If the Delsea shot put crew was a team, it would have placed 4^th in the state Group 2 championships all by itself.

Seniors Jason Nwosu and Josh Caudill and sophomore Greg Masso produced a rare state-level sweep in the shot put Saturday, scoring a perfect 24 points and leading Delsea to the team title at the Bubble.

Delsea outscored 2^nd-place Nottingham 44-36 to win its 4^th state indoor championship. Haddonfield was 3^rd with 30 points and Ocean Township scored 24, the same number as the Crusaders’ weight crew.

Delsea actually scored more points outside the Bubble than inside. The shot is contested next door at Toms River Intermediate School.

Delsea also won Group 2 in 2011, 2018 and 2020, which was the last time the meet was contested. The only other South Jersey schools to win four indoor state titles are Willingboro (15), Haddonfield (11), Bishop Eustace and Bridgeton (6), Camden, Pleasantville and Woodbury (5) and Winslow (4).

Nwosu won the shot with a mammoth throw of 62-0 ½, No. 5 in South Jersey history. More on Nwosu in a moment.

Caudill placed second with a PR throw of his own at 54-5 ¾. His previous best was a 53-9 ½, also at Cherokee last month.

And Masso finished off the sweep with a 51-7 ½,  more than a foot over his PR of 50-0 set – you guessed it – at the Cherokee Throwdown.

Cinnaminson junior Malicah Etienne made it a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey sweep with a 51-5 ½ for 4^th place.

Delsea also got 10 points in the 3,200, where Andrew Littlehales broke the Gloucester County record – you can read about his race here – and 10 more in the 55-meter dash, where senior Jaedyn Stewart and junior Ziyan Smith went 3-4, Stewart in 6.65 and Smith in 6.66. Both previously had PRs of 6.73.

Stewart and Smith were seeded 9th and 10th in the dash, so Delsea got 10 points where they weren’t seeded for any. That was huge. Before sectionals last weekend, neither Stewart nor Smith had ever broken 6.80.

As for Nwosu, his 62-0 ¼ is No. 2 in the state this year, behind only Gill St. Bernard’s Joe Licata, who threw 63-8 Friday in the Parochial B meet. His throw is No. 5 in South Jersey history and No. 9 in the U.S. this year, according to MileSplit’s national performance list.

He moved closer to the Gloucester County record of 63-1 ¾ set in 2014 by West Deptford’s Nick Pulli at Cherokee.

All-Time New Jersey 62-foot list
71-9 1/2 … Nick Vena [Morristown], 2011
70-8 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2012
67-3 … Kevin DiGiorgio [Bayonne], 1998
67-1 3/4 … James Gilligan [Toms River East], 2008
66-6 … Glen DiGiorgio [Bayonne], 2002
65-10 … Steve Adams [St. Joe’s Montvale], 1970
65-6 … Jordan West [Rahway], 2017
65-4 … Cole Tucker [Colts Neck], 2021
65-2 1/2 … Greg Cortina [Hun], 1971
64-5 3/4 … Luke Grodeska [St. Rose], 2016
64-5 1/4 … Bruce Heide [Springfield], 1975
64-5 1/2 … C.J. Licata [Gill St. Bernard’s], 2018
63-11 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
63-8 1/2 … Mike Alleman [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2008
63-8 1/4 … Rudy Guevara [Essex Catholic], 1971
63-8 … Joe Licata [Gill St. Bernard’s], 2022
63-6 … Ron Klotzer [Union], 1974
63-5 1/2 … Aaron Echternacht [Hopewell Valley], 1991
63-2 1/2 … Uzoma Orji [Matawan], 2002
63-1 3/4 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
62-11 1/2 … Stephen Mozia [Hackensack], 2011
62-11 … Keith Rzewuski [St. Joe’s Metuchen], 1998
62-9 1/2 … Christopher Staton [Franklin Twp.], 2012
62-7 3/4 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
62-4 … Tyrone Garland [Matawan], 1993
62-2 1/4 … Brian Cortina [Hun], 2005
62-1 1/2 … Bob Vorhies [Our Lady of the Valley], 1977
62-0 ¼ … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022]

Here’s the all-time South Jersey top-10
70-8 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2012
63-11 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
63-1 ¾ … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
62-7 ¾ … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
62-0 ¼ … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
61-9 … Lou Gordon [Bridgeton], 1995
60-3 … Harry Dilks [Pitman], 1971
60-10 ¾ … John Purvis [Winslow Twp.], 2020
60-0 ½ … Ell Ash [Willingboro], 2004
59-9 … Kofi Yamoah [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013

