Pleasantville’s Nia Ali ran her fastest hurdles time in three years Saturday in Gainesville, Fla.

Ali, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, ran 12.59 with a legal wind at the Tom Jones Invitational at Percy Beard Track at James G. Pressley Stadium at the University of Florida.

It’s her fastest time since she ran a lifetime-best 12.34 to win the IAAF World Championships at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, in October 2019.

Ali, 33, did not compete in 2020 and didn’t run a 100-meter hurdles race in 2021. She opened this season with a wind-aided 12.59 at the University of Miami in March before racing this weekend in Gainesville.

She ran 12.81 in the trials before taking second in the final in 12.59, finishing behind only 2021 Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Jamaica, who won the race in 12.39, No. 1 in the world this year.

Ali’s 12.59 is No. 5 in the world this year and No. 4 among U.S. women. Ali ranks No. 10 in world history with her 12.34 from 2019 and No. 4 in U.S. history.

World this year: https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/hurdles/100-metres-hurdles/outdoor/women/senior/2022?regionType=world&timing=electronic&windReading=regular&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true

U.S. this year: https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/hurdles/100-metres-hurdles/outdoor/women/senior/2022?regionType=countries&region=usa&timing=electronic&windReading=regular&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true

World all-time: https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/hurdles/100-metres-hurdles/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&timing=electronic&windReading=regular&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&firstDay=1899-12-31&lastDay=2022-04-16

U.S. all time:
https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/hurdles/100-metres-hurdles/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=countries&region=usa&timing=electronic&windReading=regular&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&firstDay=1899-12-31&lastDay=2022-04-16

Ali’s 12.59 is her 8th-fastest time ever in the 100-meter highs and her fastest ever this early in the year. In fact, the earliest she’s ever run sub-12.60 previously was 12.48 on June 22, 2013, when she was 3rd in the U.S. Championships.

In fact, her time is 12th-fastest in U.S. history before May 1.

Other than a couple exhibition races, Ali sat out the 2020 COVID season, and then she sat out the 2021 Olympic season to have her second child, her first daughter, last May.

Audubon, West Deptford, Hammonton and Rancocas Valley won team titles Saturday at the West Deptford Relays.

Audubon won a tight three-team battle in Group 1, outscoring Schalick 102-92, with Salem 3rd with 91 points. The host Eagles edged Sterling 112-104 to win Group 2, Hammonton piled up 130 points and won Group 3 by 50 over Atlantic County neighbor Absegami, and R.V. finished with a 108-72 margin of victory over both Millville and Eastern in a battle of Group 4 powerhouses.

Full results are here: https://tomahawktiming.com/4-16-west-deptford-relays/

Let’s take a look!

Group 1
Sophomore Molly Rizzi, sophomore Mia Munn, senior Madelin Carter and freshman Mary McGuire won the 6,400-meter relay in 26:14.69, and in the field, Audubon got wins from their long jumpers [junior Caroline Hauser, sophomore Kira Collins], shot putters [seniors Aysiah Maldonado and Cyani Treiber].

Audubon’s sophomore Nylah Coleman, junior Ava Rizzi and freshman Riley Erwin teamed up to win the three-runner intermediate hurdles relay.

Schalick ran the fastest South Jersey Group 1 times this spring in the 4-by-4 [4:18.97], 4-by-8 [10:29.35] and shuttle hurdles [1:16.96], with sophomore Grace O’Neill, junior Jayla Gross, sophomore Sophia Longo and senior Molly Wood on the 4-by-4, senior Mia LaMarra, freshman Jordan Hadfield, Longo and freshman Taylor Behrens on the 4-by-8 and junior Angie Chomo, junior Aylani Eberl, freshman Gabrielle Simonini and sophomore Brooke Watt on the shuttles.

Salem’s 4:31.76 is fastest Group 1 sprint medley in South Jersey this year. Senior Ke’Asia Anthony, sophomore Anna Buzby, sophomore Karima Davenport-White and junior Aryana Furbush-Brewer ran for Rams.

Group 2
West Deptford won the 1,600-meter relay in 4:22.63, fastest by a South Jersey Group 2 school this year, with sophomore Rachel Barford, senior Ellie Goldberg and juniors Kelly Levengood and Paige McCullen in the lineup.

