Nia Ali ran the 3rd-fastest hurdles time of her life but missed making her 2nd Olympic team by 6-100ths of a second Sunday night in Eugene.

Ali ran 12.37 and placed 4th at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, finishing just behind 3rd-place finisher Grace Stark, who ran 12.31.

Ali, the 2016 silver medalist and 2021 World Champion, ran 12.30 in Monaco last July, and 12.34 in Qatar in 2019 when she won the World Championships.

Masai Russell won the race in 12.25 – 4th-fastest in world history – and Alaysha Johnson was 2nd in 12.31 – 11th-fastest in world history.

Only 18 women in world history have run faster than Ali ran Sunday night. Until Sunday night, only two women had ever run faster at the U.S. Trials – Gail Devers with 12.33 in Sacramento in 2000 and Brianna Rollins in Eugene in 2008.

Her time would have won the Trials in every other year.

Ali’s 12.37 is 5th-fastest in the world this year.

It’s the fastest 4th-place time in any hurdles ever held anywhere. The previous fastest 4th-place time was 12.44 by Brittany Anderson of Jamaica at the Van Damme Invitational at Boudewijnstadion in Brussels, Belgium, on Sept. 2, 2022. The previous fastest 4th-place time in a U.S. national championship was a 12.46 by Johnson last year, also in Eugene.

The fastest previous 4th-place time at an Olympic Trials was Gabbi Cunningham’s 12.53 in 2021.

Ali skipped the 2021 Trials to have her 3rd baby. She’s 35 years old and will be 39 when the 2028 Trials roll around. But she’s still one of the best in the world and showing no sign of slowing down.

Ali’s 12.30 last summer in Monaca is the fastest time ever run by a woman 34 or older. Her 12.37 Sunday is fastest ever by a woman 35 or older. Gail Devers ran 12.40 at 35 in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2002.

This was Ali’s 9th hurdles final at nationals and her 4th consecutive finish among the top four. She won her first U.S. title last year in 12.37 – the same time she ran Sunday. She placed 5th in 2011, 8th in 2012, 3rd in 2013, 8th in 2014, 3rd in the 2016 Trials, 2nd in 2017 and 2nd in 2019.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

Today: Leeya Joseph, Sterling

Between the 100, 200, 400 and long jump, Sterling sophomore Leeya Joseph sure kept busy this spring. What was her best event? Depends what day it is.

Joseph only ran the 100 a couple times but got her time as low as 12.66 at the Camden County Meet, she ran 24.81 in the 200, which made her the No. 3 sophomore in South Jersey, behind Sianni Wynn and Olivia Okaro (and No. 6 in New Jersey), and she only ran the 400 twice but got under 60 at the Nick Baker Invitational with a 59.10, which made her the 8th-fastest soph in South Jersey, even though she never ran it after May 16.

In the long jump, Joseph was the No. 2 soph in South Jersey behind Winslow All-America Ma’Syiah Brawner. Joseph PR’d with a 17-7 ¼ for 2nd place at South Jersey Group 2 sectionals behind only Haddonfield junior Nicolette Pinkerton.

Joseph’s 24.81 is only 9-100ths of a second off the school record of 24.72 set in 2016 by Aliya Harrison, and she’s not far from the school record in the long jump – 18-0 ½ by Janell Rowe in 2017.

At sectionals, Joseph focused on the 200 and long jump and took 6th in the 200 and 2nd in the long jump, and at states she was 4th at 200 and 8th in the long jump. She also ran on Sterling’s 3rd-place 4-by-1 and 4-by-4 teams at sectionals, joined by senior Aisha Garcia, sophomore Jordan Frazier and sophomore Jessiah Gamble on the 4-by-1 and Frazier, junior Elyse Simpson and senior Ayanna Brown on the 4-by-4.

