Stockton junior Joseph deBeaumont from Highland is the 4th-ranked half-miler in the NJAC thanks to his 1:56.77 this past weekend at the Paul Donahue Invitational at Widener.
What’s remarkable about deBeaumont’s story is that he never broke 2:03 in high school.
DeBeaumont’s fastest high school 800 was a 2:03.03 when he placed 3rd at the 2021 Camden County Championships at Haddon Township behind Timber Creek’s Joshua Thaler and Highland teammate Cole Knoedler.
He dropped to 2:01.75 indoors as a Stockton freshman and then had a breakthrough that spring, running 1:57.19 . He lowered his PR to 1:56.12 last spring and then this past winter had his best finish in a conference meet, taking 4th in the NJAC meet at Ocean Breeze, finishing behind only Scott Hubbard of Rowan and Audubon, Ryan Pena of Ramapo and Hackensack High and Tyler Greene of Rowan and Ocean City.
DeBeaumont broke 1:57 again this past weekend with his 1:56.77 and he currently ranks 4th in the conference behind freshmen Teddy Wilson of Toms River North [1:56.04] and Johannes Rivera of Bergenfield [1:56.09] of Rowan and Pena [1:56.44].
After racing the 4-by-4 with Stockton at the Penn Relays Friday, deBeaumont will race in the 800 at this year’s New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships the weekend of May 4-5 on his home track in Galloway Township.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 