Burlington Township’s Jalen Jones had a successful college 400-meter dash debut Saturday, winning the two-lapper at the Princeton New Year’s Invitational at Jadwin Gym.

Jones, a freshman at Monmouth, out-raced freshman La’Shan White of Rider, a Bloomfield graduate, who was second in 51.80.

Jones also joined Nadale Buntin, Naeem Green and Greg Stickle in easily winning the 1,600-meter relay in 3:22.12, finishing 30 meters ahead of second-place Rider.

Jones ran a PR 48.84 for the Falcons last spring when he placed third at the state Group 3 meet. He also ran 1:55 for the 800.

Kutztown’s Stanley Green closed in on the school record Saturday when he won the 60-meter dash at the Lehigh Fast Times Before Finals invite at Rauch Fieldhouse in Bethlehem.

Green, a graduate of Holy Cross, ran a personal-best 6.98 edging senior Patrick Monahan by 4-100ths of a second.

Green’s 6.98 leaves him only 6-100ths of a second off the school record of 6.92 set by Kareef Wallace in 2005.

Green led all qualifiers with a 7.02 in the prelims, and Monahan was second-fastest with a 7.03 in the same heat.

It looks like Green’s previous PR was a 7.17 in the prelims of the 2016 PSAC indoor championships in Edinboro, Pa.

Green was a state Parochial B runner-up in the high hurdles and long jump his senior year at Holy Cross and was third in both 2014 and 2015 in the 55-meter dash at indoor states.

Moorestown graduate Zion Howard, a sophomore at nearby Moravian College, placed third in the final in 7.03 after a 7.04 in the trials. Howard’s PR is 6.96 from a meet at NYU last February. Howard earned All-America honors as a freshman last spring when he placed fourth at NCAA Division 3 nationals in the 200 in 21.42 in to a 1.7-meters-per-second wind.

Rowan freshman Spencer Jarrett, a graduate of Salem, was sixth with a 7.19 after a PR 7.15 in the trials, giving South Jersey three of the top six finishers.

It appears Green did not race at all during the 2016-17 season, either indoors or outdoors, so this race was his first since the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor meet in the spring of 2016. He was fifth in the long jump that weekend but didn’t place in the 100.

On Saturday, Green also placed fifth in the long jump with a 22-1, which is a college indoor PR. His previous collegiate PR was 21-4 1/4. He has gone 22-9 outdoors in college, and he jumped 22-6 at Holy Cross. It appears he never competed in the long jump indoors in high school, so the 22-1 is an overall indoor PR.

 

 

Years ago on the old DyeStat New Jersey track message board there was a list of the fastest schools in Holmdel County Park history, using each school’s five-man average.

The DyeStat message boards are long gone, but I saved a copy of that list before they were shut down, and I took a stab at updating the top South Jersey schools on there.

Eventually, I’d love to have a list of all the South Jersey schools with a cross country program and at some point before next fall I’ll put together a girl’s list as well. I know a lot of coaches or alums maintain these lists so if you have one feel free to post it in the comments section here.

And if you see any mistakes or omissions in this initial top-10 list please let me know. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I can expand it to 20 schools and then 30 and keep it going.

Here we go!

1 Cherokee
78:52 Total
15:46.4 Average
15:40 … Shawn Wilson [Group 4], 2012
15:44 … Marc Pelerin [Meet of Champions], 2001
15:46 … Keith Krieger [Group 4], 2002
15:46 … Jack Shea [Meet of Champions], 2015
15:56 … Ethan Wechsler [Meet of Champions], 2018

2 Haddonfield
79:05 Total
15:49.0 Average
15:42 … Jon Vitez [Meet of Champions], 2009
15:43 … Ben Potts [Meet of Champions], 2010
15:49 … Chris Platt [Meet of Champions], 2001
15:55 … Skip Stiles [Meet of Champions], 2001
15:56 … Breton Bonnette [Meet of Champions], 2001

3 Highland
79:29 Total
15:53.8 Average
15:33 … Joshua Clark [Meet of Champions], 2015
15:41 … Steve Maine [Group 4], 2013
15:57 … Nate Miller [Meet of Champions], 1998
16:03 … Kevin Pumphrey [Shore Coaches], 1985
16:15 … Jay Wassell [Meet of Champions], 1995

