Shawnee graduate Grace Kearns continued her remarkable breakthrough sophomore season at Monmouth by running the 4th-fastest 800 time in school history Saturday at the IC4A Championships in Boston.

Kearns, a Monmouth sophomore, lowered her PR more than four seconds – from 2:14.56 to 2:10.39 – in the 800 qualifying rounds at Boston University.

She missed reaching the final by 52-100ths of a second.

Kearns had just PR’d with that 2:14.56 at the Metro Atlantic Championships at the Armory last month after a PR 2:16.56 in Boston earlier in February.

Coming into the indoor season, Kearns had a PR of 2:18.74 from her last season of indoor competition in February of 2020 at the MAC Championships at the Armory.

So that means she’s lowered her PR from 2:18.30 to 2:10.39 – nearly eight seconds – since Feb. 5.

Monmouth has been an 800 factory in recent years, producing NCAA All-America Allie Wilson, who ran 1:59.02 at the Olympic Trials last year, among others.

Kearns’ time makes her Monmouth’s fastest half-miler ever from South Jersey. Amanda Eller, a Millville graduate, ran 2:10.79 at Boston University in 2013.

Kearns also ran a 2:11.23 split on the third leg of Monmouth’s school-record 3,200-meter relay team, which won the IC4A title in 8:43.56. Sydney Todd (Monmouth Regional), Katie Locker (Elizabethtown, Pa.) and Ashley Navarro (Steinert) also ran on the 4-by-8, which finished 35 meters ahead of Rutgers, who was second in 8:49.80.

Monmouth’s previous school record was 8:44.08 set by the team of Jenna Cupp (Newark Valley, N.Y.), Kendal Hand (Howell), Lindsey Belleran (Red Bank Catholic) and Tionna Garner (Trenton Catholic) at the 2016 ECAC Championships.

At Shawnee, Kearns ran 2:21.33 indoors at 2018 Easterns – also at the Armory – and 2:19.97 outdoors at Group 4 sectionals in the spring of 2018 at Washington Township.

Kearns is the second former Shawnee runner to run a fast 800 this winter. Kristin Neidrach ran an indoor PR of 2:11.44 in Apeldoom, Netherlands, last month. She has an outdoor PR of 2:07.18 from Kortrijk, Belgium, from this past July. Niedrach, who graduated in 2012, had a high school PR of 2:21.55. She ran 2:10.28 at the 2016 IC4A in her final meet for Cornell.

The fastest former Shawnee half-miler is Michelle DiMuro, who ran 1:59.85 at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta.

Pitman graduate Sebastien Reed shattered Monmouth’s school record in the 3,000-meter run Sunday at the IC4A Championships in Boston.

Reed, a Monmouth freshman, ran 8:10.69 and placed 10th in the 100th annual IC4A Championships, which brings together runners from Division 1 schools across the Northeast.

He broke the Monmouth record of 8:12.79 set by Kyle Mueller at the Albany Winter Classic at Ocean Breeze in 2020. Reed came in with a PR of 8:21.11 from a meet in late January at Ocean Breeze and was the No. 20 seed in the race.

Reed has made quite an immediate impact on the Monmouth record book. He’s No. 2 in school history in the 5,000 at 14:22.05 and No. 7 in the 10,000 with 31:05.43 in addition to his school record in the 3,000.

Reid ran his 1000s in 2:44.36, 2:43.28 and 2:43.06. Reid’s high school 3,200 PR was 9:27.16 at the Bubble in January of 2020. His pace Sunday was the equivalent of running 8:43 for a high school 3,200.

