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: Laurel Conway, Sterling

Laurel Conway brought a javelin PR of 104-4 into her senior year at Sterling, but by the end of the season she was one of the top throwers in New Jersey.

As a sophomore, Conway threw 104-4 at 2022 South Jersey Group 2 sectionals at Delsea, where she placed 3rd. She won sectionals as a junior but her best throw was a 103-4 at the Haddonfield Invitational.

But on her second throw of senior year she hit a lifetime-best 108-0 when she won the Don Danser Relays at Rancocas Valley and after a win at the West Deptford Relays with a small PR of 108-10 she broke through at Woodbury with a 122-8 and 2nd place behind eventual Meet of Champions runner-up Zoe Goldberg of Eastern.

Conway then popped a 131-3 on her 4th and final throw to win the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township by nearly 40 feet. That broke the school record of 128- set by Saraly Gonzalez at the 2018 Haddonfield Invitational.

She won the Nick Baker Invitational and SJ-2 sectionals and then threw well at West Philly Nationals with a 123-11. She’s the only girl from Sterling ever to win a sectional javelin title, and she’s now won two.

Conway finished the year ranked No. 2 in South Jersey behind Goldberg’s 146-1 to win South Jersey Group 4 sectionals and she was ranked No. 5 in all of New Jersey.

All-Time Camden County Javelin List
152-9 … Kate Johnston [Haddonfield], 2012
148 8 … Caitlin Cielo [Eastern], 2002
146-1 … Zoe Goldberg [Eastern], 2024
142-3 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
136-6 … Danielle Still [Bishop Eustace], 2002
132-4 … Kelsey Reese [Paul VI], 2011
131-8 … Laurel Conway [Sterling], 2024
129-1 … Aniyah Smith [Eastern], 2024
128-5 … Saraly Gonzalez [Sterling], 2018
127-11 … Pam Watson [Haddon Heights], 2016

Curtis Thompson unloaded the 9th-best throw of his life Saturday to win American JavFest at East Stroudsburg [Pa.] High School.

Thompson, who heads to Paris next month for his second Olympics, threw 271-0 on his 3rd attempt and won by 10 feet over Sindri Gudmundsson, who threw 261-0 on his 2nd attempt. Thompson and Gudmundsson both threw at Mississippi State but not at the same time.

Thompson, a 2014 Florence High School graduate, won the Trials in Eugene last month and his 4th career U.S. title with a 272-5 throw. He’s ranked 23rd in the world this year and No. 2 among U.S. throwers. His 287-9 at 2022 American JavFest is No. 3 in U.S. history.

On Saturday, Thompson opened with a foul and a 261-7 before the winning 271-0. He finished with a 260-7, 256-2 and 260-0.

Deptford graduate Tim VanLiew placed 6th with his best throw in six years in his 2nd meet since 2018. VanLiew threw 232-9, his best throw since a 236-4 in his final meet of 2018 – the U.S. Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, where he placed 5th.

After that meet, he didn’t compete again until the Lions Invitational at The College of New Jersey in April, where he threw 219-1.

VanLiew’s lifetime best is 261-2 from Tucson [Ariz.] Elite Classic in May 2016.

Curtis Thompson’s 270-Foot Throws
287-9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [2nd throw]
276-4 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2022 [3rd throw]
274-11 … Athletissima, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2022 [1st throw]
273-4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [1st throw]
272-5 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 23, 2024 [1st throw]
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016 [1st throw]
271-10 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [3rd throw]
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [6th throw]
271-0 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 13, 2024 [1st throw]
270-3 … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Invitational, Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland, Aug. 6, 2022 [2nd throw]

Winslow rising junior Ma’Syiah Brawner won the triple jump Thursday at the AAU National Club Championships in Memphis.

Brawner jumped 39-1 ½ on her final attempt to snag the lead after trailing the entire competition.

Brawner opened with two fouls and facing early elimination she jumped 37-6 ½ to move into 4th place and earn three more jumps.

She improved to 38-0 ¼ on her fourth attempt and then 38-6 ¾ but going into the final round still trailed Nicole Green of Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School in Ladue, Mo., who opened with a 38-9 ¾.

But on her final attempt, Brawner came up huge, sailing 39-1 ¼ to win by 3 ½ inches. Green jumped 37-3 on her final attempt, and the national title belonged to Brawner.

