Delsea is New Jersey’s top weight throw program and has been for years. But it showed this weekend it’s a lot more than that.

Delsea got 46 of a possible 48 points in the shot and discus but also scored big in the sprints, distance, jumps and relays on its way to 5th straight sectional title.

The Crusaders, back in Group 3 after two years in Group 2, outscored defending state Group 3 champion Pennsauken 105-92 to win the South Jersey Group 3 title on its home track in Franklinville.

Delsea’s streak of five straight titles is 3rd-longest in South Jersey history. Penns Grove won 10 straight in Groups 1 and 2 from 1977 through 1986, and Woodbury won nine straight in Group 1 from 1969 through 1968.

So Delsea’s streak is longest by any South Jersey school in 36 years.

Delsea won SJ-3 in 2017 and 2018 and SJ-2 in 2019 and 2021. There was no meet in 2020. The Crusaders also won sectional titles in 2006 and 2007 [Group 3] and 2010 [Group 2] for eight total South Jersey championships. Only Willingboro [18], Penns Grove [15], Winslow [13], Woodbury [13], Bridgeton [10] and Haddon Township [9] have won more.

Let’s start with the throwers, because every year Delsea is a throwing poowerhouse, and this year is no different.

Senior Jason Nwosu won the shot and disc with a 61-3 ¼ and a 167-8 on his first throw. In the discus, senior Cade Berardelli took 2nd at 165-1 and junior Luke Maxwell was 4th at 135-9. In the shot, senior Josh Caudill took 2nd at 52-10 ½ and sophomore Greg Masso PR’d with 52-8 ¼ for 3rd.

Only sophomore Gabriel Wilkins of Absegami broke up the double Delsea weight sweep with a 3rd-place finish in the disus. Wilkins threw 143-5, a seven-foot personal best.

Maxwell also placed 5th in the javelin at 135-9, giving Delea a total of 48 points in the three throws.

Senior Andrew Littlehales swept the 1,600 and 3,200 with PRs in both races. You can read about his Friday 3,200 win here. He came back Saturday to win the 1,600 in 4:20.51.

Senior Enrico Barnett had a big weekend, winning the high jump by clearing 6-4 on his first attempt and PR’ing in the triple jump with a 44-9 for 5th place but only 14 inches out of 1st.

Senior Jaedyn Stewart placed in both dashes, PR’ing with an 11.11 in the 100 for 4th place [previous PR was 11.23] and running 22.33 for 3rd in the 200 [previous PR was 22.95].

Delsea also scored in the pole vault, with sophomore Carlos Reyes matching his lifetime best of 11-6 for 4th place.

Sophomore Christian Langston, Stewart and sophomores Xavier Wyatt and Domenic Teti ran 43.09 for a close 2nd in the 400-meter relay, 1-100th of a second behind Mainland.

And Stewart, sophomore Dante McGrenehan, Wyatt and Langston ran 3:32.19 for 4th in the 1,600-meter relay.

Liliah Gordon mixed it up with some of New Jersey’s fastest two-milers and emerged with a PR and a lane in the state meet this weekend.

Gordon placed 5th in the 3,200 at the Central Jersey Group 4 Championships in Howell Friday in 10:52.18, which is No. 6 in Burlington County history and fastest ever by a Burligton County freshman.

The top five finishers finished just 10 meters apart, all five running between 10:50.16 and 10:52.18. Montgomery sophomore Julia Scrudato won the race in 10:50.16, with senior teammate Caroline Mehlhorn 2nd in 10:51.37. Freehold sophomore Emma Zawatski [10:51.39] and Middletown South sophomore Rosemary Shay [10:52.11] placed 3rd and 4th.

The Central Jersey Group 4 race produced five of the top seven times in all the 16 sectional races and the top five times in Group 4, so Gordon’s 10:52.18 makes her the No. 5 seed at states at Egg Harbor Friday and 7th-fastest among all the sectional meets.

