Cherry Hill West’s Supreme Stradford became the first South Jersey sophomore in 25 years to clear 6-8 Saturday at the Group 4 state relays.
Stradford began the day with a 6-2 PR, which he cleared once last spring – in a meet at Lenape – and once previously this indoor season – last month at Ocean Breeze.
On Saturday, he passed opening-height 5-4 and then cleared 5-8, 6-0 and 6-2 on his 1st attempts. He needed three tries to get over the bar at a PR 6-4 but cleared 6-6 on his 1st try and 6-8 on his 2nd. He took three jumps at 6-10 before calling it a day. Junior teammate Elijah Triche cleared a PR 6-0 in his 1st meet of the season to team up with Stradford and win the high jump relay at the Bubble.
The last South Jersey sophomore to clear 6-8 indoors was legendary Mike Morrison of Willingboro, who cleared 6-8 at the Armory in the winter of 2001. He went on to clear 7-0 that spring and cleared 7-4 ¼ by the time he was a senior.
The last South Jersey soph to clear 6-8 or better overall was Bridgeton’s Markquese Bell, currently a Dallas Cowboys safety, who cleared 6-10 as a soph in 2015 when he won the Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.
Stradford’s jump is best by a Cherry Hill West athlete since 1987 Meet of Champions winner Terry Ferguson cleared 7-0 at 1987 Easterns at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym. It’s tied for 4th-best all-time indoors by a Camden County jumper and it’s tied for 11th on the all-time South Jersey list.
Stradford’s 6-8 is No. 2 in New Jersey this year, behind junior Tyler O’Garro of North Brunswick, who cleared 7-0 for the first time earlier this month at the Armory. The No. 2 sophomore in New Jersey is Glassboro’s Moses Robles, who cleared 6-6 at the Armory last month. Stradford is tied for the No. 1 sophomore on the MileSplit U.S. list with Jonah Banks of Clinton (Miss.) High, who cleared 6-8 at a meet last month in Birmingham, Ala.
All-Time Camden County Indoor High Jump List
7-0 … Terry Ferguson [Cherry Hill West], 1987
6-10 ¼ … Jayden DeLeon [Highland], 2025
6-9 … Andrew Athias [Cherry Hill East], 2011
6-8 … Kerry Vivett [Edgewood], 1985
6-8 … Ed Malone [Gloucester], 1986
6-8 … Uchenna Njoku [Cherry Hill East], 2009
6-8 … Jeffrey-Jon Tucker [Eastern], 2013
6-8 … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2014
6-8 … Supreme Stradford [Cherry Hill West], 2025
South Jersey Indoor High Jump List
7-4 ¼ … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], 2003
7-0 … Terry Ferguson [Cherry Hill West], 1987
6-11 … Mike Pascuzzo [Lenape], 1980
6-10 ¾ … Paul Klemic [Mainland Reg.], 1999
6-10 ¼ … Jayden DeLeon [Highland], 2025
6-10 … Raffael Craig [Millville], 1999
6-10 … Devin Bradham [Williamstown], 1999
6-10 … Ameer Banks [Delsea], 2015
6-9 … Andrew Athias [Cherry Hill East], 2011
6-8 ¼ … Mike Murawski [Holy Cross], 2003
6-8 … Barry Anderson [Rancocas Valley], 1977
6-8 … Chris Walsh [Shawnee], 1983
6-8 … Derek King [Cumberland Reg.], 1983
6-8 … Scott Harrison [Willingboro], 1984
6-8 … Kerry Vivett [Edgewood], 1985
6-8 … Ed Malone [Gloucester], 1986
6-8 … Jim Bowles [Rancocas Valley], 1986
6-8 … J.C. Slocum [Bordentown], 1989, 1990
6-8 … Jamal Sanders [Bridgeton], 1994
6-8 … Desmond Powell [Oakcrest], 1994
6-8 … Ryan O’Connell [Mainland Reg.], 1994
6-8 … Victor Mallory [Penns Grove], 1995
6-8 … Ernesto Colon [Pleasantville], 1995
6-8 … Jamal Ames [Vineland], 2004
6-8 … Uchenna Njoku [Cherry Hill East], 2009
6-8 … Ed Kramer [Cherokee], 2010
6-8 … Jeffrey-Jon Tucker [Eastern], 2013
6-8 … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2014
6-8 … Tariq [Pleasantville], 2015
6-8 … Nate Robertson [Willingboro], 2020
6-8 … Supreme Stradford [Cherry Hill East], 2025
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 