Sophomore Janie Cross, Goldberg, sophomore Isabella Mackey and freshman Talia Thomasson gave the Eagles a win in the 4-by-8 in 10:41.49, and Cross, Goldberg, Mackey and senior Hope Siner ran 24:28.42 to win the 4-by-1,600 and ran 13:59.18 to win the DMR.

West Deptford also won the shuttles in 1:12.08, with senior Jada Allen, sophomore Emily Hernandez, sophomore Halle Siner and freshman Remi Wicken.

Sterling swept all the field events, led by state indoor champ Jenovaia Logan’s 5-4 clearance in the high jump. Senior Faith Frazier was her high jump partner .

Senior Catherine Miller and freshman Isabella Petruno won the pole vault, Logan and junior Gianna Perez the long jump, Logan and sophomore Ayanna Brown the triple jump and senior Kayla Franklin and junior Jordyn Caul the shot put and discus. Franklin teamed up with junior Laurel Conway to win the javelin.

Group 3
Sophomore Julianna Ruhf, freshmen Natalie Clauhs and Emma Longo and junior Kaylie Ranere gave Hammonton a win in the 3,200-meter relay, sophomore Angelina Cortellessa, Longo and freshmen Hannah Salita and Ilema Sinon won the 4-by-1,600 and Clauhs, junior Amina Sykes, Ruhf and Ranere won the DMR for the distance sweep.

In the field, Hammonton got wins from junior Brianna Gazzara and freshman Kiley Kozlowski in the long jump and junior Emma Peretti and senior Sofia Purvis in the shot put.

Group 4
We wrote yesterday about R.V.’s 1,600-meter relay team [https://sjtrackblog.com/2022/04/16/rancocas-valley-girls-run-hot-4-by-4-in-solo-race-at-fast-times-at-cherokee/] and Eastern sophomore Zoe Goldgerg’s huge javelin throw [https://sjtrackblog.com/2022/04/16/eastern-soph-zoe-goldberg-bombs-no-1-javelin-throw-in-new-jersey-this-year/].

Rancocas Valley also picked up wins in the intermediate hurdles with senior Anabella Chin running 1:07.41 and seniors Sanai Jenkins 1:08.11, No. 2 and 3 in South Jersey this year. Aniya Wilkins also raced for R.V.

The Red Devils also won the 400-meter relay in 50.37 [freshman Cecilia King, senior Jya Marshall, senior Olivia Smith, junior Kasey White], the 800-meter relay in 1:46.40 [sophomore Adrienne Austin, King, Marshall, White] and the shuttle hurdles [sophomore Laila Bailey, Chin, Jenkins, sophomore Neveah Lott].

Seniors Ravin Hood and Faith Allen both surpassed 36 feet in a shot put win and also won the discus. Sophomores Lauren Fadairo and Shayna Miller won the triple jump.

Arianna Sharpe ran a hot 400 PR Saturday at Fast Times at Cherokee High, edging U.S. indoor national scholastic champion Julia Jackson of Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

Arianna Sharpe won the 400 in 53.95, and Jackson was 2nd in 54.04. Amirah Sharpe placed 3rd  with a 55.48.

Arianna, Amirah and Ariel Sharpe are all attending Clayton High School affiliation as part of New Jersey’s Bridge Year Pilot Program, which allows students to participate in a fifth year of extra-curricular activities while attending high school – including spring sports – as long as they don’t turn 20 before the end of their bridge year.

This is uncharted waters, but the Sharpe sisters still attend Clayton. They competed for the Sharpe Track Club indoors – their dad, Fred Sharpe, is a legendary intermediate hurdler and middle-distance runner from Paulsboro – and their performances will be continue to be listed in all of our performance lists with an indication that they were achieved during a bridge year.

Whatever the details, 53.95 is really fast.

It’s fastest by a South Jersey high school girl since Michelle Brown set the South Jersey record of 52.91 in 2009 at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., and No. 11 in state history, a list that begins with two Olympic gold medalists and a U.S. indoor nationals runner-up.