Gordon’s previous PR was 10:56.77 from the indoor Meet of Champions at the Bubble in March.

The previous Burlington County freshman class 3,200 record was 10:56.34 by Moorestown’s Brianna Rogers at the 2005 Meet of Champions.

Her time makes her South Jersey’s fastest freshman since Haddonfield’s Briana Gess ran 10:45.12 at the 2014 state Group 2 meet at Egg Harbor Township.

Gordon’s time is No. 2 in South Jersey this year behind only Cherokee senior Nicole Clifford’s 10:46.71 at Cherokee Night of Racing in April, and she’s the top freshman in the state by nearly 20 seconds.

Gordon also ran an outdoor 1,600 PR of 5:15.48 for 9th in the 1,600.

All-Time Burlington County 3,200 Top-10
10:22.02 … Megan Lacy (Cherokee], 2012
10:40.95 … Erika Kemp (Rancocas Valley], 2013
10:43.3h….. Deanna Germano (Shawnee], 1985
10:45.73 … Meghan Hughes [Moorestown], 2002
10:46.71 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
10:52.18 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2022
10:54.16 … Lisa Burkholder [Cherokee], 2004
10:55.92 … Isabella Turner [Shawnee], 2018
10:56.34 … Brianna Rogers [Moorestown], 2005 freshman MoC
10:57.52 … Mara Schiffhauer [Seneca], 2014
10:58.97 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015

Versatile sophomore Guerlande Pierre single-handled scored 32 points and the Timber Creek girls won their first sectional title in 10 years this weekend.

Pierre won the high jump at 5-0, placed 2nd in the long jump with a PR 17-5 ¾ and 2nd in the high hurdles with a PR 15.31 and added a 3rd-place in the shot put with a lifetime best of 35-2.

Timber Creek outscored Winslow 101-86 to win the South Jersey Group 3 title at Delsea, ending Winslow’s remarkable streak of eight consecutive South Jersey Group 3 championships, a streak that would have reached nine if the 2020 meet hadn’t been cancelled.

Winslow’s streak of eight straight titles is longest in South Jersey sectional history, one year longer than Woodbury’s seven-year streak from 1976 through 1982 in Group 1. It’s also tied for longest streak in state history in any sectional.

Mainland was a close 3rd with 83 points, just three points behind Winslow.

The last school other than Winslow to win SJ-3 was Timber Creek in 2012. Timber Creek also won SJ-3 in 2010.

Timber Creek scored 22 points in the three relays, and the unusual thing about that is that two girls – freshmen Billy Frazier and Adiat Olaogun-Dickson – ran on both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-800. That’s amazing range. Olaogun-Dickson also ran on the winning 4-by-400.

All 101 of Timber Creek’s points were scored by underclassmen. Of their 79 points in individual events, 65 were scored by sophomores and 10 by freshmen.

Sophomore Chloe Jones, freshman Ryan Jennings, junior Jessenia Edwards joined Olaogun-Dickson on the 4-by-4, which ran 3:57.35 – only 17-100ths of a second off the school record of 3:57.18 from the 2017 Meet of Champions.

Frazier, Olaogun-Dickson, Jennings and sophomore Naylah Jones ran 49.39 for 2nd in the 400-meter relay, and Frazier, sophomore Elaina Guillaume, freshman Ashley Haynes and Olaogun-Dickson ran on the 4-by-8, which was 4th in 10:26.84.

Chloe Jones won the 400 in 57.75 and also placed 6th in the 100 in 12.75 after going into the final as the No. 8 seed and 6th in the 200 in 25.78.

Naylah Jones took 2nd to Winslow’s Jaia James in both the 100 and 200. In the 100, she ran 12.25 in the final after a wind-aided 12.08 in the 100 trials. She ran a PR 25.46 in the 200. She was also 3rd in the 400 in a PR 58.12.

Jennings ran a PR 12.29 for 3rd in the 100 and a PR 25.59 for 4th in the 200.

