From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Since legendary Browning Ross of Woodbury won the mile and William Mitchell of Collingswood won the 60-yard hurdles at the 1943 Easterns – then called the National AAU Interscholastic Track and Field Championships and held at Madison Square Garden – some 134 South Jersey athletes from 48 different high schools have won an Easterns title.

The 88th running of Easterns begins at 4:30 p.m. tonight at the Armory, the meet’s home since it moved from Princeton’s Jadwin Gym in 1997.

Here’s a look at every winner from South Jersey in meet history. Below that is a look at how many Easterns champions every South Jersey high school has had. Willingboro leads the way with 23, followed by Camden [19] and Haddonfield [10], although if you combined Edgewood and Winslow, they have 15.

BOYS
55-Meter Dash
1963 … Joe Williams [Haddon Heights], 6.5y
1965 … George Hartsfield [Glassboro], 6.3y
1966 … Bill Gaines [Clearview], 6.4y
1970 … John Boxley [Deptford], 6.5y
1981 … George McKey [Willingboro], 6.44y
1983 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 6.31y
1984 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 6.31y
1996 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 6.46
1997 … Louis Smith [Burlington Township], 6.49
1998 … Richard Hubbard [Eastern], 6.55
2005 … Thomas Walls [Woodrow Wilson], 6.50 [6.47 semis],
2012 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 6.46
2013 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 6.47
2015 … Davon Tucker [Sterling], 6.52

200-Meter Dash
1997 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 22.31
2002 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 21.62
2012 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 21.53
2013 … A.J. Dawson [Holy Spirit], 22.04

300-Yard Dash
1991 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 31.34

400-Meter Dash
2000 … Mohamad Kanu [Lenape], 48.36
2019 … Daniel Fenton [Millville], 49.63
2023 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 48.44

600-Yard Dash
None

800-Meter Run
1998 … Joseph Lewis [Pleasantville], 1:56.31
2012 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 1:54.34

1,000-Yard Run
None

One-Mile Run
1943 … Browning Ross [Woodbury], 4:37.5
1951 … Gene Fekete [Camden Regional], 4:28.4
2001 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 4:21.54
2004 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 4:22.71
2007 … Brian Tetreault [Cinnaminson], 4:22.06
2013 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 4:21.51

Two-Mile Run
1986 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland Regional], 9:22.67
1990 … Albert Donawa [Camden], 9:30.02
2008 … Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 9:34.38

55-Meter Hurdles
1943 … William Mitchell [Collingswood], 7.8y
1985 … Jonathan Dickey [Penns Grove], 7.32y
1989 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 7.44y
1990 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 7.35y
1995 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 7.47
1996 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 7.23
1999 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 7.34
2000 … Rashad Baker [Woodrow Wilson], 7.39
2001 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 7.29
2002 … Matt Dahms [Haddonfield], 7.52
2006 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 7.29
2010 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 7.49
2019 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 7.20
2020 … Anthony Vasquez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 7.45

High Jump
1961 … Leonard Smith [Edgewood], 6- 6
1986 … Terry Ferguson [Cherry Hill West], 6-10
1987 … Terry Ferguson [Cherry Hill West], 7- 0
1989 … J.C. Slocum [Bordentown], 6- 8
1994 … Desmond Powell [Oakcrest], 6- 4
2002 … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], 7- 0
2003 … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], 7- 2
2012 … A.J. Vance [Egg Harbor], 6- 6
2015 … Ameer Banks [Delsea], 6-10
2023 … David Godbolt [Rancocas Valley], 6-0

Pole Vault
1985 … Mark Murphy [Haddonfield], 14- 6
2008 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 15- 6

Long Jump
1978 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 23-11 ¼
1979 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 25- 5 ½
1982 … Isaac Samuels [Willingboro-Kennedy], 22-11 ½
1983 … Isaac Samuels [Willingboro-Kennedy, N .J.], 24- 0 ¼
1987 … John Meekins [Cinnaminson], 22- 9 ¾
1988 … Rich Winstead [Egg Harbor Twp.], 23- 1
1990 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 24- 6 ¼
1991 … Jermaine Jackson [Camden-Wilson], 22- 7
2003 … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], 23- 2
2011 … Andrew Athias [Cherry Hill East], 23- 4
2012 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 23- 7 ¾
2013 … Antwan Dickerson [Pennsauken], 22-11 ½
2020 … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 22- 8
2022 … Ahmad Fogg [Egg Harbor Twp.], 21-9

Triple Jump
2014 … Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 48- 8 ½
2018 … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 49- 1
2020 … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 46-10 ¾
2023 … Jashad Kersey [Eastern Reg.], 45-11

Shot Put
2004 … Ell Ash [Willingboro], 60- 0 ½
2012 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 70-8
2013 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 67-8
2014 … Benjamin Bonhurst [Smithtown West, N.Y.], 64-7
2002 … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 61-5

800-Meter Relay
1988 … Willingboro, 1:31.33y
1995 … Woodrow Wilson, 1:30.87
1996 … Woodrow Wilson, 1:31.17
1999 … Camden, 1:29.61
2000 … Lenape, 1:28.46
2002 … Camden, 1:28.82
2003 … Vineland, 1:29.52
2004 … Camden, 1:26.90
2013 … Timber Creek, 1:29.72
2015 … Deptford, 1:30.51
2016 … Pennsauken, 1:29.74
2017 … Rancocas Valley, 1:29.29

