Eastern graduate Jewel Ash, a senior at Fresno State, had a monster weekend at the Mountain West Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center, running PRs of 8.40 in the 60-meter hurdles and 53.95 for 400 meters.
She now ranks 3rd in program history in the hurdles and 3rd in the 400. Her 400 time is 20 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list and her 8.40 is No. 11. The only other woman on both lists is Paul VI graduate Aliya Garozzo, now a senior at Duke.
Ash ran 8.40 in the hurdles trials, then placed 3rd in the final with an 8.44. She ran 54.46 in the 400 semis before taking 8th in the final with her 53.95.
Her PRs going into the weekend were 8.59 in the highs just two weeks earlier in a meet at the same facility and 54.04 at the 2022 Raleigh Relays as a sophomore at Charleston Southern.
Ash’s best event is the intermediate hurdles. She ran 57.16 when she won the 2022 Big South Conference meet in High Point, N.C. That’s the 5th-fastest ever by a South Jersey woman.
Ash’s sister Jailya is a senior at Uconn and set a school record of 13.32 over the 100-meter highs in April in Storrs. She hasn’t competed this indoor season.
All-Time South Jersey Alumni 400-Meter Dash List
50.66 … Nadia Davey [Bridgeton], 2003, Sacramento
51.70 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], June 13, 2014, Eugene, Ore.
51.72 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], June 27, 1987, San Jose, Calif.
52.24 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], March 16, 1996, Westwood, Calif.
52.42 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], Feb. 10, 2023, Clemson, S.C.
52.77 … Eusheka Bartley [Highland], March 23, 1996, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
52.80 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], May 12, 2007, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
52.86 … Tina Johnson [Burlington Twp.], May 20, 2001, Bloomington, Ind.
53.01 … Halima Scott [Camden Big Picture Learning Academy / Woodrow Wilson], May 6, 2023, Williamsburg, Va.
53.20 … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], April 23, 2016, Atlanta
53.37 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], March 24, 2023, Tallahassee, Fla.
53.37 … Nylah Perry [Winslow Twp.], Feb. 24, 2024, Geneva, Ohio
53.45 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], Atlanta May 14, 2005
53.45 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], June 17, 2024, Franklin Twp., N.J.
53.47 … Aliya Garozzo [Paul VI], Louisville, March 2, 2025
53.51 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], June 15, 1996, Raleigh, N.C.
53.64 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], June 21, 2008, Greensboro, N.C.
53.73 … English Gardner [Eastern], March 24, 2012, Los Angeles
53.78 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], Feb. 23, 2019, Ann Arbor, Mich.
53.95 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], March 1, 2025, Albuquerque
All-Time South Jersey Alumni 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.80 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], Albuquerque, 2014
7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Philadelphia, 1980
8.15 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], Albuquerque, 2024
8.19 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], New York, 2022
8.19 … Shameeka Marshall [Oakcrest], 2005
8.25 … Ste’cye McNeil [Winslow Twp.], New York, 2015
8.29 … Aliya Garozzo [Paul VI], 2024, Cambridge, Mass., 2024
8.30 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2022, Staten Island
8.31 … Imani Gilliam [Pennsauken], March 6, 2005, Boston
8.34 … Shereese Price [Pleasantville], 2002, Syracuse
8.40 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], 2025, Albuquerque
8.42 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], 2025, Philadelphia
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 