Click here for heat sheets for Day 1 of West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field!
Today’s schedule includes the prelims and semifinals of the boys and girls 100-meter dashes, the boys and girls 5,000 finals, the 4xmile relays and the boys and girls discus as well as plenty of freshman and middle school events.
A small but talented group of South Jersey athletes is headed for Eugene, Ore., to compete at USATF Under-20 Championships this week at Hayward Field.
Riverside’s Jamir Brown, Northern Burlington’s Liliah Gordon and Nyla Jones and Ryan Jennings of Timber Creek are entered, but the USATF entry platform is such a mess it’s tough to tell if any other South Jersey athletes are competing. If I missed you, lemme know!
Athletes are eligible for Under-20s if they turn 20 after Dec. 31.
The meet is generally a qualifier for Pan Am or World Under-20s, but the U.S. has already announced that it won’t be sending a contingent to this year’s Pan Am Under 20 Championships in Villavicencio, Colombia, because of safety concerns.
Brown is entered in the 110-meter hurdles after setting an NCAA Division 3 record of 13.60 in the prelims at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships in Ewing. He won the NCAA Division 3 title in his only year at Rowan.
Gordon is entered in the 3,000 and 5,000. She’s got an official 3,000 PR of 9:45.19 from last year’s Glenn Loucks Games at White Plains (N.Y.) High School, which happens to be my alma mater (go Tigers!), although she came through 3K at the indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze in 9:39.04 on her way to the victory. Gordon’s 5,000 PR is 16:48.89 from Boston Nationals in March. That’s the indoor state record. Megan Lacy of Cherokee set the South Jersey outdoor record of 16:50.75 in a meet at Princeton in 2011.
Jones is coming off a tremendous freshman year at Rowan and set a meet record and PR of 1:00.42 when she won the 400-meter hurdles at the NJAC meet in Ewing, She added All-America honors with a 5th-place finish at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
And Jennings is entered in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes after running wind-legal 11.35 and 23.46 this spring. She’s No. 2 in state history in the 100 and No. 6 in the 200.
The men’s high hurdles is Friday, with trials at 4:44 p.m. and the final at 6 p.m. The women’s 5,000 is the first final of Day 1 at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, and the 3,000 final is the last women’s final at 6:05 p.m. Friday. The women’s 100 is Thursday, with trials at 4:13 p.m. and the final at 6:11 p.m., and the 200 is 4:08 p.m. Friday with the final at 5:45 p.m.
I would love to provide a list of all-time South Jersey Under-20 [formerly Junior Nationals] winners, but the USATF is a disgrace when it comes to its history. They just give you nothing. No all-time winners, no all-time performance list, no previous results, no meet records. They are literally the worst. If any web site on Earth needs to be revamped it’s USATF’s.
From unearthing old results from various sources I can tell you the last South Jersey athletes to win USATF Junior titles are Kingsway’s Ryan Allen in the 10,000-meter walk in 2022 and 2023 and before that Florence’s Curtis Thompson in the javelin in 2014 and 2015 and Bridgeton’s Braheme Days Jr. in the shot put in 2014. Most searches from before the last few years wind up with dead links or incomplete results. I can’t find the last South Jersey woman to win a U.S. junior title but I’ll keep looking!
Natalie Dumas, Hannah Nuhfer, Nester Wea and Sianni Wynn are among the South Jersey girls who’ll be in action this week at Insert Shoe Company Here Nationals at Franklin Field.
On Tuesday, we posted a look at the top South Jersey boys headed for West Philly for four days of running, throwing and jumping. You can find that list here.
It’s not a complete list but we don’t have room to list everybody, and it’s the same with the girls because this has been such a remarkable year for South Jersey track. You can find that list here and it’s loaded with South Jersey athletes.
Dumas, Nuhfer, Wynn and Wea are all among the best in state history. Here’s a detailed look at their plans later this week as well a few of South Jersey’s other top performers.
NATALIE DUMAS: It’s going to be a busy few days for Dumas in the final official high school meet of her remarkable junior year. She’s entered in the open 400, 800 and intermediate hurdles as well as Eastern’s sprint medley. Dumas is ranked among the top 25 in U.S. history in the 400 [51.87], 800 [2:02.75] and 400 hurdles [57.30]. She won the 400 hurdles last spring at West Philly Nationals and the 400 indoors at Virginia Beach Nationals. Joining Dumas on Eastern’s SMR will be seniors Johnna Gonter, Jasmine Davis and Samantha Osei-Kyei. Eastern hasn’t really loaded up a sprint med yet, although they did run 4:12.80 at Woodbury, winning the Group 4 race with a different lineup.
