Widener sophomore Thomas Flear, a Clearview graduate, ran the 5th-fastest 10,000 in Widener history at the Danny Curran Invitational on his home track in Chester, Pa.

Flear, who’s improved dramatically since his days at Clearview, ran 30:46.66 and was the first collegiate finisher, taking 2nd to J.R. Creekmore, a former University of Tennessee runner from Wilmington, Del. Creekmor ran 30:43.76.

Flear’s time is fastest by a Widener runner in five years and a PR by about 13 seconds. He ran 30:59.16 last year at the same meet.

Flear placed 7th this past fall at the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region Championships at DREAM Park in Logan Township, just a few miles west of his hometown of Harrison Township. He went on to race at the NCAA Championships in Carlisle, Pa.

He won his first Middle Atlantic Athletic Conference title this past indoor season in Reading, placing 1st in the 5,000 in 15:05.99, and he also placed 2nd in the 3,000 in 8:48.17.

The 10,000 was his first race since the indoor conference meet.

Flear is also No. 10 in Widener history indoors at 5,000 meters with his PR 14:58.93 at Ocean Breeze in February. He’s also run 4:00.72 for 1,500 meters in a meet last April at West Chester University.

At Clearview, Flear had PRs of 4:47.26 for 1,600 meters [and a slightly faster 4:48.43 for a full mile] and 10:19.51 for 3,200 meters.

For Rowan, in the same race Flear ran 30:46.66, junior Matthew Conway from Haddon Township ran a PR 31:17.89, junior Giancarlo Vega from Timber Creek ran a PR 31:37.17, and sophomore teammate Shane Vostenak from Bishop Eustace and Delran ran 31:37.61.

Stockton junior Michaela Pomatto from Egg Harbor Township recorded the best throw in the NJAC so far this year over the weekend at Delaware.

Pomatto threw 129-10 on her 1st attempt and then improved to a season-best 131-3 on her 5th throw, winning by 6 ½ feet over Delaware State junior Orianna Moore. It was her 9th career throw of at least 130 feet.

Pomatto won the discus last year at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships in Mahwah with a 129-10 in her first year at Stockton after winning the discus at the Centennial Conference Championships at 123-10 as a Ursinus freshman in the spring of 2022 in Collegeville, Pa.

Her best throw at Ursinus was a 138-5 in April of 2022 in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton, and that remains the school record at her former school Her best throw for Stockton was a 138-5 last April, also at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Stockton’s school record is 147-5 set by Clearview graduate Audra Schappell. (Where did Schappell set that record? Great question! I can’t find it anywhere, and obviously the Stockton web site is no help. The best mark I found for her was a 144-10 at the 2006 ECAC Championships in Springfield, Mass. Schappell did throw exactly 147-5 in the hammer on April 16, 2007, at the New Jersey Invitational at The College of New Jersey so maybe somewhere at some point someone got confused?)

Anyway, here’s a look at all of Pomatto’s 130-foot throws:

138-5s … April 15, 2023, Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton [2nd throw]
138-3s … May 18, 2023, Selinsgrove, Pa., Championships [1st throw]
132-6s … April 22, 2023, Widener Invitational, Chester, Pa. [5th throw]
132-5s … April 22, 2023, Widener Invitational, Chester, Pa. [2nd throw]
131-7s … April 15, 2023, Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton [6th throw]
131-4u … April 16, 2022, Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton [1st throw]
131-3s … April 15, 2023, Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton [5th throw]
131-3s … April 6, 2024, Delaware Invitational, Newark, Del. [5th throw]
131-2s … April 15, 2023, Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton [3rd throw]

Penn State’s Lucciano Pizarro, a senior from Cherokee, unloaded one of the biggest shot put throws of his life Saturday in Coral Gables, Fla.

Pizzaro threw 62-4 at the University of Miami’s Hurricane Alumni Invitational, making this his 2nd-best competition ever. Pizzaro’s four-best throw ever came last spring at the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind. He threw a PR 65-0 ¾ and also had three other throws at 62-11 or better.

His 62-4 Saturday was his best throw other than last year’s Big Ten. It’s No. 12 in NCAA Division 1 and the top throw this year in the Big Ten Conference.

Pizzaro opened with a 56-1 ¼ and a 60-4 before a foul and a 58-4. He hit 62-4 – that’s exactly 19 meters – on his 5th attempt before fouling on his final throw.