At the Penn Relays, Joseph split 58.75 on Sterling’s 4:05.36 2nd-place 4-by-4 in the South Jersey Small School race. And at the Woodbury Relays she ran on the winning DMR and 4-by-2 and 2nd-place 4-by-4 as Sterling won the Group 2 team title.

Rancocas Valley graduate Erika Kemp recorded her best finish ever at an outdoor U.S. National Championship Saturday night by placing 8th in the 10,000-meter run at the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Kemp ran 32:21.84 in what was only her 4th track race since the 2021 Trials in Eugene.

She’s the first Rancocas Valley woman to place in the top eight at an outdoor U.S. Nationals since Tonya Lee was 7th in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta.

Kemp races mainly on the roads these days and she won the 2021 U.S. title at 20 kilometers in New Haven, and she has road PRs of 15:25 for 5K, 32:18 for 10K, 1:09.10 for the half marathon and 2:33.57 in the marathon.

Her best previous finish in any U.S. meet on the track was an 8th in the two-mile indoors in 2019 at the Armory in New York.

Kemp is the 4th South Jersey woman to finish in the top eight in the 10,000 at U.S. Nationals.

Mindy Rowand of Sterling placed 7th in 33:19.37 in 1991, Laura Mason of Northern Burlington was 8th in 35:03.14 in 1998, Marielle Hall of Haddonfield was 3rd in 2016 in 31:54.77 and 2nd in 2018 in 31:56.68.

Kemp qualified for Trials with a PR 31:28.69 at Jserra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano in March. She’s run as fast as 15:10.10 on the track in the 5,000 and ran 15:20.29 earlier this month in Boston.

Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard placed 8th in the U.S. Olympic Trials shot put Saturday night in Eugene, extending her streak to 12 top-10 finishes in 12 lifetime U.S. national championship appearances.

Woodard surpassed 60 feet three times, with a best throw of 60-3 ½, just off her season best of 60-4 from the USATF Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium in New York earlier this month. Her best overall throw this year was a 60-11 indoors in February when she placed 4th at Nationals in Albuquerque.

Woodard had throws of 60-3 ½, 60-3 and 60-2 ½, the 29th, 30th and 31st 60-footers of her career. She fouled on three of her last four throws.

Woodard is No. 16 in U.S. history with her 63-7 ¾ in Eugene in June of 2022. She’s 24th in the world this year.

Jessica Woodard U.S. Championships History
2024 Outdoors [Eugene]: 7th, 60-3
2024 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 4th, 60-11 ¼
2023 Outdoors [Eugene]: 5th 60-3 ¼
2023 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 3rd, 57-11 ½
2022 Outdoors [Eugene]: 3rd, 63-7 ¾
2022 Indoors [Spokane], 3rd, 61-4 ¼
2021 Outdoors [Eugene], 7th, 57-11 ¾
2021 Indoors [cancelled]
2020 Outdoors [cancelled]
2020 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Outdoors [Des Moines]: 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Indoors [New York]: 7th, 57-11 ½
2018 Outdoors [Des Moines]: 9th, 58-0 ¾
2018 Indoors: DNC
2017 Outdoors [Sacramento]: 8th, 57-5 ½

Jessica Woodard All-Time 60-Foot Throws
63-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
62-7 … World Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 15, 2022
62-3 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
61-10 ¼ … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
61-8 ¾ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-8 ¾ … Memorial van Damme, Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 7, 2023
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
61-6 ½ … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
61-5 ¼ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-5 ¼ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-4 ¼ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
61-4¼i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
61-3 ¾ … Ed Murphey Classic, Wolfe Track Complex, Memphis, Aug. 4, 2023
61-3 ½ … NCAA Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 7, 2018
61-3 … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
61-2 ¼ … Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athletisme de Rabat, Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat, Morocco, May 28, 2023
61-1 ¾ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-1 ¼ … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
60-11 ¼ … U.S. Championships, Albuquerque Convention Center, Feb. 16, 2024
60-10 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-10i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
60-10 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2022
60-9 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7 ¼ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7 ½i … Don Kirby Elite, Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center, Feb. 12, 2022
60-6 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-6 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-5 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
60-4 ¾ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
60-4 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-4 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
60-4 … Goteborg Grand Prix, Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 16, 2019
60-3 ¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 24, 2021
60-3 ¼ … U.S. National Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023
60-3 ¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-3 … Big 12 Championships, Lawrence, Kans., May 13, 2017
60-3 … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
60-3 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-3 … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
60-2 ½ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-1 ¼ … Chula Vista High Performance #3, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., May 2, 2021
60-0 ½ … Chula Vista High Performance #1, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., April 3, 2021
60-0 ½ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2022

