Rancocas Valley graduate Bethany Biggi moved into the No. 6 spot in the hepthatlon in James Madison history with her season-opening PR performance in a meet in North Carolina.

Biggi, a JMU junior, scored 4,486 points at the Bob Davidson Memorial Invitational at High Point University’s Dick Vert Stadium.

Her score is only 342 points off the school record of 4,828 set by Nicolette Serratore at the 2019 Roadrunner Invitational in San Antonio. That’s less than 50 points per event.

Biggi opened by running 15.80 in the 100-meter hurdles for 739 points and then added 701 points with a 5-1 ¾ clearance in the high jump. She finished Day 1 by scoring 497 points with a 31-2 ½ in the shot and then 697 points running 27.18 in the 200.

On Day 2, she long jumped 17-6 ¼ for 654 points, threw the javelin 108-4 for 534 points and ran the closing 800 in 2:32.33 for 664 points.

Biggi’s previous heptathlon PR was 4,451 points at the Colonial Athletic Championships last spring at her home track in Harrisonburg, Va.

Her 200, hurdles and long jump were all PRs, although her hurdles time was slightly wind-aided at 2.1 meters-per-second.

Biggi already ranks 10th on the school’s all-time list in the high jump [5-4 ¼], 8th in the javelin [117-9], 8th in the indoor high jump [5-5 ¾] and 5th in the indoor pentathlon [3,476 points]

Collingswood grad Adam Hunt opened the outdoor season with a discus PR and the No. 4 throw in Rutgers history.

Hunt, a Rutgers sophomore, threw 181-8 and placed second at the Blue and Gold Invitational at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Hunt’s previous PR was a 180-1 last April in a meet in Iowa City, Iowa.

Hunt moved into the No. 4 spot in Rutgers history, behind Central Regional’s James Plummer [205-11 in Des Moines in 2013], East Stroudsburg’s Sam Segond [199-7 at Penn in 2005] and Middle Township’s John Mooers [185-2 at Penn in 2019].

Not only did he throw 181-8 on his first throw, Hunt added throws of 178-11 and 178-1 in his series.

John Sobota of Kentucky won the event at 191-9.

Hunt also threw a PR of 167-3 in the hammer and threw 51-5 1/2 in the shot. His previous hammer PR was 163-5 last March in College Park, Md.

Although Hunt is relatively new to the hammer – this was only his fourth lifetime meet throwing the hammer – he moved up to No. 7 in Rutgers history.

Hunt ranks No. 29 in NCAA Division 1 in the early going and No. 2 in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State sophomore Tanner Watson, who threw 181-11 in a meet last weekend in Tempe, Ariz.

Rowan’s Jacob Riley got his outdoor season off to a hot start over the weekend in Lexington, Va.

Riley turned in a couple PRs at the Washington & Lee Carnival – 1:54.89 for 2nd place in the 800 and 4:01.08 for 5th place in the 1,500.

Riley’s previous 800 PR was a 1:58.15 last spring in a meet at West Chester, and his 1,500 PR was 4:12.18 also last April in a home meet in Glassboro.

You don’t get many 3 ½-second PRs in the 800.

To get a sense how much Riley has improved since high school, his PRs at North Warren High in Blairstown were 1:57.80 at the 2019 state Group 1 meet at Franklin and 4:39.64 at 2018 indoor sectionals at the Bubble. Riley did run 4:17.05 indoors this year at the AARTFC Championships in Rochester.

His 1:54.89 is fastest by a Rowan half-miler since All-America Nick Neville ran 1:51.10 at the 2018 NCAA Division 3 Championships in La Crosse, Wisc.

Riley was one of three Rowan milers who ran 4:01 and change in Lexington. Cherokee graduate Justin Kelly, a Rowan freshman, ran 4:01.23 in his first outdoor college race, and senior Jeffrey Stewart of Jackson Memorial ran 4:01.40.

Kelly didn’t run any 1,500s or miles indoors. His mile PR is 4:17.38 from the 2018 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington. He also ran 1:59.97 in Lexington. Stewart’s 4:01.40 breaks a PR of 4:04.85 from last spring in a meet at Rowan.

