Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta dropped a massive 400 PR Saturday with the fastest time by a South Jersey quarter-miler in 29 years.

Moronta, now a senior at South Florida, ran 45.31 at the at the Florida Relays on the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville.

His previous PR was a 45.81 last May in the prelims of the American Conference Championships in San Antonio.

The only South Jersey high school graduates to run faster than Moronta are two Olympic gold medalists – Dennis Mitchell of Edgewood had a PR of 45.26, which he ran in 1986 in Tampa, and Willingboro’s Lamont Smith ran 44.30 at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta.

Moronta’s time is also 9th-fastest ever by a New Jersey runner and fastest since 2016, when Najee Glass of St. Peter’s Prep ran 44.79 in Eugene.

According to the World Athletics database, it’s No. 20 in the world this year and No. 7 among U.S. men. Depending on what happened at other meets this weekend, it’ll be somewhere close to No. 5 in NCAA Division 1 this year.

Moronta lowered his own school record from that 45.81 from last year. He’s also the South Florida indoor school record holder with his 46.04 from a meet this past February in Boston.

Here’s my best attempt at an al-time New Jersey sub-46 list!

44.28 … Andrew Valmon [Manchester Twp.], June 19, 1993, Eugene
44.30 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], June 19, 1996, Atlanta
44.79 … Najee Glass [St. Peter’s Prep], April 24, 2015, Gainesville, Fla.
45.01 … Kevin Lyles [Franklin Twp.], April 7, 1995, Knoxville, Tenn.
45.25 … Clayton Parros [Seton Hall Prep], June 26, 2015, Eugene, Ore.
45.26 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], April 12, 1986, Tampa, Fla.
45.30 … Willie McLaughlin [East Orange], June 18, 1983, Indianapolis
45.31 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], April 5, 2025, Gainesville
45.40 … Erison Hurtault [Matawan], June 9, 2007, Sacramento, Calif.
45.49 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], April 11, 2015, Tucson, Ariz.
45.55 … Taj Burgess [Carteret], May 26, 2021, Jacksonville, Fla.
45.62 … Charles Cox [Monmouth Reg.], May 28, 2010, Greensboro, N.C.
45.63 … Glenwood Jackson [East Orange], May 5, 1989, Houston
45.93 … Tyrone Ross [Metuchen], June 12, 2004, Colts Neck
45.93 … Joe Mendel [Wayne Hills], June 20, 2004, Cambridge, Mass.
45.93 … Clayton Gravesande [Franklin Twp.], May 12, 2012, Baton Rouge, La.
45.94 … Justin Gaymon [Phillipsburg], March 2, 2008, Fayetteville, Ark.
45.98 … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], May 29, 2010, Charlotte, N.C.

Delsea junior Hannah Nuhfer bombed the No. 3 shot put in South Jersey history and tied the Gloucester County record Saturday morning at the Deptford Spartan Relays.

Nuhfer threw 46-4 and thanks to the horrible Pioneer Timing site we have no series information. This is 2025, last time we checked. Splits and field series info are required.

WE HAVE HER SERIES! Thanks @DelseaTrack: 46-4, 43-9, 44-8! Great series! She averaged 44-11 on her three throws!

Nuhfer has been one of the state’s top discus throwers, but this was a massive breakthrough in her secondary event.

She was 2nd in the Meet of Champions in the discus last year at 152-6, which is 12th-best in state history and No. 6 on the all-time South Jersey list.

But her shot put PR coming into Saturday was 41-9 ½ from Easterns at the Armory in February, and her outdoor PR was 40-3 at the Delsea Crusader Field Meet last week.

So much for those PRs.

Nuhfer’s 46-4 is best by a South Jersey girl in 12 years, since Jessica Woodard of Cherokee threw 47-1 ¼ at the 2013 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield. She tied the Gloucester County (and school) record set by Delsea’s Janiece Rose at the 2011 Rowan Open in Glassboro.

Her mark is No. 20 in state history and makes her one of just six New Jersey girls to throw 150 feet in the discus and 46 feet in the shot put and one of only three juniors, along with current Livingston senior Jessica Oji and 2017 Donovan Catholic graduate Alyssa Wilson.

