Cherokee’s Jack Tindall broke the state freshman 1,600 record Sunday at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.
Tindall ran 4:14.92. The state freshman class record was 4:16.96, set in 2015 by Jackson Memorial’s Ryan Rafferty at the Meet of Champions at the Bubble. Rafferty now coaches the Northern Burlington girls, including Liliah Gordon, who won the 3,200 at the same meet that Tindall ran 4:14.92.
The outdoor record is 4:15.55, set by Bryan Spoonire of Asbury Park at the 1988 Shore Conference Championships at Monmouth Regional in Tinton Falls. So Tindall is now the fastest freshman in New Jersey history regardless of the track size.
Tindall’s high school PR before Sunday was a 4:19.57 a week earlier at the Group 4 state meet at the Bubble. But he ran a 4:14.98 full mile at a meet in West Chester in May as an 8th-grader, which converts to 4:13.50 for 1,600 meters.
Tindall’s time makes him the No. 1 freshman in the U.S., according to the MileSplit database and the 2nd-fastest on record, behind Marcus Reilly of Northbridge (Mass.), who ran 4:14.01 in a meet in Virginia Beach in 2021. Reilly was a senior last spring and ran a 4:01.16 full mile in June at West Philly Nationals.
In the same race Tindall ran 4:14.92, Delsea junior Matthew Littlehales set a South Jersey record at 4:09.37.
Tindall’s time is No. 12 in South Jersey history and No. 2 on the all-time Burlington County list behind Cherokee’s Marc Pelerin, who ran 4:13.68 converted from a 4:15.16 full mile at the 2001 Bishop Loughlin Games (early in the 2002 season).
All-Time South Jersey 1,600 List
y = converted from mile
4:09.37 … Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], 2025
4:09.96y … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2011
4:09.99y … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2024
4:10.82 … Luke Andresen [Haddonfield], 2025
4:11.03y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:11.89y … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.93y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2016
4:12.55 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022
4:13.68y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:13.87y … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
4:14.1y … Marty Ludwikowski [C.H. West], 1975
4:14.92 … Jack Tindall [Cherokee], 2025
There have been 13 Burlington County milers who have broken 4:20 – nine from Cherokee, three from Cinnaminson and one from Shawnee.
All-Time Burlington County Sub-4:20 1,600 List
y = converted from mile
4:13.68y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:14.92 … Jack Tindall [Cherokee], 2025
4:15.26 … Nick Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2024
4:15.34 … Bobby Poplau [Cherokee], 2024
4:16.61y … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2004
4:16.71y … Dave Forward [Shawnee], 2009
4:18.28 … Alexander Boyko [Cinnaminson], 2023
4:18.48 … Justin Kelly [Cherokee], 2018
4:18.50 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:18.70y … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2019
4:18.80y … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], 2020
4:18.83 … Tyler Jackson [Cherokee], 2020
4:19.97 … Steve Burkholder [Cherokee], 2010
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 