Another Rowan freshman, Zachary Voll from Lakeland Regional in Wanaque, ran 1:58.54 after going 1:58.17 indoors, and soph Peter Argerakis from Sachem East in Brookhaven, N.Y., also broke two minutes for the first time ever in Lexington with a 1:59.96

With Jake Kolodziej, who ran 1:52.66 indoors, Riley, Kelly, Voll and Argerakis, this Rowan team has the potential to put together a decent 4-by-8 this spring.

They haven’t raced yet outdoors, but Rowan also lists Jackson’s Joe DeVito on its roster. DeVito ran 1:53.25 at the 2019 Group 3 state meet, where he placed second to Sean Dolan of Hopewell Valley (who ran 3:56.39 for Villanova in February). And soph Charlie Serrano from Matawan ran 1:56.57 at the Monmouth County Championships as a senior at Matawan. Another current Prof, Cole Kolodziej, ran 1:59.52 as a senior at Washington Township.

Add the four best 800 PRs – 1:52.66, 1:54.89, 1:56.57 and 1:58.54 – and you can see why Rowan has sub-7:40 potential by the end of the year.

(Lenape grad Kevin Lauer ran 4:14.81 at the indoor NJAC meet so he’s good for something a 1:57-low at worst! Lauer hasn’t run an 800 since a 1:59.39 in 2019.)

In his first meet since the Olympics, Curtis Thompson recorded the No. 1 javelin throw in the U.S. this year.

Thompson, a Florence High graduate, threw 251-7 on his second throw at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at George C. Griffin Track on Georgia Tech’s campus in Atlanta.

It was Thompson’s first meet since he threw 256-6 and placed 22nd in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Thompson placed second behind 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who threw world No. 2 277-10.

Thompson opened with a throw of 240-11 before hitting 251-7 on his second attempt and then finishing with 241-9 and 248-11.

The 251-7 is Thompson’s second-best season opener ever. He began last year with a 252-8 throw at the Falcon Classic in Montevallo, Ala.

Thompson, an NCAA champ, two-time U.S. champion, former Olympic Trials record holder and four-time BCSL Freedom Division winner, ranks 16th in U.S. history with his 271-11 throw at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Woodrow Wilson graduate Dennisha Page ran a personal-best for 200 meters Saturday in her first race of the outdoor season.

Page, a sophomore at Rutgers, ran 23.77 at the Black and Gold Invitational at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Although she had run a couple faster times in high school, this was her fastest wind-legal time with a 1.2 meters-per-second wind behind her.

Her previous wind-legal PR was 23.98 last May at the Big Ten Championships at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

Her 23.77 is No. 4 in Rutgers history behind Williamstown graduate Gabrielle Farquharson [23.07 at the 2016 Big Ten meet in Lincoln, Neb.], Bria Saunders [23.36 at the 2017 Big Ten meet at Penn State] and Michelle Gomes [23.70 at 2010 Big East in Cincinnati].

Click to access 19_Rutgers_Women_s_Track_Record_Book.pdf

Page finished 4-100ths of a second behind post-grad Gabrielle Farquharson from Williamstown, who ran 23.73. Farquharson holds the Rutgers 100 record at 11.32 and the 200 record at 23.07.

Page also ran a huge 100 PR of 11.39 and placed second, but that race was assisted by a 3.1 MpS wind. Anything over 2.0 MpS is considered wind-aided.  Her 100 PR with a legal wind is 12.13 and that was into a 2.1 MpS wind last April in a meet in Piscataway.

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde placed 5th in the shot put Saturday at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Awotunde threw 71-2 ¼ on his third attempt and finished behind only Olympian Darlan Romani of Brazil [meet-record 73-11], U.S. teammate and world record holder Ryan Crouser [73-7 1/2], two-time Olympic bronze medalist Tomas Walsh of New Zealand [73-2 1/4] and Olympian Filip Mihaljević of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a three-time NCAA champ for Virginia [71-7 1/4], in his first international championship competition.

The competition produced five of the top 17 throws in meet history.

