From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Greg Foster became South Jersey’s best long jumper since Carl Lewis Saturday with a lifetime-best 26-5 ¾ at the Quaker Invitational at the Ott Center.

Greg Foster became South Jersey’s best long jumper since Carl Lewis Saturday with a lifetime-best 26-5 ¾ at the Quaker Invitational at the Ott Center.

Foster extended his legal PR from 26-1 ¾, which he jumped outdoors at the 2023 Ivy League Championships at Franklin Field and remains the Princeton outdoor record. His previous indoor best was 25-10 ¾, which he hit in a meet in Annapolis, Md., in January 2023.

Foster broke the Princeton and all-time Ivy League indoor record of 26-3 set in 1990 at the Manhattan Invitational at Madison Squar Garden by Al Dyer. He also broke the Ott Center record of 25-9 ¼ set by UConn’s Marc Morrison last January at the Penn 10 Elite. Foster was 2nd in that meet with a 25-0 ¾.

Foster also surpassed the Ivy League all-time outdoor record of 26-2, set by Chris Chrysostomou at the 1985 Ivy League Championships in Cambridge, Mass.

The incomprable Lewis is now the only South Jersey long jumper who’s gone farther than Foster. Lewis jumped 28-10 at the 1984 Millrose Games, which remains the world indoor record. Foster’s jump is the best by a South Jersey jumper indoors since Lewis’s final indoor meet, the 1992 U.S. Indoor Championships at Madison Square Garden, where he jumped 27-4 ¾.

Foster is now No. 5 all-time among New Jersey jumpers – see full list of New Jersey 26-footers below.

Foster on Saturday had a superb series, with five 25-foot jumpers before his final-attempt PR: 25-4 ¾, 25-8 ¼, 25-11, 25-2 ¾, 25-6, 26-5 ¾. His series averaged 25-8 ¼, only 2 ½ inches off his previous indoor PR.

On the 2026 NCAA Division 1 list, Foster is now No. 2, behind only Oklahoma junior Kennedy Stringfellow, who jumped 27-2 ½ on Friday in a meet in Norman, Okla.

Foster’s mark is a provisional qualifier for the U.S. Championships at Ocean Breeze Feb. 28 and March 1 and just off the auto standard of 26-6 ¾.

Foster also PR’d in the 60-meter hurdles with a 7.83 in the prelims. That’s No. 3 in Princeton history. He placed 2nd in the final in 7.85 behind Rutgers sophomore Chris Serrao from East Brunswick, whose 7.55 is fastest in Division 1 this year. Foster is 2nd in the Ivy this year behind Penn’s Shane Gardner, who ran 7.79 Saturday in the trials at the Ott Center.

All-Time New Jersey Alumni Long Jump List
29-1 ¼ … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], Aug. 30, 1991, Tokyo
27-2 ¼ … Corey Crawford [Indian Hills], May 29, 2021, Chula Vista, Calif.
26-10 ¼ … Evans Tobler [Trenton], May 13, 1989, Ponce, Puerto Rico
26-7 ½ … Chris Phipps [Lodi], June 27, 2010, Des Moines, Iowa [+1.8]
26-5 ¾ … Greg Foster [Lumberton], Jan. 17, 2026, Philadelphia
26-5 ½ … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], March 22, 1997, Houston
26-3 ¼ … Matt Rose [Bordentown], Mary 4, 1991, Knoxville, Tenn.
26-3 … Eulace Peacock [Union], July 4, 1935, Lincoln, Neb.
26-3 … Bob Calhoun [Scotch Plains], May 20, 1978, Philadelphia
26-1 ¾ … Norm Tate [East Orange], May 20, 1972, El Paso, Texas
26-1 ¾ … Chris Gillis [Pennsauken], May 12, 2006, Waco, Texas
26-1 ¼ … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], May 13, 2006, Fayetteville, Ark.

Full disclosure: I posted a story earlier that included incomplete information from Foster’s performance. The results site showed the event as final after three jumps each before the final, so I thought the jumpers only got three attempts. But they got six! And that changed the story a bit! We apologize for the error!