Kaitlyn Dermen, a 2014 Millville graduate, became the No. 2 pole vaulter in South Jersey history Sunday when she cleared 13-8 ¼ at the Vault Factory Summer Jump in Basking Ridge.

Dermen, an All-America at Stockton (and also a conference medalist in the high and intermediate hurdles), surpassed her lifetime best of 13-7 ¼ set in December of 2021 at the Fastrack Metro Season Opener Ocean Breeze. Her outdoor PR was 13-3 ¾ from a meet in April 2022 at the Lions Invitational at The College of New Jersey in Lawrenceville.

Dermen’s 13-8 ¼ clearance is 2nd-best in South Jersey history, behind only Shawnee graduate Stephanie Maugham, who PR’d at 14-0 ¾ in a meet in Fresno, Calif., in April 2002, while she was a senior at Rhode Island. She’s now Stephanie Colby and the U.S. Masters record holder in the 40-44 age group with an 11-5 ¾ clearance in Toronto in July 2019.

Detailed results aren’t available, but Dermen won by a foot over former Rider and Temple vaulter Allie Riches, who cleared 12-8 ¼.

Dermen first vaulted as a sophomore at Millville, clearing 8-6 indoors and 9-0 outdoors. She improved to 9-6 as a junior indoors and placed at Group 4 states and then took 8th at the Meet of Champions outdoors with a 10-6 clearance. She was a state runner-up and Meet of Champions 6th-place finisher indoors as a senior and improved to 11-1 and had a series of 11-6 clearances outdoors.

At Stockton, she won NJAC titles indoors [11-9 ¾] and outdoors [12-3 ¾] as a junior in 2017 and indoors [12-1 ¾] and outdoors [12-1 ¾] as a senior in 2018. She earned All-America honors by clearing 12-3 ¾ for 4th place in May of 2018 in La Crosse, Wisc.

Her next PR appears to have been a 12-11 ¾ in a meet in Basking Ridge in August of 2020. According to her World Athletics page, her best previous jump this year was a 12-10 ¼ in Washington, D.C., in June.

Here’s a look at all the 13-foot vaulters from South Jersey that I know about. Let me know if there are any missing:

14-0 ¾ … Stephanie Maugham [Shawnee], April 6, 2002, Fresno, Calif.
13-8 ¼ … Kaitlyn Dermen [Millville], July 29, 2023, Basking Ridge, N.J.
13-8 … Anna Heim [Moorestown], May 13, 2010, Springfield, Mass.
13-5i … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], Feb. 9, 2004, New York
13-3 ¾ … Ashley Preston [Delsea], April 17, 2021, Philadelphia

Nia Ali turned in one of the greatest hurdles performances in world history Friday with a 12.30 to win the 100-meter highs at the Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvielle, Monaco.

That’s 9th-fastest in world history.

Ali, a 2006 Pleasantville graduate, lowered her lifetime-best 12.34 from her win at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and took over the 2023 world lead from Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Qunn, who ran 12.31 in May at the Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.

“I feel amazing, it was a PB for me (and) the first time I won in a Diamond League (meet),” Ali told reporters at Stade Louis II Stadium.

“I cannot believe it and it is lovely to have won here in Monaco, it is a beautiful place and I really enjoy myself here, I am so happy I was able to give the best of myself here today. I started very fast and then in the middle of the race I told myself, “Do not fall asleep.’”

Ali held a slight lead over Harrison through four hurdles. They were tied at 6.30 through five hurdles and Harrison led through six (7.24 to 7.25), seven (8.18 to 8.20), eight (9.13 to 9.15), nine (10.10 to 10.13) and 10 hurdles (11.09 to 11.11).

But Ali was 3-100ths of a second faster from the final hurdle to the finish line.

Alaysha Johnson [12.39] and Tia Jones [12.39] finished 3rd and 4th, making it a 1-2-3-4 U.S. sweep.

“I really fought for it because I felt myself a bit behind at the last hurdle,” Ali said. “But then I just attacked the fiish line and (won.)”

For the full race analysis, click here.

Ali’s time is No. 9 performer in world history and No. 3 in U.S. history. Full all-time top-10 is below. Her 12.30 is 20th-fastest performance (including multiple races by the same hurdlers) in history.

Ali edged American record holder Kendra Harrison by 1-100th of a second. Harrison set the U.S. record when she set what was then a world record of 12.20 in London in 2018.

