West Deptford’s Jacob Cobb, a sophomore at MIT, ran one of the fastest steeplechase times in South Jersey history Saturday in a meet in Williamstown. Mass.

Cobb shaved more than 14 seconds off his PR and nearly broke 9 minutes at the Farley Inter Regional Extravaganza at Williams College. He won the race in 9:00.17, winning by 35 meters over Amherst’s Ian Dopp, who was 2nd in 9:06.73.

His time is 5th-fastest ever by a South Jersey high school alum and breaks the Gloucester County alum record of 9:08.3, set 72 years ago by Woodbury Olympian Browning Ross at the 1952 Olympic Trials at Los Angeles Coliseum.

Cobb’s previous PR was 9:12.63 last month in Providence, R.I.

Cob’s time is No. 19 in NCAA Division 3 through Tuesday. The top 22 in each individual event qualify for the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C., May 22-25, so Cobb appears to have a very good chance to race at nationals. He placed 29th out of 229 runners in NCAA Division 3 East Regionals in Hopkinton, N.H., in November – which MIT won – but didn’t run at nationals.

Unbelievably, MIT’s track web site not only doesn’t have an all-time top-10 list it doesn’t even list school records. They might be the only NCAA Division 1 school that doesn’t have school records on its web site.

Thanks to the Wayback Machine I found an old set of meet records and it turns out Cobb’s 9:00.14 is indeed MIT’s fastest time ever.

The previous record was 9:00.98 by current MIT sophomore Arroyo Pablo in May 2023 at the MIT Final Qualifier in Cambridge, Mass.

All-Time South Jersey Alumni Steeplechase List
8:38.94 … Sam Gerstenbacher [Schalick], May 20, 2022, New York
8:46.16 … Mike Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson], May 2022, Durham, N.C.
8:53.66 … Connor Herr [Shawnee], May 10, 2015, Philadelphia
8:56.15 … Terrance Armstrong [Camden], 1994
9:00.17 … Jacob Cobb [West Deptford], 2024, Williamstown, Mass.
9:04.63 … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], May 4, 2019, Worcester, Mass.
9:05.48 … Louis Corgliano [Hammonton], March 30, 2018, Gainesville, Fla.
9:06.1h … Karl Savage [Eastern], May 16, 2005, Philadelphia
9:07.70 … Dave DeJong [Shawnee], 2001
9:08.3h … Browning Ross [Woodbury], June 28, 1952, Los Angeles
9:12.99 … Pat McCurry [Hammonton], April 28, 2016, Philadelphia
9:13.90 … Martin Suarez [Holy Cross], May 26, 2007,
9:13.93 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], May 6, 2012, Princeton, N.J.

Eastern’s Kadence Dumas ran the 6th-fastest 800 in University of Delaware history Saturday at the CAA Championships and became the fastest freshman in Blue Hens history.

Dumas lowered her PR from 2:10.44 down to 2:08.90 and placed 3rd at the Coastal Athletic Association Championships in Elon, N.C. She finished behind North Carolina A&T junior Fajr Kelly [2:06.72] and Northeastern senior Ava Duggan [2:08.53].

According to figures listed on TFRRS [Track and Field Race Reporting Service], her time is fastest by a CAA freshman in 11 years, since 2013, when Jocelyn Hubbard of Northeastern won the conference title at Towson in 2:10.39.

At Eastern, Dumas ran an all-time South Jersey No. 7 time of 2:10.44 this past June to become the first South Jersey girl to win the Meet of Champions in 24 years.

She ran 2:12.24 indoors at the Armory and then 2:10.45 in a meet in Charlottesville, Va., last month, missing her lifetime-best by 1-100th of a second.

This past weekend, she cruised to the 800 final at the CAA meet in 2:13.02 before destroying her PR in the final.

She became the fastest South Jersey alum on the all-time Delaware list, bumping Lenape graduate Carly Pettipaw , who ran 2:09.75 at the 2018 Towson (Md.) Invitational.