Nia Ali advanced to the 100-meter hurdles final Saturday night at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Ali placed 3rd in the first of three semifinals in 12.55. Although only the first two in each semi advanced to the final automatically, the next three-fastest times also advanced, and Ali’s 12.55 was the fastest 3rd-place time – and 7th-fastest overall.

Ali, a Pleasantville grad, will race in the final at 8 p.m. Sunday.

She has now reached the finals at U.S. Nationals nine times. She was 5th in 2011, 8th in the 2012 Trials, 3rd in 2013, 8th in 2014, 3rd in the 2016 Trials, 8th in 2017, 2nd in 2019 and 1st last year.

Ali won the Olympic silver medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and then won the world championships in Doha, Qatar, in October of 2019.

She’s now 35 but still among the fastest hurdlers in the world. She’s run as fast as 12.44 this year – in Gainesville in April – and has also run 12.47 and 12.48.

Alaysha Johnson, Tonea Marshall and Masai Russell – the three-fastest qualifiers – each ran 12.36 Saturday. Last time Ali ran sub-12.40 was last July in Monaco, when she PR’d with 12.30 – 9th-fastest in world history and 3rd-fastest ever by a U.S. woman.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

Today: Christopher Manzo, Egg Harbor Twp.

It was a wild year for half-milers in South Jersey, with Peyton Shute, Dominic Bassey and Bobby Poplau all running sizzling sub-1:53 times. So it was easy to overlook Christopher Manzo, but the Egg Harbor Township senior finished his season as a Meet of Champions medalist.

Manzo had an outstanding junior year, PR’ing at 1:55.93 at the Meet of Champions along with a 49.85 at sectionals last spring.

His focus this spring was on the 800, and he put together a series of fast races, including a 1:54.39 for 3rd place at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals, a PR 1:54.04 for 6th at states and then 1:54.33 for 6th at Meet of Champs. He also won the Atlantic County title at Buena in 1:57.94, edging Pleasantville junior Melvin Lewis and Cedar Creek senior Matthew Winterbottom, who both also ran sub-2.

Manzo’s 1:54.04 broke the school record by 2-100ths of a second. Eric Barnes ran 1:54.06 at Group 4 states in 2016 on EHT’s home track off English Creek Road.

Between Meet of Champions winner Ishmael Ishmael Muhammad, Pleasantville’s Clark twins, legendary Sam Summerville from the 1970s and several others, the all-time Atlantic County 800 top-10 is a very tough list to break into.

But Manzo made it into the No. 9 spot, knocking Barnes off the list. He’s Atlantic County’s fastest half-miler since Muhammad set the South Jersey record 1:48.52 at the 2014 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.

Manzo will continue his education and track career at St. Joe’s.

Atlantic County All-Time 800 List
1:48.52 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2014
1:49.27 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:50.30 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.74y … Sam Summerville [Holy Spirit], 1976
1:52.24 … Ford Palmer [Absegami], 2009
1:53.09 … James Wyner [Mainland Reg.], 2004
1:53.52 … Aaron Johnson [Oakcrest], 2009
1:53.62 … Joe Lewis [Pleasantville], 1998
1:54.04 … Christopher Manzo [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2024
1:54.05 … Nolan Kier [Hammonton], 2009

Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard easily advanced to the shot put finals Friday night at the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene.

