Five days after his 4:15.10 full mile at the Ott Center, we’ve now got a hot 800 from Delsea senior Matthew Littlehales at Ocean Breeze.
Littlehales ran a PR 1:54.34 at the SJTCA meet last week at Ocean Breeze. That’s No. 3 in New Jersey this year behind two non-public half-milers and nudges Josh Crawford’s 1:54.98 for fastest so far by a South Jersey runner.
It’s also 2nd-fastest on the all-time Gloucester County indoor list, behind only Kingsway’s Derrell Manhertz, who ran 1:51.80 at the 2013 Meet of Champions at the Bubble. It’s also No. 10 on the all-time South Jersey list.
Littlehales’ previous indoor PR was a 1:57.07 last January at the Bubble. His previous overall PR was a 1:55.89 at Haddonfield in May.
With his 4:09.37 at last year’s Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze, Littlehales is now the only South Jersey runner ever to break 1:55 and 4:10 indoors.
At Ocean Breeze, Littlehales led the entire race, coming through 200 in 28.06, 400 in 57.43 and 600 in 1:25.75 before closing in 28.59 for negative splits of 57.43 and 56.92. Junior Tahj Wilson of Toms River North was 2nd in a PR 1:55.80.
Littlehales is entered in the 3,200 Wednesday at the Nike Elite at the Ott Center. He has a 9:12.83 PR from his win at last year’s state Group 3 championships in South Plainfield. His indoor PR is 9:26.75 from the Ott Center last January.
1:51.52 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.72 … Isaac Clark [Pleasantville], 2013
1:51.80 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2013
1:52.46 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
1:52.74 … Bobby Poplau [Cherokee], 2024
1:53.51 … Alan Laws [Pleasantville], 2007
1:53.59 … Christian Napoli [Paul VI], 2025
1:53.68 … Ishmael Muhammad [Oakcrest], 2013
1:54.05 … Dominic Bassey [Winslow Twp.], 2025
1:54.34 … Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], 2026
1:54.53 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
1:54.73 … Chris Manzo [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2024
1:54.80 … Marvin Lewis [Willingboro], 2001
1:54.81 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2013
1:54.82 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
1:54.98 … Josh Crawford [Woodstown], 2026
1:51.80 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2013
1:54.34 … Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], 2026
1:54.53 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
1:54.81 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2013
1:54.82 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
1:55.00 … Steve Butenewicz [Delsea], 2011
1:55.16 … Tivo Rivera [Kingsway], 2009
1:55.19 … Jayden Greene [Washington Twp.], 2020
1:55.42 … Kevin Cianfarino [West Deptford], 2014
1:55.3h … Tony Uzdavines [Williamstown], 1976
1:55.77 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2004
1:56.07 … Stephen Marrone [Washington Twp.], 2010
1:56.42 … Lathan Brown [Deptford], 2023
1:56.66 … Danny Torres [Washington Twp.], 2024
1:56.93 … Mark Weems [Washington Twp.], 1999
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 