4 Ocean City
79:55 Total
15:59.0 Average
15:41 … Brett Johnson [Group 3], 2008
15:44 … Miles Schoedler [Shore Coaches], 2010
16:03 … John Fennekohl [Meet of Champions], 2006
16:10 … Ryan Birchmeier [Group 3], 2007
16:17 … John Richardson [Group 3], 2002

5 Paul VI
80:03 Total
16:00.6 Average
15:17 … Jason DiJoseph [Parochial A], 1988
16:08 … Ron Faith [Meet of Champions], 1984
16:09 … Tom Keefer [Meet of Champions], 1991
16:13 … Joe Cranston [Meet of Champions], 1989
16:16 … Pete Dougherty [Meet of Champions], 1990

6 Cinnaminson
80:10 Total
16:02.0 Average
15:51 … Jon Anderson [Meet of Champions], 2003
15:57 … Michael Ungvarsky [Shore Coaches], 2016
16:01 … Austin Gabay [Shore Coaches], 2018
16:08 … Steve Grabowski [Meet of Champions], 2005
16:13 … Matt Poskus [Meet of Champions], 2006

7 Mainland
80:13 Total
16:02.6 Average
15:39 … Greg Hughes [Meet of Champions], 2003
16:01 … Kevin Antczak [Meet of Champions], 2018
16:06 … Jimmy Wyner [Meet of Champions], 2003
16:07 … Scott Keyser [Meet of Champions], 1995
16:20 … Kurt Wayton [Group 3], 1993

8 Eastern
80:28 Total
16:05.6 Average
15:51 … Mike Myers [Meet of Champions], 2000
16:05 … Dan Deichert [Meet of Champions], 2001
16:06 … Karl Savage [Group 4], 1996
16:10 … Nicholas Pschunder [Group 4], 2014
16:16 … Barry Shea [Shore Coaches], 1984

9 Cherry Hill East
80:41 Total
16:08.2 Average
15:37 … Aaron Groff [Group 4], 2015
16:02 … Bruce Miller [Shore Coaches], 1981
16:18 … Dan Helfand [Group 4], 2014
16:19 … Bill Stewart [Meet of Champions], 1982
16:25 … Ben Dillon [Group 4], 2013

10 Shawnee
80:42 Total
16:08.4 Average
15:57 … David Forward [Shore Coaches], 2008
15:58 … Connor Herr [Meet of Champions], 2010
16:13 … Peter Murray [Shore Coaches], 2010
16:14 … Adam Ambrus [Group 4], 2000
16:20 … Matt Talbot [Group 4], 1984

Junior Martin Riddell placed 11th and senior Greg Eisenhower 18th to lead Haddonfield to an impressive third place in the Nike Cross Nationals Northeast Regional Saturday.

Riddell ran 16:19 and Eisenhower 16:28 over 5,000 meters at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., and Haddonfield finished behind only Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft and Bishop Hendricken of Warwick, R.I.

Senior Ethan Spellmeyer ran 16:50 for 32nd and junior Stephen Kasko was four seconds back in 34th place. Derek Gess ran 16:13 for 63rd Senior Griffin Weiner and junior Grayson Fasolo gave the Bulldogs all seven runners in sub-17:30.

No. 6 nationally CBA won with 99 points, just nine more than No. 16 Bishop Hendricken. Haddonfield, ranked No. 22 nationally, scored 134 for third.

Cherokee was 10th with 356 points, with juniors Ethan Wechsler and Chase Miller finishing 15th and 25th in 16:28 and 16:49.

Kingsway also raced and was paced by senior Kieran Burns and junior Ayden Magee in the top 60 in a field of nearly 300 runners.

The Kingsway girls placed 11th, with sophomore Ashlynne Burke and juniors Allison Pierontoni and Emily Pierontoni placing 27th, 50th and 54th.

Juniors Kevin Antczak of Mainland Regional and Austin Gabay of Cinnaminson placed 16th and 23rd Saturday in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships.

Antczak and Gabay finished 8th and 10th among underclassmen over the historic 5,000-meter course at Van Cortlandt Park. Antczak ran 16:02 and Gabay 16:16. The cutoff to make the top 10 and earn a trip to Foot Locker nationals was 15:41.

