This was fun last year, so we’re going to do it again! Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.
Today: Mandel Petiford, Cedar Creek
Petiford only compted in six major meets this year and unlike most discus throwers he doesn’t throw the shot. But when he did compete, he had terrific success.
Petiford had a 153-3 PR as a sophomore from a win at the Cape-Atlantic Championships at Bridgeton and took 3rd at states, then improved to 163-6 as a junior, taking 5th at states.
But he took his game to another level this spring, PR’ing for the first time with a 163-10 at the Woodbury Relays and then becoming the 6th Atlantic County thrower ever to hit 170 feet when he threw 171-5 at the Cape-Atlantic Championships at Buena.
Petiford threw 168-2 on his 3rd attempt to win South Jersey Group 2 sectionals at Delsea by more than 27 feet and become Cedar Creek’s first sectional discus champion. He did not compete after sectionals.
As a defensive tackle on Cedar Creek’s football team, Petiford set school records for sacks and tackles for loss, and he also played guard on offense. He’ll be a freshman on the Monmouth football team this fall.
All-Time Atlantic County Discus List
197-0 … James Plummer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
191-11 … Franklin Simms [St. Augustine], 2022
185-11 … John Mooers [Middle Twp.], 2015
183-6 … Anthony Liakhnovich [Hammonton], 2025
173-2 … Darren Wan [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
171-5 … Mandel Pettiford [Cedar Creek], 2025
169-1 … Cade Antonucci [Holy Spirit], 2017
168-3 … Nate Karl [Hammonton], 2019
167-9 … Steve Hague [Buena], 2007
164-8 … Dontaye Rivera [Pleasantville], 2010
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 