The Cherokee girls advanced to the Championship of America 3,200-meter relay at the 127th annual Penn Relays Friday morning at Franklin Field.

Senior Kelsey Niglio, junior Kerry O’Day, freshman Maddie Meder and sophomore Megan Niglio ran 9:23.45, the 9th-fastest time of the 68 schools that qualified for the Penn Relays.

The 12-fastest schools from four qualifying races qualify for the Championship of America, scheduled for 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

Cherokee is one of three New Jersey schools to qualify for the CoA race. Union Catholic led all qualifiers at 9:11.26, and Rumson-Fair Haven ran 9:22.29. The cutoff was 9:25.44. The full list of qualifiers is here.

Cherokee qualified for Penn with its 9:19.80 at the Millrose Games at the Armory in February. Cherokee ran 9:21.19 in the qualifying rounds last year at Penn and placed 4th in the CoA race in 9:17.77 with Kelsey Niglio, O’Day, Megan Niglio and Nicole Clifford.

Because they were racing in the fourth and final section, Cherokee had a good idea what it needed to qualify for Saturday. Only eight schools had broken 9:25 in the first three races, so the Chiefs were able to race with an eye on the clock, knowing exactly what they needed to get through.

Kelsey Niglio led off with a 2:19.35 split that got Cherokee near the front of the pack, and O’Day followed with a 2:18.31 that got the Chiefs into the lead. Meder, in her first Penn Relays and only her fourth lifetime high school outdoor track meet, split 2:26.82, and Niglio closed in 2:20.60, keeping Cherokee safely ahead of the rest of the pack.

Derrick Robinson became Cinnaminson’s first Penn Relays medalist in 20 years Thursday morning with a 5th-place finish in the high jump.

Competing in poor conditions at Franklin Field – cold, breezy, drizzly – Robinson cleared 6-4 and tied for 5th with Zeraun Daniel of Poly Prep of Brooklyn.

Robinson cleared opening height 6-2 on his first attempt and 6-4 on his second before going out at 6-6, which wound up being the winning height for Ja’Mari Manson of Bloomfield (Conn.).

He’s Cinnaminson’s first Penn Relays medalist since Jon Anderson took 5th in the 3,000 in 2003 with a time of 8:35.71.

Robinson is also South Jersey’s first high jump medalist at Penn since 2015, when Ameer Banks of Delsea cleared 6-7 ¾ for 4th place.

This winter, Robinson cleared 6-6 in a SJTCA meet at the Bubble in Toms River.

Premier Wynn split 47.76 and Bryce Tucker 48.12 and Pennsauken ran 3:18.87 — the 11th-fastest 4-by-4 of 568 high schools Thursday in winning the South Jersey Large-School race at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field.

Pennsauken missed advancing to the Championship of America race by just 1.05 seconds. The nine-fastest schools will race on Friday in the Championship of America final.

Pennsauken did advance to the Philadelphia Area Championship race, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Friday

Pennsauken was 2nd-fastest among New Jersey schools, behind only Seton Hall Prep of West Orange, which qualified for the CoA race with a 3:16.67.

Abington [3:18.44] is the only entrant that ran under 3:20 Thursday. Next-fastest in the race will be Central Bucks West of Doylestown [3:20.45], Episcopal Academy of Newtown Square [3:22.09], Roman Catholic of Philly [3:22.39] and Cheltenham [3:22.42].

Pennsauken’s time is the fastest they’ve ever run at Penn. The 2017 team – with Donte Jamison, Braheem Whitfield, Nahzhir Russell and Martin Booker (47.35 anchor) – ran 3:18.99 finishing second to Rancocas Valley in the South Jersey race. Pennsauken’s time Thursday is fastest by any South Jersey school at Penn since R.V.’s 3:18.10 in 2017.

Freshman KaRon Ali led off with a 51.85 split and junior Ladanian McGrath split 51.15. Pennsauken trailed Washington Township by 4-100ths of a second at the second handoff but led by nearly six seconds by the time Wynn – the indoor Meet of Champions 200 champ – handed off to Tucker – the two-time Meet of Champs intermediate hurdles winner.

Washington Township wound up 2nd with a season-best 3:29.88 followed closely by Timber Creek [3:30.89], Eastern [3:31.14], Cherokee [3:31.31], Winslow [3:32.62], Kingsway [3:32.98] and Highland [3:32.99]. Second place is Washington Township’s best finish since they took 2nd in 2012.

Eastern senior Rajahn Dixon had the fastest split of the race, anchoring in 47.70. Winslow anchor Chukwuemeka Ajaegbulemh [50.72] and Cherokee’s Patrick Ditmars [50.82] also ran sub-51.

