After crazy improvement in May, Ocean City’s Riley Tolson is now South Jersey’s fastest sophomore in 12 years at 3,200 meters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Two weeks ago, Riley Tolson’s outdoor 3,200 PR was 11:15.08 from a meet at Delsea last year. Now she’s the fastest South Jersey sophomore in more than a decade.

After dropping her PR from 11:15 to 10:58.42 when she won the South Jersey Group 3 race at Delsea, Tolson ran a nearly 20-second PR of 10:39.70 at the state Group 3 meet Friday in Mansfield Township and placed 2nd to indoor Meet of Champions winner and national 5,000 runner-up Allison Lee of West Windsor-Plainsboro North, who set a meet record of 10:14.34.

So she’s PR’d by a total of 35.38 seconds since May 15.

Tolson negative-split the race, out in 5:22.24 [2:39.61 / 2:42.64] and back in 5:17.47 [2:42.62 / 2:34.85]. She was 5th with three laps to go but passed three girls over the last 1,200, closing in 76.62.

Tolson becomes the fastest South Jersey sophomore in 12 years, since Alyssa Aldridge of Mainland ran 10:34.78 at the 2016 Meet of Champions at Central Regional.

Her time is No. 21 in South Jersey history and No. 3 on the Cape May County list, which is also the all-time Ocean City list.

Tolson earned the No. 8 seed in the Meet of Champions Wednesday at Pennsauken. She’s the fastest qualifier from South Jersey and the 2nd-fastest sophomore, behind top-seeded Leah Starkey of Ocean Township, the national two-mile champ at Armory Nationals this past winter.

All-Time South Jersey 3,200-Meter Run List
10:12.8h ….. Michelle Rowen (Washington Twp.], 1983
10:18.93 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024
10:19.31 … Chelsea Ley (Kingsway], 2009
10:22.02 … Megan Lacy (Cherokee], 2012
10:22.20 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024
10:27.44 … Alyssa Aldridge (Mainland Reg.], 2017
10:28.6h….. Erin Donohue (Haddonfield], 2001
10:29.28 … Rachel Vick (Kingsway], 2017
10:29.53 … Julia Flanagan [Holy Cross], 2026
10:30.57 … Dina Iacone (Washington Twp.], 2012
10:32.54 … Maeve Smith [Ocean City], 2025
10:32.4h….. Mindy Rowand (Sterling], 1985
10:33.22 … Holly Bischof (Bishop Eustace], 2012
10:33.25 … Megan Venables (Highland], 2011
10:33.85 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2021
10:34.79 … Theresa Cattuna (Cherry Hill East], 2007
10:35.59 … Amanda Goetschius (Delsea], 2007
10:37.47 … Meghan McGlinchey (West Depford], 2009
10:37.53 … Vanessa Wright (Haddonfield], 2005
10:39.15 … Devon Grisbaum (Ocean City], 2015
10:39.70 … Riley Tolson [Ocean City], 2026

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