Once again, Nico Morales has improved on his own South Jersey alumni pole vault record.
The Delsea graduate, a senior at Rutgers, cleared a lifetime-best 17-6 ¼ Friday at the Scarlet Knight Open at the Armory in Manhattan.
That’s No. 3 in Rutgers history and No. 8 so far this year in the Big Ten. It also supplanted current teammate Noah Kreisman, a Cherry Hill East graduate, as the top vaulter ever from South Jersey. Kreisman cleared 17-3 ½ outdoors in April in Columbia, S.C. It’s also No. 8 ever by a New Jersey alumni.
Morales passed through 4.94, cleared 16-8 ¼ on his first attempt, 17-2 ¼ on his second and 17-6 ¼ on his first before missing three tries at 17-10 ¼. Kriesman, a Rider transfer, set an indoor PR of 16-8 ¼ Friday at the Armory, surpassing his 16-8 from Akron earlier this month. That’s No. 7 in Rutgers indoor history.
Teammate Kevin O’Sullivan extended his Rutgers school record to 18-2 and twin brother Brian O’Sullivan was 2nd at 17-10 ¼. O’Sullivan broke his brother’s school record of 18 feet set a week earlier at the Ott Center. The O’Sullivans are graduates of Hillsborough High in Somerset County.
Morales cleared 17 feet for the first time at 17-1 ¾ in a meet at Akron Field House earlier this month. He improved to 17-2 ¾ at the Quaker Invitational at the Ott Center in West Philly a week later, then cleared 17 feet again at the Crossroads of America Festival in Indianapolis last week before PR’ing Friday at 17-6 ¼.
Before this month, Morales had a PR of 16-9 ½ from the 2023 Penn Relays and an indoor PR of 16-6 from last year’s Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
Here is a look at every 17-footer from New Jersey I could find. Anybody missing?
All-Time New Jersey Alumni Pole Vault List
18-9 1/4 … Bradley Jelmert [Watchung Hills], Dec. 9, 2023, Pittsburg, Kan.
18-2 … Kevin O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], Jan. 31, 2025, New York
18-0 … Brian O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], Jan. 24, 2025, Akron, Ohio
17-10 ½ … Craig Hunter [Robbinsville], June 8, 2016, Eugene, Ore.
17-9 … Kevin McGuire [Lawrenceville], May 26, 1993, Fairfax, Va.
17-8 ½ … Steve Keating [Pompton Lakes], June 12, 1993, Los Gatos, Calif.
17-6 ½ … Adam Sarafian [Ocean Township], Jan. 28, 2006, Reno, Nev.
17-6 ¼ … Nico Morales [Delsea], Jan. 31, 2025, New York
17-4 ½ … Ed Keefe [St. John Vianney], Feb. 17, 2002, Syracuse
17-3 ½ … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], April 20, 2024, Columbia, S.C.
17-2 ½ … Christian Mazza [Toms River East], Feb. 23, 2003, Syracuse
17-0 ¾ … Chris Wykoff [Toms River East], May 25, 2013, Greensboro, N.C.
17-0 … Bill Lange [Bridgewater East], 1980, Hanover, N.H.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 