During the high school season, Brawner jumped 40-5 ¾ to win the Meet of Champions and 40-6 ¼ to place 8th at West Philly Nationals and set a South Jersey sophomore class record. She was the 5th-ranked sophomore in the U.S., according to the MileSplit national database.

Brawner also jumped 19-7 ½ in the long jump at Franklin Field and was an All-America in both horizontal jumps.

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: Ashraf Maklache, Cherry Hill East

One of the most improved two-way hurdlers in the state, Cherry Hill East’s Ashraf Maklache lowered his 110-meter high hurdles time from 16.16 as a sophomore to 14.51 as a junior and dropped from 56.31 to 53.48 in the 400-meter intermediates.

Maklache’s big breakthrough in the highs came at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township, which he won in 14.97. He lowered that to 14.51 in the prelims at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Pennsauken before placing 5th in the final in 14.54.

But he saved his best for the intermediates. His first sub-56 and sub-55 came at South Jersey Elite at Delsea, where he placed 4th in a loaded race in 54.74, then dropped his PR to 54.62 when he won the Camden County title for a hurdles double.

His next PR came in his next race at the Cherokee Final Countdown Last-Chance Invitational, where he and Gloucester’s Jaden Garris were both timed in 54.40, Garris getting the win.

Maklache lowered his PR to 53.78 at sectionals, where he placed 2nd to Toms River North’s Mordecai Ford, who ran 53.60 and then he PR’d for a 5th consecutive meet at the state Group 4 meet in Somerset with a 53.48, behind only Morristown senior Jason Meza, the eventual Meet of Champions winner.

That 53.48 made Maklache the No. 4 underclassman in New Jersey, behind Ford [52.85], Winslow’s Dominic Bassey [53.35] and Toms River North’s Camryn Thomas [53.40].

Maklache’s 53.48 is No. 3 in Cherry Hill East history, behind Alex Reber [52.92 at the 2012 Olympic Conference meet at Washington Township] and Kervens Mezilus [53.28 at the 2017 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington]. His 14.51 is No. 2 in school history, behind only Jordan Clark’s 14.38 at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Egg Harbor in 2016.

Camden County Junior Class 400IH List
52.92 … Alex Reber [Cherry Hill East], 2012
53.28 … Kervens Mezilus [Cherry Hill East], 2017
53.30 … Maxwell Dickens [Paul VI], 2016
53.35 … Dominic Bassey [Winslow Twp.], 2024
53.3h … Kerry Vivett [Edgewood], 1985
53.48 … Ashraf Maklache [Cherry Hill East], 2024

Tionna Tobias leaped 20-7 ½ and placed 5th in the long jump Thursday evening at the Ed Murphey Track Classic, a Puma American Track League event in Memphis.

Tobias, a Winslow graduate who recently finished her senior year at Iowa, was competing for the first time since the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Tobias hit 20-6 ¾ on her first jump and 20-7 ½ on her 2nd. She also had a 20-4 ¾ jump on her 3rd jump.

This was one of Tobias’s better results over this past year. She jumped a PR 21-4 ¼ in Gainesville in March.

Also Thursday night in Memphis, Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde threw 66-8 ¼ and took 3rd in the men’s shot put, and Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard threw 59-1 ½ and placed 4th in the women’s shot put.

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.

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: Maya Braxton-Young, Woodbury

Maya Braxton-Young’s entire high school track career appears to have  consisted of six total meets. But she sure squeezed a lot into them. And she PR’d in every one.

MileSplit has no record of Braxton-Young ever competing until outdoor season of her senior year. She threw 30-9 ¼ at the Fast Times at Cherokee High in mid-April in what appears to be the first track meet of her life.

She improved to 34-0 ¼ at the Woodbury Relays and placed 6th and then threw 36-11 ¼ at South Jersey Elite at Delsea in her 3rd meet. She PR’d again a week later when she placed 2nd at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford with a 37-3 ¼ – a quarter of an inch behind Delsea’s Hannah Nuhfer.

In her final tuneup before sectionals, Braxton-Young popped a 39-1 ½ at the Delsea Crusader Field Meet, this time taking 2nd to Washington Township’s Ella Karp.