Awotunde threw just 1 ½ inches off his indoor lifetime best of 71-3 ¾, which he hit last month when he placed second at the U.S. Championships in Spokane, Wash., which qualified him for Worlds. Awotunde’s outdoor PR is 72-2 from last spring at Stadio Colbachini, Padova, Italy.

Awotunde, the youngest finisher in the top 5, opened with a throw of 68- ½ and then threw 70-2 ¾ on his second attempt before hitting 71-2 ¼ on his third. He was sitting in 4th going into the finals but fouled on all three attempts.

Awotunde’s mark is the best 5th-place finish in meet history. The previous best was 68-11 ½ by Bulgari’s Georgi Ivanov in 2014.

His throw is No. 17 in meet history and makes him the No. 10 all-time performer and No. 5 American ever at Indoor Worlds.

All-Time World Indoor Performance List
73-11 … Darlan Romani [Brazil], 2022 [1]
73-7 ½ … Ryan Crouser [United States], 2022 [2]
73-2 ¼ ……..Walsh, 2018 [1]
73-2 ¼ …….. Walsh, 2022 [3]
72-11 ½ … Ulf Timmerman [German Democratic Republic], 1987 [1]
72-6 ½ … Reese Hoffa [United States], 2006 [1]
72-4 … Ryan Whiting [United States], 2014 [1]
72-2 ……..Whiting, 2012 [1]
71-9 … David Storl [Germany], 2012 [2]
71-7 ¼ … Christian Cantwell [United States], 2010 [1]
71-7 ¼ … Filip Mihaljević [Croatia], 2022 [4]
71-5 ¾ ……..Storl, 2014 [2]
71-5 ½ ……..Walsh, 2016 [1]
71-5 ……..Cantwell, 2008 [1]
71-4 ¼ ……..Timmerman, 1989 [1]
71-3 … Tomasz Majewski [Poland], 2012
71-2 ¼ … Josh Awotunde [United States], 2022 [5]

Awotunde ranks No. 30 all-time in world history and No. 15 all-time in U.S. history.

Nia Ali raced Saturday for the first time in more than two years and the Olympic silver medalist from Pleasantville ran the fastest time in the world this year.

Ali won the 100-meter hurdles at the Hurricane Invitational at the University of Miami’s Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Fla., in 12.59.

https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=4876

That’s the exact same time she ran to win the Olympic silver medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In her first race over the 100-meter hurdles in three years, Ali turned in the 8th-fastest time of her life, which is incredible. It’s also her 2nd-fastest time ever in a non-championship meet.

Here are Ali’s all-time top-10 times:

12.34 … World Championships [semifinals], Doha, Qatar [Oct. 6, 2019]
12.44 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar [Oct. 6, 2019]
12.48 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore. [June 22, 2013]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [semifinals], Sacramento, Calif. [June 24, 2017]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Ore. [July 8, 2016]
12.55 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore. [July 27, 2019]
12.57 … Müller Anniversary Games, London [July 20, 2019]
12.59 … Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Aug. 17, 2016]
12.59 … World Championships [prelims], Doha, Qatar [Oct. 5, 2019]
12.59 … Hurricane Invitational, Coral Gables, Fla. [March 19, 2022]

Other than an exhibition 150-meter hurdles race in Marietta, Ga., in July of 2020, this was Ali’s first race indoors or out since Feb. 21, 2020, when she ran 7.88 in the 60-meter hurdles in a World Athletics Indoor Tour event at Villa de Madrid. Her last outdoor race was the final of the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 6, 2019, when she won in a personal-best 12.34, No. 10 in world history.

The 2020 season was wiped out because of COVID and Ali took the 2021 season off after giving her birth to her third child, a son, in May 2021. She did not race indoors this year.

A few days ago we posted 10 performances you might have missed from Ocean Breeze Nationals – you can find that by clicking here, and today it’s time for 10 performances you might have missed from Armory Nationals.

 Hopefully in future years there’s only one national meet in New York City, and we can just post 20 performances you might have missed from Nationals. Makes sense, right? We don’t have the Armory Super Bowl and the Ocean Breeze Super Bowl 25 miles away. If you’re going to call your meet “national championships,” then make it one.

