Curtis Thompson uncorked one of the biggest throws of his life Friday in Austin.

Thompson, an Olympian and two-time U.S. javelin champion, threw 263-11 at the 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.

The Florence High School graduate won the event by 5 ½ feet over Olympic Trials finalist Zach Holland of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., who threw a personal-best 258-6.

Thompson’s 263-10 is Thompson’s 6th-farthest throw ever and just eight feet and one inch off his lifetime best of 271-11, which he threw at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Thompson and Holland are now No. 1 and No. 2 in the U.S. this year. Thompson is No. 10 in the world, and Holland is No. 16. The meet produced four of the top 27 throws in the world this year.

Thompson opened his series Friday in Austin with a 255-3 and a foul. Holland took the lead with his 258-6 on his 3rd throw and 19-year-old Baylor freshman Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi of Nigeria threw a PR 257-3 on his 5th throw to bump Thompson into 3rd place.

Thompson hit 253-7 219-1 and 239-1 on his 3rd, 4th and 5th attempts before securing the win on his final throw. Nnamdi’s throw is No. 2 in Nigerian history, behind only a 266-0 by Pius Bazighe at Athens Tsiklitiria in 1999.

Here’s a look at Thompson’s eight lifetime 260-foot throws:
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
267-2 … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
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
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

Cinnaminson graduate Mike Ungvarsky ran a big steeplechase PR Friday in Raleigh, N.C.

Ungvarsky, a Duke junior, ran 8:53.10 and placed 11th out of 53 runners in the 3,000 steeple at the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State’s Paul Derr Stadium. He was 3rd in his section.

His previous steeple PR was 9:02.04 from the 2019 Penn Relays. He didn’t race outdoors in the spring of 2020 or 2021, and his entire 2019 outdoor season consisted of a few relay legs and four steeples.

Ungvarsky’s time is No. 5 in Duke history. After getting out in 38 seconds for the first 200, he split 71.33, 71.12, 69.68, 69.40, 71.83, 72.02 and 69.74.

Ungvarsky never ran a steeplechase until he arrived at Duke. This was his first steeple in almost three years, since he ran 9:15.11 at the 2019 ACC Championships in Charlottesville, Va., in May of 2019.

Who’s the last South Jersey runner to go sub-9 in the steeplechase? 

Great question and I have no idea what the answer is. If you know of any, please let me know in the comment’s section! 

In the first outdoor 400 of her collegiate career, Eastern graduate Jewel Ash broke the Charleston Southern school record Friday afternoon.

Ash ran 54.04 at the Raleigh Relays, breaking the school record of 54.39 set by Dionne Gibson at the 2008 Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta.

It’s Ash’s second school record at Charleston Southern. She ran 59.50 in the intermediates last spring in the prelims at the Big South Conference Championships in High Point, N.C.

Ash broke her 400 PR of 55.37, which she ran this past indoor season at the Big South Conference Indoor Championships at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., where she placed 2nd to North Carolina A&T’s Delecia McDuffie.

Ash ran her 54.04 in the 10th of 12 sections, and her time held up for 2nd overall even after the two “fast” sections. McDuffie was the only quarter-miler to bump Ash with her 53.46 in the final race.

Ash’s time is No. 15 in NCAA Division 1 so far this spring.

Ash is also No. 6 in school history in the 100 hurdles at 14.14 and No. 2 in the indoor 400 with her 55.37. She’s run 14.14 twice, including into a 1.2 meters-per-second wind last weekend in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The women’s 400-meter hurdles is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. The official meet timing site does not yet have a start list for the event, but based on her flat 400 time you would think Ash’s 400IH PR is in jeopardy in good conditions.

In the same event Friday, Cherry Hill East graduate Maya Drayton, a Georgetown junior, ran 56.70. Drayton and Ash were briefly teammates at Cherry Hill East in 2017.

Rancocas Valley graduate Bethany Biggi moved into the No. 6 spot in the hepthatlon in James Madison history with her season-opening PR performance in a meet in North Carolina.