Reid’s 8:10.69 is fastest this winter by a South Jersey high school graduate. Oliver Adler of Cherry Hill East ran 8:11.81 last month at Boston University, Schalick and Elizabethtown graduate Samuel Gerstenbacher ran 8:14.39 at Ocean Breeze two weeks ago, Bucknell’s Connor Melko from Bishop Eustace ran 8:17.95 at the Armory last month, Ethan Wechsler of Cherokee and Syracuse ran 8:19.17 in January at Boston University, Duke’s Mike Ungvarsky from Cinnaminson ran 8:20.00 in Blacksburg, Va., in January, Cherokee’s Jack Shea from Northern Arizona ran 8:20.11 in Bozeman, Mont., last weekend, Yale’s Martin Riddell from Haddonfield ran 8:20.57 at IC4As and Camden Catholic’s Matt Coffey ran 8:20.90, also at IC’s.

Haddonfield teammates George Andrus and Seth Clevenger and Delsea’s Andrew Littlehales all broke into the all-time South Jersey top-5 in the 3,200 Saturday at the Meet of Champions.

http://milesplit.live/meets/437567/events/13/F/M

Andrus placed 3rd in 9:08.09 and Clevenger was 4th in 9:08.89. Those times rank No. 3 and No. 5 in South Jersey history. Andrus’s 9:08.09 is the 3rd-fastest 3rd-place team in the meet’s 53-year history, and Clevenger’s 9:08.89 is the 2nd-fastest 4th-place time ever.

Littlehales ran 9:12.05, which is the 4th-fastest 5th-place time ever and equals No. 10 in South Jersey history. The race produced three of the 10-fastest times in South Jersey history.

Marco Langon of Bridgewater-Raritan and Jackson Barna of Ridge went 1-2 in the race in 8:48.28 and 8:51.94, the No. 2 and 3 times in the U.S. this year and the two-fastest times in New Jersey indoor history.

Here are the 10-fastest 3,200 times in Meet of Champions history by South Jersey runners. As you can see, six of the top 10 come from the last two races – 2020 at Ocean Breeze and Saturday at the Bubble.

8:58.81 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010 [1]
9:00.27 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020 [3]
9:08.09 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022 [3]
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020 [5]
9:08.89 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022 [4]
9:10.4h … Ken Medlin [Haddon Twp.], 1970 [1]
9:11.7h … Mike Butynes, [Sterling], 1970 [2]
9:11.9h … Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976 [5]
9:12.05 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022 [5]
9:12.20 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020 [7]

✓ Andrus had a previous PR of 9:18.89 from Group 2 sectionals last month, where he placed 2nd to Clevenger. He’s never run an outdoor 3,200.

✓  Clevenger’s previous PR was 9:17.39 from states last weekend at the Bubble, where he was 2nd to Littlehales. That’s where Littlehales ran his prior PR of 9:13.20.

✓  Littlehales has now lowered the Gloucester County record twice in eight days. The previous record was 9:13.93 set by Williamstown’s Paul Szulewski at the 2011 Meet of Champions. Littlehales’ time is tied for the No. 10 spot on the all-time S.J. list with Willingboro’s Johnny Englehardt, who ran 9:15.1 for two miles at the 1976 meet at Jadwin. That converts to a hand-timed 9:11.9, which converts to a 9:12.04 for fat timing, and I’m not going to put him 1-100th of a second ahead of Littlehales when his time has already been converted twice.

✓  Triton’s Dennis Fortuna also PR’d in the race, placing 13th in 9:18.19. His previous indoor PR was a 9:21.36 en route time at the New Balance Games at the Armory in January, where he ran 9:24.66 for the full two miles.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey list:
8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:00.27 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
9:08.09 … George Andrus [Haddonfield, 2022
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
9:08.89 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
9:10.4y ….. Ken Medlin [Haddon Twp.], 1970
9:11.1y ..… Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1970
9:11.2y ..… Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
9:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
9:12.05 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:11.9y ….. Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976
9:12.20 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020
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
9:17.52 ….. Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
9:17.55 ….. Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
9:17.71 ….. Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
9:18.19 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], 2022
9:18.59 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019

