Not only did Nia Ali win the 100-meter hurdles Saturday at the U.S. Championships, she ran the fastest time in history for a woman her age.

Ali, who turns 35 in October and has three kids, won her first U.S. outdoor title with a time of 12.37 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

That time is 49th-fastest performance in world history – including multiple times by the same athletes – but nobody her age has ever run that fast.

Ali was born Oct. 23, 1988, so she was 34 years, 266 days old on Saturday, the day of the hurdles final at Hayward Field. The oldest woman previously to run 12.37 or faster is Gail Devers, who ran 12.33 on July 23, 2000, in Sacramento, at 33 years, 265 days – or almost exactly a year younger than Ali was on Saturday.

The fastest time by a woman older than Ali recorded was on Saturday is 12.40, also by Gail Devers – in Lausanne on July 2, 2002, when she was 35 years, 7 months, 21 days.

Ali is the 12th-fastest woman in history with the 12.34 she ran to win the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 6, 2019. Only 17 women have run faster than Ali ran on Saturday in Eugene – only four of them from the U.S. Those 17 women have run 12.36 or faster a combined 42 times.

By virtue of her finish at the U.S. Championships, Ali earns another trip to Worlds, which is scheduled for Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.

The first round of hurdles is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, and the finals at 3:25 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24.

Ali will try to become only the third U.S. woman to win multiple World Championships. Devers won in 1993 in Stuttgart, 1995 in Gothenburg and 1997 in Athens, and Michelle Perry in 2005 in Helsinki and 2007 in Osaka. The only other double winner is Austrailian Sally Pearson, who won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and London in 2017.

The only American women to run faster than Ali are Kendra Harrison [12.20 in London in 2016], Brianna McNeal [12.26 in Des Moines in 2013] and Devers [12.33 in Sacramento in 2000].

Harrison was 2nd on Saturday in 12.42. McNeal – the 2016 Olympic champion – retired last raced in 2019. And Devers retired after the 2004 season.

Ali, Harrison and 3rd-place finisher Masai Russell [12.46 Saturday] will be on the U.S. team in Budapest.

When U.S. swept the hurdles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Rollins won in 12.48, Ali was 2nd in 12.59 and Kristi Castlin was 3rd in 12.61.

 

Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker – in 7th place coming off the last hurdle – passed four runners in the 40 meters between Hurdle 10 and the finish line and placed 3rd in the 400-meter intermediates Sunday at the U.S. Under-20 Championships.

Tucker ran 52.00 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., finishing just 11-100ths of a second out of 2nd place. The top two finishers earn a spot on the U.S. team that will go to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, next month for the Pan Am Under-20 Championships.

Tucker, who will be a freshman at Rutgers this fall, had a remarkable senior year at Pennsauken, winning his 3rd straight Meet of Champions title, finishing 2nd at West Philly Nationals, 3rd at Under-20 Nationals and running 50.96 at the MoC – 3rd-fastest in meet history, No. 5 in state history and No. 1 among U.S. high school runners this spring.

Only four Rutgers hurdlers have ever run as fast as Tucker did this year, including Delsea graduate Aaron Younger, who ran all-time Rutgers No. 2 50.65 at 2010 NCAA Regionals in Greensboro, N.C.

Three New Jersey runners have won the Under-20 intermediate hurdles: Chris Person of Plainfield in 1978 in Bloomington, Ind. [51.0], Dwight Ruff of Camden in Richmond in 2001 [50.37] and Reuben McCoy of Winslow in Carson, Calif., in 2005 [50.69].

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde placed 2nd in the shot put Sunday evening at the U.S. National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, qualifying for his second straight World Championships team.

Awotunde, in 6th place after three throws, popped the 4th- best throw of his life in the 4th round, a 72-6 ¼ bomb that moved him into 2nd place, behind only world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Crouser, who opened with a 74-10 ½.

Awotunde’s throw was only 7 ½ inches off his lifetime-best 73-1 ½ that he threw when he placed 3rd at the World Championships in Eugene last July.