In any case, South Jersey turned in some tremendous performances in both meets. Here are 10 you may have missed from the Armory!

(p.s. – If we missed any good performances let us know in the comment’s section! It’s not always easy to identify where various relay teams are from when they’re competing under a club name!)

RANCOCAS VALLEY: Seniors Sinai Jenkins, Annabella Chin and Jya Marshall and junior Kasey White ran 3:59.81 to place 7^th in the 4-by-4 Sunday, with White anchoring in 56.91. The Red Devils finished No. 2 in the state this year in the 4-by-4 with their 3:58.75 at the Millrose Trials.

ARIANNA SHARPE, UNKNOWN: I can’t tell you what high school Sharpe attends these days, but I can tell you she ran a really fast 400. Her 56.09 was good for 9^th in the prelims of the Championship 400 and she missed the final by just 22-100ths of a second. Her time is No. 9 in South Jersey history and fastest in five years, since Aliyah Taylor of R.V. ran 55.21 at Easterns in 2017. The Sharpe sisters were at Paulsboro in 2020 and Clayton in 2021 and have raced unattatched this season, which means they did not compete in any of the NJSIAA meets. They were listed in the Armory Nationals entries with “Williamstown” as their affiliation, so it’s possible they are attending Williamstown High School this year but competing unattatched. Sharpe also ran 25.02 in the 200, which is No. 16 in South Jersey history indoors.

All-time South Jersey sub-57 list
54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
56.09 … Arianna Sharpe [Unknown], 2022
56.19 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.21 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1997
56.34 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
56.44 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2006
56.62 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
56.65 … Britney Kott [Millville], 2009
56.76 … Simone Thomas [Willingboro], 2003
56.78 … Ajae Alvarez-Tyler [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
56.85 … Emily Duffey [Lenape], 2012
56.85 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.88 … Marcene Jack [Mainland Reg.], 2004
56.90 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1999
56.98 … Jade Pope [Pennsauken], 2020

GRACE WASSELL, HIGHLAND: Wassell ran 5:01.03 for the full mile, coming through 1,500 officially in 4:42.49. Her mile time converts to 4:59.28 for 1,600 meters, which is No. 14 in South Jersey history and No. 5 on the all-time Camden County list. Wassell also ran the 800 at Ocean Breeze Nationals, placing 10^thoverall in 2:17.01, just a fraction off her indoor PR of 2:16.68 from sectionals.

All-time South Jersey indoor 1,600 list
4:41.52y … Michelle Rowen [Wash. Twp.], 1983
4:49.46y … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
4:51.60 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
4:52.34y … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:53.36 … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014
4:53.85 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:54.58 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:55.04y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:56.1h,y … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:57.12 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
4:57.72 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2010
4:57.77y … Aubrey Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2022
4:58.48 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
4:59.28y … Grace Wassell [Highland], 2022
4:59.29 … Julia Despirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:59.39 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012

WINSLOW TWP.: Junior Briyel Brown, junior Janelle Marshall, junior Kamryn Holness and senior Jaia James placed 13^th overall in the 800-meter relay in 1:43.99. Winslow ran slightly faster at Easterns, winning in 1:43.58, which was No. 1 in South Jersey this year and No. 2 in the state.

 MICHAEL MAZERO, PAUL VI: The Meet of Champions 400 winner placed 10^th overall in the 400 with a personal-best 48.71 in the trials, missing the final by just 19-100ths of a second. Mazero lowered his indoor PR from 49.02 from the M-of-C. That 48.71 moves him up to No. 11 in South Jersey history and No. 3 on the all-time Camden County list. With Bryce Tucker running 48.23 at Ocean Breeze Nationals, Xander Roberts-Bogin 48.45 at Easterns and Mazero 48.71 at Armory Nationals, the last two weeks produced three of the 11-fastest times in South Jersey history as well as Camden County and Atlantic County records.