And here’s the all-time Meet of Champions performance list. (You’ve got to run sub-9:13 to break into the top 50!!!)
8:48.28 … Marco Langon [Bridgewater-Raritan], 2022 [1]
8:51.94 … Jackson Barna [Ridge], 2022 [2]
8:54.22 … Liam Murphy, Allentown, 2019 [1]
8:54.45 … Devin Hart, Point Pleasant Boro, 2019 [2]
8:58.16 …….. Murphy, 2020 [1]
8:58.19 … Jack Jennings [Mendham], 2020 [2]
8:58.81 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010 [1]
8:59.77 … Brian Leung, West Windsor South, 2008 [1]
9:00.27 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020 [3]
9:00.95 … Jeramy Elkaim [Livingston]. 2010 [2]
9:01.86 … Doug Smith [Gill St. Bernard’], 2008 [2]
9:02.00 … Tom O’Neill [Middletown North], 2013 [1]
9:03.58 … Craig Forys [Colts Neck], 2007 [1]
9:04.7h … Chris Inman [Essex Catholic], 1973 [1]
9:04.8h … Tim Conheeney [Paramus Catholic], 1973 [2]
9:05.6h .. Vince Cartier, [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 1971 [1]
9:06.2h … Chris Hallinan [Bernards], 1974 [1]
9:06.11 …….. Hart, 2018 [1]
9:06.58 … Mohamed Khadraoui [Paterson Kennedy], 2004 [1]
9:06.86 … Jackson Braddock [Southern Regional], 2020 [4]
9:07.17 … Tyler Udland [Millburn], 2010 [3]
9:08.09 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022 [3]
9:08.32 … Jordan Brannan [Colts Neck], 2017 [1]
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020 [5]
9:08.55 … Sean Poherence [Morris Hills], 2009 [1]
9:08.7h … Carlos Bazo [Essex Catholic], 1972 [1]
9:08.89 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022 [4]
9:09.54 … Vidhur Polam [South Brunswick], 2020 [6]
9:10.0h … Ed Taylor, [Edison], 1976 [1]
9:10.09 … Alex Roth [Princeton], 2017 [2]
9:10.27 … Chris Pannone [Hunterdon Central], 2004 [2]
9:10.4h … Ken Medlin [Haddon Twp.], 1970 [1]
9:10.69 … Tim Ball [Piscataway], 2012 [1]
9:10.8h … Chris Hallinan [Bernards], 1976 [2]
9:10.9h … Royce Flippin [Princeton], 1976 [3]
9:11.39 …….. Smith, 2007 [2]
9:11.55 … Matt Valeriani [Southern Regional], 2010 [4]
9:11.5h … Brian Penn [Watchung Hills], 1975 [1]
9:11.69 … Joe Kotran [Toms River North], 2010 [5]
9:11.7h … Mike Butynes, [Sterling], 1970 [2]
9:11.9h … J.J. Clark [Columbia], 1982 [1]
9:11.9h … Jerry Young [Franklin], 1976 [4]
9:11.9h … Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976 [5]
9:12.05 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022 [5]
9:12.20 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020 [7]
9:12.5h … John Kiernan [Sayreville], 1982 [2]
9:12.5h … Bill Mahon [Bergen Catholic], 1970 [3]
9:12.70 … Blaise Ferro [Christian Brothers], 2014 [1]
9:12.73 … Avery Keith [Westfield], 2022 [6]
9:12.7h … Dave Thomson [Dover], 1979 [1]
9:12.96 …….. Ferro, 2015 [1]
9:13.03 … Jim Rosa [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2010 [6]
9:13.2h … Dave Lamm [Morris Catholic], 1975 [2]
9:13.30 … Joe Rosa [West Windsor North], 2009 [2]
9:13.33 … Mike Rankin [Paul VI], 2010 [7]
9:13.58 … Mike O’Dowd [Colts Neck], 2010 [8]
9:13.66 … William Hare [Princeton], 2017 [3]
9:13.71 … Tom Rooney [Christian Brothers], 2013 [2]
9:13.93 … Paul Szulewski [Washington Twp.], 2010 [9]
9:13.9h … Richie Gordon [Morristown] ,1970 [4]

Bryce Tucker outleaned Westfield anchor Charles Stock at the finish line to give Pennsauken its first Meet of Champions 1,600-meter relay title Saturday.