This is the second year in a row Pennsauken has won the South Jersey Large-School race. Nadir Paige, Wynn, Joel Oquendo and Tucker ran 3:20.88 last year.

Deptford won the Small-School race in 3:27.07 with Lathan Brown anchoring in 49.04 Darryl Wayman, junior Abu Jabbie and junior Christian Berry ran the first three legs.

Willingboro placed 2nd in 3:30.88 with Theo Pryce, Marvin Dedilius, Kedaar Wilson and Jackson Murry. After Deptford’s Brown, the next-fastest splits were by Clayton’s Alexander Osayemi [50.73] and Willingboro’s Murry [51.37].

This was Deptford’s 7th win in the Small-School race:

2022: 1. Deptford 3:27.07, 2. Willingboro 3:30.88, 3. Clayton 3:33.58
2018: 1. Deptford 3:19.98, 2. Willingboro 3:21.16, 3. Paul VI 3:21.87
2016: 1. Deptford 3:23.97, 2. Willingboro 3:23.99, 3. Haddonfield 3:24.27
2015: 1. Deptford 3:23.79, 2. Winslow Twp. 3:25.23, 3. Willingboro 3:25.47
2004: 1. Deptford 3:29.50, 2. Sterling 3:30.78, 3. Holy Cross 3:30.83
2002: 1. Deptford 3:28.08, 2. Cinnaminson 3:29.55, 3. Haddon Heights 3:32.55
2001: 1. Deptford 3:28.20, 2. Woodstown 3:30.23, 3. West Deptford 3:32.61

Pitman’s Emily Galvin PR’d in the hammer throw and broker her own school record with a 186-0 at the 127th Penn Relays Thursday on the throwing fields across the Northeast Corridor train tracks from Franklin Field.

That’s No. 3 in NCAA Division 3 this year.

Galvin, a Rowan senior and transfer from Villanova, placed 9th in the hammer at Penn behind eight NCAA Division 1 athletes.

Her previous PR of 185-3 came last spring in her final meet for Villanova, when she placed 3rd at the Big East Championships in Storrs, Conn. That’s No. 2 in Villanova history.

She came close to that PR with a 183-7 in a meet at Rowan earlier this month and got even closer with a 184-3 at Princeton two weeks ago.

On Thursday, she popped the 186-0 on her first attempt. She also had a 181-7 in her six-throw series.

Galvin is now less than three feet from the NCAA Division 3 all-time top-25, which goes down to 188-11. She’s also No. 1 all-time in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Gloucester County’s other outstanding hammer thrower named Emily also had a strong day at Penn. Kingsway graduate Emily Hilt of Rutgers-Camden threw 173-3, the 3rd-best throw of her life. Hilt PR’d with a 178-3 at a meet in Galloway Township earlier this month. She’s ranked 7th in NCAA Division 3.

On a cold, breezy, rainy afternoon at Franklin Field, Oakcrest junior Ryan Merlino recorded the best performance by a South Jersey pole vaulter at the Penn Relays in 19 years.

Merlino cleared an outdoor PR 14-8 and placed 6th at the 127th annual Penn Relays.

Merlino cleared 14-9 indoors at Boston Nationals, but his outdoor PR is the best mark by an Atlantic County vaulter outdoors since Absegami’s Brandon Kurtz cleared 15-7 at the 1991 South Jersey Group 3 meet at Bridgeton.

Merlino entered the competition with an outdoor PR of 14-6 from earlier this spring at Fast Times at Cherokee.

At Penn Thursday, he cleared opening height 14-2 on his first attempt and 14-8 on his second.

Merlino is the first South Jersey vaulter to finish in the top six at Penn since Jarrod Brovero took 3rd at 13-11 ¼ in 2016. He’s the first South Jersey vaulter to clear 14-8 or higher at Penn since Haddonfield’s Mike Davis tied for 3rd in 2004 with a 15-1 clearance. Kurtz placed 5th in the 1991 Relays with a 14-3 ¼ clearance.

All-Time South Jersey Outdoor Pole Vault List
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014
15-6 … Marco Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977
15-2 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … Mark Murphy [Haddonfield], 1985
15-0 … Ricky Clemons [Willingboro], 1989
15-0 … Dave Murname [West Deptford], 2000
15-0 … Josh Moline [Gateway], 2000
15-0 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2010
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2010
15-0 … James Lynch [Deptford], 2019
15-0 … Matt Mancini [Cinnaminson], 2006
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2022
14-9 … Tony DeFeo [Oakcrest], 2004
14-9 … Ed Zubrzycki [Highland], 2009
14-8 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2023
14-7 ¼ … Bob Stumm [Kingsway], 1987
14-7 … Jarrod Brovero [Delsea Reg.], 2016
14-7 … Tony Ferrari [Delran], 1982

Haddon Heights shattered the school record Thursday morning in the 4-by-8 and came within 3 ½ seconds of qualifying for the Championship of America race at the Penn Relays.

