From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Delsea seniors Cade Berardelli and Jason Nwosu on Thursday became the first teammates in South Jersey history to both throw the discus 170 feet in the same season.

Competing at the 5/5– SJTCA Elite Meet | Tomahawk Timing meet at their home facility in Franklinville, Berardelli won the discus with a personal-best 174-11 bomb and Nwosu threws 172-1 for second.

They led an incredible five throwers over 150 feet.

Only seven South Jersey high schools have produced more than one 170-foot thrower in history. Delsea has produced five and is the only S.J. school with more than two.

Berardelli added more than 10 feet to his PR of 163-5, which he set last month in Westfield. He’s thrown farther at every major meet this year than the previous meet [148-0, 155-9, 163-5, 174-11]. He had a monster series, with three throws over 173 feet. After opening with a 140-5 and then PR’ing at 165-11, he threw 174-11, 173-10 and 174-7 – the four best throws of his life.

Nwosu, who has a PR of 177-10, also from Westfield, opened with a 148-10 before consecutive throws of 172-1, 164-3, foul, 171-5 and 154-8.

Nwosu and Berardelli now rank 17th and 189h in South Jersey history and No. 5 and No. 7 in Gloucester County history. They’re No. 3 and 6 in the state.

The only Delsea thrower to throw farther than either of them is Josh Awotunde, who threw 192-5 at the 2013 state Group 3 meet. Awotunde placed 5th in the World Championships this past winter at Belgrade.

Clayton senior Shane Thompson, St. Augustine senior Franklin Simms, Cinnaminson junior Malicah Etienne and Rancocas Valley junior Devon Brooks also surpassed 150 feet with personal bests.

Thompson was 3rd with a school-record 165-9 on his third attempt, No. 3 in South Jersey so far this year. Thompson’s previous PR was 149-10 at Woodbury last week, so he added nearly 16 feet. His throw is No. 10 in South Jersey Group 1 history and the top throw by a Group 1 athlete in New Jersey this year. He’s only 26 inches outside the all-time Gloucester County top-10.

Simms’ PR wasn’t quite so dramatic, but he did PR for the second straight meet. His previous best was a 157-0 at Fast Times at Cherokee last month. The only superior throws in South Jersey history by a non-public athlete were Cade Antonucci’s 169-1 in 2017 for Holy Spirit and Matt DeLiso’s 161-5 for Paul VI in 2003. Simms is now the No. 4 thrower in South Jersey.

Etienne’s 154-4 is 3rd-best this year by a New Jersey junior and No. 5 in South Jersey, behind Berardelli, Nwosu, Thompson and Simms. Believe it or not, his previous PR was 134-3 in a meet last May at Cherokee.

And Brooks took 6th with a 151-0 throw, adding 9 feet and 11 inches to his PR of 141-1 from a dual meet against Pennsauken and Northern Burlington last month. His throw is No. 7 in South Jersey this year.

Lists!

All-Time South Jersey 170-Foot Club
216-11 … Ron Dayne [Overbrook], 1996
199- 6 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2013
197- 0 … James Plummer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
192- 5 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
189- 7 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
185-11 … John Mooers [Middle Twp.], 2015
185-10 … Russ Willett [Penns Grove], 1985
185- 7 … Matt Huckabee [Timber Creek], 2010
185- 6 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
185- 5 … Ken Manahan [Deptford], 1976
184- 4 … Adam Hunt [Collingswood], 2017
181-10 … Jason Winrow [Cumberland Reg.], 1989
180- 3 … Howard Clark [Pennsauken], 1998
179-11 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
179-11 … Will Cioffi [Pitman], 2013
178- 0 … Jim Stites [Millville], 1970
177-10 .., Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
175- 7 … John Clark [Pennsville], 2007
174-11 … Cade Berardelli [Delsea], 2022
174-11 … Rich Lewis [Williamstown], 1985
174- 9 … John Ridinger [West Deptford], 1982
174- 6 … Josh Dillard [Lindenwold], 2005
174- 4 … Dennis Norman [Cherokee], 1997
174- 3 … Alex Lewis [Delran], 2000
173-10 … Mark Rifkin [Cherry Hill West], 1978
173- 6 … Ryan Knight [Delsea], 1996
173- 3 … Jake Nwosu [Delsea], 2019
173- 2 … Darren Wan [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
172- 1 … Derek Frazier [Williamstown], 1978
172- 1 … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
171-10 … Steve Muse [Kennedy], 1984
171- 6 … Rashaun Graves [Willingboro], 2013
171- 4 … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1998
170-10 … John McNeil [Kennedy], 1976
170- 4 … Kurtis Johnson [Burlington Twp.], 1987
170- 0 … Anthony Robertson [Penns Grove], 2014

All-Time Delsea Discus List
192- 5 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
174-11 … Cade Berardelli [Delsea], 2002
173- 6 … Ryan Knight [Delsea], 1996
173- 3 … Jake Nwosu [Delsea], 2019
172- 1 … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022

All-Time South Jersey Group 1 List
179-11 … Will Cioffi [Pitman], 2013
175- 7 … John Clark [Pennsville], 2007
174- 6 … Josh Dillard [Lindenwold], 2005
171- 4 … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1998
170- 4 … Kurtis Johnson [Burlington Twp.], 1987
170- 0 … Anthony Robertson [Penns Grove], 2014
169-10 … Julian Giovinetti [Haddon Twp.], 2016
167- 0 … Donte Diggs [Paulsboro], 1996
166-10 … Connor Wade [Haddon Twp.], 2013
165-9 … Shane Thompson [Clayton], 2022