Glassboro’s Erika Townsend recorded the 4th-best indoor long jump by a South Jersey freshman Saturday in Toms River.
Townsend won the long jump at the Olympic & Tri-County Meet at the Bubble with a PR 17-11 ½ on her 2nd attempt. Her previous PR was a 17-3 ¼ at the Ott Center two weeks ago.
South Jersey’s top three freshman indoor jumpers are Leah Ellis of Millville, who jumped 19-3 at 2019 Easterns at the Armory, Winslow’s Tionna Tobias, who went 18-9 at 2016 Easterns at the Armory and Pleasantville’s Isabella Alvarez, who jumped 18-4 this past March at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze (but has yet to compete this year).
Olympian Carol Lewis jumped 21-7 ¾ outdoors as a freshman but apparently did not compete indoors as a 9th-grader in the winter of 1978.
According to the MileSplit U.S. database, her jump is tied for 7th nationally among freshmen.
Townsend opened with a 16-11 and finished with a 17-9, so her three jumps averaged 17-6 ½, beyond her previous PR.
Townsend’s jump puts her at No. 7 in New Jersey this year and No. 1 among Group 1 jumpers. It’s also 7 on the all-time Gloucester County list.
All-Time Gloucester County Indoor List1
18-7 ¼ … Shelly Bailey [Woodbury], 1982
18-6 ½ … Tisifinee Taylor [Woodbury], 2002
18-5 ¼ … Tacquaya Tobias [Our Lady of Mercy], 2011
18-2 ¼ … Karissa Watson [Williamstown], 2020
18-1 ¾ … Robin Taylor [Deptford], 1980
18-1 … Tawana McLean [Deptford], 1980
17-11 ½ … Erika Townsend [Glassboro], 2026
17-10 ½ … Timia Waters [Williamstown], 2026
17-9 ½ … Nicol Corsey [Deptford], 1997
17-9 ¼ … Jasmin Jones [Deptford], 2018
17-7 ¾ … Jen Heisinger [Woodbury], 1991
17-7 … Tina Walls [Williamstown], 1982
17-4 … Terry Archie [Woodbury], 1986
17-1 ½ … Sabrina Burrell [Delsea], 2014
17-1 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], 2023
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 