Jack Bolling’s 1:58.21 split led Heights to a 8:01.43, fastest by a South Jersey school this year and a school record by more than eight seconds.

Heights was the 6th-fastest New Jersey school in four 4-by-8 races at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Cumberland Valley High of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was the last qualifer for Friday’s championship race with a 7:57.84.

Colin Patterson led off with a 1:59.28 split, followed by Bolling, Matthew Iuvara’s 2:00.73 and Jonathan Hastings’ 2:03.22. All four are seniors.

Heights placed 4th in the second of four races and 18th of all 66 schools that qualified for Penn.

Highland ran 8:07.02 in the same race, led by Gavin Gallo’s 1:59.73 split. Cole Knoedler, Cortland Webb and Aziz Kane also raced for Highland.

Seton Hall Prep of West Orange [7:49.99], Chatham [7:51.26] and Toms River North [7:56.02] will represent New Jersey in the Championship of America race, scheduled for 5:50 p.m. Friday. Rumson-Fair Haven [7:58.46] and Summit [7:59.35] also ran sub-8.

Delsea’s Elisia Lancaster, a former All-America at Southern Illinois now competing unattatched, uncorked one of the best hammer throws in the world this year at a meet this past weekend in Illinois.

Lancaster threw 220-3 at the Fighting Illini Challenge Demirjian Park, one inch off her PR of 220-4 . She placed 2nd to American record holder, former World Champion and two-time Olympian DeAnna Price, who threw 246-9 – No. 3 in the world this year.

Lancaster’s 220-3 is No. 11 this year in the U.S. and No. 52 in the world.

Lancaster’s PR is 220-4 from a meet last May in Des Moines, Iowa. That’s No. 63 in U.S. history and just two inches shy of the South Jersey alumni record of 220-6 set by Delsea graduate Jamine Moton in Baton Rouge in May of 2002.

Lancaster had four throws well over 200 feet last weekend. She opened with a 214-3 and after a foul hit 209-4. After another foul she finished with the 220-3 and a 211-10.

This was only Lancaster’s second meet this year. She threw 204-7 last month in a meet in Tampa.

At Delsea, Lancaster threw the shot 39-2 ½ and the discus 124-5 – both those PRs were at 2016 South Jersey Group 3 sectionals in Bayville. She was a state medalist in the shot and a sectional runner-up in the discus.

But she really found her calling in the hammer. She first tried it in the spring of 2018 as a freshman at Rowan College South Jersey. She spent the spring of 2020 at Towson and didn’t throw the hammer at all, but after transferring to Southern Illinois she blossomed with a 207-11 in a meet in Lawrence, Kan., and she improved to 220-4 last spring.

The magic number is 232-11, the qualifying standard for the U.S. Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., July 6-9.

Kadence Dumas’s speedy anchor at the Woodbury Relays helped the Eastern girls move into the No. 1 spot in the state this year in the sprint medley time.

Dumas, a senior, ran 2:15.67 to bring Eastern home in 4:11.43, ahead of Cherry Hill East, which ran 4:13.09. Freshman Natalie Dumas led off for the Vikings with a 1:00.77 lap, and junior Lomaria Tengbeh and senior Makenzie James handled the 200s.

Cherry Hill East finished 2nd in the Group 4 race with juniors Girliana Puglisi and Kristin Maye, sophomore Janell Mordin and senior Alexis Tepper running 4:13.09, No. 3 in the state this year and also a school record.

http://milesplit.live/meets/519987/events/44/results/F/F

Eastern broke the school record of 4:14.38 set by Jailya Ash, Jewel Ash, Dariyah Corbett-Collier and Olivia Covington at the Don Danser Relays at Lenape.

Eastern’s time is No. 17 in Camden County history and fastest since 2019, when Paul VI ran

4:02.60 … Sterling, 2017
4:02.89 … Woodrow Wilson, 2002
4:03.04 … Camden, 1995
4:04.86 … Woodrow Wilson, 2009
4:05.38 … Paul VI, 2019
4:05.2h … Winslow Twp., 2003
4:08.23 … Timber Creek, 2011
4:08.64 … Woodrow Wilson, 2003
4:09.23 … Pennsauken, 2014
4:10.0h … Camden, 2003
4:10.44 … Highland, 1998
4:10.5h … Woodrow Wilson, 2005
4:10.74 … Highland, 2003
4:10.74 … Pennauken, 2015
4:10.8h … Haddon Heights, 1980
4:11.43 … Eastern, 2023
4:11.2h … Haddonfield, 2009
4:11.5h … Camden, 1994
4:11.91 … Timber Creek, 2010
4:11.8h … Overbrook, 2000

Mainland’s two long jumpers PR’d with their 1-2 finish at the Woodbury Relays, and an impressive freshman from Winslow wasn’t far behind.

