Hammonton senior Mitra Sampson popped the best indoor shot put by an Atlantic County girl in 13 years Sunday at the state Group 3 relays at the Bubble.
Sampson threw 40-11 ¼ on her 2nd of three attempts and teamed with junior Helen Garcia to place 6th in the shot put relay.
Delsea senior Hannah Nuhfer, the national discus champ, had the best throw of the meet at 41-5, and Sampson had the next-best throw.
Nuhfer and Sampson are the only 40-footers in South Jersey so far this year. Sampson ranks 7th in the state and 4th in Group 3.
Sampson threw 42-9 ¾ outdoors last year when she placed 2nd at Group 3 states in South Plainfield. That’s No. 4 in Atlantic County history, behind Egg Harbor Township’s Lola Agabalogun [44-9 in 2013], Kimberly Warren of Atlantic City [44-8 in 2006] and Mercedes Hicks of Atlantic City [43-1 ¼ in 2006].
43-10 ¼ … Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 2006
42-0 ¼ … Lola Agabalogun [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
40-11 ¼ … Mitra Sampson [Hammonton], 2026x
40-10 … Nyla Noble [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2014
40-1 ¾ … Kelly Staten [Atlantic City], 2001
39-11 … Tey’ana Ames [Atlantic County Tech], 2021
39-10 … Ronny Martin [Absegam], 1998
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 