Tionna Tobias popped a lifetime best in the long jump Saturday in Gainesville and is closing in on the Iowa school record.
Tobias, a Hawkeye senior from Winslow Township, won the long jump at the Florida Relays with a leap of 21-4 ¼.
Her previous PR was a 21-0 ½ indoors in February in Albuqurque. Her outdoor PR was a 20-9 1/4 as part of her heptathlon at the NCAA Championships in Austin this past June.
Tobias opened with a foul before a big 20-9 ¼ on her 2nd attempt to tie her outdoor lifetime best. Then she surpassed it with a 20-10 on her 3rd attempt and after a foul to open the finals hit another outdoor PR of 21-0 on her 5th. She finished with the huge 21-4 ¼ with a 0.0 tailwind. All four jumps were wind-legal.
Tobias averaged 20-11 ¾ on her four legal jumps, so her average jump actually surpassed her outdoor lifetime best.
Her jump is 8th-best ever by a New Jersey high school alum and 6th-best by a South Jersey alum. The full top-10 is listed below.
Tobias is now No. 7 in the NCAA Division 1 and No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference. Rutgers junior Kristina Tossas from Rancocas Valley is No. 3 on that Big Ten list with a 20-11 ¾ (wind-aided) at a meet in Orlando the previous weekend.
Tobias’s mark is No. 3 in Iowa history behind Aisha James [22-3 at the 2003 Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa] and Jahisha Thomas [21-6 at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind.].
Tobias also ran a near-PR 13.18 in the 100-meter hurdles in Gainesville. Her PR is 13.11 from NCAA West Prelims in Sacramento last May. That 13.18 is No. 21 in NCAA Division 1 and No. 4 in the Big Ten.
Tobias won the heptathlon last spring at the Big Ten Championships with a lifetime-best 5,640. She hasn’t contested a multi yet this spring.
On the 2024 U.S. list, Tobias is No. 14 in the long jump and No. 15 in the 100-meter hurdles.
Here’s a look at the updated all-time South Jersey alumni list!
23-1 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Aug. 21, 1985, Zurich
23-0 … Shana Williams [Bridgeton], June 21, 1996, Atlanta
22-1 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], June 26, 2010, Des Moines, Iowa
21-6 ¾ … Tisifenee Taylor [Woodbury], April 21, 2007, Bethlehem, Pa.
21-5 ½ … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], April 15, 2016, Tallahassee, Fla.
21-4 ¼ … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], March 30, 2024, Gainesville, Fla.
21-0 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], May 12, 2017, Columbia, S.C.
20-9 … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], Feb. 24, 2023, Geneva, Ohio
20-6 … Asia Young [Holy Spirit], April 6, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
20-0 ½ … Tenecia Smith [Cherry Hill East], 1992
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 