Cinnaminson senior Ed Frey moved into the No. 6 spot on the all-time South Jersey pole vault list Tuesday at Cherokee and No. 5 on the outdoor list.
Frey cleared 15-6 at the Cherokee Final Countdown Last Chance meet, joining Deptford senior Marcus Hood as the second 15-6 vaulter in South Jersey this year. Hood has cleared 15-6 four times, at the Bubble in February indoors and at Woodbury, South Jersey Elite and sectionals outdoors.
Including Haddon Township senior Jacob George, who cleared 15-3 earlier this month at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township, and Delsea senior Henry Cifaloglio, who cleared 15-3 in a meet at Delsea last week, four out of 14 vaulters to clear 15-3 or better in South Jersey history have done it in the past few weeks.
Frey and Hood are tied for No. 3 in New Jersey going into states and Cifaloglio and George are tied at No. 5. So four of the top six vaulters in the state are from South Jersey.
Frey broke the Burlington County record of 15-4 set by Jason King at the 1993 Meet of Champions, where Lenape went 1-2 with King at 15-4 and Chris Wise at 13-6, and Burlington County went 1-2-3 with Palmyra’s Brian Horne placing 3rd at 13-3.
At Cherokee, Frey passed the first 12 heights before entering at 13-6, which he cleared on his 1stattempt. Trevor Farrell of Kingsway also cleared 13-6, which tied his PR. But Frey got over the bar at 14 feet on his 3rdattempt and Farrell went out at 14 feet, so with the win secured Frey moved on to shoot for a PR. He had the bar moved up to 15-6, which he cleared on his 1st attempt.
He took three shots at 16-1, which would have broken the South Jersey record set by Haddon Heights’ Bob Green at the South Jersey Invitational at Eastern in 1992 and tied by Oakcrest’s Ryan Merlino at last year’s state Group 3 meet at Delsea.
Frey’s previous PR was a 15-0 1/4 in a batch meet at Pennsauken. His previous big-meet PR was 14-7 when he became the first Cinnaminson vaulter to win the Burlington County Open since Matt Mancini won his 3rd in a row in 2006.
All-time S.J. outdoor PV list
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea], 2019
15-6 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014
15-6 … Marcus Hood [Deptford], 2025
15-6 … Ed Frey [Cinnaminson], 2025
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977
15-3 … Henry Cifaloglio [Delsea], 2025
15-3 … Jacob George [Haddon Twp.], 2025
15-2 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … Josh Moline [Gateway], 2000
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2010
15-0 … Daniel Couse [Clearview], 2023
15-0 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2010
15-0 … Michael Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … David Murname [West Deptford], 2000
15-0 … James Lynch [Deptford], 2019
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2022
All-time S.J. combined indoor/outdoor PV list
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992 [o]
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020 [i]
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024 [i, o]
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991 [o]
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019 [o]
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014 [o]
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008 [i]
15-6 … Marcus Hood [Deptford], 2025 [i, o]
15-6 … Ed Frey [Cinnaminson], 2025 [o]
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004 [o]
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006 [o]
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993 [o]
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977 [o]
15-3 … Marcus Hood [Deptford], 2024 [o]
15-3 … Henry Cifaloglio [Delsea], 2025 [o]
15-3 … Jacob George [Haddon Twp.], 2025 [o]
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003 [o]
15-0 … Josh Moline [Gateway], 2000
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2010
15-0 … Daniel Couse [Clearview], 2023
15-0 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2010
15-0 … Michael Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … David Murname [West Deptford], 2000
15-0 … James Lynch [Deptford], 2019
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2022
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 