Tucker, in his fourth race of the day, split 48.0 and made up 10 meters on Stock, who had won the Meet of Champions 800 in 1:52.70 earlier in the day at the Bubble in Toms River.

Pennsauken won in 3:23.84, with Westfield 2nd in 3:23.93. Nobody else ran under 3:26.

Tucker, the Meet of Champions intermediate hurdles champ last spring, gave Pennsauken the win by 9-100ths of a second.

The all-junior team of Kahlil Ali, Premier Wynn, Joel Oquendo and
Tucker became the first South Jersey school to win the indoor Meet of Champions 4-by-4 since Egg Harbor in 2016.

Oquendo moved the Indians up from 4th to 2nd and set the stage for Tucker, who closed gradually on Stock before catching him just before the line.

Earlier in the day Tucker placed 2nd in the 400 in a PR 49.59 behind Paul VI’s Michael Mazero in a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey finish, with Wynn 3rd in 49.66. Tucker then took 2nd in the 55-meter hurdles in a PR 7.53 after a 7.78 in the trials. Tucker wound up as the fastest hurdler in South Jersey this winter, edging Eastern’s A.J. Brooks by 1-100th of a second.

Tucker on Saturday was part of three school records. His 49.59 broke the school record in the 400 set by Marquan Jones in 2016, his 7.53 broke the school record of 7.56 set the same year by Antwan Dickerson, and Pennsauken’s 3:23.84 broke the indoor school record of 3:25.02 the Indians ran at the 2020 Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

Pennsauken will be in action in a number of events and relays this coming weekend at the Ocean Breeze version of indoor nationals.

Pennsauken’s relay team was the second Meet of Champions winner in school history. Martin Booker won the 200 in 2017.

Here’s a look at all the South Jersey 4-by-4 winners in indoor Meet of Champions history:

2022: Pennsauken, 3:23.84
2016: Egg Harbor Twp, 3:22.75
2012: Oakcrest, 3:20.53
2008: Winslow Twp., 3:24.32
2004: Camden, 3:27.53
2003: Winslow Twp., 3:24.32
2002: Eastern, 3:27.04
2001: Camden, 3:22.44
2000: Lenape, 3:24.50
1999: Camden, 3:25.23
1998: Lenape, 3:24.53
1996: Woodrow Wilson, 3:24.64
1995: Willingboro, 3:27.96
1994: Woodrow Wilson, 3:30.49
1990: Willingboro, 3:28.80
1988: Willingboro, 3:28.35
1985: Edgewood, 3:26.0cf

And here’s a look at the fastest South Jersey 4-by-4 times in Meet of Champions history:

3:20.53 … Oakcrest, 2012 [1]
3:21.16 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017 [2]
3:21.64 … Winslow, 2013 [1]
3:22.44 … Camden, 2001 [1]
3:22.75 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2016 [1]
3:23.12 … Cherry Hill East, 2012 [3]
3:23.31 … Paul VI, 2016 [2]
3:23.40 … Cherokee, 2012 [4]
3:23.42 … Winslow, 2009 [2]
3:23.78 … Pleasantville, 2007 [3]
3:23.84 … Pennsauken, 2022 [1]
3:23.98 … Buena, 2001 [2]

2020: Union Catholic, 3:18.78
2019: Westfield, 3:24.29
2018: East Orange, 3:24.02