All-time Gloucester County indoor top-10
63-1 ¾ … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
62-0 ¼ … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
60-3 … Harry Dilks [Pitman], 1971
58-9 … Greg Ross [Deptford], 1976
58-8 ¾ … Bill Goldsborough [Delsea], 2018
57-11 … Kwabena Keene [Washington Twp], 2008
57-9 ½ … Rich Lewis [Williamstown], 1985
57-8 1/4 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
56-5 ¼ … Chris Pressley [Woodbury], 2003
57-5 … Joe Metzger [Delwea], 2020

What a performance Saturday by Delsea senior Andrew Littlehales, who shaved seven seconds off his 3,200 PR, shattered the Gloucester County record and won his first state title in either cross country or track.

Littlehales won the race in 9:13.20, finishing ahead of the top two seeds – Haddonfield teammates Seth Clevenger and George Andrus. Littlehales ran fresh, while the two Haddonfield runners were doubling back after going 1-3 in the 1,600, Clevenger winning in 4:17.98 and Andrus 3^rd in 4:19.18.

Littlehales’ previous indoor or outdoor PR was his 9:20.63 from Group 3 sectionals last weekend.

Littlehales’s mark on the slow, flat 200-meter track at the Bubble in Toms River, is No. 10 in South Jersey history indoors and breaks the Gloucester County indoor record of 9:13.93 set by Williamstown’s Paul Szulewski at the 2010 Meet of Champions, also at the Bubble.

Clevenger ran a PR of his own, taking 2^nd in 9:17.39, and Andrus was 3^rd in 9:20.70, making it a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish.

Littlehales also ran faster than Delsea’s outdoor 3,200 record, which is 9:19.19, set by Nick Costello at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge.

All-Time South Jersey Indoor 3,200-Meter Run List
8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:00.27 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
9:10.4y ….. Ken Medlin, Haddon Township, 1970
9:11.1y ..… Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1970
9:11.2y ..… Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
9:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
9:11.9y ….. Johnny Englehardt [Willingboro], 1976
9:12.20 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2020
9:13.20 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:13.33 ….. Michael Rankin [Paul VI], 2010
9:13.93 ….. Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:14.31 ….. Jimmy Daniels [Sterling], 2013
9:14.70 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], 2020
9:15.8y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
9:15.76 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1986
9:16.09 ….. Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2016
9:16.7y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
9:17.39 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
9:17.52 ….. Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
9:17.55 ….. Greg Hughes [Mainland Reg.], 2004
9:17.71 ….. Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
9:18.89 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
9:18.59 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], 2019

All-Time Gloucester County Indoor 3,200-Meter Run Top-10
9:13.20 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022
9:13.93 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:15.8y … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
9:22.0y … Willie Marino [Williamstown], 1976
9:23.34 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2011
9:23.0y … Joe Siedlecki [Williamstown], 1973
9:24.71 … Nick Costello [Delsea], 2012
9:26.02 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
9:26.93 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022
9:27.16 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], 2020

 

 

Dennisha Page recorded a couple PRs Friday at the Big East Championships. The Woodrow Wilson graduate, now a Rutgers sophomore, ran 24.09 in the 200 – she missed qualifying for the final by 4-100ths of a second – and also ran 7.53 in the 60 – missing the final by 5-100ths of a second.

Page moved up to No. 7 in school history in the 60 and No. 5 in the 200. Rutgers doesn’t have top-10 lists on their web site, they just have a few names with times and no other information – no year or meet listed. So I looked ‘em all up so we could have a real sense of Page’s place in school history, and it’s pretty impressive. Those lists are below.

A couple other South Jersey names on the list: Farquharson ran for Williamstown and Walker for Haddon Heights.

This is Page’s first year at Rutgers after one indoor season at Syracuse, where she had season-best times of 7.50 in a meet at Ithaca and 24.31 in the 200 at Notre Dame, both during the 2020 indoor season.

That 24.31 was her indoor PR for 200 meters until Friday. She ran 23.98 outdoors last spring at Big Ten in Champagn, Ill.

Page was Meet of Champions winner in the 100 and 200 at Northern Burlington in June of 2019.

