Absolutely insane 1,600 at Haddonfield Thursday night, with five Colonial Conference milers under 4:17, including Seth Clevenger and George Andrus with two all-time South Jersey top-10 ties.
Wow!
Clevenger, a Haddonfield senior, won the race at the Haddonfield Invitational in 4:09.34, with Andrus, a Haddonfield junior, second in 4:10.97.
Those times rank No. 6 and No. 8 in South Jersey history and No. 2 and 4 in New Jersey this year.
Clevenger missed the Haddonfield school record of 4:09.30, set at the 2009 Meet of Champions by Colin Baker, by only 4-100ths of a second. Ocean City and Haddonfield now claim five of the eight-fastest times in South Jersey history.
Clevenger’s previous PR was 4:12.92 earlier this month at the South Jersey Elite at Delsea. Andrus’s previous PR was 4:15.93 for a full mile last month at Westfield, which converts to 4:14.45 for 1,600 meters.
Incredible race by Woodbury sophomore Peyton Shute in 3rd place. Shute ran 4:14.89, just off the South Jersey sophomore class record of 4:14.14 set by Haddonfield’s Ben Potts at the 2011 Meet of Champions.
Shute’s previous PR was a 4:17.46 earlier this month at South Jersey Elite. His time is No. 8 among U.S. sophomores, according to the MileSplit national rankings, and it’s the fastest by a New Jersey sophomore in five years.
He’s only about 2 ½ seconds off the Woodbury school record of 4:12.5 – converted from a 4:13.9 full mile – by legendary Rich Caton in when he won the 1978 Penn Relays Scholastic Mile.
West Deptford senior Jacob Cobb was next across the line with a 4:16.20, another PR. Cobb had run 4:16.52 at the South Jersey Elite.
Shute and Cobb are now No. 11 and No. 15 all-time on a very fast Gloucester County list. Gloucester County, which accounts for 16 percent of South Jersey’s population, is responsible for 37 percent of the 35-fastest times in South Jersey history.
Cobb came back to win the 800 with a PR 1:57.25, with Paulsboro junior Jamile Gantt also under two minutes in 1:59.30 – a three-second PR.
Crossing the line just behind Cobb was Haddon Heights junior Colin Patterson with a school-record 4:16.84. He dropped nearly three seconds from his PR of 4:19.82 from South Jersey Elite.
The fast running didn’t stop there!
Audubon senior Scott Hubbard placed 6th in 4:21.20, dropping his lifetime best from 4:24.26 (converted from a full mile) at Ridge earlier this month.
Before we get to the all-time South Jersey list, check out the all-time Haddonfield top-10. It’s insane!
4:09.30 … Colin Baker [Haddonfield], 2009
4:09.34 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
4:10.97 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
4:13.26y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2015
4:14.14 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2009
4:14.25 … Matt Nussbaum [Haddonfield], 2010
4:14.3h … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
4:14.50 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2003
4:15.0h … Dan Gough [Haddonfield], 1987
4:15.52 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2018
And here’s the all-time South Jersey top-50!
4:07.07y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:08.58 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
4:08.7y ….. Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1973
4:09.19 … John Richardson [Ocean City], 2003
4:09.30 … Colin Baker [Haddonfield], 2009
4:09.34 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
4:10.24y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
4:10.97 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
4:11.07 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:11.15 … Ryan Garvin [Lenape], 2009
4:11.46 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2010
4:11.49 … Jim Wyner [Mainland Reg.], 2004
4:11.69 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:11.78 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.84 … Tom Cooke [Kingsway], 2012
4:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:12.05y … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1999
4:12.08 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
4:12.1y ….. Al Harden [Millville], 1978
4:12.3y ….. Ed Blakeley [Haddon Twp.], 1975
4:12.5y ….. Dick Caton [Woodbury], 1978
4:13.23 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:13.1y … Ricky Jacques [Burlington Twp.], 1968
4:13.26y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2015
4:13.46 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2019
4:13.4y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway[, 1973
4:13.64h … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
4:13.71 … Dominick Munson [Timber Creek], 2015
4:13.83 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2003
4:13.85 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
4:14.1y … Charles McCarthy [Paul VI], 1972
4:14.14 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2009
4:14.25 … Matt Nussbaum [Haddonfield], 2010
4:14.3h … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
4:14.50 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2003
4:14.60 … Matt Poskus [Cinnaminson], 2007
4:14.84h … Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
4:14.89 … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2022
4:14.8y … Ed McGowan [Highland], 1972
4:14.8y … Vance Watson [Willingboro], 1982
4:14.9h … Jeff Boyer [Camden], 1983
4:15.12 … Owen Long [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:15.0y … Bob Marino [Williamstown], 1975
4:15.0y … Bradley Pomeroy [Cherry Hill East], 1977
4:15.0h … Dan Gough [Haddonfield], 1987
4:15.0h … Fred Sharpe [Paulsboro], 1997
4:15.19 … Mark Sivieri [St. Augustine], 1990
4:15.28 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2004
4:15.35 … Steve Mazur [Highland], 1992
4:15.44h … Jeff Davis [Cumberland Reg.], 1985
4:15.44 … Brian Tetreault [Cinnaminson], 2007
4:15.52 … Derek Gess [Haddonfield], 2018
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 