All-time S.J. indoor 400 list
47.90 … Brandon Outlaw [Moorestown], 2018
48.23 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2022
48.27 … Jade Smith [Camden], 2002
48.36 … Mohammad Kanu [Lenape], 2000
48.45 … Xander Roberts-Bogin [Pleasantville], 2022
48.48 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
48.50 … Alex Reber [Cherry Hill East], 2013
48.55 … Royce Reed [Bridgeton], 1995
48.64 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
48.68 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
48.71 … Michael Mazero [Paul VI], 2022
48.74 … John Morris [Camden], 2001
48.75 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017
48.79 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
48.7h … Curt Mcintyre [Bridgeton], 1992
48.91 … Marlin Gross [Bridgeton], 2001
48.91 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998

CINNAMINSON: Matt McCarron, Derek Coceano, Tyler Schill and Alex Boyko ran a school-record 8:07.47 for 3^rd in the Rising Stars 3,200-meter relay. McCarron led off with a 2:03.28, Coceano split 2:01.93, Schill ran 1:59.73 on the third leg, and Boyko anchored in 2:02.52. That 8:07.47 is 6^th-fastest in New Jersey this year. For those of you who like these sorts of things, here’s the all-time South Jersey sub-8:10 list:

7:43.64 … Cherokee, 2012
7:45.55 … Pleasantville, 2013
7:47.50 … Kingsway, 2020
7:48.92 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017
7:51.43 … Washington Twp., 2009
7:51.78 … Cherokee, 2000
7:52.76 … Kingsway, 2020
7:52.77 … Pleasantville, 2006
7:52.95 … Willingboro, 2003
7:53.64 … Willingboro, 2002
7:54.76 … Pleasantville, 2007
7:55.40 … Washington Twp., 2008
7:55.44 … Haddonfield, 2010
7:57.28 … Rancocas Valley, 2018
7:57.29 … Oakrest, 2009
7:57.56 … Haddonfield, 2019
7:58.08 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2016
7:58.5h … Willingboro, 1983
7:59.05 … Pleasantville, 2015
7:59.51 … Pleasantville, 2012
7:59.84 … Kingsway, 2014
7:59.91 … Kingsway, 2013
8:01.32 … Kingsway, 2015
8:01.64 … Haddonfield, 2018
8:02.39 … Bridgeton, 2001
8:02.47 … Cherokee, 2011
8:02.49 … Washington Twp., 2000
8:02.62 … Mainland Reg., 2004
8:02.67 … Washington Twp., 1999
8:03.0y … Woodbury, 1977
8:03.58 … Pleasantville, 2009
8:03.11 … Kingsway, 2018
8:03.77 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
8:04.1h … Rancocas Valley, 2015
8:04.50 … Haddonfield, 2009
8:05.49 … Delsea, 2010
8:06.58 … Cherokee, 2009
8:06.7h … Haddonfield, 2015
8:06.91 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2018
8:07.47 … Cinnaminson, 2022
8:07.5h … Shawnee, 2000
8:07.93 … Seneca, 2013
8:08.4h … Cherokee, 1998
8:08.53 … Edgewood, 1985
8:08.7y … Edgewood, 1984
8:08.95 … Highland, 2014
8:08.92 … Kingsway, 2009
8:09.37 … Woodrow Wilson, 1993
8:09.6y … Willingboro

And here’s the all-time Burlington County top-20 list:
7:43.64 … Cherokee, 2012
7:51.78 … Cherokee, 2000
7:52.95 … Willingboro, 2003
7:53.64 … Willingboro, 2002
7:57.28 … Rancocas Valley, 2018
7:58.5h … Willingboro, 1983
8:02.47 … Cherokee, 2011
8:03.77 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
8:04.1h … Rancocas Valley, 2015
8:06.58 … Cherokee, 2009
8:07.47 … Cinnaminson, 2022
8:07.5h … Shawnee, 2000
8:07.7h … Willingboro, 2002
8:07.93 … Seneca, 2013
8:08.42 … Cherokee, 1998
8:09.6y … Willingboro
8:10.22 … Lenape, 2000
8:10.7h … Rancocas Valley, 1972
8:11.30 … Rancocas Valley, 2014
8:12.7h … Willingboro, 2001

DENNIS FORTUNA, TRITON: Opportunities to run indoor 5,000s are rare, but Fortuna made the most of his with a 15:09.79 for 9^th place overall. The fastest previous indoor 5,000 by a South Jersey runner I unearthed was a 15:24.43 by Matt Mitchell of Haddon Heights in 2006 when he placed 9^th at Nationals at the Armory, so Fortuna may have himself a South Jersey record. If anyone knows of a faster indoor 5,000 let me know!