This is the 6th time and 5th in a row Woodard has reached the finals at U.S. Outdoor Nationals and her 2nd straight Trials final. She’s never not reached a final in 12 indoor or outdoor national meets.

Woodard was one of 24 competitors in the qualifying round Friday, with the top 12 earning a trip to the finals. She threw 59-11 ¾ on her 2nd throw, placing her 6th overall and comfortably within the top 12.

The cutoff to advance to the final was 58-1. Throws from Friday don’t carry over to the final.

Woodard opened with a 58-2 and followed that with the 59-11 ¾ and a 59-2 ¼. The 59-11 ¾ missed being her 43rd lifetime 60-foot throw.

Woodard is No. 16 in U.S. history with her 63-7 ¾ in Eugene in June of 2022. She’s 24th in the world this year with a 60-11 ¼ at indoor Nationals in Albuqurque in February..

Including both outdoor and indoor meets, Woodard has competed at the U.S. Championships 11 times previously and never finished worse than 9th. She’s been 3rd three times, 4th once, 5th once, 6th twice, 7th twice, 8th once and 9th once.

The final is scheduled for 8:50 p.m. Saturday.

Jessica Woodard U.S. Championships History
2024 Outdoors [Eugene]: ???
2024 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 4th, 60-11 ¼
2023 Outdoors [Eugene]: 5th 60-3 ¼
2023 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 3rd, 57-11 ½
2022 Outdoors [Eugene]: 3rd, 63-7 ¾
2022 Indoors [Spokane], 3rd, 61-4 ¼
2021 Outdoors [Eugene], 7th, 57-11 ¾
2021 Indoors [cancelled]
2020 Outdoors [cancelled]
2020 Indoors [Albuquerque]: 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Outdoors [Des Moines]: 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Indoors [New York]: 7th, 57-11 ½
2018 Outdoors [Des Moines]: 9th, 58-0 ¾
2018 Indoors: DNC
2017 Outdoors [Sacramento]: 8th, 57-5 ½

When is a race not really a race?

When it doesn’t matter how fast – or slow – you run.

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, who missed the 2021 Olympic Trials to have a baby, began her quest to make this year’s U.S. Olympic team Friday by advancing to the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles at the Olympic Trials in Eugene.

With the slowest time of her life.

There are three rounds of the hurdles at the Trials in Eugene, and in Friday night’s first round there were four quarterfinal races and 29 total runners. According to the pre-determined qualifying rules, the first five hurdlers in each of the four races plus the next seven-fastest qualify for Saturday’s semifinals.

But when two runners scratched, it left seven runners in each of the first heats and six in the final race. With 27 qualifying spots and 27 entries, everybody advanced.

Yeah, it seems ridiculous. They ran four races and didn’t eliminate anybody. Why not just cancel the first round? Who knows? Maybe they’re trying to replicate the three rounds of the Olympics.

But when Ali was in the paddock preparing for the third heat, she realized that a runner in the fourth heat – Alex Gochenour-Brondyke – had scratched. That meant she would move on to the semis unless she got hurt or DQ’d.

So she jogged.

Her official time was 20.38 seconds – about six seconds slower than the next-slowest hurdler and eight seconds slower than the fastest.

Ali, interviewed by 1987 NCAA 800-meter run finalist Lewis Johnson on Peacock, said jogging the race was a last-minute decision after she had a sub-par warmup. She said running non-competitively was the best thing for her overall chances of making the team.

Masai Russell [12.35], Alaysha Johnson [12.37] and Tonea Marshall [12.41] all ran faster Friday night than Ali has run this year.

The semis are scheduled for 8:04 p.m. Saturday. The top two in each semifinal plus the next-two fastest qualify for the final, scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday.

Ali has reached the finals at U.S. Nationals eight times – 5th in 2011, 8th in the 2012 Trials, 3rd in 2013, 8th in 2014, 3rd in the 2016 Trials, 8th in 2017, 2nd in 2019 and 1st last year.