Jack Stanley of Mendham, the Meet of Champions runner-up, won the race in 15:30, and Liam Murphy of Allentown, third in the M-of-C, was fourth in 15:38. Meet of Champs winner Devin Hart of Point Pleasant also qualified for Foot Locker nationals, placing fifth also in 15:38.

Foot Locker Nationals are scheduled for Dec. 8 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

More results coming as soon as they’re available!

Moorestown graduate and College of New Jersey senior Natalie Cooper earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the NCAA Division 3 championships in Oshkosh, Wisc.

Cooper ended her career in style, running 21:14 over 6,000 meters on the Lake Breeze Golf Club course, finishing just 19 seconds behind winner Paige Lawler of Washington University in St. Louis.

She earned All-America honors for the second straight year, becoming the first Lion woman to earn cross country All-America honors in consecutive years since Toms River East graduate Noel Whitall in 1998 and 1999.

Her eighth-place finish was best by a TCNJ woman since Whitall placed second in the 1998 meet. Whitall now teaches in the Brick Township school district.

“Natalie’s goal coming into the season was to place in the top ten at nationals, and she did just that,” TCNJ coach Justin Lindsey said. “She went with the leaders early and never lost contact.”

Cherokee joined Haddonfield as only the second South Jersey school with five sub-16 runners at Holmdel Saturday when junior Ethan Wechsler broke the 16-minute plateau at the historic 5,000-meter Holmdel County Park course in Monmouth County.

Wechsler ran 15:56 to place fourth overall and first among South Jersey runners at the 47th annual Meet of Champions.

He’s the first Cherokee runner in 16 years to finish in the top five at Meet of Champs and the third overall. Keith Krieger was second to Mohamed Khadraoui of JFK Patterson in 2002, and Marc Pelerin won the 2001 race.

Wechsler’s previous Holmdel PR was a 16:06 at Shore Coaches. He ran 16:47 at Holmdel last year.

Cherokee and Haddonfield are among only six schools state-wide that have had five runners stop the clock at 15:59 or faster at Holmdel.

The others are Christian Brothers Academy, which has had 13 sub-16 runners, along with North Hunterdon (6), West Windsor-Plainsboro South (6) and Westfield (5).

Cherokee 15:46
15:40 … Shawn Wilson [2012 Group 4]
15:43 … Marc Pelerin [2001 Meet of Champions]
15:45 … Keith Krieger [2002 Group 4]
15:46 … Jack Shea [2015 Meet of Champions]
15:56 … Ethan Wechsler [2018 Meet of Champions]

Haddonfield 15:48
15:41 … Jon Vitez 15:42 MOC 2009
15:42 … Ben Potts 15:43 MOC 2010
15:48 … Chris Platt 15:49 MOC 2001
15:54 … Skip Stiles 15:55 MOC 2001
15:55 … Breton Bonnette 15:56 MOC 2001

There have been 34 South Jersey sub-16 runners at Holmdel since the course was first used in the 1980s.

15:16 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
15:33 … Josh Clark [Highland], 2015
15:35 … Louis Corgliano [Hammonton], 2013
15:37 … Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2015
15:38 … Gregory Hughes [Mainland], 2003
15:39 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2014
15:40 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2012
15:40 … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2008
15:40 … Steve Maine [Highland], 2013
15:41 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], 2009
15:42 … Ben Potts [Haddonfield], 2010
15:42 … Shawn Hutchison [Bishop Eustace], 2014
15:43 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2001
15:43 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2010
15:45 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], 2002
15:46 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], 2015
15:47 … Urie Ridgeway [Bridgeton], 1988
15:48 … Chris Platt [Haddonfield], 2001
15:50 … Mike Myers [Eastern Reg.], 2000
15:51 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], 2003
15:51 … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1998
15:54 … Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
15:54 … Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2010
15:54 … Skip Stiles [Haddonfield], 2001
15:55 … Dominick Munson [Timber Creek], 2014
15:55 … Breton Bonnett [Haddonfield], 2001
15:56 … Kyle Kirk [Camden Catholic], 2012
15:56 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], 2018
15:56 … David Forward [Shawnee], 2008
15:57 … Nate Miller [Highland Reg.], 1998
15:57 … Connor Herr [Shawnee], 2010
15:57 … Michael Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson], 2016
15:59 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2010
15:59 … Robert Edwards [Bridgeton], 2002

Any corrections or omissions, please contact me in the comments section! Thanks!