Dumas is the third South Jersey collegian under 2:10 this spring. Rutgers senior Shelby Whetstone from Lenape ran 2:05.81 in Ann Arbor this past weekend in the Big Ten Championships, and Maryland senior Kami Joi Hickson from Washington Township ran 2:08.15 in Azusa, Calif., last month.

Rancocas Valley’s Ian Moore PR’d in the 800 with the 6th-fastest time in Monmouth University history at the CAA Championships.

Moore placed 5th in 1:50.52 at the Coastal Athletic Association Championships at Elon, N.C. His previous PR was 1:50.81 from a meet a few weeks earlier in Charlottesville, Va.

Moore is one of three South Jersey half-milers on the all-time Monmouth 800 top-10 list. Kingsway’s Stone Caraccio ran 1:50.83 at Princeton in 2022 and Absegami’s Ford Palmer ran 1:51.01 at IC4A’s – also at Princeton – in 2013. They rank 6th, 7th and 9th in school history.

Caraccio and Cherokee grad Nico Grilli placed 5th and 7th in the 1,500, Caraccio with a near-PR 3:49.31 and Grilli with a PR 3:52.97. Caraccio ran slightly faster – 3:49.25 – in a meet at Bucknell in April 2022. They rank 8th and 10th in school history.

Caraccio is No. 4 in Monmouth history at 800 meters indoors with his 1:50.37 at IC4As in Boston but didn’t run the 800 at the outdoor conference meet.

Washington Township’s Kanye Mills, a freshman at Point Park University, an NAIA school in Pittsburgh, won both hurdles races at the recent River States Conference championships at Robert Morris in Moon Township outside Pittsburgh.

Mills won the 110-meter highs in a slightly wind-aided 14.40 and won the 400-meter hurdles in 54.70. Both are PRs, although Mills’ wind-legal highs PR over the 42-inch barriers is 14.70 from a meet in March in Morgantown, W. Va.

The 14.70 broke the school record listed at 15.25 by Delsea graduate and current Point Park senior Damir Lomax last April in a meet at Slippery Rock, Pa. The 54.70 is No. 2 in school history behind a 53.74 by Malcolm Harris at the 2018 River States Conference meet in Pittsburgh. Mills also won the 60-meter hurdles at the conference indoor meet in February in Logan, Ohio.

Lomax placed 3rd in the hurdles finals in 15.28, 3rd in the 100 in 22.43 and ran the 2nd leg on the Pioneers’ winning 400-meter relay team, which ran 42.54. Mills and Lomax both ran on the 2nd-place 4-by-4, which ran 3:21.20, finishing 1-100th of a second behind Indiana University Kokomo.

Lomax was the 2021 River States indoor conference champ in the 60-meter highs and 400 and 2022 outdoor winner in the 100, 2023 indoor hurdles winner. He’s long jumped 22-5 for Point Park but did not long jump this spring.

Mills ran 14.54 over the 39-inch high school hurdles for Washington Township and 54.95 in the intermediates.

On the 2024 NAIA performance list, Mills ranks 17th in the 110 highs. There is literally nowhere on the NAIA track web site that says how many people qualify for the nationals, scheduled for May 22-24 at Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Ind.

There are a couple other South Jersey athletes on Point Park’s track team. Senior Nasir Galloway of Woodbury placed 10th in the shot put at 42-10 ¼ and freshman Xavier Tolliver of Willingboro was 5th in the triple jump at 42-0 ½ and 11th in the long jump with a 20-1 ½.

Penns Grove graduate Eli Hendricks, whose high school PR was 22.53, ran a full second faster Monday at Widener.

Hendricks ran a wind-legal 21.45 at the Widener Final Qualifier in Chester, Pa., the 6th-fastest time in NCAA Division 3 this year. It’s also the fastest wind-legal time by any NJAC runner this year. His teammate, Rowan junior Amara Conte, ran 21.27 to win the conference title last week in Galloway Township with a 2.3 meters-per-second tailwind, but his wind-legal season-best is 21.81 in the NJAC trials.