Biggi, a JMU junior, scored 4,486 points at the Bob Davidson Memorial Invitational at High Point University’s Dick Vert Stadium.

Her score is only 342 points off the school record of 4,828 set by Nicolette Serratore at the 2019 Roadrunner Invitational in San Antonio. That’s less than 50 points per event.

Biggi opened by running 15.80 in the 100-meter hurdles for 739 points and then added 701 points with a 5-1 ¾ clearance in the high jump. She finished Day 1 by scoring 497 points with a 31-2 ½ in the shot and then 697 points running 27.18 in the 200.

On Day 2, she long jumped 17-6 ¼ for 654 points, threw the javelin 108-4 for 534 points and ran the closing 800 in 2:32.33 for 664 points.

Biggi’s previous heptathlon PR was 4,451 points at the Colonial Athletic Championships last spring at her home track in Harrisonburg, Va.

Her 200, hurdles and long jump were all PRs, although her hurdles time was slightly wind-aided at 2.1 meters-per-second.

Biggi already ranks 10th on the school’s all-time list in the high jump [5-4 ¼], 8th in the javelin [117-9], 8th in the indoor high jump [5-5 ¾] and 5th in the indoor pentathlon [3,476 points]

Collingswood grad Adam Hunt opened the outdoor season with a discus PR and the No. 4 throw in Rutgers history.

Hunt, a Rutgers sophomore, threw 181-8 and placed second at the Blue and Gold Invitational at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Hunt’s previous PR was a 180-1 last April in a meet in Iowa City, Iowa.

Hunt moved into the No. 4 spot in Rutgers history, behind Central Regional’s James Plummer [205-11 in Des Moines in 2013], East Stroudsburg’s Sam Segond [199-7 at Penn in 2005] and Middle Township’s John Mooers [185-2 at Penn in 2019].

Not only did he throw 181-8 on his first throw, Hunt added throws of 178-11 and 178-1 in his series.

John Sobota of Kentucky won the event at 191-9.

Hunt also threw a PR of 167-3 in the hammer and threw 51-5 1/2 in the shot. His previous hammer PR was 163-5 last March in College Park, Md.

Although Hunt is relatively new to the hammer – this was only his fourth lifetime meet throwing the hammer – he moved up to No. 7 in Rutgers history.

Hunt ranks No. 29 in NCAA Division 1 in the early going and No. 2 in the Big Ten, behind Ohio State sophomore Tanner Watson, who threw 181-11 in a meet last weekend in Tempe, Ariz.

Rowan’s Jacob Riley got his outdoor season off to a hot start over the weekend in Lexington, Va.

Riley turned in a couple PRs at the Washington & Lee Carnival – 1:54.89 for 2nd place in the 800 and 4:01.08 for 5th place in the 1,500.

Riley’s previous 800 PR was a 1:58.15 last spring in a meet at West Chester, and his 1,500 PR was 4:12.18 also last April in a home meet in Glassboro.

You don’t get many 3 ½-second PRs in the 800.

To get a sense how much Riley has improved since high school, his PRs at North Warren High in Blairstown were 1:57.80 at the 2019 state Group 1 meet at Franklin and 4:39.64 at 2018 indoor sectionals at the Bubble. Riley did run 4:17.05 indoors this year at the AARTFC Championships in Rochester.

His 1:54.89 is fastest by a Rowan half-miler since All-America Nick Neville ran 1:51.10 at the 2018 NCAA Division 3 Championships in La Crosse, Wisc.

Riley was one of three Rowan milers who ran 4:01 and change in Lexington. Cherokee graduate Justin Kelly, a Rowan freshman, ran 4:01.23 in his first outdoor college race, and senior Jeffrey Stewart of Jackson Memorial ran 4:01.40.

Kelly didn’t run any 1,500s or miles indoors. His mile PR is 4:17.38 from the 2018 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington. He also ran 1:59.97 in Lexington. Stewart’s 4:01.40 breaks a PR of 4:04.85 from last spring in a meet at Rowan.