DAN GIVENS, OCEAN CITY: Givens leaped 43-3 ¼ on his final attempt in the triple jump and while that was a bit short of his Cape May County record of 43-8 ½ from the Metropolitan Invitational at the Armory in January it is his second-best jump ever.

RYAN ALLEN, KINGSWAY: At Ocean Breeze, Clayton Stoll of Great Falls, Va., won the mile racewalk in 7:14.47, Isaac Gray of Rochester was 2^nd in 7:25.04 and Allen took 3^rd in 7:29.94. A day later at the Armory, Allen turned the tables on Stoll and Grey, winning in 7:12.00, with Gray 2^nd in 7:15.29 and Stoll 3^rd in 7:17.11. Allen is the younger brother of Sam Allen, a Cornell freshman who earlier this month represented the U.S. at 20K at the World Racewalk Championships in Muscat, Oman.

WILLINGBORO: The Chimeras ran a season-best 3:27.04 to place 2^nd in the Rising Stars 1,600-meter relay. Seniors Jaylen Young, Geordan Collins, Christopher Johnson and Miles Allen finished behind only Ocean Township, which ran 3:25.07. Willingboro’s time is 2^nd-best in South Jersey this year, behind only Pennsauken’s All-America performance at Ocean Breeze Nationals, where they placed 2^nd in 3:21.58. The 3:27.04 is the Boro’s fastest indoor 4-by-4 in 10 years, since the 2012 team ran 3:25.30 at the New Balance Invitational at the Armory. The Boro also ran 1:30.96 in the 4-by-2 , 3rd-fastest in New Jersey this year and No. 6 in Burlington County history.

It was an annual tradition during Penn Relays. I’d wander out of Franklin Field and walk over to South Street, across the bridge over the railroad tracks, down the steps outside Penn’s Naval ROTC building, along the access road that runs parallel to the Schuylkill Expressway and over to Penn’s River Fields complex to the javelin area. I’d walk over toward the circle and invariably Warren Martin would find me and fill me in on everything I missed while he was officiating the event.

It would go something like this: “The Eastern  kid threw 189-5. That’s his best throw this year. The Hazleton kid is in the lead with a personal-best 196-2. He did that on his first throw. The junior from Delsea is in 4th with a 185-8. Over at the college jav, South Carolina is sitting in first and second, but watch out for Rhode Island thrower. He had a 258-foot throw on his first attempt but it was out of the sector. The high school girls jav should be starting around 1, and the college women around 2. What else do you need to know?”

 That was Warren. He answered every question you had and a few you didn’t even realize you had.

Warren Martin, a long-time educator in the Cinnaminson school system and one of the most respected track officials in New Jersey history, died this past weekend in his adopted hometown of Key West, Fla.

If you ever attended a track meet in South Jersey you know how much Warren cared about the sport and how much he put into it. From working local relay meets in South Jersey to officiating at Penn to training cadet official candidates, he was deeply committed to track and field, and he was one of those officials who never forgot that the sport is all about the kids. Warren was an expert on every event, but the throws were his true love, especially the javelin. Nobody knew the javelin better than Warren, and South Jersey has such a rich history of great javelin throwers – including U.S. Vince Labosky and Curtis Thompson – and Warren has been around for all of it.

Warren was so happy when the Burlington County Open many years ago instituted an annual award given to the top male and female thrower each year, an award given in the name of Warren’s late wife Phyllis, who was equally committed to track and field. Back when I was covering track for The Burlington County Times, I’d get to Maple Shade for the Open every year super early – like 7:30 a.m. – to set up my laptop and get situated and walk around and chat with people. Warren would always come right up to me and ask me to keep in mind on who the top throwers were. Never mind that we wouldn’t have to pick the winners for another eight hours, he was that excited about the award. And the kids that win it always really appreciate the award because throwers don’t get the publicity that sprinters and distance runners and hurdlers get. A throwers award is unique. When I announce the Open I always get a special kick out of announcing the Phyllis Martin Award winners because it always means so much to the kids and to Warren. It always amazed me that even after Warren moved to Florida he would still fly up here every May for the County Open to hand that trophy to Burlington County’s best throwers.

