Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon ran the 3rd-fastest 3,000 in South Jersey history Friday at the Penn Relays and raved within 5 ½ seconds of the South Jersey record.
Gordon ran 9:45.66 at the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field and placed 8th among some of the top runners in the country. She was the top New Jersey finisher and dropped nearly 12 seconds off her PR 9:57.23 from last year’s Penn Relays.
Her time is fastest by a South Jersey girl since Megan Lacy of Cherokee ran 9:44.72 and set a Burlington County record at the 2012 Penn Relays. Gordon missed the county record by less than a second.
Olympian Marielle Hall of Haddonfield set the South Jersey record of 9:40.23 at the 2010 Penn Relays.
Gordon’s pace – 78.09 seconds per lap – comes out to 10:24.70 for the more commonly run 3,200. Her 3,200 PR is 10:26.49 at last year’s indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.
Her time is No. 14 in state history and 4th-fastest over the past decade. She sliced a fraction off the South Jersey junior class record of 9:45.83 set by Highland’s Megan Venables at the 2010 Penn Relays. Venables was inducted into the South Jersey Track and Field Hall of Fame last month.
Her time is fastest by a New Jersey underclassman at Penn since Julia Trethaway of West Morris Central in Chester, Morris County, ran 9:41.39 in 2019.
Gordon ran incredibly even splits – 36.70 for the first 200, then 78.25, 78.69, 79.43, 78.41, 78.52 and 78.91, closing in 76.79. So from 200 meters to 2,600 meters, she ran six laps all between 78.25 and 79.43.
Addison Ritzenheim of Niwot, Colo., won the race in 9:17.81. Her father, Dathan, was the American record holder at 5,000 meters in 2009 and 2010.
All-Time South Jersey 3,000-Meter List
9:40.23 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010 Penn Relays
9:44.72 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012 Penn Relays
9:45.66 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024 Penn Relays
9:45.73 … Megan Venables [Highland], 2010 Penn Relays
9:50.11 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017 Penn Relays
9:50.95 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016 Penn Relays
9:53.19 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009 Penn Relays
9:55.0h … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2007 Penn Relays
9:57.12 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2007 Penn Relays
9:57.23 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2023 Penn Relays
9:57.9h … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1981 Penn Relays
9:59.5h … Deanna Germano [Shawnee], 1985 Penn Relays
All-Time New Jersey 3,000-Meter List
9:18.11 … Angelina Perez [Lakeland Regional], 2022
9:20.98 … Charlotte Bednar [The Lawrenceville School], 2022
9:33.7h …Meg Waldron (Bernards), 1981
9:37.15 …Kathleen McCafferty (Oak Knoll Academy), 2008
9:37.1h …Jodie Bilotta (North Hunterdon), 1987
9:37.91 …Ashley Higginson (Colts Neck), 2007
9:40.11 …Monal Chokshi (Bridgewater-(Raritan West), 1991
9:40.23 …Marielle Hall (Haddonfield), 2010
9:41.24 …Chris Constantin (Kittatinny), 1988
9:41.39 … Julia Trethaway [West Morris Central], 2019
9:41.7h …Anne Letko (North Hunterdon), 1981
9:44.72 …Megan Lacy (Cherokee), 2012
9:44.87 …Melanie Thompson (Voorhees), 2008
9:45.66 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024
9:45.83 …Megan Venables (Highland), 2010
9:46.76 …Megan Curham (Villa Walsh Academy), 2013
9:47.10 …Danielle Tauro (Southern Regional), 2007
9:47.8h …Janet Smith (North Edison), 1984
9:48.59 …Grace Dwyer (Nottingham), 2014
9:49.51 … Alexa Westley [Warren Hills], 2024
9:49.0h …Theresa Gschwind (Summit), 1981
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 