Greg Foster won his 2nd national title of the weekend and 5th of his remarkable high school track career Sunday at the New Balance Nationals.
Foster, a Lumberton native and senior at Lawrenceville School, uncorked a final-jump personal-best 25-6 ¼ to win the long jump at Franklin Field.
That’s the best long jump mark by a New Jersey schoolboy in 43 years and No. 2 in state history, behind only eight-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis of Willingboro, who jumped 26-8 ¼ at the Pan American Games trials in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1979.
On Friday, Foster broke the state record in winning the triple jump with a 51-0 ¾. Indoors, he won the long jump at 25-4 ½, the triple jump with a 49-9 ¼ and the 60-meter hurdles in 7.43 at Ocean Breeze Nationals.
Foster improved on each of his jumps Sunday. There is no wind reading listed for his winning jump.
He opened with a 23-3 ½, jumped 23-10 ¼ on his second attempt and 24-2 ½ on his third. He surpassed 25 feet on each of his last three jumps, hitting 25-0 ½ on his 4th, 25-4 ¾ on his 5th and 25-6 ¼ on his 6th. Foster averaged 24-6 ½ on his six jumps.
His winning jump ranks Foster 11th in the world in the Under-20 division and No. 4 among Americans. He’s No. 19 in the triple jump and No. 5 among Americans.
Foster needed to PR just to win the event. Alexander Smith of Hilliard- Darby High of Hilliard, Ohio, who won Armory Nationals indoors, PR’d at 25-3 ½ on his 4th jump, temporarily taking the lead. Foster responded with the two-best jumps of the competition, and Smith’s best on his two final jumps was a 24-1 ¾.
Although Foster had jumped 25-4 ½ indoors, his outdoor PR before Sunday was 24-11 from his win at Penn Relays in April. So his four-best lifetime outdoor jumps have come at Franlin Field, where it’s notoriously difficult to jump far.
Foster is entered in both the long jump and triple jump at USATF Under 20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., later this week. The long jump is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Friday and the triple jump at 3:25 p.m. Saturday.
All-Time New Jersey Long Jump List
26-8 1/4 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
25-6 ¼ … Greg Foster [Lawrenceville School], 2022
25-2 ½ … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
25-0 ½ … Corey Crawford [Indian Hills], 2010
25-0 … Justes Nance [Blair Academy], 2015
25-0 … William Spearmon [Woodrow Wilson], 1996
24-11 ½ … Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains], 1977
24-11 ½ … Anthony Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2002
24-11 … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], 1993
24-8 ½ … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1989
24-8 … Isaac Samuels [Willingboro-Kennedy], 1983
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 