Warren was inducted into the South Jersey Track Hall of Fame and the Burlington County Track Hall of Fame and was honored by the NJSIAA for his years of service to track and field. I’m sure there were numerous other honors and awards. This is a unique sport. The people who spend their lives devoted to track and field do it out of a deep love for the sport, and nobody loved it more than Warren Martin.

He’ll be deeply missed by everyone he made an impact on, and that’s pretty much everybody involved in South Jersey track and field over the last 50 years.

 

South Jersey had an incredible few days at both so-called “national” meets in New York, and we did our best to write about as many was we could, but there was so much going on that a bunch of big-time performances fell through the cracks.

So over the next couple days, we’ll review 10 performances at Ocean Breeze and 10 at the Armory that might have flown under the radar.

We start with Ocean Breeze!

ALLIE PIERONTONI, KINGSWAY: Pierontoni, a Kingsway junior, placed 6th in the mile in 4:59.51, which converts to 4:57.77 for 1,600 for the sake of comparison. It’s a PR and her first time under 5 minutes for either distance indoors or outdoors. It’s also No. 11 in South Jersey history and lowers her own school record of 5:00.17 from the Meet of Champions last weekend at the Bubble. Pierontoni’s 1,500-meter en route time was 4:38.92. Here’s a look at all the sub-5 performances for 1,600 (or converted miles) in South Jersey indoor track history:

4:41.52y … Michelle Rowen [Wash. Twp.], 1983
4:49.46y … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
4:51.60 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
4:53.36 … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014
4:53.85 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:54.58 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:55.04y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:56.1h,y … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:57.12 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
4:57.72 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2010
4:57.77 … Aubrey Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2022
4:58.48 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
4:59.29 … Julia Despirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:59.39 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012

SIANNI WYNN AND KARON ALI, PENNSAUKEN: These two Pennsauken 8th-graders both had promising performances in the Middle School competition. Sianni Wynn ran 58.28 for 3rd in the 400 and was 3rd in the 60 in 7.86 with a 7.30 en route time for 55 meters. Those times both would have ranked among the top three among South Jersey high school girls this winter. Ali ran 50.66 for 2nd in the 400 and 7.23 for 5th in the 60-meter dash with an en-route time of 6.71. Yikes!

DAHLIA BEASLEY, WASHINGTON TWP.: Beasley, a sophomore ran a big PR of 57.97 for ninth in the Emerging Elite division of the 400-meter dash. Her previous indoor PR was 59.43 and her outdoor PR is 59.34. Her 57.97 made her the top sophomore in New Jersey this year. She was also No. 2 sophomore high jumper in New Jersey at 5-4, behind only another Gloucester County jumper, Alanna Woolfolk of Clayton, who cleared 5-6.

KINGSWAY: Nicole Lipieta, Faith Bill, Cassidy Dunk and Pierontoni ran 9:43.56 for 3rd in the Emerging Elite 3,200-meter relay. That’s No. 2 in South Jersey this year, behind only Cherokee’s 9:07.27 at the Armory. Lipieta led off with a 2:22.29, Bill split 2:31.39, Dunk 2:31.03 and Pierontoni anchored in 2:18.85.

HADDONFIELD: The Bulldogs were right behind Kingsway, 6th in 9:45.30 with Thea Spellmeyer, Jess Goode, Elizabeth DeMichele and Audrey Naticchia. Spellmeyer split 2:26.08, Goode 2:27.84, DeMichele 2:29.58 and Naticchia 2:21.78.

ELAINA STYER, OCEAN CITY: Styer, a junior, placed 10th in the Emerging Elite triple jump with a lifetime-best 35-6, best in South Jersey this year and extending her own Cape May County record. Her previous PR was 35-0 at the Meet of Champions last weekend. The versatile Styer has also high jumped 5-0, run 8.24 in the 55, long jumped 16-4 ¾ and seems to be a terrific pentathlon/heptathlon candidate.