Edwards scored in both the intermediates and triple jump, 34-2 ¾ for 5th in the triple jump and a 1 ½-second PR 1:10.28 for 6th in the intermediates.

The move up from Group 1 to Group 2 sure didn’t bother Willingboro, which won its South Jersey-record 18th sectional title this weekend at Delsea.

Willingboro, the smallest Group 2 school in the field, scored the 4th-most points in meet history, winning the South Jersey Group 2 title with 113 points.

The Chimeras won by 29 points over Manchester Township and have now won won four sectional titles in the last five years, including Central Jersey Group 1 last year.

For coach Martin Booker, this is his 9th outdoor sectional title: South Jersey Group 4 in 1995 and 1997 and S.J.-3 in 2001, 2004 and 2005 with Camden, and South Jersey Group 2 in 2012, 2018 and 2022 and Central Jersey Group 1 in 2019 with Willingboro.

The sectional title is Willingboro’s 18th, most by a South Jersey school and 3rd-most by any New Jersey public school, behind only Metuchen [26 in Central Jersey] and New Providence [21 in North Jersey Section 2].

We wrote earlier about Malachi James’ record-setting sprint double [https://sjtrackblog.com/2022/06/04/willingboros-malachi-james-finishes-off-blazing-fast-100-200-double-in-s-j-2/].

But numerous other Chimeras had huge weekends:

Miles Allen: Ran a PR 10.88 in the 100 trials and came back to run 10.97 in the final for second place. Also ran on Willingboro’s winning 400-meter relay team, took 6th in the 400 with a big PR of 50.53 and ran a leg on the Chimeras’ 2nd-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:22.80.

Anaias Hughes: Lowered his 110 hurdles PR from 14.98 to 14.93 in the trials then nearly half a second in the final, winning with a 14.47, the fastest winning time in S.J.-2 since another Willingboro hurdler, Issac Williams, won the 2012 race in 14.16. Hughes also placed 4th in the long jump [PR 20-1 ¼] and took 5th in the high jump [6-0].

C.J. Johnson: Became the first Willingboro shot putter to win an outdoor sectional title in 21 years with a personal-best 56-5. The last one to do it was Dzigbodi Ababio, who won SJ-3 with a 53-2 in 2001. Also took 3rd in the discus with a 152-3 throw, another personal best.

Jackson Murry: The sophomore tied for third in the pole vault with a 12-6 clearance and also ran a leg on the winning 400-meter relay team.

Jaylen Young: In addition to legs on the 4-by-1 and 4-by-4, Young placed 3rd in the 200 in 22.50 and 4th in the 400 at 49.72, fastet by a Willingboro quarter-miler in six years – since Tyler Davidson ran 48.03 in 2016.

Kedaar Wilson: Junior hurdler placed 3rd in the 110 highs in 15.02, well below his previous PR of 15.38.

Christopher Johnson: A 2 ½-second PR for Johnson in the 400-meter intermediates, where he placed 4th in 58.27. Also ran on 2nd-place 4-by-4.

Nazsir Sheppard-Kidd: Senior had never thrown 42 feet until last weekend, when he PR’d at 44-6 ½ at Delsea. Added another foot plus at sectionals and placed 5th with another PR of 45-10 ¼.

Bryson Bright: First-year senior javelin thrower hit 147-0 and placed 5th.

Derrick Bryant: Another 1st-year competitor, the sophomore horizontal jumper PR’d for the third time in the last month and took 5th in the triple jump at 40-8 ½.

Bryon Gary: Tied his pole vault PR of 12 feet and placed 5th.

Eric Foster: A sophomore and a first-year hurdler who hadn’t broken 16.55 until two weeks ago, Foster recorded a huge PR of 15.75 and took 6th place.

Geordan Collins: Ran a leg on 2nd-place 1,600-meter relay team, whose 3:22.80 is fastest this year in Burlington County.

