Ocean City junior Sophia Curtis shattered the South Jersey indoor triple jump record Saturday three times Saturday on her way to 3rd place and All-America honors at Boston Indoor Nationals in Brighton, Mass.
In a monster series in which her average jump would have been the 8th-best jump in state history, Curtis finished her series with a massive 41-3 1/4, a mark second in New Jersey history only to Mount Olive’s legendary Katurah Orji, a two-time Olympian, the current U.S. outdoor record holder and former U.S. indoor record holder. Orji jumped 44-2 at 2014 Armory Nationals.
After a 38-3 ¼ opener and a PR 39-5 ¾ on her second attempt, Curtis leaped 40-2 on her third attempt of the trials, smashing the South Jersey record of 40-1 ½ set by Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith at this meet in 2019 when it was held at the Armory.
She popped a 39-11 ¼ on her 4th jump, her first attempt of the finals, before breaking her own South Jersey record with a monster 40-9 jump on her fifth attempt. She destroyed that mark with a 41-3 1/4 on her final attempt of the competition.
That moved her briefly into 2nd place before India Alix of Klein High in Spring, Texas, hit 41-7 3/4 on her final jump to take the lead. Moments later, Juliette Laracuente-Huebner of Marengo (Ohio) Highland bumped Alix into 2nd with a 42-0 1/2.
Incredible competition, and Curtis was in the middle of it with the five-best jumps of her life and the three-best jumps in South Jersey indoor history.
Curtis averaged 39-11 1/2 on her six jumps, and her average was more than a foot beyond her previous PR and only a couple inches off the previous South Jersey record. Her 41-3 ¼ would have ranked 7th among South Jersey boys this year.
Curtis also broke the state junior class record of 41-0 1/4 set by Orji at 2013 Armory Nationals. The previous South Jersey junior class mark was Curtis’s own 38-8.
Her 41-3 ¼ is No. 2 in South Jersey history indoors or out, behind only Smith’s 42-2 at the 2019 outdoor Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.
It looks like Curtis’s mark will put her at No. 8 on the U.S. Under-20 list. It also makes her the No. 58 American woman, according to the World Athletics rankings.
What a historic performance! One of the greatest in South Jersey track history!
Curtis came into the meet with an indoor PR of 38-8 from her 2nd-place finish at the Meet of Champions last Sunday at Ocean Breeze and a lifetime best of 38-8 ¾ as a sophomore at Padua Academy in Wilmington from the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions this past May at Salesianum School in Wilmington. This is Curtis’s first season competing for Ocean City.
Earlier this year, Curtis broke Cape May County records with 57.99 in the 400 and 8.33 in the 55-meter hurdles.
All-Time New Jersey Indoor Triple Jump List
44-2 … Keturah Orji [Mount Olive], 2014
41-3 ¼ … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2023
40-11 … Stephanie McIntyre [South Brunswick], 2007
40-9 ¾ … Carlene Cummings [Englewood], 1998
40-4 … Domonique Panton [Freehold Twp.], 2015
40-3 … Iana Amsterdam [Newark Tech], 2013
40-1 ½ … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
39-10 ½ … Jen McDermott [Ridgewood], 1989
39-9 … Bryanna Grant [Cranford], 2012
39-7 ¾ … Adefunke Sonaike [Montgomery], 2012
39-6 ¾ … Ebony Young [Hillsborough], 2009
39-6 ½ … Kelly Burke [Cranford], 2010
39-6 ¼ … Alexandra Bonn [Union Catholic], 2023
39-5 … Ada Unachukwu [Marlboro], 2009
39-3 … Consandria Walker [Hackensack], 2004
39-2 ¼ … Sharon Allen [Paterson East Side], 1987
39-1 ¾ … Ellie Ewere [Hillsborough], 2011
39-1 ¼ … Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018
39-1 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
39-1 … Kaitlin Salisbury [Hawthorne], 2016
39-0 ½ … Bonnie Fosam [Robbinsville], 2017
All-Time South Jersey Indoor Triple Jump List
41-3 ¼ … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2023
40-1 ½ … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
38-4 … She’quell Higgs [Winslow Twp.], 2013
38-0 ½ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
37-10 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2013
37-7 … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
37-4 … Olivia Wright [Winslow Twp.], 2020
37-2 ½ … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], 2020
37-1 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
36-9 ¼ … Jasmin Jones [Kingsway], 2016
36-8 ½ … Leah Ellis [Millville], 2019
36-6 ½ … Maryn Hess [Winslow Twp.], 2017
36-6 ½ … Janell Rowe [Sterling], 2016
36-6 … Javona Ford [Millville], 2010
36-5 … Shevell Higgs [Winslow Twp.], 2020
36-4 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008
36-2 ¾ … Kiah Walton [Burlington Twp.], 2014
36-1 ½ … Chastiney Pearson [Timber Creek], 2020
36-0 ½ … Taliya Rogers [Rancocas Valley], 2016
36-0 ½ … Keyanna Meade [Burlington Twp.]. 2018
All-Time New Jersey Combined 40-Foot List
44-11 … Keturah Orji [Mount Olive], 2014 [o]
42-2 ¾ … Carlene Cummings [Englewood], 1998 [o]
42-2 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018 [o]
41-7 ½ … Mahogany Jenkins [Watchung Hills], 2019 [o]
41-3 ¼ … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2023 [i]
41-3 … Stephanie McIntyre [South Brunswick], 2007 [i]
40-10 ¼ … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014 [o]
40-9 ½ … Iana Amsterdam [Newark Tech], 2013 [o]
40-7 ¾ … Kayla Richardson [Columbia], 2013 [o]
40-7 … Shanale Herber [Paterson Kennedy], 2015 [o]
40-7 … Faith Bethea [Snyder], 2022 [o]
40-6 ¾ … Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018
40-6 ¼ … Essence Mayers [Lakewood], 2011 [o]
40-6 … Jordan Fields [Columbia], 2016 [o]
40-5 … Nnenna Ibe [North Brunswick], 2015 [o]
40-4 ½ … Adefunke Sonaike [Montgomery], 2011
40-4 … Domonique Panton [Freehold Twp.], 2015 [i]
40-3 ¼ …Ebony Young [Hillsborough], 2009 [o]
40-1 ¼ … Kaitlin Salisbury [Hawthorne], 2016 [o]
40-0 … Ebony Young [Hillsborough], 2008 [o]
40-0 … Ada Unachukwu [Marlboro], 2008 [o]
40-0 … Bonvie Fosam [Robbinsville], 2017 [o]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 