Then it was off to sectionals, where Braxton-Young won by more than four feet with the three-best throws of her life – a 40-0 on her 1st attempt, the winning 40-1 on her 3rd attempt and a 39-10 on her 4th throw.

Braxton-Young averaged 38-11 on her five legal throws at sectionals and had the five-best throws of the competition.

She became the first Woodbury girl to win a sectional shot put title in 37 years, since Janeen Brown won her 2nd straight South Jersey Group 1 title in 1987 with a 33-7 ¼ throw at Haddon Township. Brown also won in 1986 with a 33-10 ¼.

She’s only the 8th South Jersey Group 1 thrower ever to surpass 40 feet and the first from Woodbury. Her 40-1 winning throw has been surpassed by only two throwers in meet history – Riverside’s Rose Perry in 2003 [43-4 ¼] and Zyra Thomas of Schalick in 2016 [40-5 ½], 2017 [40-2 ½] and 2018 [43-7].

Braxton-Young became the first Woodbury girl in any event to win a sectional title in 12 years, since Skye Tiller won the 800 in 2012 and Tene Horace won the high jump.

Unfortunately, Braxton-Young’s season ended after sectionals. Although she was the No. 1 seed going into states, she’s listed as a “DNS” – did not start. But despite that, Braxton-Young had the best season of any Woodbury shot putter in history.

Braxton-Young averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 steals, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this past year for the Woodbury girls basketball team and was named Colonial Conference Player of the Year.

She’s a transfer from Audenreid High in Philadelphia but it appears she never competed in track there.

All-Time South Jersey Group 1 Shot Put List
46-0 ¼ … Zyra Thomas [Schalick], 2018
43-7 …… .Shamire Rothmiller [Glassboro], 2008
43-4 ½ … Rose Perry [Riveride], 2003
41-7 ½ … Maylisa Bluford [Clayton], 2023
41-5 ½ … Amaya Reed-Clark [Paulsboro], 2019
40-11 ……Lavon Childress [Paulsboro], 2011
40-3 ……. Angela Pollino [Paulsboro], 2005
40-1 ……. Maya Braxton-Young [Woodbury], 2024

All-Time Gloucester County 40-Foot List
46-4 ……… Janiece Rose [Delsea], 2011
44-8 … Ciara Demarest [Williamstown], 2022
44-5 ……… Jamine Moton [Delsea], 1997
44-3 …. Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004
44-2 ½ …. Typhanie Bates [Williamstown], 1995
43-8 ¾…. Janet Morris [Kingsway], 1991
43-7 …..… Shamire Rothmiller [Glassboro], 2008
42-7 ¼ … Tara Daniels [Kingsway], 2013
42-3 …… Tessie Allen [Kingsway], 2007
41-7 ¾ … Genevieve Rybicki [Our Lady of Mercy], 2007
41-7 ½ … Maylisa Bluford [Clayton], 2023
41-5 ½ … Victoria Imbesi [Our Lady of Mercy], 2009
41-5 ½ … Amaya Reed-Clark [Paulsboro], 2019
41-0 ¾ … Emma Painter [Clayton], 1980
40-11 …… Lavon Childress [Paulsboro], 2011
40-3 ¼ … Ella Karp [Washington Twp.], 2024
40-3 … Angela Pollino [Paulsboro], 2005
40-1 … Maya Braxton-Young [Woodbury], 2024

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: Miles Acchione, Lenape

For a guy who didn’t even throw 170 feet in the javelin as a junior, this was a magical season for Lenape senior Miles Acchione.

His PR last spring was 167-10 but that went by the wayside in his 2024 opener, a 178-3 in CBA’s Penn Relays Qualifier in Lincroft. He improved to 182-6 at the Don Danser Relays at Rancocas Valley and then 187-1 in a dual meet against Eastern. At the South Jersey Elite at Delsea, he popped his first 190-foot throw, a 190-1.

Acchione remained undefeated with wins at the Burlington County Open, Olympic Conference Championships, South Jersey Group 4 sectionals and the state Group 4 meet.

He was the first Lenape thrower to win a county title since Lyman Bozarth in 2005 and the first to win a conference title since Adam Mignogna in 2010. His 188-9 was the best winning throw at the Olympic Conference since Cherry Hill East’s Stephen Benigno threw 195-0 in 2014.