The race was held with a legal 0.6 meters-per-second tailwind.

Ali broke the meet record of 12.42 set by Gail Devers in 2002,

Ali, 34 years old and with three kids, is all the way back and better than ever after going 894 days – from Worlds in October 2019 to a meet in Coral Gables, Fla., in March 2022 – without running a 100-meter hurdles race.

Earlier this month, she won her first U.S. outdoor title in 12.37 and she also had a 12.38 in Poland and a 12.41 in Hungary in the past week as well as a 12.43 in the semifinals at nationals in Eugene.

That means she’s run five of the six-fastest times of her life in the last 13 days. The full list of her all-time top-10 is below.

This performance makes Ali the favorite going into the World Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

Ali, Harrison and Masai Russell will represent the U.S. at Worlds.

“My objective now for the rest of the season is to stay healthy and try to improve my technique,” she said. “I know that Budapest will be a very strong competition and a very fast race so I am looking forward to the challenges.”

Nią Ali’s 10-Fastest Lifetime Times
12.30 … Herculis Diamond League [f], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]

10-Fastest Performers in World History
12.12 … Tobi Amusan [Nigeria], Eugene, Ore., July 24, 2022
12.20 … Kendra Harrison [USA], London, July 22, 2016
12.21 … Yordanka Donkova [Bulgaria], Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, Aug. 20, 1988
12.25 … Ginka Zagorcheva [Bulgaria], Drama, Germany, Aug. 8, 1987
12.26 … Lyudmila Narozhilenko [Russia], Sevilla, Spain, June 6, 1992
12.26 … Brianna McNeal [USA], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013
12.26 … Jasmine Camacho-Quinn [Puerto Rico], Tokyo, Aug. 1, 2021
12.28 … Sally Pearson [Australia], Daegu, South Korea, Sept, 3, 2011
12.30 … Nia Ali [USA], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.31 … Britany Anderson [Jamaica], Eugene, July 24, 2022

Nia Ali continued her remarkable 2023 season with the 4th-fastest hurdles time of her incredible career Tuesday at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix Diamond League meet.

Ali, a 2006 graduate of Pleasantville High School, placed 2nd to world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria in the 100-meter hurdles the Bregyó Athletic Center in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, 40 miles south of Budapest, where Ali will race in the World Championships next month.

Amusan set the world record of 12.12 last July when she won the World Championships at Heyward Field in Eugene, Ore. Ali ran her PR of 12.34 – No. 12 in world history – when she won the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in October 2019.

On Tuesday, Amusan won the race in 12.35, and Ali was 2nd in 12.41. Alaysha Johnson and Tia Jones of the U.S. took 3rd and 4th in 12.50 and 12.51.

Ali, 34 and with three kids, has only run faster three times in her life – in the Worlds final at Doha in 2019, the Nationals final in Eugene last month and in Chorzow, Poland, on Sunday. So four of the five-fastest times of her life have come in the past 11 days and six of her 11-fastest times ever have come this spring.

Ali did not compete in 2020 because of COVID or in 2021, which she took off to focus on her family. So from Worlds in Doha on Oct. 6, 2019, until a meet at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., on March 19, 2022, she didn’t run a 100-meter hurdles race for 894 days.

She’s come back stronger than ever and is currently No. 5 in the world but only 6-100ths of a second behidn No. 1 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who ran 12.31 in Los Angeles in May.

With her 12.41 Tuesday, her 12.37 and 12.43 at Nationals and her 12.38 two days ago in Chorzow, Poland, she currently owns four of the 19-fastest times run in the world this year.

Ali’s 12.37 made her the fastest woman 34 years old or older in history.

Ali, Kendra Harrison and Masai Russell will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

The first round of hurdles is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, and the finals at 3:25 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24.

Ali will try to become only the third U.S. woman to win multiple World Championships. Gail Devers won in 1993 in Stuttgart, 1995 in Gothenburg and 1997 in Athens, and Michelle Perry in 2005 in Helsinki and 2007 in Osaka. The only other double winner is Austrailian Sally Pearson, who won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and London in 2017.

The only American women in history to run faster than Ali are Harrison [12.20 in London in 2016], Brianna McNeal [12.26 in Des Moines in 2013] and Devers [12.33 in Sacramento in 2000].

