What a performance Saturday by Delsea senior Andrew Littlehales, who shaved seven seconds off his 3,200 PR, shattered the Gloucester County record and won his first state title in either cross country or track.
Littlehales won the race in 9:13.20, finishing ahead of the top two seeds – Haddonfield teammates Seth Clevenger and George Andrus. Littlehales ran fresh, while the two Haddonfield runners were doubling back after going 1-3 in the 1,600, Clevenger winning in 4:17.98 and Andrus 3rd in 4:19.18.
Littlehales’ previous indoor or outdoor PR was his 9:20.63 from Group 3 sectionals last weekend.
Littlehales’s mark on the slow, flat 200-meter track at the Bubble in Toms River, is No. 10 in South Jersey history indoors and breaks the Gloucester County indoor record of 9:13.93 set by Williamstown’s Paul Szulewski at the 2010 Meet of Champions, also at the Bubble.
Clevenger ran a PR of his own, taking 2nd in 9:17.39, and Andrus was 3rd in 9:20.70, making it a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish.
Littlehales also ran faster than Delsea’s outdoor 3,200 record, which is 9:19.19, set by Nick Costello at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge.
All-Time South Jersey Indoor 3,200-Meter Run List
8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:00.27 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
9:10.4y ….. Ken Medlin, Haddon Township, 1970
9:11.1y ..… Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1970
9:11.2y ..… Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
9:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
9:11.9y ….. Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976
9:12.20 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020
9:13.20 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:13.33 ….. Michael Rankin [Paul VI], 2010
9:13.93 ….. Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:14.31 ….. Jimmy Daniels [Sterling], 2013
9:14.70 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], 2020
9:15.8y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
9:15.76 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1986
9:16.09 ….. Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2016
9:16.7y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
9:17.39 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
9:17.52 ….. Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
9:17.55 ….. Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
9:17.71 ….. Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
9:18.89 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
9:18.59 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019
All-Time Gloucester County Indoor 3,200-Meter Run Top-10
9:13.20 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:13.93 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:15.8y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
9:22.0y … Willie Marino [Williamstown], 1976
9:23.34 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2011
9:23.0y … Joe Siedlecki [Williamstown], 1973
9:24.71 … Nick Costello [Delsea], 2012
9:26.02 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
9:26.93 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022
9:27.16 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], 2020
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 