With his top-3 finish, Awotunde will once again represent the U.S. at the World Championships, which will be held next month in Budapest, Hungary. He’ll be joined on the U.S. team by Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, who won the 100-meter hurdles, and Florence’s Curtis Thompson, who won the javelin.

The 72-6 ¼ is Awotunde’s 4th-best throw ever. The top three all came at Worlds last year – 72-11 ½ on his first throw, 73-1 ½ on his 5th and 72-10 ¾ on his 6th.

Awotunde’s throw is No. 5 in the world this year and No. 3 among Americans, behind Crouser and two-time World Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovacs, who finished 4th Saturday at 71-10 ¼.

Awotunde is No. 18 in world history with his 73-1 ½ and No. 11 in U.S. history.

This was only Awotunde’s 4th meet this year and his best previous throw this year was a 68-7 ¼ at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 27. So he had his five-best throws this year tonight in Eugene. His four-best throws – and six of his eight-best – have come at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

The former South Carolina All-America placed 5th at U.S. Nationals in 2019 and 2021 and 3rd last year, so this is his 4th straight top-5 finish and his best finish ever at nationals. There was no meet in 2020.

Awotunde opened with a 67-5 ½, 69-11 and 69-11 ½ and went into the finals in 6th place. But he moved into 2nd with his 72-6 ¼ on his 4th throw and backed it up with a 71-8 and a 71-8 ¼.

He averaged 70-6 ¼ on his six throws, good enough to place 5th overall if his average were one throw.

Because Crouser is defending World Champion, he’s automatically qualified for Worlds, which means Awotunde, 3rd-place Payton Otterdahl [PR 72-5 3/4] and Kovacs [71-10 1/4] will all join Crouser in Budapest.

Awotunde’s 72-6 ¼ was his best 4th throw ever. His previous-best 4th throw was a 71-2 ¼ at the Gyulai István Memorial in Székesfehérvár, Hungary two years ago this week.

Worlds are scheduled for Aug. 19-27 at Budapest’s National Athletics Center along the banks of the River Danube. Shot put qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. EST on Saturday, Aug. 19, with the finals following at 2:35 p.m. local time.

Here’s a look at all of Awotunde’s 70-foot throws – all since May of 2021:

73-1 ½ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [5th throw] [3rd]
72-11 ½ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [1st throw] [—]
72-10 ¾ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [6th throw] [—]
72-6 ¼ … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 9, 2023 [4th throw] [2nd]
71-3 ½ … Memorial Borisa Hanžekovića, Fountains, Zagreb [N/A/] [3rd]
71-2 ¼ … World Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 17, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]
72-2 … Meeting Città di Padova, Stadio Colbachini, Padovad, Poland, Sept. 5, 2021 [N/A] [place]
71-8 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Ore., June 18, 2021 [6th throw] (5th place]
71-2 ¼i … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [3rd throw] (5th)
71-2 ¼ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [4th throw] (3rd)
71-1 ½ … Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021 [6th throw] [2nd place]
70-11 ¾ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [5th throw] [2nd]
70-11 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [5th throw) [2nd]
70-10 ¾ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [4th throw) [—]
70-7 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 27, 2022 [3rd throw] [3rd]
70-6 ½ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [6th throw] [—]
70-6 ¼i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [3rd throw] [1st]
70-3 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [3rd throw] [—]
70-2 ½i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [1st throw] [—]
70-0 ½ … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Stadion Śląski, Chorzów [N/A] [3rd]
70-0 ¼ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]
70-0 ¼ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]

Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard recorded her 6th consecutive top-10 shot put finish at U.S. Nationals in Eugene Saturday.

Woodard placed 6th in the shot at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 60-3 ¼. She finished less than a foot off the podium.

Woodard first competed at U.S. Nationals in 2016 in Eugene – that was an Olympic Trials year – and placed 11th and has since placed 8th, 9th, 6th, 7th, 3rd last year and 5th this year. She made the U.S. team last year with her lifetime-best 63-7 ¾ and went on to place 8th at the World Championships in Eugene.