GREG FOSTER, LUMBERTON: We wrote about Foster’s record-setting wins in the long jump and triple jump, but he’s not only the nation’s best horizontal jumper, he’s also one of the best hurdlers in the country. In between winning the two horizontal jumps, the Princeton-bound Lawrenceville School senior ran 8.06 in the 60-meter hurdles trials and then 8.01 for 3rd in the final, just 2-100ths of a second behind winner Jadyn Marshall of St. Mary’s in Stockton, Calif. Foster ran 7.43 en route through 55 meters. Foster fell just 5-100ths of a second shy of the Mercer County record over the 60-meter highs. Todd Matthews of Notre Dame ran 7.96 at the 1998 National Scholastic Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass.

JADEN JOHNSON, TIMBER CREEK: Foster stole the headlines, but Johnson had a big day with a 4th-place in the Championship triple jump and All-America honors with a 46-11 ¾ performance. Johnson had just PR’d with a 46-9 ½ to win the Meet of Champions. His 46-11 ¾ is No. 24 in state history and No. 7 in South Jersey history.

All-time South Jersey indoor 45-foot triple jump list:
49- 1 …..… Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
48- 9 …..… Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
48- 8 ½ … Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 2014
48- 1 ¼ … Wayne Walls [Camden], 2009
47- 3 …..… Rhodeni Spence [Woodrow Wilson], 2007
46-10 ¾ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 2020
46-11 ¾ … Jaden Johnson [Timber Creek], 2022
46- 5 …….. Orion Joyner [Kingsway], 2019
46- 3 ½ … Keon Grady [Delsea], 2018
45-10 …..… Kevin Kevelier [Collingswood], 2020
45- 3 ½ … Zakiyy Williams [Rancocas Valley], 2015
45- 0 …….. Earnest Daniel [Kingsway], 2017

All-time New Jersey indoor triple jump list:
49-9 ¼ … Greg Foster [Lawrenceville School], 2022
49-7 ½ … Jon Pitt [South Brunswick], 2013
49-6 ½ … Craig Halyard [Ridgewood], 1989
49-6 ½ … Eric Bethea [Piscataway], 2015
49-5 ¼ … Dodley Thermitus [Elizabeth], 2017
49-1 …..… Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
48-9 …..… Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
48-8 ¾ … Devon Bond [Trenton], 2007
48-8 ½ … Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 2014
48-7 ½ … Myles Hartsfield [Sayreville], 2015
48-6 ¼ … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], 1992
48-5 ¼ … Ralston Braithwaite [Trenton], 2009
48-0 ½ … Kyle Lindsay [Paterson East Side], 2006
48-1 ¼ … Wayne Walls [Camden], 2009
47-11 … Nadale Buntin [J.P. Stevens], 2018
47-10 … Devon Bond [Trenton], 2007
47-7 ¼ … Kevin Johnson [Seton Hall Prep], 1984
47-6 ¾ … Ed Alston [Hackensack], 1982
47-5 … Jason Katz [Ramapo], 2015
47-3 …..… Rhodeni Spence [Woodrow Wilson], 2007
47-2 … Tevin Ankle [Glen Rock], 2018
46-10 ¾ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 2020
46-10 ½ … Weston Daniel [Bergenfield], 2002
46-11 ¾ … Jaden Johnson [Timber Creek], 2022
46-10 ¼ … Ted Lesher [Northern Highlands], 2006

CHACE PEARSON, TIMBER CREEK: It wasn’t Pearson’s best day, but the Meet of Champions winner still placed 7th in the Championship long jump at 21-10 1/4. Pearson had a consistent series, with three jumps over 21-7 and two over 21-10.

JEFFREY HEINEMAN, KINGSWAY: Heineman, who ran the 400 on Kingsway’s national-champion sprint medley team, placed 8th in the Emerging Elite 800 in a personal-best 1:57.85. His previous indoor PR was 1:59.04. He’s run 1:58.01 outdoors.