Here’s a look at all of Willingboro’s outdoor sectional titles:
1977 – South Jersey Group 4
1978 – South Jersey Group 4
1979 – South Jersey Group 4
1980 – South Jersey Group 4
1982 – South Jersey Group 4
1986 – South Jersey Group 3
1988 – South Jersey Group 3
1990 – South Jersey Group 4
1991 – South Jersey Group 4
1993 – South Jersey Group 4
2000 – South Jersey Group 3
2003 – South Jersey Group 3
2004 – Central Jersey Group 3
2005 – Central Jersey Group 3
2012 – South Jersey Group 2
2018 – South Jersey Group 2
2019 – Central Jersey Group 1
2022 – South Jersey Group 2

Here’s a look at the highest point totals in South Jersey Group 2 history:
133 ½ … Delsea, 2010
121 … Pleasantville, 1996
117 … Bridgeton, 2004
113 … Willingboro, 2022
110 … Pleasantville, 2008
108 … Deptford, 2014
106 … Bridgeton, 2011
105 ½ … Bridgeton, 2006
105 … Manchester Twp., 1998
102 … Haddonfield, 2016
101 … Delsea, 2021
99 … Bridgeton, 2005
95 … Haddonfield, 2010 [2nd]
94 … Buena, 2000
92 … Delsea 2019

In a terrific competition between South Jersey’s two-best teams, Rancocas Valley’s sprinters and hurdlers overcame Cherokee’s middle-distance might to give the Red Devils their second straight South Jersey Group 4 title and 3rd in the last four years.

R.V. outscored Cherokee 97 ½-81 ½ to become the first program to win back-to-back S.J.-4 titles since Southern Regional won five straight from 2006 through 2010 and the first South Jersey school to repeat since Winslow Township in 2004 and 2005.

The Red Devils scored 51 points in the sprints and hurdles and another 20 in the two short relays, and Cherokee scored 57 points in the three middle-distance or distance runs and the long relay.

Let’s take a look at some of the terrific performances from the weekend with two of New Jersey’s most talented teams squaring off in the most competitive section in the state:

100-METER DASH [Rancocas Valley 6, Cherokee 2]
Rancocas Valley senior Jya Marshall ran a personal-best 12.48 for 3rd place, and Cherokee senior Jillian Strauss’s 12.76 got her 5th place (2-1,000th of a second ahead of 6th place).

200-METER DASH [Rancocas Valley 9, Cherokee 4]
R.V. junior Kasey White PR’d with a 25.49 for second behind Washington Township’s Dylan Giloley [25.20], and senior Anabella Chin added a point in 6th place with a 25.83. Cherokee got four points from senior Alison Cooke, who ran 25.71 for 4th.

400-METER DASH [Rancocas Valley 6, Cherokee 3]
White placed 3rd in a nearly two-second PR of 57.29. Cherokee’s Cooke [57.78] and junior Kelsey Niglio [58.25] placed 5th and 6th.

800-METER RUN [Cherokee 20, Rancocas Valley 0]
Clifford [2:12.86] and Niglio [PR 2:13.31] were a very fast 1-2, with freshman Megan Niglio 6th with a PR 2:18.28.

1,600-METER RUN [Cherokee 10, Rancocas Valley 0]
The third of Clifford’s three wins, she needed to run fast [4:58.23] to hold off Toms River North senior Olivia Takla, who PR’d with a 5:0157.

3,200-METER RUN [Cherokee 17, Rancocas Valley 0]
Clifford ran 10:54.92 to hold off Kingsway junior Nicole Lipieta, who also broke 11 minutes with her 2nd-place 10:59.96. Cherokee soph Kerry O’Day came up for 3rd place with a personal-best 11:09.48 and Megan Niglio took 6th in 11:17.47.

100-METER HURDLES [Rancocas Valley 12, Cherokee 0]
Chin, the indoor Meet of Champions winner, ran a big PR of 14.52, and senior Sanai Jenkins added two points with a PR of 15.60 in 5th place.