SCHEDULE: The 400 hurdles final is at 11:54 a.m. Friday, the sprint medley final at 1:25 p.m. Friday, the 400 final at 5:35 p.m. Saturday and the 800 final at 2:02 p.m. Sunday.
SIANNI WYNN: Pennsauken’s Meet of Champions 100 and 200 champ will race both sprints at Penn and anchor Pennsauken’s 400-meter relay team. Wynn has PRs of 11.25 and 23.20, both No. 2 in state history. Juniors Sanaya Dupree and Olivia Dupree and sophomore Abigayle John will run the 1st three 4-by-1 legs setting up Wynn, Pennsauken is No. 16 in state history at 46.95.
SCHEDULE:The 100 has trials at 1:42 p.m. Thursday, semis 3:06 p.m. Thursday and the final at 12:32 p.m. Friday. The 200 prelims are 12:23 p.m. Saturday with the final at 2:54 p.m. Sunday
NESTER WEA: Wea is going all in for her team this week, skipping individual events to anchor three Willingboro relay teams – 4-by-1, 4-by-2 and 4-by-4 – and lead off a 4th, the shuttle hurdles. She’ll be joined by sophomore Maya Bolden, junior Kaila Speight and junior Jaden Murry on the 4-by-1, Speight, Bolden and sophomore Jade Pinder on the 4-by-2, Speight, Bolden and Pinder on the 4-by-4 and junior Aaliyah Robinson, sophomore Trinity Brapoh and senior Sunny Oyibo on the shuttle hurdles. Boro is No. 2 in New Jersey in the 4-by-1 at 46.71, No. 3 in the 4-by-2 at 1:40.11 and No. 4 in the 4-by-4 at 3:47.01.
SCHEDULE: Willingboro races in the 4-by-2 at 4:03 p.m. Friday, the 4-by-1 at 2:22 p.m. Saturday, the shuttles at 9:34 a.m. Sunday and the 4-by-4 at 4:13 p.m. Sunday, the final event of the meet.
HANNAH NUHFER: Delsea junior will throw both weights this week coming off a monster Meet of Champions where she had the four-best throws in the discus a few weeks after setting a South Jersey shot put record. Nuhfer has PRs of 161-4 in the disc and 47-9 in the shot, both No. 2 in New Jersey this year. She’s No. 11 in state history in both the shot and the disc.
SCHEDULE: The discus final is at 4 p.m. Thursday and the shot is at 2 p.m. Friday.
WINSLOW RELAYS: Winslow is only loading up in the 4-by-4 and 4-by-8 relays but will have its stars competing in their best events. Winslow is No. 1 in New Jersey in the 4-by-4 at 3:43.46 from Penn and will race with freshmen Amariah Arango and Jasmine Jackson and sophomores Skhye Seamon and Cinniya Robinson. They’re also No. 2 in the sprint medley with a 4:05.63 from Woodbury and will have a lineup of freshman Adaiah Arango, Robinson, Seamon and Amariah Arango No. 5 in the 4-by-8 at 9:17.50 and will use Arango, senior Ava Millner, Adaiah Arango and sophomore Tristan Hughes. Among the individuals to watch for, junior Ma’Syiah Brawner will focus on the long jump and triple jump, Robinson will race the intermediates, Jackson is entered in the freshman 100 hurdles and 400 hurdles, junior Olivia Okaro will run the 200, Seamon the 400, junior Leeya Joseph will join Brawner in the long jump and senior Brook-lyn Roberts throws the discus.
SCHEDULE: Sprint medley final is 4:03 p.m. Friday, 4-by-8 is 8:47 p.m. Friday and 4-by-1 is 2:22 p.m. Saturday.
HANNAH BYRD-LEITNER: Three-time Meet of Champions pole vault winner from Moorestown placed 4th-place at West Philly Nationals last spring and 7th at Boston Nationals this past winter. Haddonfield senior Rebecca Hoover, 4th at the Meet of Champions, is also entered.
