Tionna Tobias set a lifetime best in the heptathlon with a 6th-place finish over the last two days at the Big Ten Championships.

Tobias scored 5,124 points in the seven-event two-day challenge at the Big Ten Championships at the University of Minnesota Track Complex in Minneapolis.

Tobias set PRs in two events and beat her PR of 5,083 points from last year’s Big Ten meet, where she placed ninth.

Her final point total of 5,124 points is No. 5 on the all-time Iowa performance list.

Tobias opened with a fast hurdles race, running 13.68 for 1,024 points. That’s only 10-100ths of a second off her lifetime best of 13.58 from last year’s Big Ten Invite in Bloomington, Ind.

She cleared 5-5 in the high jump on her third attempt for 795 points to give her 1,819 after two events.

Next up was the shot put, and Tobias got off a big PR of 35-7 ¾ on her final attempt for 586 points. Her previous PR was 32-6 ¼ at indoor Big Ten’s at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, in February. Her previous outdoor best was a 30-0 ¾ at last year’s outdor Big Ten meet in Champaign, Ill. That put her at 2,405 points through three events.

In the 200, Tobias ran 25.37 to score 853 points and give her 3,258 through seven events at the end of Day 1 with the long jump, javelin and 800 remaining.

Tobias opened up Day 2 in scary fashion, fouling on her first two attempts in the long jump. One more foul would have been disaster. That means no points and there’s no reason to continue in the event. But on her third and final jump, she sailed 18-2 ½ for 715 points.

From there it was off to the javelin, where she recorded her second throws PR of the weekend with a 92-1 for 440 points. Her previous javelin PR was a 79-9 last year at Big Tens.

That left the 800, and Tobias earned 711 more points after a 2:28.58, giving her a total of 5,124 points.

Haddonfield senior Seth Clevenger ran the 10th-fastest 3,200 in South Jersey history Saturday morning.

Clevenger, racing unpressed, solo’d a 9:03.65 at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township..

That’s fastest by a South Jersey runner since Haddon Township’s Luke Petela ran 8:58.32 to win the 2015 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield. It’s 2nd-fastest by a South Jersey two-miler in the last 20 years and only 3 ½ seconds off the school record of 9:00.3 – converted from two miles – by legendary Jim Smith 42 years ago.

Clevenger’s previous PR was 9:08.89 at the indoor Meet of Champions in March at the Bubble, and his outdoor PR was a 9:12.99 at Cherokee Night of 3200s in April.

Clevenger was out in 64.33, 2:12.28, 3:20.85 and 4:28.54 and came back in 67.56, 2:16.33, 3:29.07 and 2:35.11.

He won by 150 meters over Triton senior Dennis Fortuna, who ran an outdoor PR of 9:20.93 for second.

All-Time South Jersey Sub-9:10 list
8:55.43 … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1999
8:58.32 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
8:59.6y … Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1972
8:59.8y … Jason DeJoseph [Paul VI], 1987
9:00.3y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
9:00.30 … Jimmy Daniels [Sterling], 2013
9:01.89 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
9:01.9y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
9:03.1y … Jerry Andrews [Highland], 1979
9:03.65 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
9:03.7y … Ed Blakeley [Haddon Twp.], 1975
9:03.9h … Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1973
9:04.05 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
9:04.94 … Louis Corgiano [Hammonton], 2014
9:05.12 … Sean MacPherson [Sterling], 2015
9:05.98 … Steve Maine [Highland], 2014
9:06.2y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway], 1974
9:06.47 … Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:06.52 … Connor Melko [Bishop Eustace], 2019
9:06.70 … Joshua Clark [Highland], 2016
9:07.03 … Greg Hughes [Mainland], 2004
9:07.2h … Ron Faith [Paul VI], 1985
9:07.2h … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1986
9:07.42 … Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2016
9:07.7h … Marty Ludwikowski [Cherry Hill West], 1975
9:08.22 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2004
9:09.27 … David Forward [Shawnee], 2009
9:09.38 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019
9:09.80 … Todd Campbell [Cinnaminson], 2009

Great start to the Big East meet for Cherry Hill East graduate Maya Drayton, now a junior at Georgetown.

Drayton ran a big PR of 24.16 to qualify for the 200 final, and she ran a near-PR 54.94 to qualify for the 400 final on Day of the Big East Championships at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex in Storrs, Conn.

