Delsea’s Nico Morales recorded the best outdoor pole vault mark ever by a South Jersey athlete Friday at the South Florida Alumni Invitational in Tampa.
In his first outdoor meet since the Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Ind., in May of 2023, Morales cleared 17-5, surpassing his outdoor PR of 16-9 ½ from the 2023 Penn Relays.
Morales had a stretch of indoor meets where he cleared 17-6 ¼, 17-6 ½ and 17-5 ½ this past January and February, with that 17-6 ½ in Cambridge, Mass., establishing an indoor or outdoor South Jersey alumni record.
The previous South Jersey alumni outdoor record was set by Morales’ current Rutgers teammate, Cherry Hill East graduate Noah Kriesman, a Rutgers sophomore. He cleared 17-3 ½ in a meet last April in Columbia, S.C.
Morales’ 17-5 appears to be No. 2 in Rutgers history outdoors, although the school hasn’t updated its all-time performance list in a while.
Current Rutgers sophomore Brian O’Sullivan cleared 17-5 ½ in the NCAA East Prelims in Lexington last May.
His brother, junior Kevin O’Sullivan, is the Rutgers indoor school record holder at 18-2 from a meet at the Armory in January, but his outdoor PR appears to be 17-1 from last year’s South Florida Invitational.
All-Time New Jersey Alumni Pole Vault List
18-9 ¼ … Bradley Jelmert [Watchung Hills], Dec. 9, 2023, Pittsburg, Kan.
18-2 … Kevin O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], Jan. 31, 2025, New York
18-0 … Brian Sullivan [Hillsborough], Jan. 24, 2025, Indianapolis
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 ½ … Nico Morales [Delsea], Feb. 8, 2025, Cambridge, Mass.
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 