Rowan freshman Anthony Parker from Salem got his college career off to a hot start with a win and legal PR at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze Saturday.
Parker, the state Group 1 long jump champ last year, jumped 23-2 ¾ on his final attempt Saturday to jump from 8th place to 1st . Parker had a good series, with 21-5 ½, 21-9 ½, 22-7 ¾, 21-9 ¾ and 22-7 ¼ before his winning 23-2 ¾.
Fifteen jumpers hit at least 22 and the top five all finished within two inches of each other.
Parker’s previous indoor PR was a 22-5 when he placed 4th at the Meet of Champions this past March at Ocean Breeze. He hit 23-9 in May at Delsea but without a wind gauge. His best (and only) wind-legal jump was a 21-7 ¾ at Franklin Field Nationals in June.
In addition to the long jump, Parker ran 14.32 in the 110 high hurdles and 55.26 in the 400-meter intermediates at Salem.
Stockton junior Ahmad Fogg from Egg Harbor placed 3rd at 23-1 ¾, not far off his indoor PR of 23-6 ¾ from a meet in Ann Arbor, Mich., when he was a Penn State freshman in the winter of 2024.
Fogg also won the 60-meter dash in 7.10, a lifetime best. His previous PR was 7.30 in January at Ocean Breeze. Those are his only two collegiate 60s.
In addition to Parker, Rowan had three other long jumpers hit 22 feet. Sophomore Damarion Potts jumped 22-7 ¾, senior hurdles star Kwaku Nkrumah from Teaneck jumped 22-3 ¼ and freshman Bright John from Sterling went 22-0 ½.
This was Potts’ first long jump competition in a year and his best jump since his first college meet at Ocean Breeze in December 2023, when he went 23-6 ¾.
Nkrumah, an NCAA Division 3 hurdles champ, had never long jumped since he arrived in Glassboro. He had a high school PR of 20-7 at the 2022 Big North Freedom and National Championships at Ridgewood Middle School, and he hadn’t long jumped since.
That’s an indoor PR for Sterling’s John and an overall legal PR. According to MileSplit, John never competed in high school in an outdoor long jump with a wind guage.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 