Rutgers all-time 60-meter dash list
7.34 … Gabrielle Farquharson, 2016 [3^rd, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
7.41 … Shameka Marshall, 2006 [Q, ECAC Championships, Reggie Lewis Center, Boston]
7.43 … Oniesha Clarke, 2018 [4^th, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
7.46 … Sydney Hawkins, 2022 [3^rd, Rutgers Open, 168^th Street Armory, New York]
7.47 … Tylia Gillon, 2013 [2^nd, ECAC Championships, Boston University]
7.53 … Bria Saunders, 2017 [14^th, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
7.53 … Dennisha Page, 2022 [13^th, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
7.56 … Michelle Gomes, 2010 [1^st, Metropolitan Championships, Coxe Cage, Yale Univ., New Haven, Conn.]
7.59 … Jamie Walker, 2008 [3^rd, Big East Championships, 168^th Street Armory, New York]

Rutgers all-time 200-meter dash list
23.32 … Gabrielle Farquharson, 2016 [1^st, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
23.86 … Bria Saunders, 2016 [2^nd, ECAC Championships, Boston University]
23.98 … Asha Ruth, 2014 [6^th, ECAC Championships, Boston University]
24.08 … Michelle Gomes, 2010 [3^rd, ECAC Championships, Reggie Lewis Center, Boston]
24.09 … Dennisha Page, 2022 [10^th, Big Ten Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
24.19 … Oniesha Clarke , 2018 [5^th, David Hemery Valentine Invitational, Boston University]
24.24 … Jacqueline Todd, 2007 [1^st, Fastrack Invitational, 168^th Street Armory, New York]
24.36 … Tylia Gillon, 2013 [9^th, Big East Championships, SPIRE Institute, Geneva, Ohio]
24.44 … Sydney Hawkins, 2022 [2^nd, Rutgers Open, 168^th Street Armory, New York]

Elijah Steward of Holy Spirit and Mike Mazero of Paul VI gave South Jersey a sweep of the 400s Friday at the state parochial track championships at the Bubble.

Steward, who had run 54.38 in his only previous indoor 400 earlier this week, ran 52.91 and won the Parochial B title by half a second over Matthew Martin of Immaculata of Somerville.

Steward did run 49.62 last spring when he won the outdoor Parochial B title at Neptune, but his strongest event is probably the long jump, where his PR is 22-4 ½, also from winning outdoor states last spring.

Minutes after Steward’s win, the Cornell-bound Mazero tore up the track, running 49.33 and winning by five meters over Nick Givan of Union Catholic, who was second in 50.02.

Mazero’s time is an indoor PR, breaking his previous mark of 50.45 from last week at Ocean Breeze. He’s run 48.52 outdoors, when he took 4th in the Meet of Champions last spring at South Plainfield.

It’s also fastest this year by a South Jersey runner going into tomorrow’s public school state meets and No. 2 in New Jersey, behind only Ocean Township’s Alexander Sadikov, who ran 48.25 earlier this month in a meet at Ocean Breeze.

Mazero’s time also broke the school record of 50.11 set in 2016 at Ocean Breeze by Maxwell Dickens and is No. 9 in Camden County history indoors:

48.27 … Jade Smith [Camden], 2002
48.50 … Alex Reber [Cherry Hill East], 2013
48.74 … John Morris [Camden], 2001
48.75 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017
49.05 … William Mobley [Eastern], 1990
49.13 … Eric Chekemian [Washington Twp.], 2001
49.24 … Zachariah Murray [Haddonfield], 2019
49.26 … Tim Carey [Washington Twp,], 2010
49.33 … Mike Mazero [Paul VI], 2022
49.2h … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
49.2h … Maurice Young [Camden], 2002

Tionna Tobias moved into the all-time Iowa top-10 in two events Friday on Day 1 of the Big Ten Championships.

Tobias, a Winslow Township graduate and a sophomore at Iowa, placed 4^th in the pentathlon with a personal-best 3,764 points and ran a personal-best 8.40 along the way in the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles at the Big Ten meet at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Tobias still has the long jump final later Friday and then the 60-meter hurdles finals on Saturday, but the 3,764 points breaks her PR of 3,627 from a meet last month at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and the 8.40 breaks a PR of 8.44, which she ran in a home meet last month in Iowa City.

The 8.40 ties Tria Simmons for the No. 6 spot on the all-time Iowa performance list, and the 3,764 points is also 6^th-best in Hawkeye history. Tobias is already No. 3 in school history in the long jump at 20-1 ½ from last month also in Iowa City.