400-METER HURDLES [Rancocas Valley 18, Cherokee 6]
Huge 1-2 finish for R.V., with Jenkins PR’ing at 1:02.40 and Chin 2nd in 1:04.65. Cherokee’s Cooke ran 1:05.74 for 3rd.

HIGH JUMP [Cherokee 0, Rancocas Valley 0]

LONG JUMP [Rancocas Valley 7, Cherokee 0]
Senior Joyce Adegoke popped a personal-best 16-6 ½ for 3rd place, and senior Olivia Smith took 6th with a 15-10 ¼ leap.

TRIPLE JUMP [Rancocas Valley 8, Cherokee 0]
Sophomore Lauren Fadairo placed a close second to junior Ayotunde Folawewo of Toms River North with a 35-7 ½ jump. Folawewo won at 35-9 ½.

POLE VAULT [Rancocas Valley 1 ½, Cherokee 1 ½]
Rancocas Valley senior Mia Paolone and Cherokee’s Strauss tied for 4th place, both clearing 9-6.

SHOT PUT [Rancocas Valley 4, Cherokee 0]
Senior Ravin Hood threw 39-0 for 4th place.

DISCUS [Rancocas Valley 6, Cherokee 0]
Hood threw a season-best 113-6 to take 3rd in the discus.

JAVELIN [Rancocas Valley 0, Cherokee 0]

400-METER RELAY [Rancocas Valley 10, Cherokee 4]
Chin, Marshall, Smith and senior N’Duwonee Kangar ran 48.99, just off their season-best from Penn Relays, to win the 4-by-1. Cherokee senior Dani Gindville, sophomore Madison Van Haren, Strauss and Cooke ran 49.81 for 4th.

1,600-METER RELAY [Rancocas Valley 10, Cherokee 4]
Smith, Jenkins, Marshall and White just missed breaking four minutes, settling for the win in 4:00.27. For Cherokee, Clifford, sophomore Nicole Edelman, Kelsey Niglio and freshman Emily Butler placed 4th in 4:04.32.

3,200-METER RELAY [Cherokee 10 points, Rancocas Valley 0 points]
Edelman, senior Isabella Kadar, Kelsey Niglio and O’Day ran 9:42.35 to win the 4-by-8.

Hot sprint double at the South Jersey Group 2 meet by Willingboro sophomore Malachi James, who won the 100 Friday in 10.56 and the 200 Saturday in 21.68.

Both are PRs.

James entered the weekend with PRs of 10.76 in the 100 from last year’s Meet of Champions and 21.82 in the 200 from this year’s Burlington County Open.

He lowered his 100 PR to 10.71 in the trials, with senior teammate Miles Allen just behind with a PR of his own at 10.88. Pleasantville junior Samir Miller also broke 11 at 10.99.

In the 100 final, James and Allen went 1-2 in 10.56 and 10.97 with legal wind (0.6), with Collingswood sophomore Isaiah Pope-Magro [11.04], Lower Cape May senior Dsavon Figueroa [11.05] and Camden junior Israel Clark-White [11.09] battling for 3rd.

James won the 200 over Manchester Township junior William Freeman, who was second in 22.34, with Willingboro senior Jaylen Young running 22.50 for 3rd.

The previous FAT SJ-2 meet record in the 100 was a 10.75 by Burlington Township’s Kashif Moore in 2007. Moore played football at UConn and spent time with the Bengals, Colts, Chargers, Texans, Chargers, Steelers and Chiefs and is now coaching receivers at Albany.

James came up just short of the FAT 200 Group 2 meet record of 21.61 set by West Deptford’s A.J. Buntin in 2006.

The 10.56 is No. 11 in South Jersey history and No. 2 in Burlington County history, behind only James Townsend’s 10.45 to win the 2003 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield. He broke the Willingboro record of 10.74 set in 1986 by Kenny Reynolds at the 1986 state Group 3 meet at Rutgers.

