Oakcrest senior Ryan Merlino became South Jersey’s first indoor Meet of Champions pole vault champ in 16 years Sunday at Ocean Breeze with the 2nd-best indoor clearance ever by a South Jersey vaulter.
Merlino cleared 15-6 on his first attempt and won on a tiebreaker over junior Cade Zeolla of West Morris Central of Washington Township, Morris County.
He’s the first South Jersey vaulter to win an indoor Meet of Champions since West Deptford senior Dan Batdorf won the 2008 meet at the Bubble with a 15-6 clearance. The only other winner from South Jersey was Delsea’s John Oberg who won the 2006 meet at Princeton at 14-0.
Although Sunday’s results don’t make sense – they show Merlino and Zeolla both with misses remaining at their last heights – it looks like Merlino was clean at 15-6 and Zeolla cleared it on his 3rd attempt. Zeolla also had misses at 14-0 and 15-0. Merlino didn’t have a miss at any height up through 16 feet.
Merlino’s mark is tied for No. 2 in South Jersey history behind only Delsea’s Marco Morales, who cleared 16-0 at Ocean Breeze at a SJTCA meet in 2020. His twin brother Nico also cleared 15-6 – when he won Group 2 states in 2019 – as did West Deptford’s Dan Batdorf when he won 2008 Easterns at the Armory.
Zeolla came in with a PR of 15-7 ½ from North Jersey 2 Group 2 sectionals at the Bubble last month and Merlino had a PR of 14-6, which he just cleared indoors for the first time last month at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals. He has an outdoor PR of 15-0 from the Atlantic County Championships last May at Stockton University in Galloway Township.
Merlino is the second Meet of Champions winner from Oakcrest. Darnell Charles won the 55-meter dash in 2012.
Merlino’s 15-6 matches the 3rd-best clearance in meet history. Bradley Jelmert of Watchung Hills set the meet-record 16-0 ¼ in 2020, breaking the mark of 16-0 set in 2013 by Craig Hunter of Robbinsville.
Clearview senior Daniel Couse cleared 13-6 and placed 6th and Cherry Hill East senior Kevin Tishey tied his PR with a 13-0 and placed 9th.
As for how the event finished, the official results show Merlino missing two attempts at 16-0 and then passing his final attempt, which isn’t that unusual. But they also show Zeolla clearing 15-6 on his 3rd attempt and then passing at 16-0. Which is possible if he felt like he didn’t have a pole to make a safe attempt at 16-0 but would be unusual with a Meet of Champions title on the line for someone who cleared 15-7 1/2 just a few days ago.
All-time S.J. combined indoor/outdoor PV list
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992 [o]
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020 [i]
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991 [o]
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019 [o]
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014 [o]
15-6 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024 [i]
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004 [o]
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006 [o]
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993 [o]
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977 [o]
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008 [i]
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003 [o]
All-Time Meet of Champions Pole Vault List
16-0 ¼ … Bradley Jelmert [Watchung Hills], 2020 [1]
16-0 … Craig Hunter [Robbinsville], 2013 [1]
15-6 … Dan Batdorf, West Deptford 2008 [1]
15-6 … Liam Landau, Passaic Hills, 2019 [1]
15-6 … Bradley Jelmert, Watchung Hills, 2019 [2]
15-6 … Simon Schenk [Princeton], 2019 [3]
15-6 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020 [2]
15-6 … Nico Morales [Delsea], 2020 [3]
15-6 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024 [1]
15-6 … Cade Zeolla [West Morris Central], 2024 [2]
Atlantic County Indoor Meet of Champions winners
55-Meter Dash
2012 … Darnell Charles [Oakcrest], 6.46
2015 … Caleb Williams [St. Joe’s-Hammonton], 6.48
800-Meter Run
1998 … Joe Lewis [Pleasantville], 1:56.13
2013 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 1:51.72
2020 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 1:52.46
55-Meter Hurdles
2018 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 7.35
2019 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 7.22
2020 … Anthony Vazquez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 7.31
High Jump
2015 … Tyriq Adams [Pleasantville], 6-8
Pole Vault [since 2005]
2024 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 15-6
Shot Put
1987 … Dave Dixon [Mainland Reg.], 58-3 ½
1,600-Meter Relay
2012 … Oakcrest, 3:20.53
2016 … Egg Harbor Twp., 3:22.75
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 