Mainland Regional senior Mawali Osunniyi had a tremendous state Group 3 meet at Delsea Saturday, winning the high jump with a PR-tying 6-8 and taking 2nd in the triple jump with a PR 47-0 ½.
Both marks are No. 2 in Atlantic County history.
Osunniyi goes into the Meet of Champions Wednesday tied for the No. 1 seed in the high jump with junior Brian Butler of Piscataway, who won Group 4 at 6-8, and Pleasantville senior Isaiah Davenport, who cleared 6-8 for the first time to win Group 2. He’s the No. 2 seed in the triple jump behind Matawan senior Branden Satterwhite, who won Group 2 at 47-9.
Osunniyi has been consistent at 6-8 all year, clearning it in five of his last six major meets. Osunniyi and Davenport – and several others – are tied at No. 2 all-time in Atlantic County history at 6-8 behind Mainland’s Paul Klemic, who cleared a state-record 7-4 ½ at the 2000 Foot Locker Championships in Raleigh, N.C.
The state leader is South Brunswick’s Damarion Potts, who cleared 6-10 ¼ at Central Jersey Group 4 at Hillsborough. He was 2nd to Butler in Group 4 Saturday.
Osunniy’s previous triple jump PR was a 46-6 ¾ to win the Cape-Atlantic League meet at Bridgeton last month. He’s No. 2 in Atlantic County and Cape-Atlantic history in the triple jump behind Egg Harbor’s Mubeen Momodu, who hit 48-1 ½ at the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.
Osunniyi is Mainland’s first state champion since 2018, when Kobe Roberts won the javelin with a 190-2 and first state high jump champ since Klemic cleared 7-0 to win Group 3 at Egg Harbor in 2000.
Also for the Mustangs, sophomore Josiah Williams placed 3rd in the triple jump with a 45-4 3/4 on his final attempt and added a point in the 110 hurdles with a 6th-place finish in 15.37. And senior William Murray hit 21-9 for 3rd in the long jump.
Mainland placed 4th in Group 3 with 31 points, just 12 behind co-champions Deptford and Chatham.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 