Here’s a look at the 10-fastest times of Ali’s life:

12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]
12.53 … Galan Bauhaus, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.53 … Tom Jones Memorial, Gainesville, Fla., April 15, 2023 [1st]
12.53 … U.S. Championships [h], Eugene, Ore., July 7, 2023 [—]

The USATF Under-20 Championships was first held in 1972 under the auspices of the AAU, which became The Athletics Congress, which became USATF. The meet was initially called Junior Nationals and more recently Under-20 Championships. So it’s had a lot of names but whatever it’s been called it’s been a very competitive meet that pits the best young athletes in the country against each other.

South Jersey’s first winner at Under-20 Nationals was Willingboro’s Randy Mimm in the 10,000-meter walk at the 1973 meet half a century ago in Gainesville, Fla. Ironically, South Jersey’s most recent winner was another racewalker, Kingsway’s Ryan Allen, who just won his 2nd straight 10,000 walk last week in Eugene, Ore.

I was curious about New Jersey’s history at the Under-20 Championships, so I started looking around for all-time results or all-time winners on the USATF web site. Really, looking for another on the USATF web site is an exercise in futility. It might be the worst web site on the internet. There’s literally no content on there. Not only is it incredibly clunky and difficult to navigate and looks like it was designed in 1996 by a middle schooler who just got his first “Internet in a Box,” there’s really nothing on there to navigate to.

So I went to work. Thanks to Newspapers.com and the once-great practice of newspapers running detailed track results on their agate pages, I was able to find results from almost every year. It took a few days, especially with the early years, when the men’s and women’s meets were at different sites. The best bet finding results was with the hometown paper in the host city. But some results I just couldn’t find – 1976 women, 1992 men and women. Someone at USATF told me they don’t have any old results archived. Imagine running a track organization and not keeping track results? It’s like the same people that run the NJSIAA run USATF. What is it about track? We have the greatest sport and the worst organizations running it.

Anyway, here’s what I came up with. These are all the Junior National / Under 20 winners I found from New Jersey, with South Jersey winners bold-faced. If you notice anybody missing, please let me know in the comments section.

1972
None

1973
Randy Mimm [Willingboro], 10,000-meter walk [55:45.1]

1974
None

1975
Manny Silverio [North Bergen], Hammer Throw [180-0]
Doreen Ennis [Metuchen], 1,500-Meter Run [4:23.1

1976
Boys – None
Girls – Haven’t found results yet …

1977
Vince Reilly [Metuchen], Decathlon [7,070]
Sam Summerville [Holy Spirit], 800-Meter Run [1:47.62]
Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 110-Meter Hurdles [13.89]
Helene Connell [Jackson], Discus [159-4]

1978
Chris Person [Plainfield], 400-Meter Hurdles [51.0]
Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Long Jump [20-5 ½]

1979
Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Long Jump [20-7 ¼ ]
Michelle Glover [Willingboro], 100-Meter Dash [11.6]

1980
Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 100-Meter Dash [10.16]
Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 200-Meter Dash [20.66]
Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 100-Meter Hurdles [14.20]
Michelle Glover [Willingboro], 200-Meter Dash [23.93]
Joetta Clark [Columbia], 800-Meter Run [2:04.52]
Tracy Nelson [Plainfield], 400-Meter Hurdles [59.46]

1981
John Marshall [Plainfield], 800-Meter Run [1:48.65]
Tracy Nelson [Plainfield], 400-Meter Hurdles [58.56]
Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 100-Meter Hurdles [13.89]
Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Long Jump [20-11 ¾]
Michelle Glover [Willingboro], 100-Meter Dash [11.42]
Rena Antanelis [Randolph], Javelin [156-9]
*Willingboro Track Club [Kim Gallagher, Pam Young, Carol Lewis, Michelle Glover], 800 Medley Relay [1:42.91]

1982
John Marshall [Plainfield], 800-Meter Run [1:49.80]

1983
Wendy Vereen [Trenton], 100-Meter Dash [11.57]
Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1,500-Meter Run [4:20.05]
Willingboro Track Club [names not available], 800-Meter Relay [1:44.12]

1984
Denise Liles [Kingsway], 100-Meter Dash [11.81]

1985
Andrew Valmon [Manchester Twp.], 400-Meter Dash [45.96]
Bob Amabile [Wall Township], Javelin [231-7]
Claire Connor [Rahway], 19-9 ½
*Willingboro Track Club [Artrelia Turner, Lynn Pike, Andrea Conaway, Timi Crawford], 800 Sprint Medley Relay [1:45.50]