That 21.45 ranks Hendricks 40th in NCAA Division 3 this year. The top 22 in each individual event qualify for the NCAA Division 3 National Championships. Right now, the cut-off is 21.18 (including wind-aided times). Rowan competes at the AARTFC Championships in Cortland, N.Y., on Wednesday and Thursday, the final qualifier for nationals.

Hendricks ran a wind-aided 21.38 to place 2nd in the conference meet, but his legal PR before today was a 22.03 at the College of New Jersey in Ewing in his only previous 200 this year with legal wind.

At Penns Grove, Hendricks had a windy 200 PR of 22.27, and he ran his legal PR of 22.53 this past June at the Meet of Champions in Somerset. He ran 11.07 in the 100 and was a state medalist indoors in the 60 and outdoors in both the 100 and 200.

Hendricks was 4th in the 200 at the indoor NJAC meet at Ocean Breeze with a 22.01 and ran a leg on Rowan’s winning 4-by-200. At the outdoor conference meet, he ran a 100 PR 10.87 for 5th and that windy 21.38 for 2nd in the 200 and also ran on the winning 4-by-1.

Highland graduate Robert McKinney, a Rowan junior, ran a PR 21.58 in the same race, and junior James Coleman of Audubon ran a PR 21.90.

Hendricks, Bridgeton’s Shamar Love, Agyemang and McKinney won the 400-meter relay in 40.98. Rowan ran slightly faster [40.86] last month with Rancocas Valley’s Masai Byrd, Love, Agyemang and Kingsway’s Evan Corcoran. Rowan ranks 18th in NCAA Division 3 and the top 16 teams go to the NCAA Championships. They’re currently 3-100ths of a second outside the top 16.

Camden Catholic gradaute Matt Coffey ran a big 5,000 PR Monday night in the Widener Final Qualifier in Chester, Pa.

Coffey, running unattached after finishing a grad year at St. Joe’s, ran 14:14.16 and placed 4th out of 88 runners. His previous PR was a 14:19.95 last month in Princeton.

Penn State’s Brian DiCola from Hatboro-Horsham High in Montgomery County won the race in 14:04.82.

Coffey, a Pennsauken native, is now up to 13th on my best attempt at an all-time South Jersey 5,000-meter run list, which has undergone major changes over the past few months. Who’s missing?

ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY 5,000-METER RUN LIST
13:44.57 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], April 29, 2022, Palo Alto, Calif.
13:48.61 …Karl Savage [Eastern], April 17, 2003, Walnut, Calif.
13:58.23 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], April 23, 2009, Philadelphia
13:58.84 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], March 28, 2024, Raleigh, N.C.
14:03.52 … Kevin McDonnell [Camden Catholic], April 5, 2013, Williamsburg
14:04.8h … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1989, ???
14:06.23 … Sam Gerstenbacher [Schalick], April 29, 2022, Philadelphia
14:08.24 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], Feb. 22, 2024, Boston
14:09.10 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], April 4, 2014, San Francisco
14:09.37 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], March 30, 2012, Raleigh, N.C.
14:12.0h … Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1977, ???
14:13.72 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], April 5, 2013, Williamsburg, Va.
14:14.02… Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], April 19, 2024, Charlottesville, Va.
14:14.16 … Matt Coffey [Camden Catholic], May 13, 2024, Chester, Pa.
14:15.73 … Conor Melko [Bishop Eustace], May 15, 2021, Springfield, Mass.
14:15.94 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], April 29, 2022, Philadelphia
14:16.10 … John Richardson [Ocean City], April, 2008, Palo Alto, Calif.
14:17.77 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], April 6, 2007, Durham, N.C.
14:17.91 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], April 25, 2024, Philadelphia
14:17.99 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], May 7, 2006, Storrs, Ct.
14:20.26 … Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], 1992
14:20.39 … Thomas Cooke [Kingsway], 2021, Boston
14:21.54 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg.], March 24, 2022, Raleigh, N.C.
14:23.12 … Mike Rankin [Paul VI], April 12, 2014, Fairfax, Va.
14:23.23 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], April 25, 2024, Philadelphia
14:24.46 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], April 14, 2023, Asuza, Calif.
14:26.53 … Nick / Cole Pschunder [Eastern], March 2, 2019, Boston
14:26.90 … Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], Feb. 15, 2020, Boston
14:27.38 … Ben Woodward [Highland], March 5, 2022, Boston
14:28.30 … Colton Johnson [Paul VI], May 5, 2024, Fairfax, Va.
14:30.65 … Noah Deckert [Delsea], April 12, 2024, Princeton
14:31.31 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], April 13, 2013, Lewisburg, Pa.
14:32.01 … Joe Domanico [Haddon Township], Feb. 15, 2020, Boston

