From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Lumberton’s Greg Foster soared beyond the 27-foot barrier Saturday morning at the Ivy League Championships at the Armory.

Foster, a Princeton junior and Lawrenceville Prep graduate, became the 3rd New Jersey athlete to long jump 27 feet when he won his 7th conference title with a jump of 27-0 ½. He broke his own all-time Ivy League record of 26-10 ½ from earlier this month in Fayetteville, Ark., and smashed his own Ivy League meet record of 25-9 ½ from the 2023 meet in Hanover, N.H.

The only other New Jersey 27-footers are nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis of Willingboro, who jumped 29-1 ¼ at 1991 Worlds in Tokyo and Corey Crawford of Indian Hills, who jumped 27-2 ¼ in 2021 in Chula Vista, Calif.

Foster’s jump is No. 7 in the world this year and No. 3 among Americans. It’s also No. 2 in NCAA Division 1 this year. It’s also No. 19 in college track history.

Foster opened his series with a 26-1 ½ and a 25-4 before hitting his historic 27-0 ½. In the finals, he hit 25-7 ¼ and 26-1 ¾ and finished with a foul. He had the five-best jumps of the competition.

Foster is scheduled to race in the 60-meter hurdles qualifying Saturday afternoon.