From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Oakcrest’s Ryan Merlino hit a pole vault PR Saturday and the No. 4 indoor clearance ever by a South Jersey vaulter.

Merlino, a Rutgers sophomore, cleared 16-6  ¾ at the Quaker Invite at the Ott Center, surpassing his previous PR of 16-4 outdoors at Princeton this past May. That’s No. 8 all-time at Rutgers. His previous indoor PR was 15-8 ½ from a meet last January at the Armory.

Merlino is now No. 4 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list behind former Rutgers teammate Nico Morales of Delsea [17-9], Seneca’s Mike Maira [16-10] and current Rutgers teammate Noah Kreisman of Cherry Hill East [17-3 ½], who was 5^th Saturday also at 16-6 ¼, not far off his indoor PR 16-8 from Akron, Ohio, this past January.

18-2 … Nico Morales [Delsea], May 18, 2025, Eugene, Ore. [unknown irregularity]
17-9 …….. Morales, April 19, 2025, Piscataway
16-10 … Mike Maira [Seneca], March 1, 2014, College Station, Texas
16-9 ¼ … Noah Kreisman [Cherry Hill East], April 19, 2025, Piscataway
16-6 ½ … Merlino, Jan. 17, Philadelphia
16-4 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], May 2, 2025, Princeton
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], Feb. 11, 2020, Staten Island, N.Y.
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], May 1, 1992, Voorhees