Here’s a look at all of Pizzaro’s 60-foot throws:

65-0 ¾ … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., May 14, 2023 [4th] [6th throw]
63-7 ¼ … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., May 14, 2023 [—] [2nd throw]
63-0 ½ … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., May 14, 2023 [—] [3rd throw]
62-11 … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., May 14, 2023 [—] [5th throw]
62-4 … Hurricane Invitational, Coral Gables, Fla., April 6, 2024 [3rd] [5th throw]
62-0 ¾ … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., May 14, 2023 [—] [1st throw]
61-4 ¼ … NCAA East Preliminary , Jacksonville, Fla., May 27, 2023 [13th] [2nd throw]
61-3 …. NCAA East Preliminary , Jacksonville, Fla., May 27, 2023 [—] [3rd throw]
61-1 ¾ … NCAA East Preliminary , Jacksonville, Fla., May 27, 2023 [—] [1st throw]
61-1 ½ … Jim Thorpe Invitational, State College, Pa., May 7, 2021 [1st] [5th throw]
60-8 ½i … Big Ten Championships, Bloomington, Ind., Feb. 24, 2024 [8th] [5th throw]
60-8 … Hurricane Invitational, Coral Gables, Fla., March 25, 2023 [2nd] [4th throw]
60-5 ¼ … Virginia Challenge, Charlottesville, Va., April 22, 2023 [2nd] [1st throw]
60-4 … Hurricane Invitational, Coral Gables, Fla., April 6, 2024 [—] [2nd throw]

Big start to the season for Lindenwold sophomore high jumper Egypt Bolan, who cleared 5-5 Saturday at the Don Danser Relays in Mount Holly.

Bolan cleared 5-4 once as a freshman, when she won the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township. She went on to place 3rd in South Jersey Group 2 sectionals and 6th at Group 2 states, both at Delsea, and finished last spring tied for the No. 1 spot among New Jersey freshmen with Winslow’s Ma’Syiah Brawner.

She didn’t compete indoors, so this was her first competition since outdoor states last June.

Bolan passed at 4-4 and 4-6 and then cleared 4-8, 5-0, 5-0, 5-2 and 5-4 on her first attempt. With the win locked up, she had the bar raised to 5-5 and cleared on her 2nd attempt. According to the results, she did not continue beyond 5-5.

MileSplit shows Bolan’s 5-5 as the top clearance in New Jersey through the first week of the season.

Halima Scott opened her final year at Delaware with a double sprint win at the Blue Hens’ own Delaware Invitational in Newark.

Scott, a Delaware grad student working toward her masters in strategic communication, won the 200 in 24.81 and won the 400 in 58.67, winning over a field of 28 in the 200 and 23 in the 400.

Scott is a graduate of Camden Big Picture Learning Academy but competed for Woodrow Wilson. She ran 12.29, 24.77 and 56.46 for Wilson and long jumped 17-6 ½.

At Delaware, she has PRs of 23.99 in the 200 at the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association Championships in Elon, N.C., and 53.01 for 400 meters at last year CAA Championships in Williamsburg, Va. She hasn’t long jumped in college.

She’s won two CAA titles: The 200 [23.99] outdoors in 2019 at Elon, and the 400 [54.19] outdoors in 2022 in Dedham, Mass. The CAA is now the Coastal Athletic Association.

On the all-time Delaware indoor lists, she ranks 6th in the 60-meter dash [7.72], 2nd in the 200 [24.12], 3rd in the 300 [40.07], and she’s the school-record holder in the 400 [53.97]. Outdoors, she’s No. 2 in the 200 [23.99], school record holder in the 400 [53.01] and also ran the 400 on the school-record sprint medley [3:57.75].

Rutgers freshman Jenovia Logan from Sterling PR’d in the high jump Saturday at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa.

Logan cleared 5-7 on her 3rd attempt and placed 5th overall. She missed three attempts at 5-8 ¾.

Logan had a PR of 5-6 at Sterling and she toppled that indoors, when she cleared 5-6 ½ at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

On Saturday, Logan entered competition at 5-5 and cleared on her first attempt before sailing over the bar at 5-7 on her final chance.

Logan is the first Rutgers freshman to clear 5-7 since Courtney Campbell from South Brunswick High did it in a meet in Atlanta in 2018. Logan’s 5-7 matches the best performance by a Rutgers freshman since Rhonda Rogombe of Charleston, W. Va., cleared 5-8 ¾ in Williamsburg, Va., in 2017.

Indoors, Logan missed the all-time Rutgers top-10 by half an inch. She’s an inch off the outdoor all-time top-10.

The top performance by a South Jersey high jumper for Rutgers belongs to Shawnee graduate Kristen Bradley, who cleared 5-8 at a meet in Princeton in April 2014. Bradley now teaches math and coaches soccer and girls track at Woodbridge High in Middlesex County.

The Timber Creek girls got the season started with a couple fast relay performances Saturday at the Spartan Relays at Deptford.

Juniors Billie Frazier and Ryan Jennings and seniors Nyla Jones and Naylah Jones won the 400-meter relay in 48.18 and the same quarter in a different order – Naylah Jones to Jennings to Nyla Jones to Frazier – won the 800-meter relay in 1:42.14.

