Jonathan Harris, who was the No. 3 shot putter in New Jersey this past spring as a Delsea junior, popped a personal-best and meet-record 63-2 ¾ Wednesday at the AAU National Club Championships in Jacksonville.
But Harris won by 15 feet and broke the listed meet record of 61-0 ½ by Beau Burroughs of Tampa Jesuit High in 2004.
Harris’s official high school PR is a 63-0 ½ when he won South Jersey Group 3 sectionals earlier last month at Delsea. That’s 7th in South Jersey history. His 63-2 ¾ won’t count on all-time high school lists because it was made out of season, but it would rank 6th in South Jersey history, just ahead of former teammate Jason Nwosu, who threw 63-2 ½ to win the 2022 state Group 3 meet at Pennsauken.
The Gloucester County record is 64-10 1/2 by Paulsboro’s Jon Kallas at the 1997 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.
Harris, competing for the Omega Track Club, opened with a 57-2, two fouls and a 57-8 ¼. He improved to 58-9 ½ on his 5th attempt before hitting the 63-2 ¾ on his final attempt.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 