James’ 21.68 is No. 7 on the Burlington County fat list and fastest by a Willingboro sprinter in 21 years, since Darrin Scott ran 21.66 for 3rd at the 2001 Meet of Champions.

Halfway through Day 2, Willingboro led Manchester Township 92-58 in the Group 2 team scoring race.

All-Time South Jersey 100 List
10.35 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2000
10.36 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2010
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003
10.47 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
10.47 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
10.49 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017
10.53 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
10.54 … Fabian Santiago [Oakrest], 2010
10.55 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2002
10.55 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], 2022
10.56 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
10.57 … Jamil Benjamin [Cumberland Regional], 2006
10.57 … Geoff Navaro [Absegami], 2008
10.58 … Anthony Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2003
10.60 … Robert Page [Kingsway], 2008
10.60 … Marquis Bonds [Millville], 2007
10.60 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2009
10.60 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019

All-Time Burlington County 100 List
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003
10.56 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
10.62 … Kashif Moore [Burlington Twp.], 2007
10.66 … Bobby Orro [Pemberton], 1993
10.72 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
10.73 … Miekel House [Delran], 2019
10.74 … Ken Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
10.75 … Jamaal Harris (Palmyra), 2002
10.78 … Michael Bolling (Willingboro), 2000
10.78 … Sam Aviles [Palmyra], 2019

All-time Burlington County 200 fat list
21.40 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
21.40 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
21.46 … Brondon Jenkins [Delran], 1994
21.66 … Darrin Scott [Willingboro], 2001
21.66 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
21.67 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2000
21.68 … Daequan Kim [Bordentown], 2009
21.68 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
21.70 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
21.75 … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], 2007
Additional hand times
20.8 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
21.3y … Kevin Holloway [Palmyra], 1975
21.3y … Dave Wheeler [Kennedy], 1981
21.3 … Barry Douglas [Willingboro], 1993
21.4 … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], 2007

Two of the state’s fastest hurdlers met up in the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals Saturday.

And Malachi Wesley beat them both.

Wesley, a senior at Egg Harbor, ran a scorching 13.93 to win the 110-meter hurdles at the SJ-4 meet at Buena and beating a field that included Washington Township sophomore Yashahya Brown, ranked No. 2 in New Jersey at 14.08, and Eastern senior A.J. Brooks, the defending champion, ranked No. 3 in the state at 14.27.

There is no wind information listed in the results, but Wesley’s time is No. 15 in South Jersey history and

Wesley’s time is No. 3 in Atlantic County history, behind national champ Sincere Rhea of Augustine [13.51 at 2019 New Balance Nationals in Greensboro] and Pleasantville’s Nate Harley [13.76 at the 1996 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield]. He broke the school record of 13.94 – set in 2009 by Hal Lathan – by 1-100th of a second.

Wesley began the day with a PR of 14.59 from the South Jersey Elite at Delsea last month. In the prelims, Brooks led all qualifiers with a 14.60 and Brown ran 14.64. Wesley was next at 14.77.

But in the final, it was all Wesley. Brooks was 2nd in 14.44, and Washington Township’s Kanye Mills 3rd with a PR 14.67.

Wesley’s 13.93 is the fastest FAT time in South Jersey sectional history. The previous FAT meet record was 14.01 by Washington Township’s Arthur Ashton in Group 4 at the 2012 meet.

The fastest hand-timed performances in SJ-4 history are a couple 13.7s – by Tony Riello of Brick Township in 1986 and Camden’s Scot McCray in 1997. Wesley’s 13.93 should be listed as a meet record, but the NJSIAA for reasons that are inexplicable does not differentiate between FAT and hand-timed performances in their ridiculous meet records listed in their horrible error-filled program.

Wesley on Friday placed 3rd in the 400-meter hurdles in a personal-best 56.05.

With 12 of 20 events scored, Egg Harbor led Washington Township 78-55 in team scoring.