2022: Pennsauken, 3:23.84
2016: Egg Harbor Twp, 3:22.75
2012: Oakcrest, 3:20.53
2008: Winslow Twp., 3:24.32
2004: Camden, 3:27.53
2003: Winslow Twp., 3:24.32
2002: Eastern, 3:27.04
2001: Camden, 3:22.44
2000: Lenape, 3:24.50
1999: Camden, 3:25.23
1998: Lenape, 3:24.53
1996: Woodrow Wilson, 3:24.64
1995: Willingboro, 3:27.96
1994: Woodrow Wilson, 3:30.49
1990: Willingboro, 3:28.80
1988: Willingboro, 3:28.35
1985: Edgewood, 3:26.0h

Pennsville graduate Zach Manorowitz, a at Rider, won the long jump Saturday at the 100th IC4A Championships at Boston University with a leap of 24-4 ½.

Manorowitz finished three inches ahead of Glenn Butler of Lincoln (Pa.) of Oxford, Pa., who placed second with a 24-1 ½ jump.

Manorowitz missed his PR of 24-5 ¾, set just two weeks ago when he won the Metro Atlantic Championships title at the Armory.

On Saturday, Manorowitz popped the winning jump on his first attempt. He followed with legal jumps of 23-6 ½ and 23-3 before fouling on his three attempts in the finals.

Manorwitz now ranks No. 2 in Rider history, behind only Tyree Adams, who leaped 24-9 ¼ in 2017.

The IC4A – the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America – has been around for a century, but good luck trying to find any previous results from their indoor championships. Their web site has nothing. Like zippo. How can a meet with this much history not provide all-time individual winners going back to the 1920s and all-time performance lists? They don’t. So I can’t tell you how many IC4A long jump winners Rider has had. Or anything else about the 99 long jump competitions that preceded this one.

But in any event, Manorowitz has improved dramatically since his days at Pennsville, where he had an outdoor PR of 21-6 and never competed indoors. He graduated from Pennsville in the spring of 2019 and then didn’t compete again until the spring of 2021 at Rider.

From his last meet at Pennsville – the Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington in Mansfield on June 8, 2019 (he was 29th in the triple jump and 25th in the long jump) – until his first meet for Rider – the Monmouth Spring Invitational in West Long Branch on April 8, 2021 – it was a span of 670 days without a meet.

Manorowitz hit 24-5 as a freshman this past May at the MAC Championships on his home track – No. 2 in program history outdoors – and also placed 4th in the triple jump, hitting 45-4 ½ at the conference meet and 46-0 ½ last month when he placed 5th at the indoor conference meet.

He does not appear to be entered in the IC4A triple jump on Sunday, which means his indoor season is over.

Northern Burlington freshman Liliah Gordon broke the 11-minute barrier for the first time, ran the 4th-fastest 3,200 in Burlington County history and finished 7th in the Meet of Champions Saturday at the Bubble.

Gordon ran 10:56.77 and was South Jersey’s top finisher in the 3,200 at the 43rd annual girls Meet of Champions in Toms River.

Her time is fastest ever by a South Jersey freshman at an indoor Meet of Champions (and is most likely the South Jersey freshman record (I’m still working on confirming that). The fastest previous South Jersey freshman at an indoor M-of-C was Chelsea Ley of Kingsway, who ran 11:00.79 for 2nd place in the 2007 meet.

Gordon ran four 3,200s this year and PR’d in each one – 11:20.06 at the Bubble in January, 11:09.91 to win S.J. Group 3 sectionals, 11:06.89 to win Group 3 states last weekend and her 10:56.77 Saturday.

On Saturday, Gordon broke Colleen Sunderland’s 27-year-old school record of 11:06.43. Sunderland actually ran 11:10.32 for two miles at the 1997 National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, which converts to 11:06.43 for 3,200 meters.

Gordon placed 8th in the XC Meet of Champions at Holmdel in November, so she’s raced in two Meet of Champions and finished in the top 10 in both races. Angelina Perez of Lakeland won both races and set a state 3,200 record of 10:00.90 on Saturday.