SCHEDULE: The pole vault is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
EGYPT BOLAN: Bolan, a Lindenwold junior, is undefeated against U.S. competition this year, winning every meet other than the Penn Relays, where she was 3rd behind two Jamaican girls. She PR’d at 5-9 at the Meet of Champions, No. 5 in South Jersey history.
SCHEDULE: The high jump final is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
JOSEPHINE BUXTON: South Jersey’s top javelin thrower with her 138-8 to win the state Group 3 title has surpassed 130 feet in four of her last six meets (and 129 feet in the two others). She finished No. 2 in New Jersey.
SCHEDULE: The javelin is at 10 a.m. Sunday.
NOEMI HALLER: Kingsway freshman will be busy this week, anchoring the Dragons’ 800- and 1,600-meter relays and also running the freshman 100 and 400. Haller was the top freshman in New Jersey with her 55.70 for 7th at the Meet of Champions, a Gloucester County 9th-grade record. She ran 12.77 in her only 100 this year. Kingsway was No. 9 in New Jersey this year in the 4-by-2 at 1:43.26 and No. 10 in the 4-by-4 at 3:52.50. She’ll be joined by freshman Talia Griscom, senior Camryn Stanard and senior Jonnelle Lewis on the 4-by-2 and Lewis, Stanard and sophomore Norah Brown on the 4-by-4.
SCHEDULE: The 4-by-2 is at 4:03 p.m. Friday and the 4-by-4 is at 4:13 p.m. Sunday. Haller will race in the freshman 100 at 12:52 p.m. Thursday, with the final at 2:52 p.m. The freshman 400 is at 4:25 p.m. Saturday
CARLY GODFREY, MAEVE SMITH: After winning the Meet of Champions in 9:07.71, Ocean City didn’t enter the 4-by-8 at West Philly Nationals. But junior Carly Godfrey will race the 800 on the heels of her 2:11.25 and senior teammate Maeve Smith is entered in both the mile and 5,000. Godfrey is No. 8 in South Jersey history in the 800 and Smith is No. 10 all-time in the 3,200 at 10:32.54 with a 1,600 PR of 4:58.68.
SCHEDULE: The 5,000 final is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Thursday, the mile final is 7:04 p.m. Saturday and the 800 final is at 2:02 p.m. Sunday.
The amazing English Gardner, who turned 33 in April, ran her fastest 100-meter dash in seven years Saturday in Florida.
Gardner, the Olympic gold medalist sprinter from Eastern, ran 11.04 at the Star Athletics Sprint Series at Horizon High School with a legal tailwind of 1.2 meters per second.
That’s her fastest time since she ran 11.02 on Aug. 23, 2018, at the Palio Città della Quercia in Roverto, Italy.
Her time is No. 35 in the world this year and No. 20 among U.S. women.
More importantly, it’s below the A standard for the U.S. National Championships on her home track in Eugene, Ore. The A standard is 11.07 and everyone who runs that by July 20 is guaranteed entry into the meet in late July and early August.
Gardner is within 5-100ths of a second of her first sub-11 since Aug. 13, 2016 – nearly nine years ago – when she ran 10.94 and placed 7th in the Olympic final in Rio de Janeiro.
She ran her PR of 10.74 in July 2016 when she won the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. That’s still No. 12 in world history and No. 6 in U.S. history.
Gardner actually ran a wind-aided 10.98 Saturday in the 100 trials. That race had a 3.4 tailwind but was her fastest time in any conditions since a 10.96 with a 2.5 tailwind in the semifinals of the 2021 Olympic Trials, also at Hayward Field.
Gardner’s 11.04 is her 13th-fastest wind-legal time ever in a final and her 11th-fastest legal time ever in a non-championship race [which would include conference, NCAA, nationals, Worlds or Olympics].
Her previous-fastest time this year was an 11.18 with a legal 2.0 two weeks ago at the Music City Track Carnival at Ray Conn Sports Complex in Cleveland, Tenn.