13.43 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
13.51 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
13.59 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
13.66 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1997
13.73 … Kevin Hagamin [Timber Creek], 2014
13.74 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
13.75 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
13.76 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
13.76 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
13.77 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
13.81 … Scot McCray [Camden], 1997
13.81 … Jeff Young [Wilson], 1999
13.90 … Edwin Alston [Winslow Twp.], 2015
13.92 … Enrique Llanos [Wilson], 1999
13.93 … Malachi Wesley [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2022
13.94 … Hal Lathan [Egg Harbor Twp,], 2009
13.95 … Kevin White [Haddon Heights], 1992
13.95 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
13.96 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
13.97 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
13.97 … Syteek Farrington [Camden], 2010
13.99 … Herb Reid [Lenape], 2000

Millville junior Leah Howard uncorked the No. 3 javelin throw in Cumberland County history Friday, winning the South Jersey Group 4 title with a 138-6 at Buena.

Howard and Eastern sophomore Zoe Goldberg, two of the state’s top-five javelin throwers, locked up in a terrific competition, with both surpassing 130 feet. Goldberg was second at 131-9.

Howard’s mark trails only Vineland’s Maria Jimenez [160-8 in 2012] and Millville’s Jocelyn McRae [141-0 in 2006] on the all-time Cumberland County list and is No. 18 all-time South Jersey. Goldberg is already the No. 3 sophomore in South Jersey history with her 136-7 at the Weat Deptford Relays.

Howard won last year with a 123-3, and she’s Millville’s first repeat sectional winner in any event since Sylvia Galarza won the shot and disc in both 2003 and 2004.

Unfortunately, the Buena timing system does not provide field event series information in the results.

Here is the all-time South Jersey 135-foot list:
168- 6 … Brielle Smith [Oakcrest], 2019
160- 8 … Maria Jimenez [Vineland], 2012
152- 9 … Kate Johnston [Haddonfield], 2012
152- 4 … Jill Shaner [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2009
148- 8 … Caitlin Cielo [Eastern], 2002
146- 7 … Victoria Imbesi [Our Lady of Mercy], 2008
143-11 … Ayana Culhane [Absegami], 2016
142- 6 … Kaela Schrier [Cherokee], 2016
142- 1 … Alexa Gardner [Hammonton], 2018
141- 6 … Lindsay Minch [Pennsville], 2009
141- 5 … Kelly Yanucil [Bordentown], 2013
141- 1 … Tumelo Nwanma [Vineland], 2016
141- 0 … Jocelyn McRae [Millville], 2006
140- 8 … Julianne Foering [Rancocas Valley], 2017
140- 0 … Melissa Lake [Cherokee], 2011
139- 9 … Heather Juhring [Kingsway], 2011
139- 0 … Danielle Steff [Rancocas Valley], 2016
138- 6 … Leah Howard [Millville], 2022
138- 4 … Megan Saxvanderweyden [Pennsville], 2015
137- 6 … Mercedes Glover [Burlington Twp.], 2010
137- 6 … Alyssa Whipkey [Pennsville], 2015
137- 1 … Ayana Culhane [Absegami], 2016
136- 7 … Zoe Goldberg [Eastern], 2022
136- 6 … Danielle Still [Bishop Eustace], 2002
136- 0 … Shamire Rothmiller [Glassboro], 2008
135-10 … Mary Wilks [Bridgeton], 2007
135- 6 … Faith Blamon [Cinnaminson], 2012
135- 2 … Nicolette Burns [Kingsway], 2013

Andrew Littlehales ran a monster 3,200 Friday at Group 3 sectionals, winning by 120 meters and breaking a 36-year-old meet record.

His time is fastest by a Gloucester County two-miler in 43 years.

Littlehales, a Delsea senior, ran 9:10.39 at his home track at Delsea, beating 2nd-place Dennis Fortuna by 21 seconds. Fortuna and Littlehales came through the 1,600 together, Littlehales with a slight lead at at 4:38.39 to Fortuna’s 4:38.63.