In the 200, Drayton recorded an auto qualifier by placing second in the third of three semifinal races. The top two in each race plus the next two-fastest qualified for the final. Although the two other semis were wind-aided, giving those runners an advantage, the third semi was wind-legal at 1.7.

Drayton’s previous PR was a 24.39 in the prelims at the 2020 indoor Big East Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Her outdoor college best was 21.58 from last year’s Raleigh Relays, and her overall PR at 400 meters a 24.53 from the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

Drayton was also in the third of three semis in the 400, and with the same qualifying format she placed second in that race as well.

She ran a season-best, set an outdoor PR and ran within 16-100ths of her lifetime best of 54.78, also from 2020 indoor Big Easts in Geneva but in the finals. Her outdoor best was a 55.83 from the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville last month.

Drayton’s 200 time of 24.16 ranks No. 8 in Georgetown history, and is fastest since Amanda Kimbers set the school record of 23.28 at the 2012 Big East Championships. Her 400 time is No. 19 on the all-time Georgetown list but only 70-100ths of a second outside the top 10.

And kudos to Georgetown sports information for listing all-time top-25s in every event plus all-time bests in relay legs. By far the most comprehensive all-time lists I’ve seen on any college web site.

The 400 final is scheduled for 12:48 p.m. Saturday and the 200 final is at 1:50 p.m.

What an 800 by Sterling graduate Sydney Coppolino Friday in the 800 trials at the ACC Championships.

Coppolino, a junior at Virginia, lowered her PR more than a second to 2:06.15 and advanced to the finals with the 4th-fastest time in the trials at Morris Williams Track & Field Stadium on the Duke campus in Durham, N.C.

Her previous PR was 2:07.26 on the same track last month at Duke Invitational.

Coppolino’s time is No. 8 in Virginia history and appears to be fastest by a South Jersey alum in nine years, since Haddonfield graduate Greta Feldman ran 2:03.34 at the American Milers Club event in Indianapolis in 2013.

.The 800 final is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Saturday.

Hammonton grad Alexa Gardner PR’d in the javelin Friday in the Big Ten Conference meet in Minneapolis.

Gardner, a junior at Rutgers, placed 4th with a throw of 157-9. That eclipsed her PR of 155-6, which she threw at the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton last month as well as at the Penn Relays.

Gardner actually had two throws beyond her previous PR. She followed the 157-9 with a 156-1 and also had a throw of 152-4.

At Hammonton, Gardner had a PR of 142-1 when she won the state Group 3 meet at Northern Burlington in June of 2017.

Delsea graduate Elisia Lancaster bombed a hammer PR Friday and won at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

Lancaster threw 220-4 on her fourth attempt at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, to pass teammate and defending champion Shauniece O’Neal, who was in the lead with a 219-4 on her first attempt.

That’s No. 17 among all U.S. women this year and moves her up to No. 58 in U.S. history, one spot behind another Delsea graduate, Jamine Moton, who threw 220-6 in Baton Rouge in 2002.

It’s also No. 14 in NCAA Division 1 this year.

Next up for Lancaster is the NCAA East Region Preliminary at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., May 25-28. The top performers there advance to the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., June 8-11.

Lancaster’s previous PR was a throw of 219-9 last month at the Joey Haines Invitational at Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Last year, Lancaster placed fifth in the conference meet with a throw of 194-2. She had a PR of 207-11 coming into this season but increased it to 208-5 at a meet in Murray, Ky., in March and then 218-9 at the Joey Haynes meet. Since then she has thrown 210-7, 214-6 and 215-11 in her last three meets.

Lancaster opened Friday with a 200-10 followed by a 212-3. After fouling on her third attempt, she hit the winner on her first attempt of the finals. She fouled on No. 5 and 6, but O’Neal fouled on her last four throws and settled for second place, exactly a foot behind her teammate.

Interesting and very fast 800 in Wednesday’s Eastern-Cherry Hill East girls dual meet in Voorhees.

Eastern junior Kadence Dumas, in her first major 800 this year, edged Cherry Hill East’s Alexis Tepper, Dumas running 2:19.4 and Tepper 2:21.0.

You rarely get hot times in dual meets, but when conditions are good and two talented runners find themselves in the same race it can happen.

According to her MileSplit page, Dumas hadn’t run an 800 since a PR 2:32.14 at last year’s South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township. She did run 58.08 at the South Jersey Elite, placing second to Timber Creek’s Chloe Jones, who ran 57.68. Those times rank Jones and White No. 3 and 4 in South Jersey this year.