1986
None

1987
Jasmin Jones [Hackensack], 800-Meter Run [2:09.01]
Dawn Bowles [Neptune], 100-Meter Hurdles [13.48]

1988
Jasmin Jones [Hackensack], 800-Meter Run [2:07.62]
Jasmin Jones [Hackensack], 1,500-Meter Run [4:28.16]

1989
None

1990
None

1991
None

1992
Haven’t found results yet …

1993
None

1994
Dudley Dorival [Ewing], 110-Meter Hurdles [13.79]
Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], Long Jump [25-8 ¼]

1995
Hazel Clark [Columbia], 800-Meter Run [2:06.18]

1996
None

1997
Charmaine Walker [Plainfield], 100-Meter Hurdles [13.35]

1998
Todd Matthews [Notre Dame], 110-Meter Hurdles [13.75]

1999
Robert Jordan [Millville], High Jump [7-4 ¼]

2000
None

2001
Dwight Ruff [Camden], 400-Meter Hurdles [50.37]
Bobby Smith [Hopatcong], Javelin [222-10]

2002
None

2003
Steve Slattery [Mount Olive], 3,000-Meter Steeplechase [8:23.58]
Tawana Watkins [Kennedy-Paterson], 400-Meter Hurdles [58.38]

2004
Zach Pollinger [Mahwah], 10,000-Meter Walk [48:22.40]

2005
Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 400-Meter Hurdles [50.69]
Zach Pollinger [Mahwah], 10,000-Meter Walk [45:29.10]

2006
Danielle Tauro [Southern Reg.], 1,500-Meter Run [4:24.53]

2007
None

2008
Eric Plummer [St. Joe’s-Metuchen], Shot Put [62-6 ½]

2009
None

2010
Nick Vena [Morristown], Shot Put [66-1]
Ajee Wilson [Neptune], 800-Meter Run [2:05.75]

2011
None

2012
Ajee Wilson [Neptune], 800-Meter Run [2:04.86]

2013
Stephen Mozia [Hackensack], Shot Put [66-3 ¼]

2014
Keturah Orji [Mount Olive], Triple Jump [44-1 ½]
Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], Shot Put [65-5 ½]
Curtis Thompson [Florence], Javelin [216-0]

2015
Curtis Thompson [Florence], Javelin [237-4]

2016
Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 400-Meter Hurdles [54.54]
Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], Shot Put [52-7 ¼]

2017
Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], Hammer Throw [185-11]

2018
Cory Poole [East Orange], 110-Meter Hurdles [13.34]
Cory Poole [East Orange], 400-Meter Hurdles [49.71]
Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], Shot Put [55-1 ½]
Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], Hammer Throw [217-7 ½]

2019
Athing Mu [Trenton], 800-Meter Run [2:05.59]

2020
Not held

2021
Not held

2022
Ryan Allen [Kingsway], 10,000-Meter Racewalk [49:53.14]

2023
Nathaniel Rayan [Metuchen], 110-Meter Hurdles [13.40]
Ryan Allen [Kingsway], 10,000-Meter Racewalk [46:17.65]

* – Not from same high school

After finishing 12-100ths of a second behind 2nd place in the 400 hurdles at Under-20 Nationals in Eugene, Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker assumed he had missed out on his chance to represent the U.S. at the Pan Am Under 20 Championships next month.

But much like Millville’s Bryanna Craig last year, Tucker has been added to the U.S. team, presumably because one of the first two finishers is unable to make the trip to Puerto Rico.

Tucker, a June Pennsauken graduate who’ll be a freshman at Rutgers this fall, ran 52.00 for 3rd place in Eugene on Sunday. Greg Gose, a June graduate of Valley High in Lander, W., won the race in 51.67 and Damon Frabotta of Boston College was second in 51.89.

As the 3rd-place finisher, Tucker is the 1st alternate, and he got word this week he’s now on the U.S. team that will compete in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

Craig last year placed 3rd in the heptathlon at the 2022 Under-20 Championships with a then PR of 5,388 points. She finished only 13 points behind 2nd place and a spot on the U.S. team that went to Worlds in Cali, Colombia, but made the team as an alternate and placed 18th with 5,192 points. She went on to place 2nd in the Big Ten Conference heptathlon this year as a Purdue freshman with a PR 5,460 points. She was 2nd to Iowa junior Tionna Tobias of Winslow Township.