This is the 21st consecutive year Gardner has run sub-12. Here’s a look at her fastest legal times by year going back to 7th grade:
2005: 11.99
2006: 11.95
2007: 11.95
2008: 11.61
2009: 11.82
2010: 11.56
2011: 11.03
2012: 11.10
2013: 10.85
2014: 11.01
2015: 10.79
2016: 10.74
2017: 11.04
2018: 11.02
2019: 11.16
2020: 11.63
2021: 11.09
2022: 11.08
2023: 11.13
2024: 11.17
2025: 11.04
English Gardner’s Fastest Wind-Legal Times
*10.74 … July 3, 2016, USATF, Eugene [+1.0]
10.79 … June 26, 2015, USATF, Eugene [+1.5]
*10.81 … May 28, 2016, Prefontaine, Eugene [+1.5]
10.84 … May 30, 2015, Prefontaine, Eugene [+1.5]
*10.85 … June 21, 2013, USATF, Des Moines, Iowa [+1.8]
10.86 … June 26, 2015, USATF, Eugene [+1.2]
10.87 … June 21, 2013, USATF, Des Moines, Iowa [+1.7]
10.90 … July 2, 2016, USATF, Eugene [+1.8]
10.90 … Aug. 13, 2016, Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
10.92 … June 2, 2016, Roma Golden Gala, Rome [+0.8]
10.94 … Aug. 11, 2013, Worlds, Moscow [-0.5]
*10.94 … Aug. 13, 2016, Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [+0.5]
*10.96 … June 7, 2013, NCAAs, Eugene [+0.9]
*10.97 … Aug. 12, 2013, Worlds, Moscow [-0.3]
*10.97 … July 4, 2015, Paris Meeting AREVA, Paris-St. Denis, France [+0.2]
*11.00 … April 20, 2013, Mt. SAC, Walnut, Calif. [+1.8]
11.00 … Aug. 12, 2013, Worlds, Moscow [-0.4]
*11.00 … June 13, 2015, adidas Grand Prix, New York [+0.4]
11.01 … June 27, 2014, USATF, Sacramento [+2.0]
11.02 … July 11, 2015, Madrid Meeting, Madrid, Spain [+1.7]
*11.02 … June 5, 2016, British Grand Prix, Birmingtham [-1.2]
11.02 .. June 5, 2016, British Grand Prix, Birmingham [+0.8]
*11.02 … Aug. 23, 2018, Rovereto Palio Città della Quercia, Rovereto, Italy [+0.9]
*11.03 … May 14, 2011, Pac 10 Tucson, Ariz. [+0.6]
11.04 … May 14, 2016, Baie Mahault Meeting International, Baie Mahault, France [-0.3]
11.04 … June 22, 2017, USATF, Sacramento [-0.2]
*11.04 … June 13, 2025, Star Athletics Sprint Series, Winter Garden, Fla. [+1.2]
*11.08 … July 27, 2013, Sainsbury Games, London [+1.1]
*11.08 … Sept. 6, 2022, Pápa, Hungary [+1.3]
11.09 … Aug. 12, 2016, Olympics, Rio de Janeiro [-0.2]
11.09 … Aug. 24, 2021, Hungarian Grand Prix Series, Budapest, Hungary [+0.9]
Just about all of South Jersey’s top boys and girls will be at Franklin Field later this week for West Philly Nationals.
Of 26 boys who placed in an individual event at the Meet of Champions, 18 are entered in either an individual event or a relay. A couple of the others didn’t qualify or qualified too late.
The girls participation is even higher. Of 30 girls who placed in an individual event at the MoC, 26 are entered in an individual event or relay this week.
So a total of 44 of 56 South Jersey Meet of Champions medalists are headed to the University of Pennsylvania to finish their season.
Here’s a look at 10 of the top boys and girls and what their plans are for Franklin Field. We’ll post a look at 10 top girls heading for Franklin Field on Tuesday!
Click here for the full entry list and here for the full meet schedule.
BOYS
BURLINGTON TWP. 400-METER RELAY: After an astonishing 40.75 at the Meet of Champions to break the state record, junior Quayd Hendryx leads the Falcons to nationals where he’ll be joined by speedy teammates senior Yeator Tappia and juniors Gemaus Sackie and Solomon Wesley. With PRs of 10.61 and 21.47, Hendryx is also racing the open 100 and 200.
SCHEDULE: The 400-meter relay prelims are 1:57 p.m. Saturday, with the final at 11:57 a.m. Sunday. The 100 prelims are 1:12 p.m. Thursday, the semis are 2:57 p.m. Thursday and the final is 12:26 P.M. Friday. The 200 prelims are at 11:57 p.m. Saturday with the final at 2:48 p.m. Sunday.
