Lindenwold junior Egypt Bolan finished the greatest high jump season in South Jersey history Saturday with a South Jersey record, a national championship and an undefeated record against U.S. competition.
Bolan cleared 5-10 ¾ to win the high jump at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field and break the South Jersey record of 5-10 ½ set by West Deptford’s Megan Kirschling at the 2012 Group Group 2 meet at South Plainfield.
Bolan joins Eastern’s Natalie Dumas, Delsea’s Hannah Nuhfer and Pennsauken’s Sianni Wynn as the 4th South Jersey underclass girl to win a national title this week.
Bolan’s only loss this year came at the Penn Relays, also at Franklin Field, where she finished 3rdbehind two Jamaican jumpers but PR’d at 5-8 ¾. She improved to 5-9 when she won the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month.
On Saturday, Bolan cleared 5-3, 5-4 ½, 5-6, 5-7 ¼ and 5-8 ½ on her 1st attempts, and she was the only jumper who was clean through 5-6 so she put the rest of the field on notice that she was the one to beat.
By the time she cleared a lifetime-best 5-9 ¾ – also on her 1st attempt – there was only one other jumper left, sophomore Paige Fessler from Valley Stream North High in Hempstead, Nassau County, N.Y. But although that 5-9 ¾ was a PR for her, she also had misses at four earlier heights, so she had to not just clear the same height as Bolan to beat her, she had to do it on fewer misses.
Bolan and Fessler were the only jumpers at 5-10 ¾, which Bolan cleared on her 2nd attempt. Fessler, who just set her PR of 5-9 when she won the New York state title at Middletown High, missed all three attempts, and the national title belonged to Bolan.
Bolan took three tries at 5-11 ½ before the celebration began along the White Horse Pike.
The only New Jersey jumpers to go higher are Jenna Rogers of Ridgewood, who cleared 6-0 ¾ at 2017 Greensboro Nationals, and Randolph’s Tatiana Smolin, who cleared 5-11 in 1983 at the TAC Junior Championships at Penn State.
Bolan broke the Camden County record of 5-10 set by Tierra Hooker of Timber Creek several times in 2019 and 2020.
Five high jumpers from South Jersey have jumped higher: Priscilla Frederick of Paul VI cleared 6-3 in 2015 in Toronto; MaryBeth Labosky from Holy Cross cleared 6-1 ½ in 1992 in Lawrence, Kan.; Olympic hurdler Nia Ali cleared 6-1 ¼ during a heptathlon in Tucson in 2011; Willingboro’s Kenady Wilson cleared 6-0 ¾ in Greensboro, N.C., in 2022; and Sterling’s Jenovia Logan cleared 5-11 ¼ in Tampa in March.
Her jump makes her the No. 41 U.S. woman and No. 4 on the 2025 U.S. Under-20 performance list.
All-TIme New Jersey High Jump List
6-0 ¾ … Jenna Rogers [Ridgewood], 2017
5-11 ………. Tatiana Smolin [Randolph], 1983
5-10 ¾ … Egypt Bolan [Lindenwold], 2025
5-10 ½ ……. Megan Kirschling [West Deptford], 2012
5-10 ½ …… Deb Vento [Freehold Borough], 2003
5-10 ………. Tish Edwards [Mater Dei], 1982
5-10 ………. Shelley Mitchell [Lakewood], 1988
5-10 ………. Cheryl Burdick [Ramsey], 1998
5-10 ………. Maura Burk [Freehold Twp.], 2002
5-10 ………. Lisa Schenk [Jackson], 2002
5-10 ………. Maura Burk [Freehold Borough], 2003
5-10 ………. Fiona Paladino [Montgomery], 2010
5-10 ………. Adrianna Barrett [Montgomery], 2017
5-10 ………. Abrianna Barrett [Montgomery], 2017
5-10 ………. Tierra Hooker [Timber Creek], 2017
5-10 ………. Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 