Delaware State senior Chris Johnson most likely broke the school record in the shot put Friday with a 55-11 ¼ bomb in the Fastrack Invitational at Ocean Breeze.
Johnson had a previous PR of 55-5 from this past May in the MEAC Outdoor Championships in Norfolk. His indoor PR was 54-4 ½ from a meet in December in Cambridge, Mass.
Delaware State may be the only school I’ve come across that doesn’t list school records on its web site. Forget an all-time top-10 list. That’s truly sports information malpractice. What are we doing here? Get those records on-line! People want to know!
But I went back on the year-by-year TFRRS (Track and Field Results Reporting System) site as far back as it goes, which is 2009, and nobody else from Delaware State is close to Johnson’s 55-11 ¼. It’s possible that somebody before 2019 threw farther but considering the state of the program in those years I strongly doubt it.
Johnson opened with a 52-8 before hitting his 55-11 ¼ on his next throw. He added a 53-5 ¾, a 52-11 ¾ and a 52-10 ¼ in a strong series.
Johnson’s throw makes him No. 1 in the MEAC. He’s also at the top of the conference list in the 20-pound weight throw at 53-3 ½ from a meet last month at the Ott Center. He’s also No. 13 in the shot in NCAA Division 1 Mid-Atlantic Region and No. 21 in the weight.
Former Georgian Court thrower Robbie Babson from Toms River South was 2nd with a 52-1 ¼ but South Jersey took 3rd and 4th place. FDU junior Darien Cade of Timber Creek threw 49-4 ½ for 3rd and Georgian Court junior Malicah Etienne was 4th with a 48-8 ¾.
Jayson Ross of Timber Creek and FDU was 9th with 46-3 and St. Augustine graduate Franklin Simms from Wagner 12th at 45-2 ½.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 