1,600-Meter Relay
1985 … Edgewood, 3:23.94y
1996 … Camden, 3:24.91
1997 … Camden, 3:22.89
2001 … Camden, 3:15.78
2002 … Camden, 3:19.61
2003 … Vineland, 3:16.5
2007 … Pleasantville, 3:18.90
2013 … Timber Creek, 3:22.91

3,200-Meter Relay
2000 … Cherokee, 7:51.78
2002 … Willingboro, 7:53.64
2003 … Willingboro, 7:52.95
2013 … Pleasantville, 7:45.55
2016 … Egg Harbor Township, 8:00.39

Distance Medley
2002 … Haddonfield, 10:16.84
2010 … Haddonfield, 10:10.60

GIRLS
55-Meter Dash
1980 … Michelle Glover [Willingboro], 6.5y
1983 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 6.95y
1984 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 7.02y
1998 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 7.15
1999 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 7.05
2000 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 7.00
2007 … English Gardner [Eastern], 7.04
2008 … English Gardner [Eastern], 6.92
2010 … English Gardner [Eastern], 6.91
2012 … Annie Johnson [Shawnee], 7.07
2013 … Emily Carson [Haddonfield], 7.09
2014 … Torie Robinson [Winslow], 7.00
2023 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 7.04

200-Meter Dash
2004 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 25.11
2012 … Ste’cye McNeil [Winslow], 24.65
2017 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 24.39

300-Yard Dash
None

400-Meter Dash
2003 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 55.14
2008 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 54.91
2017 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 55.21
2018 … Ajae Alvarez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 56.78
2023 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 56.10

600-Yard Run
None

800-Meter Run<
None

1,000-Yard Run
1990 … Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 2:34.63

One-Mile Run
2001 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 4:54.73
2012 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 5:05.88
2015 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 4:59.25
2017 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 4:55.96

Two-Mile Run
1996 … Ann Klocke [Bishop Eustace], 11:05.44
2011 … Meghan Malloy [Cinnaminson], 11:10.61
2018 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 11:17.28

55-Meter Hurdles
1983 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 8.04y
1998 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 8.06
2000 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken], 8.03
2006 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 7.89
2008 … Samantha Sharper [Woodrow Wilson], 8.01
2012 … Ste’cye McNeil [Winslow], 7.89
2014 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow], 8.12
2018 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 8.05

High Jump
1987 … Erin Halpin [Cherry Hill East], 5- 6
2019 … Bethany Biggi [Rancocas Valley], 5- 6
2023 … Alanna Woolfolk [Clayton], 5-8[

Long Jump
1980 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 20- 6 ¼
1988 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 18- 4 ¾
1995 … Selina Burton [Willingboro], 17- 3
2008 … Lindsey Walsh [Lenape], 18- 5 ¾
2013 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 19- 8
2018 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 19- 8 ¼
2019 … Leah Ellis [Millville], 19- 3

Triple Jump
None

Pole Vault
2002 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 11- 6
2004 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 12- 0

Shot Put
2000 … Dana White [Camden], 41- 6 ½
2006 … Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 43-10 ¼

800-Meter Relay/
2000 … Moorestown, 1:40.77
2008 … Camden, 1:41.19
2009 … Camden, 1:41.98
2018 … Winslow Twp., 1:39.75

1,600-Meter Relay
1993 … Camden, 4:00.68y
1995 … Camden, 3:50.17y
2000 … Willingboro,N.J., 3:56.62
2002 … Willingboro,N.J., 3:52.76
2003 … Willingboro,N.J., 3:49.27
2006 … Woodrow Wilson, 3:52.55
2008 … Millville, 3:54.82
2009 … Millville, 3:57.67
2010 … Washington Township, 3:58.85

3,200-Meter Relay
1999 … Buena, 9:21.38
2002 … Woodrow Wilson, 9:25.81
2008 … Lenape, 9:11.94
2012 … Lenape, 9:11.37
2017 … Haddonfield, 9:31.92

Distance Medley
2010 … Lenape, 11:58.92
2013 … Lenape, 11:54.63

Eastern champions from South Jersey
23 … Willingboro
19 … Camden
10 … Haddonfield
8 … Winslow Twp.
7 … Edgewood
7 … Egg Harbor Twp.
7 … Lenape
6 … Camden
6 … Delsea
6 … Pennsauken
6 … Pleasantville
5 … Eastern
5 … Rancocas Valley
4 … Cinnaminson
4 … Millville
4 … Wilson
4 … Woodbury
3 … Cherokee
3 … Deptford
3 … Highland
3 … Shawnee
3 … Washington Twp.
2 … Atlantic City
2 … Bridgeton
2 … Clearview
2 … Cherry Hill East
2 … Cherry Hill West
2 … Kennedy
2 … Oakcrest
2 … Timber Creek
2 … Vineland
1 … Bishop Eustace
1 … Bordentown
1 … Buena
1 … Burlington Twp.
1 … Clayton
1 … Collingswood
1 … Glassboro
1 … Haddon Heights
1 … Holy Spirit
1 … Kingsway
1 … Mainland Reg.
1 … Palmyra
1 … Penns Grove
1 … Sterling
1 … St. Augustine
1 … Triton
1 … West Deptford