HADDONFIELD FOUR-MILE RELAY: Haddonfield hasn’t run a four-mile relay this year but after three Bulldogs broke 4:15 at CBA on Friday, they’re lining up in great shape with senior Bennett Wright [4:13.28], junior Benjamin Andrus [4:13.60], junior Peter Simpson [4:14.44] and senior Luke Andresen [4:10.82 indoors]. The South Jersey record is shared by Haddon Township in 1973 [17:20.1 hand timed] and 17:20.21 by Haddonfield in 2010.
SCHEDULE: The four-mile relay (not 4-by-1,600) is scheduled for 7:48 p.m. Thursday
ZAMIR CHANCE: After his Meet of Champions win, the Bridgeton junior heads to Nationals with a PR of 48-9 from the state Group 4 meet, No. 5 in South Jersey history.
SCHEDULE: The triple jump final is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.
DOMINIC BASSEY: Versatile Winslow senior will run the intermediates and anchor the Eagles’ sprint medley and 1,600-meter relay teams. Bassey has run 53.35 in the intermediates and Winslow is No. 1 in South Jersey in the 4-by-4 with its 3:16.12 at the Penn Relays and No. 3 in the sprint med at 3:34.16 at Woodbury. Senior Jayden Poteat and juniors KaRon Ali and Prince Owusu-Twum will join Bassey on the 4-by-4 and Ali, senior Kristopher Jackson and Poteat will also run the sprint medley. Poteat, the state Group 3 400 champ last spring at 48.23, hasn’t run since indoors.
SCHEDULE: The 400 hurdles finals are 11:30 a.m. Friday, the sprint med final is 12:40 p.m. Friday, and the 4-by-4 final is 3:23 p.m. Saturday.
JOSH CRAWFORD: Woodstown junior will run the open 800 and anchor the Wolverines’ 4-by-8. Crawford won the state Group 1 title at 1:53.44 and anchored the winning 4-by-8, which ran a South Jersey-No. 1 7:54.84. Junior Karson Chew, junior Jacob Marino and senior Cole Lucas join Crawford on the 4-by-8.
SCHEDULE: The 4-by-8 final is scheduled for 7:42 p.m. Friday The 800 final is scheduled for 1:27 p.m. Sunday.
ALEXANDER OSAYEMI: Osayemi will finish his brilliant senior season at Clayton in the 400, where he ranks 9th in the U.S. at 46.08 from his Meet of Champions win. He’s within range of Dennis Mitchell’s South Jersey record of 46.02 from the 1984 International Prep Invitational in Elmhurst, Ill., and not that far from the state record of 45.71 set by Seton Hall Prep’s Clayton Parros at the 2009 Great Southwest Invitational in Albuquerque.
SCHEDULE: Osayemi will race at 4:57 p.m. on Saturday.
ANTHONY PARKER: Salem senior competes in the long jump at Penn after leading South Jersey this spring at 23-9 and placing 4th at the Meet of Champions.
SCHEDULE: The long jump championship is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday.
RYAN SANCHEZ: Deptford senior ranked 10th in New Jersey this year in the 110-meter highs at 14.31, fastest South Jersey hurdler this year. He’ll hurdle and also join junior Larry Norman, junior Kamaldeep Singh and senior Marcus Hood on the Spartans’ shuttle hurdles team. Hood of course will also pole vault.
Schedule: The shuttle hurdles is the first event on Sunday, kicking off at 9 a.m. The 110-meter hurdles prelims are at 10:59 a.m. Saturday, with the finals at 3:25 p.m. Hood will vault at 2 p.m. Saturday.
ANTHONY LIAKHNOVICH: Hammonton senior, who won Boston Nationals indoors, will throw both the discus and shot this week. He’s got PRs of 66-3 ¾ and 183-2.
SCHEDULE: The discus final is at 1 p.m. Friday and the shot final is 10 a.m. Saturday.
MATTHEW LITTLEHALES: Delsea junior has run 4:11.54 for 1,600 meters and 9:12.23 for 3,200 but chose the 3,200 to race at Penn. It’s scheduled for 4:48 p.m. Friday.
Going into NCAAs, Bryce Tucker had the 26th-fastest qualifying time in the East Regional and 56th-fastest qualifying time including the East and West prelims.
He had a season-best 50.79 from his 3rd-place finish at the Big Ten Conference meet in Eugene, and it was going to take a series of huge races for him to get back to Eugene for the NCAA final.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Tucker, a 2023 Pennsauken graduate, went from the 56th-fastest qualifier to an NCAA Division 1 All-America to finish his sophomore year at Rutgers.
