On the brink of elimination, Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard on Saturday became the eighth U.S. woman to finish in the top eight in the shot put at the World Championships.

Woodard, who fouled on her first two throws, was in jeopardy of not placing at all Saturday in Eugene after reaching the finals with a 62-7 throw on Friday.

But she not only got a legal mark on her third and potentially final throw, she earned herself three more throws and guaranteed a top-8 finish by the margin of just over one inch.

Woodard threw 61-3 on her third attempt to move into 8th place, 1 ¼ inches ahead of American Maggie Ewen, who had thrown 61-1 ¾.

Since only the top eight get three more throws, Woodard ended Ewen’s day by the smallest of margins.

Woodard did not improve on that 61-3 and wound up finishing 8th overall at the World Championships at Hayward Field.

This was the first international championship meet for Woodard, and only seven American women have ever thrown farther at the World Championships.

Woodard had one other legal throw in her series, a 61-1 ½ on her final attempt.

All in all, a tremendous debut on the international stage for the 26-year-old Woodard, an All-America at Oklahoma.

It’s been quite a couple months for Woodard, who threw 63-7 ¾ to place 3rd at the USATF Championships and move into the No. 14 spot in U.S. history before throwing 62-7 Friday and finishing in the top-10 on Saturday.

With just one throw, Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde advanced to the shot put final Friday at the World Athletics Championships.

Awotunde, a former South Carolina All-America, threw 69-5 ¾ on his only throw in the qualifying round at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

All entrants who threw 69-6 ½ or better qualify automatically with the field expanded to 12 if fewer than 12 hit the auto mark. But Awotunde was close enough that there was no reason for him to continue throwing after his initial attempt.

The only auto qualifier in Group A was American Ryan Crouser, the world record holder, who threw 73-1. Crouser set the world record of 76-8 in Eugene last summer at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Awotunde’s 69-5 ¾ was the 2nd-best throw of the 15 entrants in Group A and 5th-best among all the qualifiers in both groups. He was the top “small-Q” or non-auto qualifier.

Awotunde ranks 30th in world history and 15th in U.S. history with his 72-2 from last September in Padova, Italy.

The final is scheduled for 9:27 p.m. Sunday.

Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard advanced to the shot put final at the World Athletics Championships Friday with a big throw of 62-7 in the qualifying round.

She’s the 13th American woman to reach the shot put final at World Championships, which was first held in 1991.

Woodard surpassed the auto qualifying mark of 61-8 on her final throw of Friday’s qualifying round at Heyward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Only two U.S. women have ever thrown farther at the World Championships.

Jillian Camarena-Williams threw 65-8 and placed 2^nd in 2011 in Daegu, South Korea. She was later suspended for a positive test for a banned substance, although her performance in 2011 remains on the books. And Michelle Carter threw 65-5 in 2013, 64-10 in 2015 and 62-9 ½ in 2017.

Including results from Group A – who threw after Group B – Woodard was tied for 6th-best throw of the 29 entrants from around the world.

Woodard, competing in her first international championship meet, opened with throws of 58-4 ¾ and 58-2 ¼ and was in jeopardy of missing the finals before popping her 62-7 on her final attempt.

That’s her 2nd-best throw ever.

Woodard was competing in Group B, and she had the 5th-best throw overall. Group A is throwing later Friday evening.

All throwers who hit 61-8 Friday – or the 12-best throwers overall – advance to Saturday’s final. Ten women hit 61-8 and two others were added to fill out the field.

The former Oklahoma All-America qualified for Worlds with a personal-best 63-7 ¾ throw to take 3rd at the USATF Championships at the same facility last month. That made her the No. 9 seed at Worlds and No. 14 in U.S. history.

Woodard will compete in the final at 9:25 p.m. EST on Saturday.

Only eight U.S. women have ever placed in the top-10 at the World Athletics Championships, including Carter five times.

Get ready for the South Jersey contingent to compete at the World Championships!

Four South Jersey athletes will be in action at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene over the next week and a half, including three throwers who are making their first appearance at Worlds.

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde and Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard will throw the shot put, Florence’s Curtis Thompson throws the javelin and Pleasantville’s Nia Ali seeks her second consecutive championship in the 100-meter hurdles.

All four are ranked in the top 10 going into the meet.

The World Championships were first held in 1983 in Helsinki and held every four years, but they’ve been contested every two years since 1993. This summer’s meet was initially scheduled for 2021 so there will also be a World Championships next year, the first time it will be held in consecutive years. Next year’s meet is in Budapest.

This is the first time Worlds have been held in the U.S. The only other time the meet was held in North America was 2001 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Here are some link for some great info that will enhance your enjoyment of the meet!

