Austin Gabay ran the fastest 3,000 ever by a South Jersey runner Saturday at Boston University.
Gabay, a Cinnaminson graduate and now a senior at Butler, ran 7:56.98 in the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. His previous PR was 7:58.94 on the same track in February 2024 while competing for Duke.
Gabay came through 1,600 meters in 4:15.00 and closed in 62.67 for his final 400 and 2:06.21 over his final 800.
The previous South Jersey 3,000 record was 7:57.65 by Absegami’s Ford Palmer in New York in 2017.
The only other South Jersey runner to go sub-8 was Ocean City’s John Richardson, who ran 7:59.26 in Seattle in 2008.
Butler does not have an all-time top-10 on its web site, so no way to know where that performance ranks in Butler history.
7:56.98i … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], Dec. 6, 2025, Boston
7:57.65i … Ford Palmer [Absegami], Jan. 28, 2017, New York
7:59.26i … John Richardson [Ocean City], Feb. 16, 2008, Seattle
8:01.24i … Samuel Gerstenbacher [Schalick], Feb. 26, 2023, Boston
8:01.79i … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], Jan. 26, 2024, Boston
8:0487i… Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], Feb. 10, 2024, Boston
8:07.88i … Noah Deckert [Delsea], Feb. 2, 2024, Boston
8:09.59i … Karl Savage [Eastern], Jan. 23, 2004, Johnson City, Tenn.
8:10.01i … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], Feb. 9, 2013, Princeton
8:10.69i … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], March 6, 2022, Boston
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 