 p.m., Thursday, June 24; women’s shot put finals, 8 p.m., Thursday, June 24.

A familiar face made it into the U.S. Olympic Trials at the last minute.

English Gardner, a graduate of Eastern high School and a 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter relay, ran her fastest 100-meter dash in three years over the weekend in Maryland, earning a lane in the Olympic Trials one day before the qualifying window closed.

Gardner ran 11.13 at the 2nd Annual High Performance Domestic Opportunity meet Saturday at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md.

It was her fastest legal time since 2018, when she ran 11.02 at Rovereto Palio Città della Quercia in Rovereto, Italy. 

The qualifying standard for the 100 at the Trials, which start Friday at Gardner’s college track – Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene – is 11.15.

Gardner ranks No. 8 in world history and No. 5 all-time U.S. with her winning 10.74 at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene in July of 2016. She placed 7th in the 100 final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with a 10.94.

Gardner ran an 11.10 in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 31, but it was assisted by a 2.5 meters-per-second wind and not eligible to qualify her for the Trials.

She ran 11.23 in the trials in Olney on Saturday before getting 2-100ths of a second under the  standard in the final – with a legal 0.6 wind – in her last chance to qualify for the Trials.,

This will be Gardner’s third Olympic Trials. In 2012, she placed seventh in Eugene. 

The first round of the 100 is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. Friday. The semifinals are at 6:03 p.m. on Saturday and the final at 7:51 p.m. Saturday.

As we welcome back the Meet of Champions after last year’s meet was cancelled, this is a great time to take a look at the best performances in the meet’s history.

Jim Lambert from MileSplit and I have been putting together all-time Meet of Champions performance lists covering the fastest times, the highest jumps and the farthest throws since the boys meet began in 1969 followed by the girls meet in 1974.

Please let us know in the comments section if you find any mistakes or omissions!

Boys list: Click HERE.

Girls list: Click HERE.

Until three weeks ago, Cherokee sophomore Kelsey Niglio had never broken 2:18 for the 800.

So much for plateaus.

In the span of eight days, Niglio broke 2:18, 2:17, 2:16, 2:15 and 2:14 … all for the first time.

Niglio ran 2:13.40 to place fourth at the state Group 4 meet at Franklin Township over the weekend and goes into the Meet of Champions as the No. 6 seed.

Not bad for someone whose PR coming into the spring season was an indoor 2:18.61 from Ocean Breeze at the Meet of Champions in March of 2020.

Niglio lowered her PR to 2:18.43 at Haddonfield Distance Night on March 24, then PR’d with a 2:17.40 at the Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township.

Then came this weekend’s huge breakthrough down to 2:13.40 at states. That’s No. 2 on the all-time Cherokee list, behind only Monica Olkowski’s 2:12.09 at the 1990 Meet of Champions and No. 9 in Burlington County history.

Her time is fastest by a South Jersey sophomore in six years, since Kayla Martin of Seneca ran 2:11.88 and Briana Gess of Haddonfield ran 2:13.18.

The all-time Burlington County sub-2:15 list is below.

The state Group 4 race on Saturday was crazy fast, with 10 runners under 2:20 and five under 2:15. Including wild cards, it produced five of the top eight seeds for the Meet of Champions Saturday at South Plainfield.

Niglio’s teammate, junior Nicole Clifford, placed sixth in 2:17.39 out of the first heat. That’s also a PR, and she will join Niglio at the Meet of Champions.

Niglio and Clifford will also race in the 3,200-meter relay. Cherokee is the No. 4 seed at 9:34.21. Senior Erin Jacksons and Meghan Carroll are also on that team. Westfield is the No. 1 seed at 9:25.82.

Cherokee is also the No. 9 seed in the 1,600-meter relay at 3:59.52.

2:10.55 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], 2019
2:11.07 … Miya Johnson [Lenape], 2007
2:11.56 … Mary Bohi [Seneca], 2009
2:11.88 … Kayla Martin [Seneca], 2015
2:12.0h … Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 1990
2:12.78 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
2:12.93 … Carly Pettipaw [Lenape], 2015
2:13.38 … Julia Despirito[Shawnee], 2014
2:13.40 … Kelsey Niglio [Cherokee], 2021
2:14.3h … Becky Wells [Moorestown], 1987
2:14.46 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
2:14.70 … Kelly Victory [Lenape], 2000
2:14.6h … Chris Danks [Shawnee], 1987
2:14.76 … Kari Vigerstol [Holy Cross], 1994
2:14.91 … Renee Passalacqua [Rancocas Valley], 2003
2:14.8h … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], 1984

The Meet of Champions returns this weekend after a one-year absence, and South Jersey will have quite a presence Saturday at South Plainfield.

Some 86 South Jersey athletes and relay teams are seeded in the top-10, including several No. 1 seeds.