In addition to the hurdles, which gave her 1,039 points, Tobias high jumped 5-3 ¼ for 747 points, threw the shot put a personal-best 32-6 for 524 points, long jumped 18-8 ¼ for 759 points and ran the 800 in 2:29.81 for 695 points.

Tobias also ran 8.44 in the hurdles trials.

Rutgers freshman Shelby Whetstone dipped under 2:10 for the first time Thursday at the Big Ten Championships.

Whetstone, a Lenape graduate, ran 2:09.77 in the 800 trials at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, her fastest time this year by four seconds.

Whetstone’s previous collegiate PR was a 2:13.46 from the Big Ten Invitational in April outdoors in Bloomington, Ind. Her indoor collegiate best was a 2:13.99 from two weeks ago at the Rutgers Open at the Armory.

Her lifetime best is her 2:10.55 from her win at 2019 Group 4 states at Franklin High. Her indoor PR at Lenape was 2:16.88 from the 2019 Meet of Champions at the Bubble.

According to a record book on Rutgers’ web site, Whetstone’s time is No. 7 in school history indoors, 1-100th of a second behind Sarah Robbie, a Cherokee graduate. Robbie ran 2:09.76 at 2017 IC4As at Boston University.

Shawnee graduate Amanda Demko won her second straight NJAC 400 title Tuesday at Ocean Breeze, and she moved into the No. 8 spot on the all-time TCNJ list in the process.

Last spring, as a College of New Jersey freshman, she won the 400 at the New Jersey Athletic Conference outdoor championships at Ramapo in Mahwah in 57.91, leading a 1-2-3-4 TCNJ sweep.

On Tuesday, in her first NJAC indoor meet, Demko ran 57.68, finishing six meters ahead of junior teammate Maria Grill, who was 2^nd in 58.55.

Demko, who has freshman eligibility indoors, broke her indoor PR of 57.98, which she just set a week and a half earlier in Boston. She set her outdoor PR of 57.46 in April at the Quaker Invitational at Franklin Field.

At the NJAC meet, Demko also ran on TCNJ’s winning 800-meter relay team along with Ashlyn MacLure, Valandra Riggins and Maria Grill. That group ran 1:43.09, No. 2 in school history behind the 2003 team, which ran 1:42.88. Demko was also 5^th in the 200 in 25.98.

TCNJ won its 4^th consecutive team title with 217.166 points, winning by 73.466 points over Rowan, which finished with 143.7.

Demko earned All-America honors last spring after running the 2^nd leg on TCNJ’s 5^th-place 1,600-meter relay team at NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Greensboro. TCNJ’s 4-by-4 has run 3:56.54 this winter with Demko in the lineup.

The top 20 competitors in each indivudual event qualify for NCAA Indoor Nationals, scheduled for March 11-12 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Demko is listed at No. 20 on the TFRRS [Track an Field Race Reporting System] but she’s listed at 58.45, which appears to be some sort of conversion from a banked track to a flat track but nobody really seems to know and it’s not explained anywhere.

In any case, Demko has two more chances to improve her time before nationals – the Fastrack Last Chance at Ocean Breeze Friday and the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championships [AARTFC] in Rocheseter March 4-5.

At Shawnee, Demko had an indoor PR of 58.54 from the 2020 Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze and an outdoor PR of 58.66 from 2019 Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township.

Here’s a detailed look at the all-time TCNJ indoor 400 top-10:
55.63 … Samantha Gorman [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], Boston University Last Chance Qualifier, 2020
56.68 … Brittny Boyd [Hackettstown], NCAA Division 3 Championships, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., 2006
57.18 … Megan Gasnick [Park Ridge], David Hemery Valentine Invitational, Boston University, 2020
57.21 … Joy Spriggs [South Brunswick], David Hemery Valentine Invitational, Boston University, 2015
57.43 … Tiffany Clark [West Orange], New Jersey Athletic Conference, 168^th Street Armory, New York, 2003
57.46 … Jianna Spadaccini [Butler], New Jersey Athletic Conference, 168^th Street Armory, New York, 2010
57.66 … Jessica Bonelli [Gloucester Catholic], New Jersey Athletic Conference, 168^th Street Armory, New York, 2006
57.68 … Amanda Demko [Shawnee], New Jersey Athletic Conference, Ocean Breeze, 2022
57.83 … Meryl Wimberley [Colts Neck], ECAC, 168^th Street Armory, New York, 2011
57.99 … Shannon Lambert [Lenape], David Hemery Valentine Invitational, Boston University, 2019

The New Jersey state indoor track championships date back 100 years, to 1922, when Newark Central won the Public School division and neighboring St. Benedict’s of Newark won the Parochial School division.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary, most of the same officials will be working this weekend’s state meet who worked the first one!