Here’s a look at the all-time Burlington County list:
10:31.06 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
10:46.63 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], 2013
10:55.58 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
10:56.77 … Lialah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2022
11:00.7y … Deanna Germano (Shawnee), 1986
11:06.32y … Colleen Sunderland (Northern Burlington), 1995
11:06.89 … Lialah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2022
11:08.85 … Nina Bendixen, [Shawnee], 2015
11:09.91 … Liliah Gordon [Northrn Burlington], 2022
11:10.88 … Caitlin Orr (Lenape), 2009

All-Time S.J. Girls Indoor 3,200 Top-50
10:15.71 … Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2006
10:23.49 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2011
10:29.90 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009
10:33.95 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2016
10:38.11 … Megan Venables [Highland], 2011
10:38.90 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
10:40.03 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
10:40.80 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2017
10:42.06 … Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 2012
10:42.22 … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2007
10:43.2y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983
10:45.20 … Devon Grisbaum [Ocean City], 2015
10:45.40 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
10:46.63 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], 2013
10:48.78 … Shelby Cain [Haddonfield], 2014
10:49.12 … Madison Coppolino [Sterling], 2017 [3]
10:49.46 … Alyssa Condell [Timber Creek], 2016
10:52.05 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007
10:52.53 … Allie Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2020
10:53.4h … Christin Bettis [Hammonton], 2012
10:53.89y … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2020
10:55.29y … Ann Klocke [Bishop Eustace], 1996
10:55.58 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
10:56.77 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2022
10:57.95 … Katy Storti [Bishop Eustace], 2019
10:59.02 … Catherine Van Horn [Triton], 2005
10:59.04 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
10:59.13 … Vickie Ajimoko [Williamstown], 2013
10:59.90 … Aubrey Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2022

Cherokee graduate Megan Lacy placed 13th in the U.S. 15K Road Championships Saturday in Jacksonville.

Lacy covered the 9.3-mile Gate River Run course in 52:57, running her 5Ks in 17:42, 17:31 and 17:44. She passed two runners in the final 200 to move up from 15th to 13th.

This was Lacy’s first race at the 15K distance. Over the past few months, she’s PR’d at 5,000 meters on the track outdoors with a 16:36.18 in Nashville in June, at 10,000 meters outdoors on the track with a 33:07.10 in Portland, Ore., in May, and in the half marathon with a 1:15.21 in September in Valley Cottage, N.Y.

In December, Lacy placed 4th in the World Trail Championships over 21K in Kualoa Ranch in Kapalua, Hawaii.

Cherokee’s Kelsey Niglio, Kerry O’Day, Megan Niglio and Nicole Clifford teamed up to win the Meet of Champions 3,200-meter relay Saturday in record time.

Cherokee won the race by 110 meters – more than half a track length – over 2nd-place Ramapo, which took second in 9:33.36.

Ridge had won the Meet of Champions 4-by-8 every year since it was added to the Meet of Champions docket in 2017 and set the meet record of 9:14.47 in 2017. The meet wasn’t held last year.

The Meet of Champions title is the first for the Cherokee girls program since Monica Olkowski won the 800 in 1990 at Jadwin Gym in 2:12.45.

Niglio, O’Day, Niglio and Clifford all ran on Cherokee’s Meet of Champions-champion cross country team as well, so they’re now 2-for-2 in M-of-C’s this year.

Cherokee ranks No. 1 in New Jersey and No. 2 nationally this winter with its 9:07.81 at the Bubble last month.

Next weekend, the Chiefs will finally have the chance to run a 4-by-8 on a fast, banked track on Sunday at the New Balance Nationals at the Armory. That’s one of two so-called “national” meets being held in New York next weekend.

On Saturday, Kelsey Niglio led off with a 2:15.0 split, O’Day ran 2:21.4, Megan Niglio 2:22.1 and Clifford anchored unpressed in 2:14.8.