Cllck here for the Meet of Champions performance list.

And here’s a look at all the top-10 seeds from South Jersey!

BOYS
100-METER DASH
10.82 … *Matthew Mazero [Paul VI], #4
10.92 … Ahmad Brock [Egg Harbor], #6
10.95 … *Herbert Quarterman [Rancocas Valley], #9

200-METER DASH
21.89 … *Michael Mazero [Paul VI], #7

400-METER DASH
48.64 … **Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], #3
48.95 … *Michael Mazero [Pennsauken], #7

800-METER RUN
1:53.41 … *Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], #5
1:54.58 … Brady Shute [Woodbury], #10

1,600-METER RUN
4:12.63 … *Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], #3
4:15.61 … Josh Forrest [Collingswood], #9

3,200-METER RUN
9:19.66 … Aidan Groff [Cherry Hill East], #4
9:20.49 … Josh Forrest [Collingswood], #6
9:20.99 … Brady Shute [Woodbury], #7

110-METER HURDLES
14.99 … Ja’Von Solomon [Woodbury], #8
14.99 … *Aaron Brooks [Eastern], #8

400-METER HURDLES
52.68 … **Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], #1
54.66 … Treshan Stevenson [Millville], #3
55.58 … Bobby Arnold III [Salem], #7

HIGH JUMP
6-4 … Skyler Salay [Burlington Twp.], #1
6-4 … *Dillon Page [Cherry Hill East], #1
6-2 … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], #4
6-2 … Steven Crespo [Haddon Heights], #4

LONG JUMP
23-6 1/2 … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], #2
22-11 … Ter’Meir Hill [Clayton], #5
22-7 1/4 … Tavion Corbett-Collier [Eastern], #7
22-6 1/4 … *Chace Pearson [Timber Creek],. #9
22-4 1/2 … *Elijah Steward [Holy Spirit], #10

TRIPLE JUMP
47-0 1/4 … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], #3
46-5 1/2 … Tavion Corbett-Collier [Eastern], #5
45-9 … *Jaden Johnson [Sterling], #7
45-4 … *Chace Pearson [Timber Creek], #8

POLE VAULT
13-6 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], #7

SHOT PUT
58-4 1/4 … Joe Metzger [Delsea], #4
55-0 1/4 … C.J. Johnson [Willingboro], #10

DISCUS
157-5 … Ian Camerato [Lenape], #9

JAVELIN
167-1 … Brad Jamison [Ocean City], #7

400-METER RELAY
42.08 … Rancocas Valley, #1
42.74 … Deptford, #2
42.81 … Pennsauken, #4
43.03 … Paul VI, #6

1,600-METER RELAY
3:18.36 … Pennsauken, #1
3:18.50 … Deptford, #3

3,200-METER RELAY
8:00.37 … Ocean City, #2

GIRLS
100-METER DASH
11.92 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Township], #1
12.08 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], #3
12.44 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], #10

200-METER DASH
24.23 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Township], #1

400-METER DASH
55.99 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], #2
56.68 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], #4
57.21 … Nevaeh Lorjuste [Triton], #8
57.60 … Maya Harper [Pleasantville], #10

800-METER RUN
2:13.40 … **Kelsey Niglio [Cherokee], #6
2:15.27 … Allison Colflesh [Haddonfield], #9

1,600-METER RUN
4:54.25 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], #4
4:54.76 … Allison Colflesh [Haddonfield], #5

3,200-METER RUN
10:42.67 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], #2
11:02.95 … Sophie Steidle [Collingswood], #10

100-METER HURDLES
14.10 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], #1
15.08 … Balkis Iyiola [Willingboro], #10

400-METER HURDLES
1:01.38 … Diamond McLaughlin [Absegami], #1
1:02.22 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], #3
1:03.16 … Anne Rutledge [Egg Harbor], #5
1:04.46 … Alison Cooke [Cherokee], #10

HIGH JUMP
5-6 … Tatina Carr [Timber Creek], #1
5-6 … Alanna Woolfolk [Delsea], #1
5-6 … Jenovia Logan [Sterling], #1

LONG JUMP
18-4 3/4 … *Leah Ellis [Millville], #3

TRIPLE JUMP
38-4 … Mariah Stephens [Egg Harbor], #1
36-10 1/4 … Olivia Wright [Winslow], #7

POLE VAULT
11-4 … Fiona Basewitz [Collingswood], #6
11-0 … Julia Greeley [Seneca], #7

SHOT PUT
39-10 1/2 … Tey’ana Ames [Atlantic County Tech], #6
38-0 … Kara Knorr [Woodstown], #10

DISCUS
126-8 … Julia Bannan [Holy Spirit], #2
124-1 … Destiny Fields [Camden County Tech], #3
121-1 … Michaela Pomatto [Egg Harbor], #8

JAVELIN
125-6 … Kylee Alvarez [Absegami], #5
122-9 … Tatina Carr [Timber Creek], #7

400-METER RELAY
47.79 … Egg Harbor, #1
49.12 … Delsea, #6
49.47 … Washington Twp., #10

1,600-METER RELAY
3:56.67 … Clayton, #3
3:57.33 … Rancocas Valley, #5
3:59.52 … Cherokee, #9
4:00.38 … Haddonfield, #10

3,200-METER RELAY
9:34.21 … Cherokee, #4

Safe to say the season didn’t start out the way Balkis Iyiola wanted when it came to the high hurdles.

