From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Ocean City junior Sophia Curtis didn’t waste any time etching her name into the record books in her first outdoor season at Ocean City.

Curtis, who shattered the South Jersey indoor triple jump record at Boston Nationals last month, posted the No. 3 mark in S.J. outdoor history Saturday in her first meet of the spring.

Indoors, Curtis placed 3rd at Boston Nationals, posting the three-best marks in South Jersey history (40-2, 40-9, 41-3 ¼). That was No. 2 in the state.

At the Lenape Invitational Saturday, Curtis was back in action for the first time and doubled the long jump with a 17-8 and the triple jump at 40-1.

That 40-1 is No. 3 in South Jersey history outdoors, behind Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith [42-2 in 2018] and Northern Burlington’s Ashley Edwards [40-10 ¼ in 2014]. It’s No. 17 in state history and broke the Cape May County record of 36-10 set at the 2010 state Group 4 meet at Egg Harbor by Yvonne Wolef of Middle Township.

Curtis’s previous outdoor triple jump PR was 38-8 ¾ from the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet of Champions last May at Salesianum.

She hit the 40-1 on her first jump. After a foul, she followed with jumps of 39-9 ½ and 39-0, giving her the three-best outdoor jumps of her life.

Also on Saturday, Curtis easily smashed her long jump PR in an event she rarely contests. In her first official long jump competition since her freshman year at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del., she posted the No. 4 jump in Ocean County history. Her previous PR was 15-9 ¾ at a tri-meet at Salesianum in Wilmington in April of 2021. Wolef is the county record holder at 19-1 from the 2012 Cape Atlantic Conference Championships at Egg Harbor.

Curtis only had two legal jumps, going 17-4 ½ on her first and 17-8 on her fourth and final attempt. Senior teammate Elaina Styer took 2nd with a 17-3 ½. Styer is the Ocean City school record holder with her 17-9 ½ win last spring at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals at Delsea. Interestingly, Styer also threw 33-5 ½ in the shot put, which is quite an unusual and impressive double. Could be a multi in her future.

Curtis is No. 1 in New Jersey in the triple jump and No. 5 in the long jump. According to the MileSplit national database, she’s the No. 5 junior in the U.S. so far in the triple.

She’s Ocean County record holder in the triple jump indoors and out and the high hurdles and 400 indoors. All she’d have to do to break the county mark in the long jump indoors or intermediates outdoors is enter a race.

She’s never run an official 400-meter hurdles race in a major meet because Delaware still runs 300 hurdles, but she was a state champ at 300 meters last year with a 44.51. She ran 1:02-point in a dual meet last week.

Curtis will compete in the triple jump at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. That’s scheduled for 9:30 a.m. a week from Friday.

With her 41-3 ¼ indoors, Curtis has already qualified for the USATF Under-20 Championships July 6-9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The triple jump qualifying standard is 40-10 ¼ and the qualifying window opened Dec. 1, well before she jumped 41-3 ¼ at Ocean Breeze.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Moorestown sophomore I’mara Ford, who placed 2nd with a 38-1 1/4 jump. That’s No. 5 in Burlington County history and best in nine years. More later on I’mara, but Tthe all-time Burlco top-10 is listed below.

All-Time New Jersey Outdoor Triple Jump 40-Foot Club
44-11 … Keturah Orji [Mount Olive], 2013
42-2 3/4 … Charlene Cummings [Englewood], 1998
42-0 ….… Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
41-7 1/2 … Mahogany Jenkins [Watchung Hills], 2019
40-10 1/4 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
40-9 1/2 … Iana Amsterdam [Essex Tech], 2013
40-7 3/4 … Kayla Richardson [Columbia], 2013
40-7 … Shenaie Herber [JFK Paterson], 2008
40-7 … Faith Bethea [Snyder], 2022
40-6 3/4 … Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018
40-6 1/4 … Essence Mayers [Lakewood], 2011
40-6 … Jordan Fields [Columbia], 2016
40-5 ….. Nnenna Ibe [North Brunswick], 2015
40-4 1/2 … Adefunke Sonaike [Montgomery], 2011
40-3 1/4 … Ebony Young [Hillsborough], 2009
40-1 1/4 … Kaitlin Salisbury [Hawthorne], 2016
40-1 …… Domonique Pantin [Freehold Twp.], 2015
40-1 … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2003
40-0 1/4 … Stephanie McIntyre [South Brunswick], 2007
40-0 ……….Bonvie Fosam [Robbinsville], 2017
40-0 ………. Ada Unachukwu [Marlboro], 2009

All-Time South Jersey Outdoor Triple Jump Top 10
42-2 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
40-10 ¼ … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
40-1 … Sophia Curtis [Ocean City], 2003
39-7 ½ … Zenee Gadson [Glassboro], 2012
39-7 ¼ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
39-6 … Jessica Mills [Deptford], 2005
39-5 ½ … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
39-3 … Genevieve Okoro [Eastern Reg.], 2010
39-2 ¼ … Mariah Hubbard [Absegami Reg.], 2016
38-11 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008

All-Time Burlington County Top-10
40-10 ¼ … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
39-7 ¼ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
39-5 ½ … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
38-11 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008
38-1 1.4 … I’mara Ford [Moorestown], 2023
37-9 ¼ … Ameenah Saalih [Rancocas Valley], 2017
37-9 … Shelby Sills [Cinnaminson], 2021
37-8 …… Akayla Leak [Burlington Twp.], 2019
37-7 ¼ … Erin Clark [Rancocas Valley], 2010
37-6 ½ … Nia Hinds [Burlington Twp.], 2016