51.87 … Sydney McLoughlin [Union Catholic], 2016
51.98 … Athing Mu [Trenton], 2019
52.46 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2014
52.56 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1998
52.91 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2009
53.0h … Stephanie Saleem [Neptune], 1985
53.51 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
53.64 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
53.66 … Giselle Harris [Shabazz], 1986
53.84 … Drexel Long [Monmouth], 1991
53.95 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], 2022

Only 73 U.S. college women have run as fast as 53.95 this year. According to the World Athletics web site, 53.95 would rank Arianna Sharpe No. 63 among U.S. women and No. 18 in the world in the Under-20 division. It’s also No. 5 on the MileSplit 2022 high school national list and No. 1 outside Texas and California.

Amirah Sharpe had already run 54.19 this spring in a meet in Greensboro, and she’s currently listed at No. 10 on the U.S. high school list. Jackson, who ran 53.73 indoors at Armory Nationals (54.14 in the final), is currently No. 6 nationally.

In the 200, Arianna Sharpe ran 24.75, Jackson 24.81, Amirah Sharpe 25.08 and Ariel Sharpe 25.69. That’s a PR for Ariel. Cherokee sophomore Madison Van Haren also broke 26, taking 5th with a personal-best 25.97.

 

Rowan made the trip down to Alabama a successful one with the fastest time in the country in NCAA Division 3 in the 1,600-meter relay.

The Profs – with Sterling High graduates on two of the legs – ran 3:12.77 at the War Eagle Invitational at Auburn University Saturday not only recording the fastest time this year in Division 3 but winning the race and finishing ahead of several Division 1 programs, including Indiana State, Harvard and Georgia Tech.

Splits are not listed unfortunately in the official results, but junior Marquise Young led off for Rowan and his high school teammate Jah’mere Beasley ran the third leg. Sophomores Nana Agyemang from Parsippany and Amara Conte from Ferris High in Jersey City also raced for the Profs, with Conte anchoring.

Conte is the only one of those four who ran last May when Rowan won the NCAA Division 3 national title in the 4-by-4 in 3:11.81.

Rowan set its school record of 3:10.56 in Iowa in 2012 with Jayce Maxwell of Monsignor Donovan in Toms River, Taylor Purdue of Highland Lakes, Ali Ejaz from Glassboro High and Absegami’s Demetrius Rooks.

Rowan is already No. 4 in NCAA Division in the 400-meter relay with John Owens from West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Highland’s Robert McKinney, Beasley and Agyemang. They ran 41.16 last week at the Temple Invitational.

The Profs ran 41.69 in the 4-by-1 Saturday with that same lineup and placed 6th in a field of Division 1 schools.

Also at Auburn, Beasley ran a season-best 10.79 in the 100 with a legal wind, Conte ran a PR 47.89 in the 400 [No. 7 in Division 3], Washington Township’s Jake Kolodzej ran a season-best 1:52.85 in the 800 [No. 19 in D-3], Young ran a wind-legal PR of 14.70 in the 110 highs [No. 13 in D-3] and Joe DeVito [Jackson Liberty] ran 55.20 in the 400IH [No. 30].

Click here to see the full list of ranked Rowan athletes.

https://www.tfrrs.org/lists/3714/2022_NCAA_Division_III_Outdoor_Qualifying_List/2022/o?gender=m#event31

Rowan is ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division 3 by the USTFCCCA [United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches of America].

Jessica Woodard bombed the 3rd-best throw of her spectacular shot put career Saturday and improved her standing as the No. 1 American woman this year.

Woodard, a Cherokee High School graduate, threw 61-7 at the USATF Golden Games at Mt. SAC University in Walnut, Calif. She was already No. 1 American before the meet with a 59-6 from an outdoor meet at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix back in February.

Her 61-7 is less than seven inches off her lifetime best of 62-3 ¾ from a meet in Tucson last May. It’s No. 6 in the world so far this year.

Woodard opened with a 60-4 ½ and after a 59-10 ¼ fouled on her third attempt. She recorded the 61-7 on her fourth attempt and then fouled on her last two. Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd, a two-time Olympian and two-time World Championship silver medalist, won the event with a throw of 62-1, No. 4 in the world this year.

American Jessica Ramsey briefly passed Woodard and moved into second place with a 61-4 ¾ on her fourth throw before Woodard passed her back to reclaim second place behind Thomas-Dodd and to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the 2022 U.S. rankings.

Woodard ranks No. 18 in U.S. history indoors and No. 20 outdoors.