Iyiola wasn’t a hurdler last time there was an outdoor season. In the spring of 2019, she won the 100 at sectionals in 12.58 and was second in the 200 in 26.14. She started hurdling this past indoor season and picked it up fast enough to place third at states over the 55-meter highs.

But the 100-meter highs didn’t click at first. She ran 17.71 at the BCSL Championships and then didn’t make it out of the trials at the Burlington County Open.

But once championship season arrived, Iyiola was unstoppable.

She ran 15.74 – a two-second PR! – to win the Central Jersey Group 1 title and she also won the 100 and placed third in the 200 at sectionals at Long Branch,.

At Group 1 states at Pennsauken this past weekend, Iyiola matched that 15.74 in the trials and then took another whopping two-thirds of a second off her hurdles PR, running 15.08 and winning by more than a second over sophomore Rayael Marshall of Clayton, who was second in 16.20.

Willingboro’s Kenady Wilson won a state high jump title in 2019 (and competed at NCAAs this past weekend), but Iyiola became the first Willingboro girl to win a state title on the track since Vanessa Arientyl won the highs (14.38) and intermediates (1:02.54) at the 2010 state Group 2 meet at Egg Harbor. 

The only other Willingboro high hurdlers who’ve won state titles are Carole Lewis outdoors in 1979 and indoors and outdoors in 1980 and 1981, Kia Van Wright (indoors in 1994), Kim Allen (indoors in 2002 and 2003).

Iyiola’s 15.08 is also fastest by any Willingboro hurdler since Arientyl’s 14.38 at the 2010 state meet.

She also placed fourth in the 100 at states this past weekend for 14 points. She goes into Saturday’s Meet of Champions at South Plainfield as the No. 10 seed in the highs and No. 2 among South Jersey hurdlers, behind only Eastern’s Jailya Ash, the top seed at 14.10.

How fast can she go? Considering that she’s lowered her PR by 2 1/2 seconds in the last two weeks and ran 15.08 unpressed, the sky’s the limit. 

It’s been a crazy couple months of astounding improvement for Eastern senior Tavion Corbett-Collier, who placed second in both horizontal jumps at the state Group 4 meet at Franklin Township.

Corbett-Collier jumped 22-7 1/4 to take second in the long jump, coming within 2.75 inches of his PR of 22-10, set at Delsea last month. He jumped a PR 46-5 1/2  for second in the triple jump.

Piscataway senior Kaelen Mitchell won the long jump at 23-11 1/2 and Mount Olive junior A.J. McKay won the triple jump with a 47-0.

Corbett-Collier goes into Saturday’s Meet of Champions at South Plainfield as the No. 5 seed in the triple jump and No. 7 seed in the long jump.

Corbett-Collier also ran 11.21 in the 100 on Friday and could race the dash at the M-of-C if he chooses.

He’ll be joined in the triple jump Saturday by junior teammate Aaron Brooks, who placed fifth at states at 44-0 and also qualified in the 110 highs with a 14.99 for third at states.

Eastern’s last medalist at the Meet of Champions was Peter Flacco, who took fifth in the javelin in 2015. 

Corbett-Collier came into the season with a lifetime triple jump PR of 41-0, set in the spring of 2019 when he won the Olympic Conference title at Washington Township.

He then proceeded to set five PRs – 41-5 1/4 in a dual meet against Washington Township, 42-11 in a Delsea field event meet, 43-2 1/2 at the Olympic Conference meet, 46-2 at sectionals and 46-5 1/2 at states.

So he’s added 3 feet, 3 inches to his PR just since June 3!

Corbett-Collier now ranks No. 28 in South Jersey history in the triple jump and No. 2 in school history, behind Mikhail Micheaux’s 47-7 1/2 at the 2014 Hall of Fame Relays in Maple Shade.

Before this month, Corbett-Collier long jump PR was a 20-11 at the Bubble in Toms River during the 2020 indoor season, and his outdoor PR was a 20-3 from the 2019 South Jersey Invitational.