She’s bidding to become the first South Jersey woman to win consecutive U.S. titles since Carol Lewis in the long jump in 1985 and 1986.

Ali won the Olympic silver medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and then won the world championships in Doha, Qatar, in October of 2019.

She’s now 35 but still among the fastest hurdlers in the world.

Ali ran 12.44 in Gainesville in April, the 6th-fastest time of her life and 6th-fastest in the world this year and No. 2 among Americans coming into the Trials.

Her 12.30 in Monaco last summer is 9th-fastest in world history and 3rd-fastest among U.S. women.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

Today: Samia Ghazaz, Absegami

Samoa Ghazaz just kept getting faster and faster in the 800 until she ran a eye-popping 2:13.09 for 6th place at the Meet of Champions to finish her breakout season.

Ghazaz is a 1st-year sophomore who showed signs of promise indoors, where she ran 5:13.29 at Group 3 sectionals and 2:18.05 at states. But outdoors, she came into her own, PR’ing in both the 1,600 and 3,200 in her final races. She ran 5:06.10 at sectionals and placed 7th at states with a 2:16.66, earning a wild card to the MoC, where she dropped that 2:13.09 and placed 6th as the No. 22 seed.

That time made her the No. 4 sophomore in New Jersey this year, and fastest in South Jersey in nine years, since Seneca’s Kayla Martin ran 2:11.88 and Lenape’s Megan Quimby ran 2:12.78 back in 2015. She broke the 27-year-old Atlantic County sophomore class record of 2:13.18, set by Katrina Sye of Buena at the 1997 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.

Although Ghazaz’s focus was the 800, she also had success at 1,600 meters, and her 5:06.10 made her the 3rd-fastest sophomore in South Jersey this year and it was fastest by an Atlantic County soph since Mainland’s Alyssa Aldridge ran 4:55.83 in 2016.

Her 800 is No. 4 in Atlantic County history – Mainland rising senior Sofia Day is No. 3 at 2:12.55 when she won the state Group 3 title last month. Day and Ghazaz are the two-fastest returners in South Jersey heading into 2025.

2:09.2h … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1999
2:10.57 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2009
2:12.55 … Sofia Day [Mainland Reg.], 2024
2:13.09 … Samia Ghazaz [Absegami], 2024
2:14.20 … Bridget Flynn [Holy Spirit], 2012
2:15.34 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2015
2:16.00 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017

Aliya Garozzo from Sicklerville and Paul VI advanced to the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles Thursday evening at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Garozzo ran 58.12 and placed 5th in the 4th of five heats at Hayward Field. The first five finishers in each qualifying race advance to the semis.

https://results.usatf.org/2024Trials/

Garozzo, who recently completed her junior year at Penn, needed a big finish to move on to the 2nd round. On the final turn, she trailed Vanessa Watson of the University of Florida by about five meters and needed to get past her to advance. But she finished very strong, catching Watson over the 10th and final hurdle and finishing very strong to the line, easily snagging the final auto qualifier in her race.

Watson came off the 9th hurdle at 46.15 and Garozzo at 46.87. But Garozzo covered the 75 meters from the 9th hurdle to the finish line – 35 meters from hurdle 9 to 10 and 40 meters from 10 to the finish – in 11.25 seconds to 14.07 for Watson.

Garozzo is the Penn school record holder with her 56.34 from her win at the Ivy League Championships at Princeton on May 5.

The semis are scheduled for 8:41 p.m. Saturday. The first two finishers in each of three races plus the next three-fastest advance to the final, which is the final event of the Trials, at 8:29 p.m. Sunday.

Garozzo is the 3rd-fastest intermediate hurdler ever from South Jersey, behind only Tonya Lee of Rancocas Valley [55.78 in Walnut, Calif., in 1996] and Krystal Cantey of Winslow Township [56.21 in Gainesville in 2007].