Another Rowan freshman, Zachary Voll from Lakeland Regional in Wanaque, ran 1:58.54 after going 1:58.17 indoors, and soph Peter Argerakis from Sachem East in Brookhaven, N.Y., also broke two minutes for the first time ever in Lexington with a 1:59.96

With Jake Kolodziej, who ran 1:52.66 indoors, Riley, Kelly, Voll and Argerakis, this Rowan team has the potential to put together a decent 4-by-8 this spring.

They haven’t raced yet outdoors, but Rowan also lists Jackson’s Joe DeVito on its roster. DeVito ran 1:53.25 at the 2019 Group 3 state meet, where he placed second to Sean Dolan of Hopewell Valley (who ran 3:56.39 for Villanova in February). And soph Charlie Serrano from Matawan ran 1:56.57 at the Monmouth County Championships as a senior at Matawan. Another current Prof, Cole Kolodziej, ran 1:59.52 as a senior at Washington Township.

Add the four best 800 PRs – 1:52.66, 1:54.89, 1:56.57 and 1:58.54 – and you can see why Rowan has sub-7:40 potential by the end of the year.

(Lenape grad Kevin Lauer ran 4:14.81 at the indoor NJAC meet so he’s good for something a 1:57-low at worst! Lauer hasn’t run an 800 since a 1:59.39 in 2019.)

In his first meet since the Olympics, Curtis Thompson recorded the No. 1 javelin throw in the U.S. this year.

Thompson, a Florence High graduate, threw 251-7 on his second throw at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at George C. Griffin Track on Georgia Tech’s campus in Atlanta.

It was Thompson’s first meet since he threw 256-6 and placed 22nd in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Thompson placed second behind 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, who threw world No. 2 277-10.

Thompson opened with a throw of 240-11 before hitting 251-7 on his second attempt and then finishing with 241-9 and 248-11.

The 251-7 is Thompson’s second-best season opener ever. He began last year with a 252-8 throw at the Falcon Classic in Montevallo, Ala.

Thompson, an NCAA champ, two-time U.S. champion, former Olympic Trials record holder and four-time BCSL Freedom Division winner, ranks 16th in U.S. history with his 271-11 throw at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Woodrow Wilson graduate Dennisha Page ran a personal-best for 200 meters Saturday in her first race of the outdoor season.

Page, a sophomore at Rutgers, ran 23.77 at the Black and Gold Invitational at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Although she had run a couple faster times in high school, this was her fastest wind-legal time with a 1.2 meters-per-second wind behind her.

Her previous wind-legal PR was 23.98 last May at the Big Ten Championships at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

Her 23.77 is No. 4 in Rutgers history behind Williamstown graduate Gabrielle Farquharson [23.07 at the 2016 Big Ten meet in Lincoln, Neb.], Bria Saunders [23.36 at the 2017 Big Ten meet at Penn State] and Michelle Gomes [23.70 at 2010 Big East in Cincinnati].

Click to access 19_Rutgers_Women_s_Track_Record_Book.pdf

Page finished 4-100ths of a second behind post-grad Gabrielle Farquharson from Williamstown, who ran 23.73. Farquharson holds the Rutgers 100 record at 11.32 and the 200 record at 23.07.

Page also ran a huge 100 PR of 11.39 and placed second, but that race was assisted by a 3.1 MpS wind. Anything over 2.0 MpS is considered wind-aided.  Her 100 PR with a legal wind is 12.13 and that was into a 2.1 MpS wind last April in a meet in Piscataway.

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde placed 5th in the shot put Saturday at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

Awotunde threw 71-2 ¼ on his third attempt and finished behind only Olympian Darlan Romani of Brazil [meet-record 73-11], U.S. teammate and world record holder Ryan Crouser [73-7 1/2], two-time Olympic bronze medalist Tomas Walsh of New Zealand [73-2 1/4] and Olympian Filip Mihaljević of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a three-time NCAA champ for Virginia [71-7 1/4], in his first international championship competition.