With Sterling’s Marquise Young and Pitman’s Nick Razze on the first two legs, Rowan ran one of the fastest 4-by-400 relays in NCAA Division 3 history Monday night.

Young and Razze ran the first two legs and Rowan won the 4-by-4 at the Widener Final Qualifier Meet in Chester, Pa., in 3:09.31.

That’s 16th-fastest in NCAA Division 3 history and No. 2 this year, only 4-100ths of a second behind Bethel of Arden Hills, Minn., which ran 3:09.27 at its own Bethel Invitational last month.

Rowan will race at the NCAA Division 3 Championships May 23-25 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Unfortunately, no splits are available from Widener, which is ridiculous in this day and age, but Young led off, Razze – a transfer from McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., who hasn’t run an open 400 all spring – ran 2nd, Nana Agyemang of Parsippany ran the 3rd leg and Amara Conte of Ferris High in Jersey City anchored.

If anybody out there has splits, shoot ’em over my way!

Rowan’s time ranks 48th among all U.S. 4-by-4 teams this year.

The time is Rowan’s 2nd-fastest . The Profs ran a school-record 3:08.74 for 3rd place in the NCAA Division 3 Championships last May at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y. That was with Young, Agyemang, Jah’mere Beasley of Sterling and Conte.

All-Time NCAA Division 3 1,600-Meter List
3:07.24 … Mount Union, 2023, Rochester, N.Y. [Division 3]
3:07.42 … Lincoln [Pa.], 2005, Princeton, N.J. [IC4A]
3:07.78 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2004, Iowa City, Iowa [Musco Twilight]
3:07.82 … Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 2023, Rochester [Division 3]
3:08.10 … Mount Union, 2018, La Crosse, Wisc. [Division 3]
3:08.21 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2004, Decatur, Ill. [Division 3]
3:08.26 … Wesley, 2018, La Crosse, Wisc. [Division 3]
3:08.31 … Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2013, Des Moines, Iowa [Drake Relays]
3:08.34 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2023, Rock Island, Ill. [Augustana Twilight Qualifier]
3:08.55 … Lincoln [Pa.], 2006, Lisle, Ill. [Division 3]
3:08.67 … Lincoln [Pa.], 1996, ???
3:08.71 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2005, ???
3:08.74 … Rowan, 2023, Rochester [Division 3]
3:08.81 …..… Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2023 [Division 3]
3:09.18 … Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2007, ???
3:09.20 …….. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2013, La Crosse, Wisc. [Division 3]
3:09.26 …..… Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 2023, Rochester, N.Y. [Division 3]
3:09.27 … Bethel, 2024, Arden Hills, Minn. [Bethel Invitational]
3:09.31 … Rowan, 2024, Chester, Pa. [Widener Final Qualifier]
3:09.38 …….. Mount Union, 2023, Rochester, N.Y. [Division 3]
3:09.38 …….. Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2023, Rochester, N.Y. [Division 3]
3:09.44 … John Carroll, 2023, Rochester [Division 3]
3:09.44 … Mount Union, 2022, Geneva, Ohio [Division. 3]
3:09.48 … Augustana, 2013, Des Moines, iowa [Drake Relays]

Cherokee senior Bobby Poplau broke a 19-year-old meet record and ran the 4th-fastest 800 in New Jersey this year, and he did it in a solo effort with nobody within 50 meters at the finish.