As for Tucker, this is another opportunity to race before beginning his college career.

Tucker is a three-time Meet of Champions winner, numerous-time All-America, national runner-up this past spring and his 50.96 at this year’s Meet of Champions was 8th-fastest time in state history, 2nd-fastest in meet history and South Jersey history and No. 1 in the U.S. this sprihng.

The Pan Am Under 20 is held every other year in non-World Junior years. This year’s meet is scheduled for Aug. 4-6. There doesn’t appear to be a schedule of events anywhere on the net or even a meet web site. If you can find one, let us know!

In Puerto Rico, Tucker will represent South Jersey along with Kingsway’s Ryan Allen, who won the 10,000-meter racewalk at U.S. Juniors in Eugene. Allen just finished his freshman year at Villanova.

Not only did Nia Ali win the 100-meter hurdles Saturday at the U.S. Championships, she ran the fastest time in history for a woman her age.

Ali, who turns 35 in October and has three kids, won her first U.S. outdoor title with a time of 12.37 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

That time is 49th-fastest performance in world history – including multiple times by the same athletes – but nobody her age has ever run that fast.

Ali was born Oct. 23, 1988, so she was 34 years, 266 days old on Saturday, the day of the hurdles final at Hayward Field. The oldest woman previously to run 12.37 or faster is Gail Devers, who ran 12.33 on July 23, 2000, in Sacramento, at 33 years, 265 days – or almost exactly a year younger than Ali was on Saturday.

The fastest time by a woman older than Ali recorded was on Saturday is 12.40, also by Gail Devers – in Lausanne on July 2, 2002, when she was 35 years, 7 months, 21 days.

Ali is the 12th-fastest woman in history with the 12.34 she ran to win the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 6, 2019. Only 17 women have run faster than Ali ran on Saturday in Eugene – only four of them from the U.S. Those 17 women have run 12.36 or faster a combined 42 times.

By virtue of her finish at the U.S. Championships, Ali earns another trip to Worlds, which is scheduled for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.

The first round of hurdles is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, and the finals at 3:25 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24.

Ali will try to become only the third U.S. woman to win multiple World Championships. Devers won in 1993 in Stuttgart, 1995 in Gothenburg and 1997 in Athens, and Michelle Perry in 2005 in Helsinki and 2007 in Osaka. The only other double winner is Austrailian Sally Pearson, who won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and London in 2017.

The only American women to run faster than Ali are Kendra Harrison [12.20 in London in 2016], Brianna McNeal [12.26 in Des Moines in 2013] and Devers [12.33 in Sacramento in 2000].

Harrison was 2nd on Saturday in 12.42. McNeal – the 2016 Olympic champion – retired last raced in 2019. And Devers retired after the 2004 season.

Ali, Harrison and 3rd-place finisher Masai Russell [12.46 Saturday] will be on the U.S. team in Budapest.

When U.S. swept the hurdles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Rollins won in 12.48, Ali was 2nd in 12.59 and Kristi Castlin was 3rd in 12.61.

 

Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker – in 7th place coming off the last hurdle – passed four runners in the 40 meters between Hurdle 10 and the finish line and placed 3rd in the 400-meter intermediates Sunday at the U.S. Under-20 Championships.

Tucker ran 52.00 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., finishing just 11-100ths of a second out of 2nd place. The top two finishers earn a spot on the U.S. team that will go to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, next month for the Pan Am Under-20 Championships.

Tucker, who will be a freshman at Rutgers this fall, had a remarkable senior year at Pennsauken, winning his 3rd straight Meet of Champions title, finishing 2nd at West Philly Nationals, 3rd at Under-20 Nationals and running 50.96 at the MoC – 3rd-fastest in meet history, No. 5 in state history and No. 1 among U.S. high school runners this spring.

Only four Rutgers hurdlers have ever run as fast as Tucker did this year, including Delsea graduate Aaron Younger, who ran all-time Rutgers No. 2 50.65 at 2010 NCAA Regionals in Greensboro, N.C.

Three New Jersey runners have won the Under-20 intermediate hurdles: Chris Person of Plainfield in 1978 in Bloomington, Ind. [51.0], Dwight Ruff of Camden in Richmond in 2001 [50.37] and Reuben McCoy of Winslow in Carson, Calif., in 2005 [50.69].

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde placed 2nd in the shot put Sunday evening at the U.S. National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, qualifying for his second straight World Championships team.