The competition produced five of the top 17 throws in meet history.

Awotunde threw just 1 ½ inches off his indoor lifetime best of 71-3 ¾, which he hit last month when he placed second at the U.S. Championships in Spokane, Wash., which qualified him for Worlds. Awotunde’s outdoor PR is 72-2 from last spring at Stadio Colbachini, Padova, Italy.

Awotunde, the youngest finisher in the top 5, opened with a throw of 68- ½ and then threw 70-2 ¾ on his second attempt before hitting 71-2 ¼ on his third. He was sitting in 4th going into the finals but fouled on all three attempts.

Awotunde’s mark is the best 5th-place finish in meet history. The previous best was 68-11 ½ by Bulgari’s Georgi Ivanov in 2014.

His throw is No. 17 in meet history and makes him the No. 10 all-time performer and No. 5 American ever at Indoor Worlds.

All-Time World Indoor Performance List
73-11 … Darlan Romani [Brazil], 2022 [1]
73-7 ½ … Ryan Crouser [United States], 2022 [2]
73-2 ¼ ……..Walsh, 2018 [1]
73-2 ¼ …….. Walsh, 2022 [3]
72-11 ½ … Ulf Timmerman [German Democratic Republic], 1987 [1]
72-6 ½ … Reese Hoffa [United States], 2006 [1]
72-4 … Ryan Whiting [United States], 2014 [1]
72-2 ……..Whiting, 2012 [1]
71-9 … David Storl [Germany], 2012 [2]
71-7 ¼ … Christian Cantwell [United States], 2010 [1]
71-7 ¼ … Filip Mihaljević [Croatia], 2022 [4]
71-5 ¾ ……..Storl, 2014 [2]
71-5 ½ ……..Walsh, 2016 [1]
71-5 ……..Cantwell, 2008 [1]
71-4 ¼ ……..Timmerman, 1989 [1]
71-3 … Tomasz Majewski [Poland], 2012
71-2 ¼ … Josh Awotunde [United States], 2022 [5]

Awotunde ranks No. 30 all-time in world history and No. 15 all-time in U.S. history.

Nia Ali raced Saturday for the first time in more than two years and the Olympic silver medalist from Pleasantville ran the fastest time in the world this year.

Ali won the 100-meter hurdles at the Hurricane Invitational at the University of Miami’s Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Fla., in 12.59.

https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=4876

That’s the exact same time she ran to win the Olympic silver medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In her first race over the 100-meter hurdles in three years, Ali turned in the 8th-fastest time of her life, which is incredible. It’s also her 2nd-fastest time ever in a non-championship meet.

Here are Ali’s all-time top-10 times:

12.34 … World Championships [semifinals], Doha, Qatar [Oct. 6, 2019]
12.44 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar [Oct. 6, 2019]
12.48 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore. [June 22, 2013]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [semifinals], Sacramento, Calif. [June 24, 2017]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Ore. [July 8, 2016]
12.55 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore. [July 27, 2019]
12.57 … Müller Anniversary Games, London [July 20, 2019]
12.59 … Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Aug. 17, 2016]
12.59 … World Championships [prelims], Doha, Qatar [Oct. 5, 2019]
12.59 … Hurricane Invitational, Coral Gables, Fla. [March 19, 2022]

Other than an exhibition 150-meter hurdles race in Marietta, Ga., in July of 2020, this was Ali’s first race indoors or out since Feb. 21, 2020, when she ran 7.88 in the 60-meter hurdles in a World Athletics Indoor Tour event at Villa de Madrid. Her last outdoor race was the final of the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 6, 2019, when she won in a personal-best 12.34, No. 10 in world history.

The 2020 season was wiped out because of COVID and Ali took the 2021 season off after giving her birth to her third child, a son, in May 2021. She did not race indoors this year.