OK, OK, bad joke, but, hey, it’s not too far off!

In any case, the state group championships are scheduled for this weekend, with non-publics starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Groups 2 and 3 at 9 a.m. Saturday and Groups 1 and 4 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

SUPER LINK INDEX
Ticket Sales Information
Order of Events
2022 NJSIAA Winter Track Group Championship Program
Meet records and all-time team champions
Groups 2-3 performance lists
Groups 1-4 performance lists
South Jersey Groups 1-4 Sectional Results 
South Jersey Groups 2-3 Sectional Results
NJSIAA Winter Track Regulations
N.J. MileSplit Coverage Hub
Opening heights for high jump, pole vault
How to advance to Meet of Champions
Live results [will update when link is live]

Winslow graduate John Purvis, a freshman at Morgan State, popped a personal-best 55-7 and placed 2nd in the shot put Wednesday at the MEAC Championships in Virginia Beach.

Purvis finished second to another Morgan state freshman, Zackery Dillon, who threw a PR of his own at 56-0 for the win.

Going into the final round, Dillon, a graduate of Calabar High School in Kingston, Jamaica, led with a best throw of 54-6 1/2, and Purvis was sitting in 2nd at 53-11. Purvis then took the lead with his 55-7, only to watch Dillon reclaim the lead on the final attempt of the competition with his 56-footer.

Before the conference meet, Purvis had an indoor PR of 53-6 1/2 with the 16-pound shot. He threw 54-2 3 3/4 to win the MEAC Outdoor Championship last spring at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro.

Purvis also placed 4th in the 35-pound wight throw with a PR of 49-10. His previous PR was 46-4 in Virginia Beach earlier this month.

Morgan State’s athletics web site lists no indoor school records or top-10 lists or any sort of historical information or pretty much anything at all, but going through year-by-year MEAC performances lists on TFRRS [Track and Field Results Reporting System] I did figure out that Dillon and Purvis registered the two-best throws by Morgan State shot putters in 12 years – since Tyron Benjamin of the Commonwealth of Dominica threw 60-5 as a Morgan State senior at a meet at the Armory in 2010.

So back-to-back Purvis and Dillon recorded the best shot put throws by Morgan State freshmen since at least 2009. The TFRRS database only goes back to 2010.

Purvis threw 143-7 in the discus last spring and 133-10 in the hammer. At Winslow, Purvis threw 60-0 indoors with the 12-pound shot, No. 9 in South Jersey indoor track history, and also threw 168-9 in the discus.

Shawnee graduate Andrew Lodge smashed a 27-year-old College of New Jersey school record Monday at the NJAC Championships.

Lodge ran 48.89 and finished 2nd in the 400 at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships at Ocean Breeze, behind only Rowan freshman Amara Conte of Jersey City and Ferris High, who ran 48.45.

Lodge broke the school record of 48.92, set by Toms River North graduate Chris Kalwinsky at the 1995 ECAC Championships at Boston University.

That 48.89 ranks No. 5 in NCAA Division 3 this year, although the TFRRS ranking system somehow has him at 49.68, which may be some sort of conversion for a banked track? I don’t know. It doesn’t explain it anywhere. In any case, the top 20 performers qualify for the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., next month.

Lodge also ran a 49.54 leadoff leg on TCNJ’s 3rd-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:19.20. The Lions have run as fast as 3:20.19 this winter.

Lodge’s previous indoor PR was a 49.91 nine days earlier in Boston. Coming into the season, his indoor PR was 50.18 from a meet in Boston last winter. He has yet to run outdoors for TCNJ.

At Shawnee, Lodge only ran a couple indoor 400s with a best of 54.11 at the Bubble in January of 2018. His outdoor PR remains 50.88 from the 2019 Burlington County Open at Rancocas Valley, where he placed 2nd to Cinnaminson’s John Meekins.

So Lodge has now improved almost exactly two seconds since arriving in Ewing, and he hasn’t run a 400 outdoors yet.

Kalwinsky also holds the TCNJ outdoor 400 record with a 47.95 from 1995.