Poplau won the Burlington County Open 800 at Northern Burlington in 1:53.15, breaking the meet record of 1:53.58 set at Maple Shade in 2005 by Ian Waterhouse in his highly anticipated showdown with Bordentown’s Rob Novak, who went on to win the national 800 title in Greensboro.

Poplau broke the county record indoors with his 1:53.45 at Ocean Breeze, and he lowered it to 1:52.74 at Boston Nationals.

His time is No. 9 in Burlington County outdoor history and fastest in eight years, since Moorestown’s Kevin Fox ran 1:51.60 at 2016 Haddonfield Distance Night. It’s No. 1 this year in New Jersey Group 4.

Poplau took off at the gun and ran unpressed the entire race. Teammates Ben Realley, a freshman, and Tate Midora, a junior, placed 2nd and 3rd in 2:00.31 and 2:00.43, which was a PR for Midora

All-Time County Open 800 List
1:53.15 … Bobby Poplau [Cherokee], 2024
1:53.58 … Ian Waterhouse (Rancocas Valley), 2005
1:53.4h … Clayton Baloche (Lenape), 1992
1:53.5h … Vance Watson (Willingboro), 1983
1:53.84 … Dave Sitzer (Cherokee), 2000
1:54.14 … Rob Novak (Bordentown), 2005
1:54.91 … Marvin Lewis (Willingboro), 2001
1:54.94 … Colin Merrigan (Cherokee), 2012
1:55.0y … Art Milak (Bordentown), 1975
1:55.2y ……..Milak, 1974
1:55.23 … Patrick Ditmars (Cherokee), 2023

All-Time Burlington County Outdoor 800 List
1:49.84 … Rob Novak [Bordentown], 2005
1:50.8h … Vance Watson [Willingboro], 1983
1:52.1y … Greg Honsby [Rancocas Valley], 1974
1:52.37 … Matt Poskus [Cinnaminson], 2007
1:52.60 … Kevin Fox [Moorestown], 2016
1:52.65 … Ian Waterhouse [Rancocas Valley], 2004
1:52.94 … Keith Griffin [Florence], 2009
1:53.14 … Dave Sitzer [Cherokee], 2000
1:53.15 … Bobby Poplau [Cherokee], 2024
1:53.27 … Marvin Lewis [Willingboro], 2001
1:53.35 … Ahmad Rutherford [Willingboro], 2003
1:53.40 … Daveigh Brooks [Burlington City], 2016
1:53.3y … Tavo Rivera [Pemberton], 1977
1:53.57 … Isaiah Curbelo [Rancocas Valley], 2016
1:53.4y … Bryant Walker [Pemberton], 1983
1:53.4y … Clayton Baloche [Lenape], 1992
1:53.66 … Xavier Wright [Willingboro], 2011
1:53.78 … Marvin Lewis [Willingboro], 2001
1:53.84 … Ryan Garvin [Lenape], 2009

Millville’s Leah Howard, a Texas Tech true freshman, popped a javelin PR and the No. 3 throw in Red Raider history (we think) Friday morning at the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas.

Howard placed 6th in a loaded field with a 164-4 on her 3rd throw. Her previous PR was a 163-1 at last year’s Woodbury Relays.

Howard’s throw is No. 7 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list. There are 12 known 160-foot throwers from South Jersey.

She is tied for 36th among U.S. women with Alianna Eucker of Rutgers and Westwood High in Washington Township, Bergen County. Eucker threw 164-4 at the Penn Relays.