Although MileSplit hasn’t completely updated its database, both times appear to be the fastest in New Jersey after the first week of competition.

Timber Creek’s 48.18 is the 2nd-fastest in school history. Last year, Jennings, Nyla Jones and Naylah Jones were joined by Chloe Jones on the 4-by-1 at West Philly Nationals and they set a South Jersey-record of 46.43.

The 4-by-2 time is also Timber Creek’s fastest. Last April, Jennings, Frazier, Chloe Jones and Naylah Jones ran 1:39.67, 11th-fastest in state history.

Willingboro placed 2nd in the 4-by-100 in 49.94, with sophomore Kaila Speight, freshman Maya Bolden, freshman Trinity Brapoh and junior Nester Wea. Winslow was 2nd in the 4-by-2 in 1:44.93 with senior Dominique Clement, sophomore Olivia Okaro, freshman Cinniya Robinson and freshman Skyhe Seamon.

Bishop Eustace senior Shawn Brady and Bordentown senior Brock Schenck both opened the season with 160-foot-plus throws at the Don Danser Relays in Mount Holly Saturday.

Brady won the event with a 167-0 and Schenck threw 162-1 for 2nd place. They appear to be the only boys over 160 feet in New Jersey so far this year other than national scholastic runner-up Ben Shue of Bergen Catholic, who threw 195-3 at the Penn Relays Qualifier at CBA last week.

Brady came within a couple feet of his PR of 169-1 from his 6th-place finish at last year’s Meet of Champions. Before last year, Montel Johnson held the Eustace discus record with a 157-5 at the 2017 state Parochial A meet at Egg Harbor.

Schenck didn’t compete last year. He threw 138-2 when he won Central Jersey Group 2 sectionals at Middletown North as a sophomore in June 2022. So this was his first discus competition in nearly two years. He returned to action indoors and threw 54-8 in the shot.

The previous Bordentown school record … I’m not sure, but the best I could find was a 147-1 by James Coleman to win the 1990 Burlington County League Liberty Division title at Northern Burlington.

Pennsville’s Arianna Smith, in her first 400 hurdles race ever for Rutgers, picked up a victory and ran the 4th-fastest time in school history.

Smith ran 59.55 to win the 400-meter intermediates at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa. It was her first 400IH race in almost a year, since she ran her PR of 57.84 and set a Princeton school record  when she placed 2nd in the Ivy League Championships at Franklin Field in May.

Smith is a grad student at Rutgers. The Ivy League does not allow graduate students to compete in intercollegiate athletics.

The only women in Rutgers history to run faster than Smith are Lori McCauley of Pennridge High in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County [55.69 in 1984 in Colorado Springs], Reanda Richards of West Essex High in North Caldwell [56.31 in Jacksonville in 2019] and Danielle Hobson of West Orange [58.28 in Storrs, Conn., in 2003].

Rancocas Valley’s Annabella Chin, who transferred to Rutgers from from St. Joe’s, ran 1:02.21, her fastest time this year. She has a PR of 1:01.13 from last year’s Atlantic 10 Championships in Amherst, Mass.

Hammonton junior Anthony Liakhnovich uncorked the biggest shot put throw by an Atlantic County athlete in 11 years Saturday at the Rebel Relays at Howell High School.

Liakhnovich threw 59-10 – field series info not available – and won the event by more than nine feet. His throw is No. 3 in Atlantic County history and No. 24 on the all-time South Jersey list. Liakhnovich is just 18 inches off the county record of 61-4 set by Egg Harbor’s Kofi Yamoah at the 2013 South Jersey Invitational at Buena.

His throw is also best by a South Jersey underclassman since Braheme Days Jr. of Bridgeton threw 68-8 1/2 when he won the Penn Relays shot as a junior in 2012.

Coming into the meet, Liakhnovich had a PR of 56-10 ¼ from the Cherokee Throwdown in January. His outdoor PR was 48-9 ¾ from South Jersey Group 3 sectionals last spring at Delsea.

So this is more than a 10-foot outdoor PR.

His throw makes him No. 3 in New Jersey so far this year, behind Benjamin Shue of Bergen Catholic [61-6 ¼], who placed 6th at the U.S. Under-20 Championships last summer in Eugene, and Joshua Huisman of St. Rose of Belmar [60-1], runner-up at both Armory and Boston nationals indoors.

All-Time Atlantic County 58-Foot List
61-4 … Kofi Yamoah [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
60-3 … Dontaye Rivera [Pleasantville], 2012
59-10 …. Anthony Liakhnovich [Hammonton], 2024
59-6 … Dave Dixon [Mainland Reg.], 1987
59-5 ¼ … Cade Antonucci [Holy Spirit], 2017
58-0 … Steve Hanson [Holy Spirit], 1982
58-0 … James Plummer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013