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: Mitra Sampson, Hammonton
In a normal year, a sophomore throwing 130 feet in the discus would be big news. In South Jersey history before this year, only nine girls had thrown 130 feet as sophomores, including Winslow’s Brook-lynn Roberts with a 137-0 last year.
But this wasn’t a normal year. Delsea’s Hannah Nuhfer set a South Jersey sophomore class record with her 152-6 at the Meet of Champions, and Glassboro’s Sunsarai Moore threw 143-10 when she won Group 1 sectionals, the 2nd-best mark ever by a South Jersey sophomore.
Then there was Hammonton’s Mitra Sampson, whose 130-8 from the Meet of Champions ranks 10th in South Jersey history among sophomores and was the best throw by an Atlantic County soph in 20 years, since Atlantic City’s Kim Warren threw 132-2 at the 2004 state Group 4 meet at Egg Harbor. So the 2024 season produced three of the top-10 sophomores in South Jersey history.
This was the first time ever three New Jersey sophomores surpassed 130 feet in the discus, and they were all from a 20-mile circumference in South Jersey.
Sampson actually had more success as a freshman with the shot put than the disc. She was the top 9th-grader in the state in 2023 with a PR of 37-9 for 2nd place at Group 3 sectionals at Delsea but only had a discus PR of 74-7. She improved in the shot this past indoor season to 38-2 ½, but her discus improvement was remarkable. She PR’d in her 2024 opener with a 97-3 at the Don Danser Relays, hit 100 feet for the first time at South Jersey Elite with a 100-3, then had a breakthrough when she threw 115-10 to win the Atlantic County Championships at Buena.
She extended that to 119-9 at sectionals and then bombed a 130-6 to place 5th at Group 3 states, where she was the top sophomore and No. 2 South Jersey thrower, behind only Roberts, who placed 2nd at 140-0.
Then she PR’d again at the Meet of Champions, placing 11th overall with a 130-8 throw and finishing as the No. 3 sophomore, behind Nuhfer – who was 2nd – and Moore – who was 3rd.
Sampson’s 130-8 ranks 4th in Atlantic County history, behind Atlantic City’s Kim Warren [146-5] and Mercedes Hicks [143-3] in 2006 and Egg Harbor Township’s Michaela Pomatto [130-9 in 2021]. She broke the school record of 128-11 set in 2022 by Emma Peretti.
Sampson will be the No. 9 returner in the state next year and No. 4 in South Jersey, behind Nuhfer, Moore and Roberts.
She also continued to improve in the shot this spring. Her 38-8 was No. 4 in the state among sophs and No. 2 in South Jersey, behind Nuhfer’s 39-4. That’s also the top mark by an Atlantic County soph since Warren’s 39-10 in 2004. She won titles at the Atlantic County and Cape-Atlantic meets, took 4th at sectionals and 7th at states. She’ll be the No. 13 returner in New Jersey in the shot next year and No. 4 in South Jersey, behind Roberts [41-2 ¼], Washington Township’s Ella Karp [40-3 ¼] and Nuhfer.
All-Time South Jersey Sophomore Discus List
152-6 … Hannah Nuhfer [Delsea], 2024
143-10 … Sunsarai Moore [Glassboro], 2024
142-7 … Jamine Moton [Delsea], 1995
142-6 … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2011
139-8 … Najeaya Singleton [Vineland], 2016
137-0 … Brook-lynn Roberts [Winslow Twp.], 2023
132-2 … Kim Warren [Atlantic City], 2004
131-7 … Ashleigh Weems [Millville], 2011
130-11 … Jennifer Frank [Delsea], 2003
130-8 … Mitra Sampson [Hammonton], 2024
130-4 … Cydney Thomas [Haddon Heights], 2018
130-1 … Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2002
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 