Alyssa Wilson, Donovan Catholic, 2017 [182-0, 58-1]
Layla Giordano, Old Tappan, 2024 [172-2, 50-0]
Jessica Woodard, Cherokee, 2013 [168-10, 47-1 ¼]
Jessica Oji, Livingston, 2024 [161-7, 51-10]
DeAnne Hahn [Brick Twp.], 2008 [153-3, 47-6]
Hannah Nuhfer [Delsea], 2024/2025 [152-6, 46-4]

47-1 ¼ … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2013
46-4 ……… Janiece Rose [Delsea], 2011
46-4 ……… Hannah Nuhfer [Delsea], 2025
46-1 ½ … Nacole Moore [Bridgeton], 2000
46-0 ¼ … Zyra Thomas [Schalick], 2018
45-7 ½ … Ronetta Hunter [Burlington Twp.], 2015
45-5 ……… Sylvia Galarza [Millville], 2004
44-9 ¾ … Najeaya Singleton [Vineland], 2016
44-9 ……… Kim Warren [Atlantic City], 2006
44-9 ……… Lola Agabalogun [Egg Harbor], 2013
44-8 ……… Ciara Demarest [Williamstown], 2023
44-5 ¼ …. Melinda Boykin [Bridgeton], 1998
44-5 ……… Jamine Moton [Delsea], 1997
44-4 ¼ …. Dana White [Camden], 2000
44-3 …. Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004
44-2 ½ …. Typhanie Bates [Williamstown], 1995
44-0 ¾ …. Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 2006

58-1 … Alyssa Wilson [Donovan Catholic], 2017
52-7 ¾ … Nickolette Dunbar [Whippany Park], 2016
51-10 … Jessica Oji [Livingston], 2024
50-0 … Layla Giordano [Old Tappan], 2024
49-10 … Shelby Bigsby [Montclair], 2018
49-2 ¾ … Nicole Sims [Plainfield], 1991
48-10 ½ … Amarys Berry [Hackensack], 2016
48-4 ¾ … Jessica Molina [Westwood], 2016
48-0 ½ … Jackie Hudgins [Highstown], 2001
47-11 … Danielle Notarfrancesco [Jackson Liberty], 2016
47-6 … DeAnne Hahn [Brick Twp.], 2007
47-5 ½ … Theresa Picciallo [Immaculate Heart], 2011
47-2 ¾ … Kim Hicks [Plainfield], 1992
47-1 ¼ … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2013
46-8 … Pam Dukes [Freehold Twp.], 1981
46-7 ¼ … Jessica Fazekas [Demarest], 2002
46-7 ¼ … Kelly Fazekas [Demarest], 2003
46-6 ¼ … Maureen Laffan [Toms River North], 2008
46-5 … Sarah Bella [Mendham], 2008
46-4 ……… Janiece Rose [Delsea], 2011
46-4 ……… Hannah Nuhfer [Delsea], 2025
46-1 ½ … Nacole Moore [Bridgeton], 2000
46-0 ½ … Taryn O’Connor [Hillsboro], 2007
46-0 ¼ … Zyra Thomas [Schalick], 2018

In cold, rainy conditions, Winslow senior Dominic Bassey ran a hot 400-meter intermediate hurdles race at Deptford Saturday morning.

Bassey won the 400IH by more than 2 ½ seconds in 54.05 at the Deptford Spartan Relays, the fastest time in the state so far this year. It was his first intermediate hurdles race this year.

That’s less than a second off Bassey’s PR of 53.35, which he ran in much better conditions at the Meet of Champions last spring at Pennsauken.

He didn’t run this fast last year until the middle of June.

Bassey is also one of New Jersey’s top half-milers, with a PR of 1:52.15 from the state Group 3 meet last June at Delsea.

Egg Harbor Township’s Ahmad Brock and Eastern’s Aaron Brooks popped the top long jump marks in the Coastal Athletic Conference this year and two of the best in NCAA Division 1 Mid-Atlantic Region on Friday.

Brock, a senior, tied his lifetime-best with a 24-7 and Brooks, a junior, posted a huge PR of 23-11 ¼ in the Dalton Ebanks Invitational at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Those marks are No. 4 and No. 6 in Monmouth history.

Brock also had a 24-7 last May when he placed 3rd at the CAA Championships in Elon, N.C. Brooks’ previous PR was a 23-3 ½ in February at the indoor CAA meet in Virginia Beach.