Littlehales led by only three seconds with three laps to go but finished strong, with final laps of 69.42, 69.35 and 66.74 to break the meet record of 9:14.7 (hand-timed) set by Highland’s Kevin Pumphrey at the 1986 meet.

The only faster 3,200 in any group in sectional history is Jackson Braddock’s 8:55.46 last year to win Group 4. Overbrook’s Murad Campbell won Group 4 in 9:10.6 in 1999.

Littlehales’ previous PR was 9:12.05 in March at the indoor Meet of Champions at the Bubble. His outdoor PR was 9:25.70 when he won the Gloucester County Championships earlier this month at Gloucester County College in Deptford, his only previous 3,200 this spring.

The only superior times by Gloucester County runners came from Gateway Regional runners in the 1970s. Mike Mantini ran 9:05.0 full two-mile when he won the 1979 Colonial Classic at Haddon Township, which converts to a 9:01.9 for 3,200, and Greg Stremmel ran a 9:09.3 full two-mile when he placed 2nd to Bernards’ Chris Hallinan at the 1974 Meet of Champions at Rutgers, which converts to 9:06.2 for 3,200 meters.

Littlehales’ time broke the school record of 9:19.19 set by Nick Costello at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge.

His time is No. 30 on the all-time South Jersey list.

All-Time Gloucester County Top-10
9:01.9y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
9:06.2y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway], 1974
9:10.39 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:11.88 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:14.31 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2011
9:14.93 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
9:15.76 … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2022
9:16.39 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2019
9:19.19 … Nick Costello [Delsea], 2012
9:19.89 … Jacob Cobb [West Deptford], 2021

Overall, Delsea led Pennsauken 56-42 going into Day 2.

Burlington County rivals Cherokee and Rancocas Valley find themselves locked up in a titanic battle for the South Jersey Group 4 sectional title.

With 10 events down and 10 more to go Saturday, Cherokee held a four-point lead over R.V. at Buena.

Cherokee, with 37 points in the 800 and 3,200, had 50 ½ points after Day 1, and R.V., led by a win in the 400-meter relay and a 1-2 finish in the intermediates, was sitting in second with 46 ½.

Southern Regional [27], Toms River East [26], Eastern [26] and Washington Township [23] were separated by four points.

You can find full Day 1 results here, but R.V. won the 400-meter relay in 48.99 with senior Anabella Chin, senior Jya Marshall, senior Sanai Jenkins and junior Kasey White.

Jenkins and Chin also went 1-2 in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, with Jenkins running a huge PR of 1:02.40 – more than two seconds faster than her previous PR – and Chin 1:04.65. Jenkins is the first R.V. girl to win a sectional title in the intermediates since Tonya Lee won her 4th straight in Group 3 in 1988.

Marshall and senior Joyce Adegoke each picked up a 3rd-place medal, Marshall with a 12.48 in the 100 and Adegoke with a 16-6 ½ long jump.

For Cherokee, Nicole Clifford cruised to wins in the 800 in 2:12.86 and the 3,200 in 10:54.92. Her 2:12.86 is fastest in SJ-4 since Southern’s Jill Smith won the 2009 race in 2:11.49, and she’s the first Cherokee girl to win a SJ-4 title in the 800 since Monica Olkowski won her second straight in 1990. Junior Kelsey Niglio was second with a full-second PR of 2:13.31, and freshman Megan Niglio added a 5th-place finish in 2:18.28.

Clifford doubled back to win the 3,200, with Kerry O’Day PR’ing for 3rd in 11:09.48 and Megan Niglio taking 6th in 11:17.47. With 1,600 to go, O’Day was 5th and Niglio 7th, but both moved up steadily, helping Cherokee deliver 37 points in the day’s two long track races.

Also for Cherokee, senior Alison Cooke placed 3rd in the intermediate hurdles in 1:05.74

Rancocas Valley won S.J. Group 4 in 2018 and 2021. Cherokee won its only title in 2013.