Woodard was sitting in 9th place after two throws Saturday when she hit 60-3 ¼ on her 3rd throw. Chase Ealey hit 61-1 ¼ on her 5th throw to bump Woodard from 4th to 5th.

The 60-3 ¼ was Woodard’s 39th lifetime throw over 60 feet (18.288 meters). The full list of those throws is below.

So far this year, Woodard’s best throw has been 61-4 ¼ in Tucson in May. She ranks 20th in the world and 6th among American women. All-time, she’s No. 14 in U.S. history with her 63-7 ¾ last year at the U.S. Championships.

Jessica Woodard All-Time 60-Foot Throws
63-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
62-7 … World Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 15, 2022
62-3 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
61-10 ¼ … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
61-8 ¾ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
61-6 ½ … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
61-5 ¼ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-5 ¼ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-4 ¼ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
61-4¼i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
61-3½ … NCAA Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 7, 2018
61-3 … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
61-2 ¼ … Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athletisme de Rabat, Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat, Morocco, May 28, 2023
61-1 ¾ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-1 ¼ … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
60-10 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-10i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
60-10 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2022
60-9½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7¼ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7½i … Don Kirby Elite, Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center, Feb. 12, 2022
60-6 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-6 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-5¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
60-4¾ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
60-4 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-4 … Goteborg Grand Prix, Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 16, 2019
60-3¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 24, 2021
60-3 ¼ … U.S. National Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023
60-3 … Big 12 Championships, Lawrence, Kans., May 13, 2017
60-3 … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
60-4½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
60-3 … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
60-1¼ … Chula Vista High Performance #3, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., May 2, 2021
60-0 ½ … Chula Vista High Performance #1, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., April 3, 2021
60-0 ½ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2022

Pleasantville graduate Nia Ali ran one of the greatest races of her remarkable career Saturday, winning her first U.S. outdoor title in the 100-meter hurdles.

Ali won an Olympic silver medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and a World Championship gold medal in 2019 in Doha, Qatar, and World Indoor Championships in 2014 in Sopot, Poland, and in 2016 in Portland, Ore., but the outdoor national title had eluded her in her brilliant career.

But at 34 years old and with three kids, Ali out-raced some of the fastest hurdlers in world history Saturday at Heyward Field in Eugene, winning in 12.37, her 2nd-fastest time ever. She’ll return to the World Championships next month.

https://twitter.com/Track_Gazette/status/1677879164861399042

Ali won 2019 Worlds in 12.34 – No. 12 in world history – but her 12.37 is her fastest since and 4th-fastest in the world this year.

Ali edged all-time World No. 2 Keni Harrison, who was 2nd in 12.42. The race was run with a legal 0.5 tailwind.

Ali’s time is No. 4 in the world this year, behind Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn [12.31 in Los Angeles in May], Harrison [12.35 in the same race] and American Masai Russell [12.36 in Austin in April].

Russell placed 3rd Saturday with a 12.46. Ali, Harrison and Russell will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

Her 12.37 is the 8th -fastest in meet history:

12.26 … Brianna Rollins, 2013 [1st]
12.29 … Lolo Jones, 2008 [1st]
12.33 … Gail Devers, 2000 [1st]
12.34 … Keni Harrison, 2022 [1st]
12.34 … Brianna Rollins, 2016 [1st]
12.35 … Alaysha Johnson, 2022 [2nd]
12.36 … Dawn Harper, 2009 [1st]
12.37 … Nia Ali, 2023 [1st]

Ali didn’t race in 2020 or 2021 – COVID wiped out the 2000 season, and she took 2021 off to have her third child. After Worlds in Doha in October 2019, she didn’t run another 100 hurdles race until last March.

Her fastest time in 2022 was 12.49 in the semis of last year’s U.S. Championships. Before Saturday, her fastest time this year was 12.53, which she ran in Gainesville in April and then again in the qualifying rounds in Eugene on Friday.

But she ran 12.43 in the semifinals earlier Saturday – which at the time was her 2nd-fastest time ever – which means she ran two of her three-fastest times ever in the span of 90 minutes on Saturday in Eugene.