Senior Emma Crozier-Carole PR’d with an 18-2 ¼ to win at Woodbury and senior teammate McKenna Pontari placed 2nd at 17-10 ¾.

Although Crozier-Carole was credited with an 18-3 in a dual meet, the 18-2 ¼ is a huge big-meet PR. Her previous official PR was a 16-9 ¾ at Easterns last month at the Armory.

Pontari’s 17-10 ¾ was nearly a foot better than her previous best – a 17-0 at Ocean Breeze back in December.

Crozier-Carole and Pontari now rank No. 8 and No. 9 in Atlantic County history. They both surpassed the previous Mainland outdoor long jump record of 17-5 set by Victoria Henry when she won the 2014 Rowan Open. They’re No. 3 and 6 in the state.

Their 1-2 finish was the first at Woodbury by teammates since 2012, when Cidae’a Woods of Winslow won with an 18-5 and teammate Brianna McGrath was 2nd at 18-1.

Speaking of Winslow, freshman Ma’Syiah Brawner placed 3rd at Woodbury with a PR 17-8 ¾ after jumping 17-8 ½ at the Spartan Relays at Deptford a week earlier. Brawner jumped 17-3 indoors at Ocean Breeze in February and has also high jumped 5-4, triple jumped 35-8 ½ and run 8.66 for the 55-meter hurdles. She’s No. 3 in South Jersey

Brawner is the top freshman long jumper in New Jersey and No. 3 in the triple jump. Indoors she led all New Jersey freshmen in the hurdles triple jump, high jump and was No. 2 in the long jump. She hasn’t hurdled yet outdoors in a major meet.

Ocean City senior Elaina Styer also went over 17 feet at Woodbury with a 17-2 ½ for 4th place. Styer jumped 18-5 in a dual meet earlier this spring, and her big-meet PR is a 17-3 ½ from the Lenape Invite. She’s also a 5-4 high jumper, has run 60.0 in the 400 and thrown the shot 33-5 ½ and the javelin 79-2.

With Sterling graduates Marquise Young Jah’mere Beasley in the lineup, Rowan ran the fastest 1,600-meter relay in NCAA Division 3 this weekend in Columbia, S.C.

The Profs placed 2nd in the USC Outdoor Open in 3:10.07, which bumped Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, Calif., from the top spot on the 2023 Division 3 list. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ran 3:10.56 in a meet earlier this month at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.

Unbelievably, the official results – and this is a major meet at a major Division 1 school – do not include splits, and of course Rowan’s web site barely mentions the performance and doesn’t list any splits.

Young led off, Nana Agyemang from Parsippany High ran second, Beasley third and Amara Conte of Ferris High in Jersey City anchored. Conte ran a PR 47.06 in the open 400 in Columbia, No. 4 in NCAA Division 3.

Rowan missed its school record by 1-100th of a second. The Profs ran 3:10.06 this past May at the NCAA Division 3 Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, with John Owens of West Windsor-Plainsboro North leading off, followed by Agyemang, Beasley and Conte.

Rowan’s performance ranks 33rd all-time in NCAA Division 3. The Profs are already the 13th-fastest school in D-3 history, according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association web site.

Although it’s not posted yet, Rowan’s 3:10.07 should be No. 40 on the 2023 U.S. list.

The Profs finished 2nd to Alabama State, which won the race in 3:08.61.

Rowan will race some of the top Division 1 schools in the country in the Championship of America 1,600-Meter Relay heats at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. The heats are scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, and the winner of each of three heats and the next six-fastest schools advancing to the Championship of America final, scheduled for 3:35 p.m. Saturday.

In Columbia, a second Rowan team, with senior Joe DeVito of Jackson Liberty, freshman Evan Corcoran from Kingsway, freshman Masai Byrd of Rancocas Valley and freshman Jason Agyemang of North Plainfield, placed 8th in 3:23.73.

Corcoran also ran 10.38 and 21.55 in the 100 and 200 but both races were greatly wind-aided – the 100 at 4.6 and the 200 at 3.3.

According to the wind-correction calculator, a 10.38 is worth 10.54 with no wind and 10.45 with 2.0 – the maximum allowable wind. The 21.55 is worth 21.75 with no wind and 21.61 at 2.0. Corcoran’s wind-legal PRs are 10.79 and 21.73.