Desi Stroud became the latest member of the South Jersey 24-foot club over the weekend with a huge long jump PR at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University in Chester, Pa.
Stroud, a sophomore from Atlantic County Vo-Tech, jumped 24-3, breaking the Holy Family outdoor school record of 23-6.
That 23-6 was initially achieved in March of last year by current Holy Family sophomore Odane Smith in Bridgewater, Va. Current Holy Family junior Javon Bowen jumped 23-6 on his final attempt at Widener Saturday, and Stroud jumped 24-3 on his final attempt. So Stroud either broke Smith’s record or broke a record shared by Smith and Bowen, depending what order they were jumping in Chester. Presumably, Stroud was jumping before Bowen in the finals since Bowen had a superior jump in the trials. If that’s the case, Stroud broke Smith’s record and then Bowen jumped 23-6 on the final attempt of the competition.
In any case, Stroud’s previous outdoor PR was 23-4 ¾ from a week earlier in Galloway Township, right up Route 9 from his hometown of Mays Landing. He has an indoor PR of 23-8 ¾ from Ocean Breeze in February 2024. His outdoor PR coming into the season was 22-1 ¼ when he placed 3rd in South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Pennsauken in June 2023.
Stroud had a solid series, with jumps of 21-0, 22-1 ¼, 22-6, 23-1 ¾ and 22-0 leading up to his breakthrough 24-3.
It’s possible there was no wind gauge at the meet, which is insane for a major college track meet, but every jump has a 0.0 wind reading, so doesn’t look good. I’m trying to look into that. Hopefully, wind readings were taken, they’re just not in the results.
Stroud’s mark is No. 12 in NCAA Division 2 so far this year. Stroud, Bowen and Smith are the top three jumpers in the East Coast Conference.
He’s the 3rd long jumper from Atlantic County to jump 24 feet, following Mainland Regional’s Paul Klemic [25-2 PR in Waverly, Iowa, in 2005] and Absegami’s Demetrius Rooks [24-8 ½ in Greensboro, N.C., in 2016].
Here’s my best attempt at an all-time South Jersey alumni 24-foot long jump:
29-1 ¼ … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], Aug. 30, 1991, Tokyo
26-3 ¼ … Matt Rose [Bordentown], Mary 4, 1991, Knoxville, Tenn.
26-1 ¾ … Greg Foster [Lumberton], May 6, 2023, Philadelphia
26-1 ¾ … Chris Gillis [Pennsauken], May 12, 2006, Waco, Texas
26-1 ½i … Kerry Vivett [Edgewood], 1991, Track and Field News
26-1 ¼ … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], May 13, 2006, Fayetteville, Ark.
25-8 ¼ … Desmond Hamilton [Pennsauken], May 13, 2007, Princeton
25-7 … Jerome Robinson [Bordentown], July 20, 1991, New York
25-2 … Paul Klemic [Mainland Reg.], May 26, 2005, Waverly, Iowa
25-0 ¾ … Zach Manorowitz [Pennsville], May 7, 2022, Lawrenceville
24-11 ¾ … Antwan Dickerson [Pennsauken], May 24, 2018, Sacramento, Calif.
24-11 ¼ … Anthony Miles [Winslow Twp.], June 5, 2002, Brunswick, Maine
24-8 ½ … Demetrius Rooks [Absegami], May 6, 2016, Greensboro, N.C.
24-4 ¾ … Jeffrey-Jon Tucker [Eastern], April 1, 2016, Glassboro
24-3 ¾ … Mikhail Micheaux [Eastern], June 1, 2013, Egg Harbor Twp.
24-3 … Desi Stroud [Atlantic County Vo-Tech], March 28, 2025, Chester, Pa.
24-0 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], April 28, 2012, Philadelphia
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 