2022 World Championships media guide [an 898-page *.pdf]: Click here.
Seeded entry list by event with season-best and lifetime-best marks: Click here.
World Athletics meet page: Click here.
Complete schedule: Click here.
Competitor’s manual: Click here.
Results link: Click here.
2022 men’s javelin list: Click here.
2022 men’s shot put world list: Click here.
2022 women’s shot put world list: Click here.
2022 women’s 100-meter hurdles world list: Click here.

And here’s a quick look at when the four South Jersey athletes will be competing:

Friday, July 15
8:05 p.m. – Women’s shot put qualifying
9:55 p.m. – Men’s shot put qualifying
Saturday, July 16
9:25 p.m. – Women’s shot put final
Sunday, July 17
9:27 p.m. – Men’s shot put final
Thursday, July 21
8:05 p.m. – Men’s javelin qualifying
Saturday, July 23
2:20 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles qualifying
9:35 p.m. – Men’s javelin final
Sunday, July 24
8:05 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles semifinals
10 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles final

Florence Olympian Curtis Thompson destroyed his six-year old javelin PR at the American JavFest Saturday and uncorked the best throw by an American in 15 years.

Thompson threw a mind-boggling 287-9, the No. 7 mark in the world this year.

It’s also No. 3 in U.S. history, behind only Breaux Greer [American record 299-6 in Indianapolis in 2007] and Tom Petranoff [292-6 in Potchefstroom, Russia, in 1991].

So he improved nearly 16 feet in one day and he’s now less than 12 feet from the American record.

Thompson’s previous PR was 271-11 from the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Thompson broke the meet record of 281-0 set last year by Olympian Michael Shuey. That was also previously the best throw on Pennsylvania soil.

In all, Thompson PR’d twice and recorded three of the five-best throws of his life despite only taking four throws.

He opened with a PR 273-4 before blasting the 287-9 on his second attempt. He followed that with a 269-7 and then a 246-9 before shutting down and passing his final two throws with Worlds just a week away.

Thompson goes into the World Championships in Eugene next week ranked No. 49 in world history.

Here’s a look at all of Thompson’s 260-foot throws:

287-9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
273-4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
269-7 …American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 2022
267-2 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
266-5 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
265-10 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 17, 2021
265-10 … Florida State Relays, Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Fla., March 25, 2016
265-7 … Victoria Track Classic, Centennial Stadiumn, Victoria, British Columbia, June 15, 2022
264-8 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
264-1 … USATF Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
263-10 … 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, March 25, 2022
260-11 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 30, 2016
260-1 … NACAC Under-23, San Salvador, Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González, June 17, 2016

Millville rising senior Leah Howard, the state Group 4 javelin champ as a junior, surpassed the 140-foot barrier three times Friday at the American JavFest.

Howard placed 6th with a best throw of 141-8 among some of the country’s top javelin throwers in the high school elite division of the annual javelin clinic and competition that draws throwers of all levels to East Stroudsburg (Pa.) South High School.

She also had throws of 140-11 and 141-4 and averaged 137-6 on her six throws.

Howard had only surpassed 140 feet once during the high school season, hitting 148-2 at the state meet at Franklin. That’s No. 15 in state history and No. 6 in South Jersey history with the current implement. Howard threw 135-3 when she placed 2nd at the Meet of Champions.

Howard, the No. 6 junior in the country this past spring, opened her series with a 140-11 and a 141-4. After a near 140-foot throw – 139-4 on her third attempt – she hit 129-5 before her 141-8. She finished with a 132-6.

Eliza King of Aiken (S.C.), who threw 152-1 in May, won the event with a personal-best monster throw of 168-10.

Howard 140-11, 141-4, 139-4, 129-5, 141-8, 132-6

137-6

Curtis Thompson will be throwing in his first World Championships after all.

Thompson, the Olympian from Florence, placed 2nd in the U.S. Championships last weekend in Eugene with a throw of 264-1.

But because he and none of the other competitors had reached the World Championships qualifying standard of 278-10 ¼ – which only four Americans have ever thrown – it was believed that only the winner, Virginia’s Ethan Dobbs, would represent the U.S. at the World Championships later this month.

It turns out there is another way to qualify for the U.S. team and it’s a way that nobody watching the U.S. Championships, nobody attending the U.S. Championships and nobody following the U.S. Championships could have possibly known about.

On page 5 of a document called “2022 World Athletics Selection Procedures,” which is a download on Flipsnack with a link buried on the USATF web site, it states:

“If, after the close of the Selection Event, there is a place or are places in an event(s) on the World Championships Team that have not been filled, USATF will enter an athlete(s) or designate an athlete as an alternate, based upon their rank order of place finish at the Selection Event, and by virtue of their standing on the World Rankings list to be published by World Athletics on June 29, 2022. These athletes are not required to achieve the corresponding entry standard.”