Brock was mainly a sprinter at EHT and had a long jump PR of 20-3 ¾ from the 2021 Cherokee Relays, so he’s improved nearly 4 ½ feet since he arrived in West Long Branch. Which is absurd.

Brooks similarly was mainly a hurdler at Eastern and had a long jump PR of 21-0 ¾ from 2022 outdoor Group 4 sectionals at Buena. So he’s improved nearly three feet.

Brock is also No. 2 in school history in the 60 at 6.76 from Ocean Breeze this past December, No. 6 in the indoor triple jump at 47-10 from Ocean Breeze last January and No. 6 in the indoor long jump at 23-9 from last year at the Armory.

Brooks is 3rd in the 60 hurdles at 8.14 from the CAA meet in February in Virginia Beach and No. 10 in the 110 hurdles with his 14.64 from last weekend in West Long Branch. He’s one inch off the all-time Monmouth indoor triple jump top 10 with his 47-0 ¾, also this past February in Virginia Beach.

Lumberton’s Greg Foster recorded his best long jump mark in nearly two years Friday afternoon with a 25-8 ¾ on his 2nd attempt at the Sam Howell Invitational at Weaver Stadium, his home track at Princeton University.

That was the best of three jumps of 25-4 or better in the best series of his life. He recorded three of the 9-best jumps of his life on Friday.

The 25-8 ¾ is Foster’s best jump since he PR’d at 26-1 ¾ at the 2003 Ivy League Championships at Franklin Field, his 4th-best jump ever and his 2nd-best outdoor jump. And it was also his best ever that wasn’t on his final attempt. Six of his eight-best all-time jumps have come on his 6th attempt.

He added a 25-4 on his 5th attempt and a 25-6 ¼ on his 6th, making this the first time he’s jumped 25-4 or better three times in the same meet and averaged 25-4 ¼ on his four legal jumps.

Foster, a graduate of Lawrenceville School, fouled on his 1st and 3rd attempts. He added a 24-10 ½ on his 4th jump before finishing with two more 25-footers. I don’t see any wind readings, but hopefully there was a wing guage there and the wind readings show up eventually.

Foster’s 25-8 ¾ is No. 20 among U.S. men and No. 4 in NCAA Division 1 so far this spring.

After the 2024 indoor season, Foster underwent foot surgery and didn’t compete for 11 months. He’s the top hurdler in the Ivy League at 13.93 from a meet in West Long Branch last weekend, but he hasn’t done a long jump-hurdles double yet this outdoor season.

Rider freshman Joel Blamon from Cinnaminson placed 5th with a season-best 22-3 1/2 on his 3rd jump.

Greg Foster All-Time 25-Foot Jumps
26-1 ¾ … Heps, Philadelphia, May 7, 2023 [6th jump]
25-10 ¾ … Wesley Brown Invitational, Annapolis, Md., Jan. 21, 2023, [6th jump]
25-9 ½ … Heps, Hanover, N.H., Feb. 26, 2023 [6th jump]
25-8 ¾ … Sam Howell Invitational, Princeton, April 4, 2025 [2nd jump]
25-6 ¼ … New Balance Nationals, Philadelphia, June 19, 2022 [6th jump]
25-6 ¼ … Sam Howell Invitational, Princeton, April 4, 2025 [6th jump]
25-4 ¾ … New Balance Nationals, Philadelphia, June 19, 2022 [5th jump]
25-4 ½ … Nike Indoor Nationals, Staten Island, March 13, 2022 [6th jump]
25-4 … Sam Howell Invitational, Princeton, April 4, 2025 [5th jump]
25-2 ¾ … H-Y-P, Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 28, 2023 [4th jump]
25-2 … Joe Handleman Invitational, Princeton, Dec. 10, 2022 [1st jump]
25-2 … H-Y-P, Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 28, 2023 [6th jump]
25-0 ½ … New Balance Nationals, Philadelphia, June 19, 2022 [4th jump]

Widener sophomore Thomas Flear from Clearview ran the 4th-fastest 10,000 in school history this weekend on his home track in Chester, Pa.

Flear ran 30:37.76 at Widener’s own Danny Curran Invitational on Saturday. That’s fastest so far this year in the NCAA Division 3 Metro Region and it’s 4th-fastest in the Middle Atlantic Conference but only 12 seconds out of the top spot. Runners from Lebanon Valley and Messiah who are ahead of him on the conference list compete in a different region – the Middle Atlantic.