Tepper, also a junior, ran 2:19.12 indoors at the Bubble, but the 2:21.0 is an outdoor personal best.

Although dual meet times aren’t considered for list purposes, Dumas would rank No. 3 in South Jersey this year and Tepper would be No. 5.

Promising performances from two of South Jersey’s best middle-distance runners. Certainly will make for a loaded 800 at the Olympic Conference meet, which will presumably include three of the Cherokee girls – Cherokee has the four-fastest half-milers in South Jersey so far this year – as well as White and Tepper.

The Olympic Conference Championships are scheduled for May 24 at Washington Township.

Eastern grad Jewel Ash, a sophomore at Charleston Southern, won her second straight Big South Conference 400-meter intermediate hurdles title and broke the 58-second barrier for the third straight time.

Ash, who ran a personal-best and meet-record 57.16 in the trials on Monday, won the final in 57.92 at High Point, N.C. She won by nearly a second over Dejah Grant of Hampton, who was second in 58.89.

She ranks No. 7 in the NCAA East Region, No. 13 in Division 1, No. 17 among U.S. women and No. 46 in the world.

Ash won the 400IH at last year’s Big South Championships in 1:00.51 after a 59.50 in the trials that was her first race under a minute. She broke 59 for the first time with a 58.83 last month in Greensboro, N.C.

Next for Ash is the NCAA East Preliminary at the Robert Haugh Track and Field Complex at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, May 25-28. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for June 8-11 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Penns Grove senior Bailey Ricks ran a huge PR of 12.48 to win the 100 at the Salem County Championships Wednesday at Pennsville. She came back to win the 200 as well.

Ricks’ 100 time is No. 5 in South Jersey this year and No. 10 in the state. It’s also fastest by a Salem County girl since 2015, when Penns Grove’s Jocelyn Brown ran 12.42 at the Meet of Champions after placing 2nd at states.

According to her MileSplit page, this was Ricks’ first major outdoor race this year and her first race since the indoor Meet of Champions. She ran 7.63 and placed third in the Group 1 state meet indoors at the Bubble. Her outdoor big-meet 100 PR seems to be a 14.26 from last year’s Group 1 sectionals at Washington Township.

The 12.48 is 2nd-fastest this year in the state by a Group 1 runner. Clayton’s Arianna Sharpe ran 12.35 at Delsea last week.

Ricks won the 200 in 26.42. Her MileSplit page shows no previous 200s in a major meet. She also won the triple jump at 34-3 in what appears to be her first lifetime triple jump competition. That’s No. 10 in South Jersey this year and No. 2 in New Jersey Group 1.

Salem won the team title 107-97 over Pennsville.

Millville senior Leah Ellis recorded her second straight quad win Tuesday at the Cumberland County Championships.

Ellis won the 100-meter hurdles as well as the high jump, long jump and triple jump to help Millville win its 10th straight county title.

Ellis won the hurdles in 15.46, the high jump at 4-10, the long jump with a 17-7 ¾ and the triple jump at 35-3 ¼ at Cumberland Regional in Upper Deerfield.

Ellis ranks No. 1 in the long jump at 17-11 from Woodbury, No. 2 in in the hurdles at 15.15 from South Jersey Elite, No. 5 in the triple jump with a 36-3 ½ from Woodbury, and No. 12 in the high jump with her 4-10 on Tuesday in her first high jump competition in nearly a year.

Millville has won every Cumberland County meet since 2012. There was no meet in 2020. Last time Millville didn’t win was 2011, when Bridgeton outscored Vineland 167-72 to win the team title, with Millville third with 50 ½ points.

Those 10 team titles have been by an average of 77.3 points, ranging from 18 in 2016 to 184 in 2019. Vineland has been second seven of the last nine meets.

2022 Millville 154, Vineland 112
2021 Millville 172, Cumberland Regioanal 51
2020 cancelled
2019 Millville 238, Vineland 54
2018 Millville 187, Vineland 88
2017 Millville 112, Vineland 90 ½
2016 Millville 90 ½, Cumberland Regional 72 ½
2015 Millville 109, Vineland 71
2014 Millville 125, Vineland 51
2013 Millville 141, Vineland 55 ½
2012 Millville 135, Bridgeton 46 \
2011 Bridgeton 167, Vineland 72, Millville 50 ½