For some ridiculous  reason, Texas Tech’s web site doesn’t have an all-time performers list, only a top-10 performances list, which lists the same thrower 10 times. That’s truly idiotic. They do have a year-by-year list that shows only two women ahead of Howard – Hannah Carson, the 2016 Olympic Trials runner-up, threw 200-9 in 2016 and Callie Jones 165-3 in 2002.

But that doesn’t account for the possibility of someone throwing between 164-5 and those marks. I went through the “all performances” section on TFRRS for each year Texas Tech had a woman at 164-4 or over but the best mark I found was a 164-0 by Natalie Baker in 2016, so apparently Howard is No. 3 in school history.

Her 164-4 would also be No. 2 in Texas Tech history among freshmen, behind Carson’s 171-1 at the 2013 Clyde Littlefield Relays in Austin. Carson competed in one meet in 2012 in Tucson as a true freshman and threw 166-10.

Howard’s throw makes her No. 45 in NCAA Division 1 this year and No. 9 among freshmen. It’s not clear whether she’ll turn 20 before or after midnight Dec. 31. If she doesn’t, she’ll be eligible for U.S. Under-20 Nationals.

https://tf.tfrrs.org/lists/4515/2024_NCAA_Division_I_All_Schools_Rankings?gender=f

On Friday, Howard opened with a 146-11 and 159-1 before finishing the trials with her new PR. She finished with another 160-foot throw – 160-4 – a foul and then a 153-2.

169-9 … Kelly Yanucil [Bordentown], April 29, 2006, Philadelphia
169-3 … Lynlee Phillips [Shawnee], May 5, 2000, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
168-6 … Brielle Smith [Oakcrest], April 20, 2019, Woodbury, N.J.
168-0 … Maria Jiminez [Vineland], May 13, 2016, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
166-6 … Danielle Steff [Rancocas Valley], April 10, 2021, Lawrenceville, N.J.
166-4 … Megan Sax Vander Weyden [Pennsville], May 11, 2018, Waco, Texas
164-4 … Leah Howard [Millville], May 11, 2024, Waco, Texas
163-5 … Heather Juhring [Kingsway], March 21, 2015, Winston Salem, N.C.
162-7 … Faith Blamon [Cinnaminson], May 6, 2017, Lawrenceville, N.J.
161-7 … Brenna Smith [Haddon Twp.], April 21, 2018, Durham, N.C.
161-1 … Katherine Johnston [Haddonfield], May 14, 2017, University Park, Pa.
160-4 … Alexa Gardner [Hammonton], May 26, 2022, Bloomington, Ind.

Jason Nwosu, a William and Mary sophomore from Delsea, won his 2nd straight conference shot put title over the weekend and placed in two other events.

Nwosu won the shot put with a 55-9 ¼, placed 3rd in the discus at 160-11 and took 5th in the hammer with a 180-2 at the Coastal Athletic Conference Championships in Elon, N.C.

In the shot, Nwosu won by three inches over Carlos Alexander of North Carolina A&T, who threw 55-6 1/4. Nwosu hit his 55-9 ¼ on his 1^st attempt. He has a PR of 57-11 ¾ from the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va., last month. Nwosu won the shot at last year’s CAA meet (then the Colonial Athletic Conference) at William and Mary with a 54-6.

In the discus, Nwosu threw 160-11 on his 5th attempt and finished behind two North Carolina A&T throwers – junior Brayden Hodgest won with a 166-3, and Alexander took 2nd at 163-6. Nwosu threw his PR 163-5 at the Wake Forest Invitational last month in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Nwosu just missed his PR in the hammer with his 180-2 for 5th. He threw 181-11 at the CNU Blue & Silver Challenge at Christopher Newport in Newport News, Va., in March.

Nwosu ranks 3rd in William and Mary history in the shot, 8th in the discus and 10th in the hammer.

William and Mary placed 5th with 95 points, and Nwosu scored 18 of them.