His journey back to Eugene began in Jacksonville, where he ran a PR of 50.52, the 10th-fastest time in the first round of the East Prelims. Then came his breakthrough 50.00 in the quarterfinals in Jacksonville, the 8th-fastest time in the East. That earned him a ticket to Hayward Field and the NCAA semifinals.
On Wednesday, he put together another fantastic race, running 50.14 to advance to the final after not even ranking among the top 50 intermediate hurdlers in the country a few weeks earlier.
Tucker locked up 1st-team All-America honors with an 8th-place finish in the final on Saturday in 50.83. Five of the seven who finished ahead of him are seniors.
Rutgers’ track web site doen’t get updated very often, and they haven’t updated their list of Rutgers track All-Americas since 2019, which is why it took me so long to get this posted. I had to update the last six years off their list once I even found it buried in a 2020 “Fact Book” hidden in the “archive” section of their web site..
But it looks like Tucker is Rutgers’ first All-America in the 400-meter hurdles in 56 years, since John Hanley of Edison placed 6thin the 1969 meet in Knoxville with a hand-timed 51.1.
Aaron Younger of Delsea was an honorable mention All-America in the 400 hurdles when he placed 23rd in the 2011 meet in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tucker’s 50.00 is well under the B standard of 50.75 for the USATF Championships back in Eugene in late July and early August. He’s only 25-100ths of a second off the A standard of 49.75, and he would have until July 20 to improve his seed time if he chooses to compete.
Aliya Garozzo earned 1st-team All-America honors in her final collegiate race Saturday night with a blazing 3rd leg on Duke’s 1,600-meter relay team at the NCAA Championships.
Garozzo split 51.90 an Duke ran a season-best 3:27.40, the 2nd-fastest time in school history, placing 5th among the fastest schools in the country at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Garozzo was a 2nd-team All-America on Penn’s 9th-place 1,600-meter relay team at last year’s indoor NCAA Championships in Boston. She also ran the 3rd leg on that team, which ran 3:31.82 at the TRACK.
Duke’s only faster time was a 3:27.14 when it placed 3rd at the 2023 Penn Relays.
The Blue Devils posted the 7th-fastest time in Thursday’s semifinals but beat two schools – Miami and Iowa – who had faster qualifying times. Georgia won the race in 3:23.62. The women’s 4-by-4 was the final race of the four-day meet.
Only schools with four U.S. citizens in the lineup are eligible for the 2025 U.S. performance list, and Duke qualifies and now has the No. 9 time in the country. The only colleges ahead of Duke on the U.S. list are Arkansas and South Carolina.
Garozzo has the A standard in the 400-meter hurdles for the U.S. Championships on the same track later this summer and is expected to race at nationals, with the first round of the intermediates scheduled for Aug. 1.
She’s ranked 14th in the U.S. and 44th in the world at 55.77. The only faster intermediate hurdler New Jersey has ever produced is world record holder and four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin.
What an astonishing performance Friday night by Gabriel Moronta!
About an hour after getting DQ’d following a 2nd-place finish in the 400, Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta anchored South Florida’s winning 4-by-4 team at the NCAA Championships.
Moronta placed 2nd in the 400 in 45.47 but was disqualified after officials ruled that he took two steps outside his lane.
He made up for the disappointment with a mind-blowing 44.23 anchor leg to move USF past Texas A&M on the hallowed track at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Click here to watch the race!
South Florida won the race in 3:00.42, breaking the school record of 3:01.52 set two weeks ago at NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonville.
Their time is No. 9 in the world this year and since all four runners are U.S. citizens it becomes the 2nd-fastest time in the U.S. this year. It’s No. 26 in U.S. history.
It’s the first national title for South Florida since Jon Dennis won the 5,000 in 1992 and 1993.
Unbelievably, the NCAA results do not list lineups, but I’m pretty sure USF used senior Devontie Archie leading off, senior Alexavier Monfries on the 2nd leg and junior Corey Ottey 3rd to set up Moronta.
South Florida was in 8th place in the 9-team race after one lap, but Monfries’ 44.11 carry moved them up to 3rd. Ottey split 45.19 and going into the anchor legs, Texas A&M held a slight lead over the Bulls.
But Moronta wasn’t going to be denied and brought South Florida home three meters ahead of A&M.