Here’s a look at all of Woodard’s 60-foot throws:

62-3 3/4 … Tucson Elite Classic, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
61-10 1/4 … USATF Throws Festival, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
61-7 … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
61-4¼i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
61-3½ … NCAA Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 7, 2018
60-10i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
60-9½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7¼ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7½i … Don Kirby Elite, Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center, Feb. 12, 2022
60-5¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
60-4¾ … USATF Throws Festival, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
60-4 … Goteborg Grand Prix, Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 16, 2019
60-3¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Oregon, June 24, 2021
60-3 … Big 12 Championships, Lawrence, Kans., May 13, 2017
60-1¼ … Chula Vista High Performance #3, Chula Vista, Calif., May 2, 2021
60-½ … Chula Vista High Performance #1, Chula Vista, Calif., April 3, 2021
60-4½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022

Pennsauken ran its fastest 3,200-meter relay in 11 years Saturday and posted the fastest time so far this year in New Jersey.

Racing at the Fast Times at Cherokee High, the team of junior Premier Wynn, sophomore Ladanian McGrath and juniors Joel Oquendo and Bryce Tucker ran 8:06.83.

Cherokee, which had been New Jersey No. 1 with its 8:08.33 from the Don Danser Relays two weeks ago, placed second in 8:07.58 on its home track.

The time is Pennsauken’s 2nd-fastest ever and fastest since Elijah Swain, Charles Brewer, Donovan Torres and Eric Butler ran 8:03.33 at the 2011 Carl Lewis Relays in Willingboro. 

Wynn, a sprinter and intermediate hurdler, led off in 2:05 in his first-ever high school 800.  McGrath split 2:02 and Oquendo and Tucker ran 1:59. All were running their second or third race of the day.

Sunday at 5 p.m. is the deadline for Penn Relays 4-by-8 qualifying, and in a normal year 8:06.83 would be a few seconds short of making the field. But this has not been a particularly fast April for 4-by-800s around the area, so Pennsauken and Cherokee both have a shot at making the field for the 126th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field later this month. The fields will be announced on Monday.

The Penn 3,200-meter relays accept the 35-fastest entries for two races in the Large School division and the 35-fastest for two races in the Small School division. Pennsauken and Cherokee are both classified as Large-School.

Lenape graduate Jasmine Staten shattered the 14-second barrier in the hurdles Saturday at the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton.

Staten, a junior at Bloomfield, placed 2nd in 13.92, behind only Villanova’s Jane Livington, the Big East runner-up last year. Livingston won the race in a PR of her own with a 13.55.

Staten’s PR at Lenape was 14.04 from her win at the 2016 South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Egg Harbor Township.

From the end of the 2016 season through the start of this 2022 spring season, she only ran four hurdles races and did not race at all in 2017, 2019, 2020 or 2021.

Her collegiate best before Saturday was a 14.08 for Bloomfield, when she won the 100-meter highs at the Brick City Classic in Newark in April of 2018. 

Staten returned to competition this spring this indoor season and had a season-best of 14.16 in a meet at Ramapo the first weekend of April.

On Saturday, she got started with a 14.17 in the trials, which was the 4th-fastest qualifying time, and then she flew in the finals with a legal tailwind of 0.7 meters per second.

Her time is No. 12 in NCAA Division 2. Bloomfield’s athletics web site does not list school records, and it may be the only college web site I’ve come across that doesn’t. There is no mention of Staten’s performance or the meet on Bloomfield’s web site.

Staten is well under the qualifying standard of 14.21 for the high hurdles at the NCAA Division 2 National Championships in Allendale, Mich., next month. 

Click to access 2021-22D2XTO_QualifyingStandards.pdf

In the same race, Egg Harbor graduate Mariah Stephens, a freshman at Rider, palced 5th in 14.55. She ran a personal-best 14.47 in the trials, No. 6 in program history and 4th-fastest this year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Her previous PR was 14.53 last month in a meet on her home track in Lawrenceville.

Penn freshman Shevell Higgs from Winslow actually ran slightly faster than Stephens in the qualifying heats [14.45] but didn’t qualify for the final because Stephens was an auto qualifier in the slowest round. Higgs finished 2-100ths of a second behind Staten in the trials. Only the winner of each of four heats and the next four-fastest advanced to the finals. Higgs has a PR of 14.31 from a meet in Fairfax, Va., last weekend.