His first 21-foot jump was on April 17 in a meet in Edison, and his first 22-foot jump was May 19 in that dual meet against Washington Township. So he’s hit 21, 22 and 23 feet for the first time in the span of 55 days!

Holy Spirit senior Julia Bannan had a huge weekend, with a first, a second and a third and two PRs at the state Parochial B championships at Neptune.

Bannan won the discus by 32 feet with a throw of 126-8, a two-foot PR and No. 4 in Atlantic County history, and she also placed second in the javelin with a 104-1, a five-foot PR, and third in the shot put at 34-7, just off her PR of 35-8 3/4 from a dual meet last month.

That’s 24 points just from Bannan, enough to place ninth in the final team standings by herself.

The discus title was the second in a row for Bannan, who won the 2019 state title as a sophomore with a 112-3 and then had two wait two years to defend her championship.

Her 126-8 was only six feet off the meet record of 132-6 set in 2009 by Victoria Imbessi of Our Lady of Mercy in Franklin Township, Gloucester County.

It’s also the No. 4 mark in the state this year and makes her the No. 2 seed going into the Meet of Champions, just one inch behind Julietta Ambartsoumian of Northern Valley in Demarest.

Here’s a look at everyone who threw 120 feet at the various state meets this past weekend:

126-9 … Julietta Ambartsoumian [Northern Valley-Demarest], 1st, Group 2
126-8 … Julia Bannan [Holy Spirit], 1st, Parochial B
124-1 … Destiny Fields [Camden County Vo-Tech Sicklerville], 1st, Group 3
123-0 … Bryanna Wilson [Donovan Catholic], 1st, Parochial A
122-9 … Brynn Madonna [Northern Highlands], 2nd, Group 3
121-10 … Carly Cambria [Ridge], 1st, Group 4
121-1 … Michaela Pomatto [Egg Harbor Township], 2nd, Group 4

And here’s a look at the top five in Atlantic County history:

146-5 … Kim Warren [Atlantic City], 2006
143-3 … Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 2006
129-4 … Michaela Pomatto [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
126-8 … Julia Bannan [Holy Spirit], 2021
124-4 … Christina Donall [Mainland Reg.], 2013

Holy Spirit also placed fourth in the 1,600-meter relay with the team of senior Taylor Magill, junior Vanessa DeJean, junior Makayla McLaughlin and junior Paige Snyder running 4:25.10.

Floyd Whitaker became the first double state champion in Highland history this weekend as part of a monster performance that saw him medal in four events.

Whitaker, a Highland senior, scored enough points on his own to place fifth in the team standings at the state Group 3 meet at Pennsauken.

Whitaker won the triple jump Friday with a 47-0 1/4 jump and then won the long jump Saturday with a PR 23-6 1/2. He also placed fifth in the 400-meter intermediates and second in the high jump on Friday for 30 total points.

Overall, Highland placed fifth in Group 3 with 37 points.

These are Whitaker’s first outdoor state group titles, although he doubled at the 2020 indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze (and Easterns) in the two horizontal jumps and won the 2019 outdoor Meet of Champions after placing second at states (3/4 of an inch behind Hamilton West’s Richmond Sasha).

Whitaker’s previous long jump PR was a 23-0 1/2 at Ocean Breeze, and his outdoor PR was a 22-11 3/4 in a meet last month at Delsea.

The 23-6 1/2 makes him the No. 2 seed behind Piscataway’s Kaelen Mitchell (23-11 1/2) at Saturday’s Meet of Champions at South Plainfield. He’s the No. 3 seed in the triple jump (Sincere Robinson of Newark Tech 47-10 1/2, Rashawn Markman of Waldwick 47-10 1/2), although he has the best PR in the field at 50-2 1/2 from the 2019 Meet of Champions.

With his 23-6 1/2, Whitaker moved up to No. 18 in South Jersey history. It’s the best jump by a South Jersey long jumper since 2013, when Eastern’s Mikhail Micheaux hit 24-3 3/4 and Reggie Morrton of Oakcrest jumped 23-7 1/4.

He’s already No. 3 in the triple jump behind only Delsea’s Khaliel Burnett (50-9 1/4 in 2018) and Dominique Irons of Haddon Heights (50-6 3/4 in 2013).

The only other jumper in state history to go at least 23-6 in the long jump and 50 feet in the triple jump is Chris Phipps of Lodi, who jumped 23-6 1/4 and 50-5 in 2008 and later became an All-America at Nebraska. 

Highland also got points at states from its 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams. In the 4-by-1, junior Freddi Alford, senior Robert McKinney, junior Omar Smith and sophomore Michael Arequin ran 43.92 for fourth, and sophomores Gavin Gallo, Anthony Imperatore and Cole Knoedler joined senior Cole Wassell to take sixth in the 4-by-8 in 8:17.02.

McKinney also placed fifth in the 100 in 11.24.