Moronta is the first South Jersey athlete to win an NCAA gold medal since Florence’s Curtis Thompson of Mississippi State won the javelin in 2014. The only other South Jersey athlete to win a relay gold medal in the men’s meet was high jump star Mike Morrison, who ran a leg on Florida’s winning 400-meter relay team that ran 39.11 in 2004. Denise Mitchell for Florida in 1990 and Nadia Davy in 2004 for LSU ran legs on winning 4-by-4 in the women’s meet.
He’s the 2nd NCAA champion from Pleasantville. Nia Ali, the 2016 high hurdles Olympic silver medalist and 2019 World Champion, won the hurdles in 2011 for USC.
All-Time South Jersey NCAA Champions
1940
Archie Harris, Indiana [Ocean City], Discus [162-4]
1948
Browning Ross, Villanova [Woodbury], 3,000-Meter Steeplechase [9:25.7h]
1955
Don Bragg, Villanova [Penns Grove], Pole Vault [15-1]
Charley Pratt, Manhattan [Palmyra], 220-Yard Hurdles [23.1]
1980
Carl Lewis, Houston [Willingboro], Long Jump 27-4 3/4 [held indoors]
1981
Carl Lewis, Houston [Willingboro], 100-Meter Dash [9.99]
Carl Lewis, Houston [Willingboro], Long Jump 27-0 3/4 [held indoors]
1989
Dennis Mitchell, Florida [Edgewood], 200-Meter Dash [20.09A]
2004
Mike Morrison, Florida [Willingboro], 400-Meter Relay 2nd Leg [39.11]
2014
Curtis Thompson, Mississippi State [Florence], Javelin [254-9]
2025
Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 1,600-Meter Relay 4th Leg [44.23]
WOMEN
1983
Carol Lewis, Houston [Willingboro], Long Jump [21-11 3/4]
1985
Carol Lewis, Houston [Willingboro], Long Jump [22-1]
1990
Denise Mitchell, Florida [Edgewood], 1,600-Meter Relay 1st Leg [53.8, 3:27.53]
2002
Jamine Moton, Clemson [Delsea], Hammer Throw [220-6]
2004
Nadia Davy, LSU [Bridgeton], 1,600-Meter Relay 4th Leg [50.3, 3:25.26]
2011
Nia Ali, USC [Pleasantville], 100-Meter Hurdles [12.63w]
2012
English Gardner, Oregon [Eastern], 100-Meter Dash [11.10]
2013
English Gardner, Oregon [Eastern], 100-Meter Dash [10.96]
2025
Floyd Whitaker PR’d for the third meet in a row and placed 2nd in the triple jump Friday at the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., earning 1st-team All-America honors.
Whitaker, an Oklahoma senior from Clementon aned Highland High School, jumped a lifetime-best 53-10 ¼ with a legal 0.1 tailwind on his 3rd attempt.
That’s No. 11 among U.S. men this year and the 3rd-best mark ever by a New Jersey triple jumper, behind East Orange’s Norm Tate [54-9 ½ in 1970 in Stuttgart, Germany] and Piscataway’s Eric Bethea [54-7 ½ in Austin in 2019].
Whitaker surpassed the South Jersey all-time alumni mark of 53-6 ½, set by Shawnee graduate Greg Foster in Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1988. Foster’s son Gregory, a senior at Princeton, placed 7th in the NCAA long jump on Wednesday.
Whitaker had four of his six-best jumps ever in his series.
Teammate Brandon Green Jr. won the NCAA title with a 55-2 on his final attempt and had the five-best jumps of the competition. With the 1-2 finish, Oklahoma moved into 5th place in team scoring with 30 1/2 points,
Whitaker surpassed 53 feet for the first time with a 53-1 ½ at the SEC Championships in Lexington last month, then 53-4 ½ at NCAA West Prelims late last month in College Station, Texas.
On Friday, he opened with a 51-9 before a 52-9 ½ on his 2nd attempt, the 4th-best jump of his life. He added a 52-4 ¾ on his 4th attempt, his 6th-best jump all-time. After a 47-0 ¼, he finished with a 52-5 ¼, his 5th-best jump ever. All six of his jumps were wind-legal.
Whitaker jumped 50-2 ½ with no wind gauge to win the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington and also won indoor MoC the next year at the Bubble with a 46-3 ¼. He was undefeated as a senior, winning the Meet of Champions with a 49-7 at South Plainfield and Outdoor Nationals at the same Hayward Field triple jump pit with a 49-11 ½.