Awotunde, in 6th place after three throws, popped the 4th- best throw of his life in the 4th round, a 72-6 ¼ bomb that moved him into 2nd place, behind only world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser, who opened with a 74-10 ½.

Awotunde’s throw was only 7 ½ inches off his lifetime-best 73-1 ½ that he threw when he placed 3rd at the World Championships in Eugene last July.

With his top-3 finish, Awotunde will once again represent the U.S. at the World Championships, which will be held next month in Budapest, Hungary. He’ll be joined on the U.S. team by Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, who won the 100-meter hurdles, and Florence’s Curtis Thompson, who won the javelin.

The 72-6 ¼ is Awotunde’s 4th-best throw ever. The top three all came at Worlds last year – 72-11 ½ on his first throw, 73-1 ½ on his 5th and 72-10 ¾ on his 6th.

Awotunde’s throw is No. 5 in the world this year and No. 3 among Americans, behind Crouser and two-time World Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovacs, who finished 4th Saturday at 71-10 ¼.

Awotunde is No. 18 in world history with his 73-1 ½ and No. 11 in U.S. history.

This was only Awotunde’s 4th meet this year and his best previous throw this year was a 68-7 ¼ at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 27. So he had his five-best throws this year tonight in Eugene. His four-best throws – and six of his eight-best – have come at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

The former South Carolina All-America placed 5th at U.S. Nationals in 2019 and 2021 and 3rd last year, so this is his 4th straight top-5 finish and his best finish ever at nationals. There was no meet in 2020.

Awotunde opened with a 67-5 ½, 69-11 and 69-11 ½ and went into the finals in 6th place. But he moved into 2nd with his 72-6 ¼ on his 4th throw and backed it up with a 71-8 and a 71-8 ¼.

He averaged 70-6 ¼ on his six throws, good enough to place 5th overall if his average were one throw.

Because Crouser is defending World Champion, he’s automatically qualified for Worlds, which means Awotunde, 3rd-place Payton Otterdahl [PR 72-5 3/4] and Kovacs [71-10 1/4] will all join Crouser in Budapest.

Awotunde’s 72-6 ¼ was his best 4th throw ever. His previous-best 4th throw was a 71-2 ¼ at the Gyulai István Memorial in Székesfehérvár, Hungary two years ago this week.

Worlds are scheduled for Aug. 19-27 at Budapest’s National Athletics Center along the banks of the River Danube. Shot put qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. EST on Saturday, Aug. 19, with the finals following at 2:35 p.m. local time.

Here’s a look at all of Awotunde’s 70-foot throws – all since May of 2021:

73-1 ½ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [5th throw] [3rd]
72-11 ½ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [1st throw] [—]
72-10 ¾ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [6th throw] [—]
72-6 ¼ … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 9, 2023 [4th throw] [2nd]
71-3 ½ … Memorial Borisa Hanžekovića, Fountains, Zagreb [N/A/] [3rd]
71-2 ¼ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]
72-2 … Meeting Città di Padova, Stadio Colbachini, Padovad, Poland, Sept. 5, 2021 [N/A] [place]
71-8 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Ore., June 18, 2021 [6th throw] (5th place]
71-2 ¼i … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [3rd throw] (5th)
71-2 ¼ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [4th throw] (3rd)
71-1 ½ … Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021 [6th throw] [2nd place]
70-11 ¾ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [5th throw] [2nd]
70-11 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [5th throw) [2nd]
70-10 ¾ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [4th throw) [—]
70-7 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 27, 2022 [3rd throw] [3rd]
70-6 ½ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [6th throw] [—]
70-6 ¼i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [3rd throw] [1st]
70-3 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [3rd throw] [—]
70-2 ½i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [1st throw] [—]
70-0 ½ … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Stadion Śląski, Chorzów [N/A] [3rd]
70-0 ¼ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]
70-0 ¼ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]

Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard recorded her 6th consecutive top-10 shot put finish at U.S. Nationals in Eugene Saturday.

Woodard placed 6th in the shot at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 60-3 ¼. She finished less than a foot off the podium.

Woodard first competed at U.S. Nationals in 2016 in Eugene – that was an Olympic Trials year – and placed 11th and has since placed 8th, 9th, 6th, 7th, 3rd last year and 5th this year. She made the U.S. team last year with her lifetime-best 63-7 ¾ and went on to place 8th at the World Championships in Eugene.