Rowan’s 800-meter relay team, anchored by Sterling’s Jah’mere Beasley, ran the fastest time in NCAA Division 3 history on Saturday.

The team of Robert McKinney, Nana Agyemang, Amara Conte and Beasley ran 1:27.45 at the AARTFC Championships at the Golisano Training Center at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.

That broke the all-time NCAA Division 3 record of 1:27.69 set on Feb. 18, 2019 by a Rowan team consisting of Deptford’s Tyler Garland, West Deptford’s Shai Mumford, Dayquan Murray of Hammonton and Spencer Jarrett from Salem, who ran 1:27.69 at the NJAC Championships at Ocean Breeze.

Beasley brought the Profs across the line under the record with a 21.44 split.

Earlier this year, Rowan ran 1:27.88, which was No. 3 all-time. The Profs also ran 1:28.27 in 2018 and now claim the four-fastest 4-by-2 performances in Division 3 history.

Rowan also has a 1:29.05 from 2016 that’s No. 12 all-time and a 1:29.57 from 2018 that’s No. 23 all-time, a 1:29.70 from 2019 that’s No. 25 all-time and a 1:29.74 from 2017 that’s No. 28.

Rowan also broke the meet record of 1:28.99 set in 2019 by Rowan’s Murray, Jarrett, Garland and Mumford and broke the facility record of 1:29.98 set in 2020 by Rowan’s John Owens of West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Julian Pratt of Camden, Rakim Coyle from Wildwood Catholic and Beasley.

The Profs won by 20 meters over SUNY Cortland, who placed second in 1:29.91.

According to the IAAF 2022 world performance list, Rowan’s time is 14^th-fastest in the world this year and 3^rd-fastest among American teams.

The only Division 1 schools who’ve run faster are Rutgers, which ran 1:26.60 at the Armory last month, and Mississippi State, who ran 1:26.66 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama in January. Paul VI graduate Antonio Tarantino ran the second leg on that Rutgers team.

Rowan is ranked No. 15 in Division 3 going into next weekend’s Division 3 National Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The AARTFC  is the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Championships. Rowan won the team title 98-72 over SUNY Geneseo.

https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=4869

Kingsway senior Kyle Rakitis ran one of the fastest 1,600s in South Jersey history Saturday at the 53rd annual Meet of Champions.

Racing on the slow, flat track at the Toms River Bubble, Rakitis placed 3rd in 4:12.55, breaking the Gloucester County record and moving into the No. 5 spot in South Jersey history.

His time was fast enough to win any of the previous Meet of Champions mile or 1,600 races in meet history.

Union Catholic senior Shane Brosnan won the race in 4:09.42, the fastest Meet of Champions time in 50 years and 2nd-fastest ever. Vince Cartier of Scotch Plains-Fanwood won the 1972 race at Jadwin Gym in 4:06.6 over a full mile. That broke the U.S. schoolboy record of 4:07.2 set in 1965 by Jim Ryan of Wichita East at the Kansas indoor state meet at Kansas State’s Ahearn Fieldhouse in Manhattan, Kans.

Collin Boler of Delbarton in Morristown took 2nd in 4:11.04 and Rakitis was 3rd. In all, nine runners broke 4:20 and seven ran sub-4:17 in the fastest Meet of Champion 1,600 ever.

The race produced three of the nine-fastest times in meet history. The fastest previous 2nd-place time was Jim Rosa’s 4:13.12 in 2009 behind Liam Tansey of Morris Hills, who ran 4:11.95, and the previous-fastest 3rd-place time was 4:14.9 full mile (converts to 4:13.5), run by Harry Kronick of Franklin in 1972 behind Cartier and Chris Inman of Essex Catholic, who also ran 4:14.9

Rakitis broke his own Gloucester County record of 4:16.59, which he set last week at the state Group 4 meet.