He competed for one year at Minnesota with a best jump of 51-5 ½ – on the first jump of his first college meet – before transferring to Oklahoma.
Floyd Whitaker 52-Foot Jumps
53-10 ¼ … NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 13, 2025
53-4 ½ … NCAA West Prelims, College Station, Texas, May 31, 2025
53-1 ½ … SEC Championships, Lexington, Ky., May 17, 2025
52-9 ½ … NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 13, 2025
52-5 ¼ … NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 13, 2025
52-4 … NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 13, 2025
52-3 ¼ … Big 12 Indoor Championships, Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 24, 2024
52-3 ¼ … Owen Hewett Invitational, Norman, Okla., Jan. 17, 2025
52-2 … NCAA Indoor Championships, Virginia Beach, March 14, 2025
All-Time Top New Jersey Alumni Triple Jumpers
54-9 ½ … Norm Tate [East Orange], July 16, 1970, Stuttgart, Germany
54-7 ½ … Eric Bethea [Piscataway], June 7, 2019, Austin, Texas [+0.9]
53-10 ¼ … NCAA Outdoor Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 13, 2025 [+0.9]
53-7 ¼ … Devon Bond [Trenton], May 5, 2012, Lubbock, Texas [+1.5]
53-6 ½ … Greg Foster [Shawnee], May 14, 1988, Flagstaff, Ariz.
53-1 ½ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], May 17, 2025, Lexington, Ky. [+0.9]
53-1 ¼ … Chris Phipps [Lodi], July 8, 2012, Irapuato, Mexico [+1.2]
Delsea junior Matthew Littlehales and three Haddonfield runners – senior Bennett Wright and juniors Benjamin Andrus and Peter Simpson – ran the four-fastest 1,600s by South Jersey runners this year Wednesday in Middletown, Monmouth County.
The race produced 12 of the 19-fastest times in New Jeraey this year.
The four raced some of New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s best milers at the Winner’s Circle at the Horse Farm 2025 at the Dr. George Sheehan Track and Field Complex at Christian Brothers Academy.
The race produced 15 sub-4:15 times (actually three in the 2nd section, 12 in the 3rd), with Littlehales running an outdoor PR 4:11.54, 14th-fastest in South Jersey history (and 5th-fastest in Gloucester County history) and the Haddonfield trio of Wright [4:13.28], Andrus [4:13.60] and Simpson [4:14.44] all running sub-4:15 and also PR’ing.
All-Time South Jersey Outdoor 1,600 / Mile List
4:03.50y … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 2024
4:07.07y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:07.23y … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
4:08.58 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
4:08.7y ….. Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1973
4:09.19y … John Richardson [Ocean City], 2003
4:09.30 … Colin Baker [Haddonfield], 2009
4:10.24y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
4:10.97 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
4:11.07 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:11.15 … Ryan Garvin [Lenape], 2009
4:11.46 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2010
4:11.49 … Jim Wyner [Mainland Reg.], 2004
4:11.54 … Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], 2025
4:11.69 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:11.78 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.84 … Tom Cooke [Kingsway], 2012
4:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:12.00y … Matt Hoffman [Ocan City], 2024
4:12.05y … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1999
4:12.08 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
4:12.1y ….. Al Harden [Millville], 1978
4:12.3y ….. Ed Blakeley [Haddon Twp.], 1975
4:12.5y ….. Dick Caton [Woodbury], 1978
4:13.23 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:13.1y … Ricky Jacques [Burlington Twp.], 1968
4:13.26y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2015
4:13.28 … Bennett Wright [Haddonfield], 2025
4:13.46 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2019
4:13.60 … Benjamin Andrus [Haddonfield], 2025
4:11.61y … Robert Poplau [Cherokee], 2024
4:13.4y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway[, 1973
4:13.4h, y … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
4:13.71 … Dominick Munson [Timber Creek], 2015
4:13.83 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2003
4:13.85 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
4:14.14 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield[, 2009
4:14.25 … Matt Nussbaum [Haddonfield], 2010
4:14.44 … Peter Simpson [Haddonfield], 2025
4:14.45 … Brody Bogos [Cherry Hill East[, 2025
4:14.52 … Jack Bolling [Haddon Heights], 2023
4:14.59 … Nick Kuenkel [Cherokee], 2024
4:14.60 … Matt Poskus [Cinnaminson], 2007
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 