Acchione became Lenape’s first sectional javelin winner since Ryan Wilson in 1995 and then won states with a 187-7, which made him Lenape’s first state champion – in any event – since intermediate hurdler Mike Williams in 2013 and first ever in the javelin (or any field event).

His 195-10 for 2nd place at the Meet of Champions ranks 6th in Burlington County history and 14th in South Jersey history with the new javelin, which has been in use since 2003.

His 2nd-place finish at the MoC was best by a Lenape boy in any event at a Meet of Champions in 24 years, since Mohamad Kanu ran 48.24 and placed 2nd to Kurt Forsythe of Summit in the 2000 MoC at South Brunswick.

Acchione’s brother Quin plays baseball at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

All-Time Burlington County New Javelin List
227-10 … Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley], 2017
224-10 … Curtis Thompson [Florence], 2014
216-6 … Chris Mirabelli [Holy Cross], 2014
204-4 … Kevin Burr Jr. [Rancocas Valley], 2023
201-1 … Sean Biehn [Burlington City], 2006
195-10 … Miles Acchione [Lenape], 2024
192-6 … Matt Rafferty [Northern Burlington], 2012
192-3 … Shane McDevitt [Cinnaminson], 2014
191-6 … Robert Marks [Rancocas Valley], 2016
187-8 … Jerry Fusco [Holy Cross], 2016

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

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: David Godbolt, Rancocas Valley

David Godbolt broke a long-standing Rancocas Valley high jump record, won his first state title and was also one of South Jersey’s top long jumpers as a Red Devil senior.

Godbolt first made his presence known as a sophomore when he won indoor Easterns at the Armory with his first lifetime 6-foot clearance. He improved to 6-2 as a junior indoors and added the triple jump [44-3] and long jump [21-6 ¾] to his arsenal.

Last year, Godbolt cleared 6-6 for the first time, winning South Jersey Group 4 sectionals, and his senior indoor season he had four 6-6 clearances and placed 2nd at the Meet of Champions.

Then this spring, Godbolt cleared 6-8 ¼ to win sectionals. That’s No. 12 in Burlington County history and broke the school record set by Barry Anderson in 1977 at the Greater Philadelphia Invitational at Frnaklin Field and matched by Jim Bowles at the 1986 state Group 3 meet at Rutgers in Piscataway.

It also equalled the best jump by a Burlington County high jumper since Seneca’s Drew Kanz hit 7-1 at the 2009 County Open at Maple Shade. Cherokee’s Ed Kramer also cleared 6-8 ¼ in 2010 at the old East Coast Relays at Morristown.

Anderson was a state champ indoors, but Goldbolt became Rancocas Valley’s first outdoor state champ in the high jump since John Stroud won Group 3 in 1961 at Merchantville High. Rancocas Valley was known as Mount Holly High School back then.

Godbolt also picked up high jump wins at the West Deptford Relays, Burlington County Open and Olympic Conference Championships and placed 6th at the Penn Relays.

In the long jump, Godbolt’s 22-6 makes him No. 3 all-time at Rancocas Valley, behind Tai Matlock [23-1 in 2019] and Iverson Clement [23-0 ½ in 2017]. He was 5th at the Burlington County Open, 2nd in the Olympic Conference meet and 2nd at sectionals.

Godbolt will join a large South Jersey contingent at Monmouth in the fall.

All-Time Burlington County High Jump List
7-3 ¼ ..… Mike Morrison [Willingboro], 2003
7-1 ………. Drew Kanz [Seneca], 2009
7-0 ………. Marc Holland [Willingboro], 1978
7-0 …..….. Todd Lowber [Delran], 2001
6-10 …….. Scott Landers [Northern Burlington], 1980
6-10 …….. Troy Saunders [Bordentown], 1983
6-10 …….. Pat Collier [Willingboro], 1983
6-9 ………. Marvin Bass [Palmyra], 1994
6-8 ½ … Rocky Harrison [Woodbury], 1975
6-8 ½ … Ben Kendall [Bordentown], 1980
6-8 ½ … Mike Pascuzzo [Lenape], 1980
6-8 ¼ … Ed Kramer [Cherokee], 2010
6-8 1/4 … David Godbolt [Rancocas Valley], 2024