In any case, Flear’s time is fastest by a Widener distance runner in six years and trails only the Sudanese refugee and West Philadelphia High graduate Macharia Yuot [29:21.08 at the 2005 Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.], Will McDermott of Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic in Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pa. [30:13.41 at Widener in 2018] and Matthew Kazanjian of Penncrest High in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pa. [30;32.53 at Widener in 2019] on the all-time Widener performance list.

Flear’s previous 10,000 PR was 30:46.66 at the same meet on the same track last March.

Flear also ranks 6th in school history in the 5,000 [14:39.41 last year at Widener] and 10th on the indoor 5,000 list [14:58.93 last year at Ocean Breeze].

At Clearview, Flear had PRs of 4:47.26 and 10:19.51. His 10,000 pace this weekend – 4:54 per 1,600 meters – is only 6 ½ seconds per mile over 6.2 miles slower than he ran for his 1,600 PR in high school.

Texas Tech sophomore Leah Howard from Millville won the javelin Thursday at the Masked Rider Open at Fuller Track and Field Complex in Lubbock, Texas.

Howard threw a season-best 154-3 and won by one inch over Bruna Viera de Jesus of New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N. Mex. Viera de Jesus and Howard both hit their best throw on their 6th and final attempts, with Howard throwing last after a 152-1 on her 2nd attempt.

Howard threw a lifetime-best 164-4 last May at the Big Ten Championships in Waco, where she placed 6th. That’s No. 3 in Texas Tech history.

Howard set the South Jersey record of 163-1 at the 2023 Woodbury Relays.

Eastern’s Kadence Dumas, a sophomore at Delaware, ran an 800 PR and the 5th-fastest time in school history over the weekend at the Raleigh Relays.

Dumas ran 2:08.72, dropping her PR from 2:08.90 from last year’s Coastal Athletic Association Championships at Elon, N.C.

Racing in the 14th of 18 sections, Dumas was out in 63.28 and back in 65.44. She’s No. 3 in the Coastal Athletic Association, behind two seniors – Jordan Mozie of Hampton [2:06.78] and Fajr Kelly of North Carolina A&T [2:07.08].

Her time is fastest by a Delaware half-miler in six years, since both Michaela Meyer [2:07.02 also in Raleigh] and Jeanette Bendolph [2:08.69 in Elon, N.C.] ran slightly faster. (Meyer transferred to Virginia and won the 800 at the 2021 NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., in 2:00.28. Post-collegiately, she’s run 1:58.55.)

At Eastern, Dumas won the 2023 outdoor Meet of Champions in Somerset 2:10.44. She also ran 55.90 and 5:03.12.

Delaware women’s track records held by South Jersey athletes: Halima Scott of Camden Big Picture Learning Academy [ran for Wilson] in the indoor 400 [53.97] and outdoor 400 [53.01], Lenape’s Carly Pettipaw in the 600 [1:32.59] and Asha Quant of Holy Cross in the long jump outdoors [19-11 ½].

Up next for the Blue Hens is their own Delaware Invitational Saturday at Grant Stadium in Newark.

In her first meet for Rowan, Salem High’s Diamond Eaddy won the javelin at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University in Chester, Pa., Saturday and recorded the top mark so far in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Eaddy threw 125-9 on her 3rd attempt. She also had a 124-4 on her 2nd throw and a 120-10 on her first throw of the finals.

Eaddy spent her freshman year at Lincoln University in Lower Oxford Township, Chester County, where she PR’d at 125-11 in a different meet at Widener. She placed 2nd in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships last May in Salisbury, N.C., with a 118-0, and didn’t compete again until Saturday.

At Salem, Eaddy had a PR of 107-0 from the 2022 state Group 1 meet at Pennsauken. So she’s improved nearly 20 feet since high school.

The top three throwers in the NJAC so far are Eaddy at 125-9, Rowan senior and Isabelle Deal from Washington Township [122-0] and Rowan senior Dimitra Kossis from Haddon Heights [PR 114-2].

Deal, a four-time All-America (three times for Ursinus, once for Rowan), ranks 18th in NCAA Division 3 history with her 155-0 PR from May of 2023 in Selinsgrove, Pa. She’s the Ursinus javelin school record holder and the Rowan indoor and outdoor shot put school record holder.

 

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