Rancocas Valley’s sophomore Nyla Byrd, seniors Sanai Jenkins and Jya Marshall and junior Kasey White solo’d the fastest 4-by-4 in South Jersey so far this year Saturday at the West Deptford Relays.

Rancocas Valley’s senior Sanai Jenkins and Jya Marshall, junior Kasey White and sophomore Leah Howe solo’d the fastest 4-by-4 in South Jersey so far this year Saturday at the West Deptford Relays.

The Red Devils ran 4:01.03 to win the Group 4 4-by-4 by about 150 meters over the field. Although all weekend results aren’t in yet, most of them are and as of mid-afernoon it appears their performance is No. 2 in New Jersey this year, behind only Union Catholic, which ran 3:57.67 at Arcadia High School in California last weekend.

In their only previous 4-by-4 this spring, R.V. ran 4:23.91 at the Rebel Relays opening weekend of the season at Howell High.

No splits available just yet for R.V., who has only run this fast before Penn Relays once – a 3:58.32 at The College of New Jersey in Ewing in mid-April 2019.

Rancocas Valley also won the 400-meter relay [freshman Cecelia King, Marshall, senior Olivia Smith, White] in 50.37, 800-meter relay [sophomore Adrienne Austin, King, Marshall, White] in 1:46.40 and shuttle hurdles [sophomore Laila Bailey, senior Anabella Chin, Jenkins, sophomore Neveah Lott] in 1:09.63.

They did keep track of team scoring at West Deptford, and R.V. was credited with a 108-72 victory in the Group 4 team scoring race, with Eastern and Millville both sharing second place with 72 points and Egg Harbor Township [68] and Clearview [64] no far behind.

Eastern sophomore Zoe Goldberg threw a 10-foot javelin PR Saturday at the West Deptford Relays, moving into the No. 3 spot in Camden County history and No. 1 in New Jersey this year.

Goldberg had a monster three-throw series to win the Group 4 javelin at West Deptford. She opened with a 126-9- a three-inch PR – and then followed that with her winning 136-7 before closing with a 133-7.

Her three throws averaged 132-3, which would have been a six-foot PR if it were a single throw.

Goldberg threw 117-10 as a freshman at the Meet of Champions and PR’d at 126-6 last weekend at the Lenape Girls Invitational. So she’s now PR’d in each of her last three major competitions.

Her mark is best by a Camden County thrower in 10 years, since Kate Johnson of Haddonfield set the county record of 152-9 at the 2012 state Group 2 meet at South Plainfield. Her throw is No. 22 in South Jersey history and best by a sophomore since Oakcrest’s Brielle Smith – the South Jersey record holder at 168-6 – threw 145-0 as a 10th-grader at the 2017 Rowan Open. It’s No. 3 all-time South Jersey among sophomores with the new javelin.

Millville junior Leah Howard also had a big throw, placing second with a season-best 121-10 throw. Howard has a PR of 123-3 from her win at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals last spring at Washington Township.

According to the MileSplit database, Goldberg’s throw is No. 4 nationally among all U.S. sophomores.

Here’s a look at the all-time Camden County Top-10:
152- 9 … Kate Johnston [Haddonfield], 2012
148- 8 … Caitlin Cielo [Eastern], 2002
142- 3 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
136- 7 … Zoe Goldberg [Eastern], 2022
136- 6 … Danielle Still [Bishop Eustace], 2002
132- 4 … Kelsey Reese [Paul VI], 2011
128- 5 … Saraly Gonzalez [Sterling], 2018
127-11 … Pam Watson [Haddon Heights], 2016
127- 5 … Bernadette McGowan [Paul VI], 2016
126- 6 … Connie Labouff [Haddon Twp.], 2000

And 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- 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

Hammonton junior Emma Peretti popped the No. 2 discus throw in South Jersey this year Saturday at the West Deptford Relays.

Peretti threw 118-5 on her third and final attempt to win the Group 3 discus. 

South Jersey No. 1 in the discus is Williamstown junior Ciara Demarest, who threw 125-2 at the Deptford Spartan Relays last weekend.

This was Peretti’s first major competition this spring. She was just two feet off her PR of 120-5, which she set last May at the Atlantic County Championships at Buena, where she finished second to Egg Harbor’s Michaela Pomatto, who now throws for Ursinus.