Woodard was sitting in 9th place after two throws Saturday when she hit 60-3 ¼ on her 3rd throw. Chase Ealey hit 61-1 ¼ on her 5th throw to bump Woodard from 4th to 5th.

The 60-3 ¼ was Woodard’s 39th lifetime throw over 60 feet (18.288 meters). The full list of those throws is below.

So far this year, Woodard’s best throw has been 61-4 ¼ in Tucson in May. She ranks 20th in the world and 6th among American women. All-time, she’s No. 14 in U.S. history with her 63-7 ¾ last year at the U.S. Championships.

Jessica Woodard All-Time 60-Foot Throws
63-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
62-7 … World Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 15, 2022
62-3 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
61-10 ¼ … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
61-8 ¾ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
61-6 ½ … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
61-5 ¼ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-5 ¼ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-4 ¼ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
61-4¼i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
61-3½ … NCAA Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 7, 2018
61-3 … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
61-2 ¼ … Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athletisme de Rabat, Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat, Morocco, May 28, 2023
61-1 ¾ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-1 ¼ … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
60-10 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-10i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
60-10 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2022
60-9½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7¼ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7½i … Don Kirby Elite, Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center, Feb. 12, 2022
60-6 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-6 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-5¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
60-4¾ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
60-4 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-4 … Goteborg Grand Prix, Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 16, 2019
60-3¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 24, 2021
60-3 ¼ … U.S. National Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023
60-3 … Big 12 Championships, Lawrence, Kans., May 13, 2017
60-3 … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
60-4½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
60-3 … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
60-1¼ … Chula Vista High Performance #3, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., May 2, 2021
60-0 ½ … Chula Vista High Performance #1, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., April 3, 2021
60-0 ½ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2022

Pleasantville graduate Nia Ali ran one of the greatest races of her remarkable career Saturday, winning her first U.S. outdoor title in the 100-meter hurdles.

Ali won an Olympic silver medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and a World Championship gold medal in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, and World Indoor Championships in 2014 in Sopot, Poland, and in 2016 in Portland, Ore., but the outdoor national title had eluded her in her brilliant career.

But at 34 years old and with three kids, Ali out-raced some of the fastest hurdlers in world history Saturday at Heyward Field in Eugene, winning in 12.37, her 2nd-fastest time ever. She’ll return to the World Championships next month.

https://twitter.com/Track_Gazette/status/1677879164861399042

Ali won 2019 Worlds in 12.34 – No. 12 in world history – but her 12.37 is her fastest since and 4th-fastest in the world this year.

Ali edged all-time World No. 2 Keni Harrison, who was 2nd in 12.42. The race was run with a legal 0.5 tailwind.

Ali’s time is No. 4 in the world this year, behind Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn [12.31 in Los Angeles in May], Harrison [12.35 in the same race] and American Masai Russell [12.36 in Austin in April].

Russell placed 3rd Saturday with a 12.46. Ali, Harrison and Russell will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

Her 12.37 is the 8th -fastest in meet history:

12.26 … Brianna Rollins, 2013 [1st]
12.29 … Lolo Jones, 2008 [1st]
12.33 … Gail Devers, 2000 [1st]
12.34 … Keni Harrison, 2022 [1st]
12.34 … Brianna Rollins, 2016 [1st]
12.35 … Alaysha Johnson, 2022 [2nd]
12.36 … Dawn Harper, 2009 [1st]
12.37 … Nia Ali, 2023 [1st]

Ali didn’t race in 2020 or 2021 – COVID wiped out the 2000 season, and she took 2021 off to have her third child. After Worlds in Doha in October 2019, she didn’t run another 100 hurdles race until last March.

Her fastest time in 2022 was 12.49 in the semis of last year’s U.S. Championships. Before Saturday, her fastest time this year was 12.53, which she ran in Gainesville in April and then again in the qualifying rounds in Eugene on Friday.

But she ran 12.43 in the semifinals earlier Saturday – which at the time was her 2nd-fastest time ever – which means she ran two of her three-fastest times ever in the span of 90 minutes on Saturday in Eugene.

Here’s a look at Ali’s top-10 times ever:

12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [f], Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]
12.53 … Galan Bauhaus, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.53 … Tom Jones Memorial, Gainesville, Fla., April 15, 2023 [1st]
12.53 … U.S. Championships [h], Eugene, Ore., July 7, 2023 [—]
12.55 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moiners, Iowa, July 27, 2019 [2nd]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2016 [3rd]