In her first lifetime 10,000, Haddonfield’s Helene Usher ran the 8th-fastest time on record by a South Jersey runner.
Usher, a sophomore at La Salle, made her debut over 10,000 meters late Friday night at the Raleigh Relays and placed 10th in 34:13.65.
Usher had just run 16:30.14 indoors for 5,000 meters in Boston last month and then placed 3rd in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
But on Friday on a warm evening at Frank Derr Stadium, she came through 5,000 meters in about 17:10 and closed in 17:03.
Her time is No. 2 in the A-10 so far this year, behind Fordham senior and A-10 indoor 5,000 champion Katarina Birimac, who ran 33:59.59 in the same race.
On the all-time South Jersey list, is 2nd-fastest from Haddonfield, behind only Marielle Hall, who ran 31:05.71 when she placed 8th at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Hall never ran a track 10,000 when she was at Texas.
In a different section of the 10,000, Kingsway and Edinboro graduate Kylie Anicic ran 34:08.45. She ran 33:25.55 last year in the same meet.
All-Time South Jersey 10,000 Performance List
31:05.71 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], Sept. 28, 2019, Doha, Qatar
31:35.63 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], Dec. 5, 2020, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
33:07.10 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], May 28, 2021, Portland, Ore.
33:15.95 … Meghan McGlinchey [West Deptford], April 4, 2014, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:23.12 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], March 26, 2010, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:25.55 … Kylie Anicic [Kingsway], March 29, 2024, Raleigh, N.C.
33:27.41 … Laura Mason [Northern Burlington], April 27, 1995, Philadelphia
34:13.65 … Helene Usher [Haddonfield], March 28, 2025, Raleigh, N.C.
34:27.85 … Jenna Darcy [Shawnee], March 31, 2006, Palo Alto, Calif.
34:30.63 … Kylie Anicic [Kingsway], March 23, 2023, Raleigh, N.C.
34:34.91 … Katie Van Horn [Triton], March 20, 2007, Palo Alto, Calif.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 