If you hunt around the World Athletics web site for a while you can find the world rankings lists, and it shows Thompson at No. 22 in the world based on a sliding point scale with 1,166 points.

If you click on his name in that list, you see five of his results from this year with a point value assigned to each performance ranging from 1,138 points for his 266-5 at the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver last month to 1,119 points for his 81.22 at the USATF Throws Fest in Tucson in May.

Why isn’t his 268-1 from Oregon Relays listed? Who knows? Maybe this is his most recent five meets? And what is the difference between an “R Sc” and a Pt.Sc?” No idea.And good luck trying to figure it all out.

How do they get 1,166 points? It appears it’s the average of the “PtSc” point totals from the five meets that are listed.

What other sport holds a national-caliber competition and keeps it a secret how it works? It’s like going to the Super Bowl and they refuse to tell you the score. USATF seems to have zero desire to keep fans interested in the sport it’s supposed to be promoting.

This is typical USATF. They hold a national championship meet to qualify athletes for the World Championships and don’t let anybody know how the advancement procedure works. The only reason I even know he’s on the team is because I follow him on social media. Great job as always, USATF!

But it’s great news for Thompson since the javelin standard is so out of whack with what people are throwing these days. Only 10 throwers in the world have hit the standard this year, all from Europe.

The 2022 World Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 at Hayward Field in Eugene, where Thompson has recorded the three-best throws of his life.

The men’s javelin is scheduled in two sections for 8:05 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. EST on Thursday, July 21 – we don’t know yet which section Thompson will compete in. The final is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.

Thompson has placed in the top-3 at U.S. nationals four times now and has never placed worse than 6th: He was 2nd at the 2016 Olympic Trials, 6th in the 2017 nationals in Sacramento, won nationals in 2018 in Des Moines, took 4th in 2019 in Des Moines, there was no meet in 2020 and he won last year’s Olympic Trials in Eugene.

Thompson will join Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard and Delsea’s Josh Awotunde in the South Jersey contingent at Worlds. Ali will race the high hurdles and Woodard and Awotunde are throwing the shot.

Here’s what their schedules look like:

Friday, July 15
8:05 p.m. – Women’s shot put qualifying
9:55 p.m. – Men’s shot put qualifying
Saturday, July 16
9:25 p.m. – Women’s shot put final
Sunday, July 17
9:27 p.m. – Men’s shot put final
Thursday, July 21
8:05 p.m. – Men’s javelin qualifying
Saturday, July 23
2:20 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles qualifying
9:35 p.m. – Men’s javelin final
Sunday, July 24
8:05 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles semifinals
10 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles final

Here’s a look at all of Thompson’s lifetime throws of 260 feet or better:

271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 2022
267-2 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
266-5 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
265-10 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 17, 2021
265-10 … Florida State Relays, Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Fla., March 25, 2016
265-7 … Victoria Track Classic, Centennial Stadiumn, Victoria, British Columbia, June 15, 2022
264-8 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
264-1 … USATF Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
263-10 … 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, March 25, 2022
260-11 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 30, 2016
260-1 … NACAC Under-23, San Salvador, Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González, June 17, 2016

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali followed her 12.49 in the 100 hurdles at U.S. Nationals with a 12.53 in Stockholm on Thursday.

Ali placed 3rd in the Bauhaus Galan Diamond League meet at Olympic Stadium, which means the 2019 World Champion has recorded two of the six-fastest times of her life in the past week.

The 33-year-old Ali ran 12.49 in the semifinals at Nationals in Eugene and with an auto berth at Worlds later thismonth secured she scratched from the final.

Her 12.53 Thursday is the fastest she’s ever run outside a national or world championship race. This is Ali’s first season competing since 2019. Virtually every meet was cancelled in 2020, and she took the 2021 Olympic season off to have a baby.

Here are the 10 fastest times of Ali’s career:

12.34 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.44 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [sf]
12.48 … U.S. Championships, Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [sf]
12.52 … U.S. Championships, Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [2nd]
12.53 … Bauhaus Galan, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.55 … U.S. Championships, July 27, 2019 [2nd]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials, July 8, 2016 [3rd]
12.57 … Müller Anniversary Games, London, July 20, 2019 [2nd]
12.57 … U.S. Championships, Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [sf]

Ali is ranked No. 10 in the world this year and No. 5 among Americans. She’s No. 10 in world history and No. 4 among Americans.

Ali is seeking to become the first hurdler to win the 100-meter highs at consecutive World Championships since American Michelle Perry in Helsinki in 2005 and Osaka in 2007.

The World Athletics Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The women’s hurdles competition open with qualifying rounds at 2:20 p.m. EST Saturday, July 23, with semifinals at 8:05 p.m. Sunday, July 24, and the final following at 10 p.m.