His time is No. 5 in South Jersey history and fastest in six years, since Greg Pelose of Haddonfield ran 4:13.40 for a full mile, which converts to 4:11.93 for 1,600 meters.

The race also produced the fastest 4th-, 5th -, 6th- and 7th-fastest times in meet history with Amiri Whittle of Hackensack 4th in 4:14.51, Nikhil Makker of West Windsor-Plainsboro North 5th in 4:14.71, Jacob Heredia of Clifton 6th in 4:16.24 and Colin Riley of Jonathan Dayton 7th in 4:16.51.

All-time South Jersey 1,600 list
4:09.96y … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2011
4:11.03y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:11.89y … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.93y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2016
4:12.55 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022
4:13.68y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:13.87y … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
4:14.1y … Marty Ludwikowski [C.H. West], 1975
4:15.2y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
4:15.52 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
4:16.0y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway], 1974
4:16.02 … Erik Johnson [Ocean City], 2012
4:16.3y … Rich Caton [Woodbury], 1979
4:16.61y … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2004
4:16.71y … Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
4:16.85 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2011
4:16.9y … Bob Marino [Williamstown], 1974
4:17.1y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
4:17.33y … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2004
4:17.51y … Connor Melko [Bishop Eustace], 2019
4:17.67 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2018
4:17.67y … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], 2020
4:17.98 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
4:18.21y … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:18.22 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
4:18.48 … Justin Kelly [Cherokee], 2018
4:18.50 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:18.53y … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2001
4:18.4y … Al Harden [Millville], 1979
4:18.4h … Mike Myers [Eastern], 2001
4:18.70y … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019
4:18.73 … Jacob Cobb [West Deptford], 2022
4:18.74 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
4:18.80y … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
4:18.83 … Tyler Jackson [Cherokee], 2020
4:19.03 … Noah Culbreath [Kingsway, 2014
4:19.40 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:19.7y … Chris Hageman [Paul VI], 1985
4:19.96 … Robert Rawls [Triton], 2011
4:19.97 … Steve Burkholder [Cherokee], 2010

All-Time Meet of Champions Performance List
4:05.2h … Vince Cartier [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 1972 [1]
4:09.42 … Shane Brosnan [Union Catholic], 2022 [1]
4:00.04 … Collin Boler [Delbarton], 2002
4:11.66 … Ben Malone [Pascack Valley], 2012 [1]
4:11.83 … Drew Maher [Shore Regional], 2018 [1]
4:11.95 … Liam Tansey [Morris Hills], 2009 [1]
4:12.54 … D.J. Thornton [Union Catholic], 2010 [1]
4:12.55 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022 [3]
4:12.90 … Will Baginski [Ridgewood], 2019 [1]
4:13.01 … Will Daly, River Dell, 2016 [1]
4:13.12 … Jim Rosa [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2009 [2]
4:13.21 … Pat Schellberg, Delbarton, 2010 [2]
4:13.2h … Bll Sieben [Union Catholic], 1970 [1]
4:13.44 … Colin Daly, River Dell, 2016 [2]
4:13.49 … George Kelly [Christian Brothers], 2012 [2]
4:13.5h … Chris Inman [Essex Catholic], 1972 [2]
4:13.5h … Harry Kronick [Franklin], 1972 [3]
4:13.7h … Dave Wall, Dickinson, 1973 [1]
4:13.9h … Chris Elliott, [Ramapo], 1970 [2]
4:14.18 … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2016 [3]
4:14.20 … Mike McClemens [Christian Brothers], 2014 [1]
4:14.24 … Chris Romero [Voorhees], 2018 [2]
4:15.51 – Amiri Whittle [Hackensack], 2022 [4]
4:14.57 … Sam Macaluso [West Windsor-Plainsboro South], 2010 [3]
4:14.71 – Nikhil Makker [West Windsor-Plainsboro North], 2022 [5]