Here’s a look at Ali’s top-10 times ever:

12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [f], Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]
12.53 … Galan Bauhaus, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.53 … Tom Jones Memorial, Gainesville, Fla., April 15, 2023 [1st]
12.53 … U.S. Championships [h], Eugene, Ore., July 7, 2023 [—]
12.55 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moiners, Iowa, July 27, 2019 [2nd]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2016 [3rd]

Florence’s Curtis Thompson won his third national title Saturday thanks to a clutch season-best 265-5 throw on his final attempt of the competition.

He’s only the 3rd thrower to win three U.S. javelin titles since 1950.

Thompson was sitting in 3rd place after four throws with a best of 248-9, but he moved up to 2nd with a 256-7 on his 5th throw and then jumped leader Capers Williamson – who had thrown 258-10 on his 2nd attempt – with a 265-5 on his final throw at the U.S. Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.,

Thompson also won U.S. titles in 2018 with a 249-3 and won the 2021 U.S. title at the Olympic Trials at 271-7. That was also on his 6th throw.

With the win, Thompson earns the chance to represent the U.S. in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, next month. He was 11th in the 2022 Worlds in Eugene, the best finish at Worlds by an American since 2009.

Thompson opened with four throws between 242-1 and 248-9 before hitting 256-7 on his 5th attempt. His 265-5 is the 2nd-best 6th throw of his career. His 271-7 at the same facility at the 2021 Olympic Trials also came on his final throw.

The 265-5 is his best throw since a 269-4 at the Weltklasse Diamond League in Zurich last September. Thompson now has 10 lifetime throws of at least 260 feet at Hayward Field.

Williamson – throwing last as the leader through the first three throws – had one last chance to pass Thompson but fouled on his final attempt. He finished 2nd at 258-10 and Marc Minichello, the 2022 NCAA champion for Penn, was 3rd at 256-1.

Thompson’s previous best throw this year was a 261-3 at the Kuortane Games at Kuortaneen Keskusurheilukenttä in Kuortane, Finland, on June 17.

Thompson is now one of only seven men in the 116-year history of the U.S. Championships to win three javelin titles:

Breaux Greer [8]: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Tom Pukstys [6]: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999
Bud Held [6]: 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958
George Bronder [6]: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919
Boyd Brown [4]: 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942
Steve Seymour [3]: 1947, 1948, 1950
Curtis Thompson [3]: 2018, 2021, 2023

Thompson is not the first South Jersey athlete to win a U.S. javelin title. Holy Cross graduate Vince Labosky won the 1990 title with a 261-3 throw.

Here’s a look at all of Thompson’s lifetime 260-foot throws [79.248 meters]:

287-9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [2nd throw]
276-4 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2022 [3rd throw]
274-11 … Athletissima, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2022 [1st throw]
273-4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [1st throw]
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016 [1st throw]
271-10 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [3rd throw]
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [6th throw]
270-3 … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Invitational, Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland, Aug. 6, 2022 [2nd throw]
269-7 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [3rd throw]
269-4 … Weltklasse, Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland, Sept. 8, 2022 [2nd throw]
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 2022 [1st throw]
268-1 … World Athletics Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, July 21, 2022 [1st throw]
267-4 … World Athletics Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, July 21, 2022 [2nd throw]
267-2 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021 [2nd throw]
266-6 … USATF Throws Festival [2nd], Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022 [1st throw]
266-2 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [4th throw]
265-10 … American JavFest [2nd], East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 17, 2021 [5th throw]
265-10 … Florida State Relays [1st], Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Fla., March 25, 2016 [2nd attempt]
265-7 … Victoria Track Classic [1st], Centennial Stadium, Victoria, British Columbia, June 15, 2022 [unknown]
265-5 … U.S. Championships [1st], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [6th throw]
264-8 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022 [2nd throw]
264-1 … USATF Championships [2nd], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022 [5th throw]
264-0 … Athletissima, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2022 [5th throw]
263-11 … 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Relays, Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, March 25, 2022 [6th throw]
263-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [1st throw]
262-8 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [4th throw]
262-3 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [1st throw]
261-6 … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Invitational, Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland, Aug. 6, 2022 [3rd throw]
261-3 … Kuortane Games, Kuortaneen Keskusurheilukenttä, Kuortane, Finland, June 17, 2023 [4th throw]
260-11 … American JavFest [1st], East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 30, 2016 [2nd throw]
260-11 … Kuortane Games, Kuortaneen Keskusurheilukenttä, Kuortane, Finland, June 17, 2023 [3rd throw]
260-10 … Mt. SAC Relays, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 14, 2023 [4th throw]
260-4 … Kuortane Games, Kuortaneen Keskusurheilukenttä, Kuortane, Finland, June 17, 2023 [6th throw]
260-4 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [3rd throw]
260-3 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023 [5th throw]
260-2 … Paavo Nurmi Games, Paavo Nurmi Stadium, Turku, Finland, June 13, 2023 [3rd throw]
260-1 … NACAC Under-23 [1st], San Salvador, Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González, June 17, 2016 [2nd throw]
260-1 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2022 [2nd throw]
260-1 … 95th annual Clyde Littlefield Relays [3rd], Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin Texas, April 1, 2023 [2nd throw]

Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker, buried in 5th place after the 8th hurdle, finished very strong and won his heat in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday at the USATF Under-20 Championships.

Tucker ran 51.97 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., and automatically qualified for Sunday’s final. The top two finishers in each of three races plus the next two-fastest runners advanced.

Tucker, a June graduate of Pennsauken High and incoming Rutgers freshman, came off the 8th hurdle in 5th place in 37.44, trailing North Carolina’s Blaise Atkinson [36.61], San Jose State’s Zaire Waring [36.80], El Camino Community College’s Lincoln Marschall [37.01] and Rowan’s Jason Agyemang [37.32].

But he moved into 4th over the 9th hurdle and 3rd over the 10th and final hurdle, then passed Atkinson and Waring in the final steps to win the heat and comfortably advance.

Tucker’s time wound up 2nd-fastest of the three heats, behind only Gage Gose, a recent graduate of Lander (Wy.) Valley High. Gose ran 51.82 to win the first heat. Tucker’s PR is 50.96 from his most recent MoC win at South Plainfield, and Gose’s is 51.48 from Hayward Field Nationals last month.

The final is scheduled for 6:46 p.m. EST on Sunday. Tucker will be in Lane 4, Rose in Lane 5. The top two finishers have the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the Pan Am Under-20 Championships Aug. 4-6 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

The cutoff for advancement into the finals was 52.70. Alexander Sadikov, who was a close 2nd to Tucker at this year’s Meet of Champions with a PR 51.00, ran 52.70 to become the final qualifier to reach the eight-man final.

Agyemang, a North Plainfield High graduate who just finished his freshman year at Rowan, placed 15th overall in 54.32.

Agyemang, who ran his PR of 53.42 at Widener in May, placed 3rd in both the 110 highs [14.51] and 400 intermediates [54.29] at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships in Mahwah in May. He placed 14th in the highs at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Rochester, N.Y., also in May.

Kingsway graduate Ryan Allen won his 2nd straight USATF Under-20 10,000-meter racewalk national title Saturday, covering the 12 ½ laps at Hayward Field in a massive lifetime-best 46:17.65.

Allen, 19, finished 90 seconds ahead of Clayton Stoil, who was timed in 48:47.89 and placed 2nd for a second straight year.

Allen’s race began minutes after older brother Sam finished 3rd in the 20,000 walk at Senior Nationals on the same track. Click here to read about his race.

Allen won the Under-20 title last year in a then-PR 49:53.14, winning by more than half a mile over the field.

So Allen trimmed 3 ½ minutes off his lifetime best, or the equivalent of 17 ½ seconds per lap.

With the win, Allen makes his 2nd straight U.S. national Under-20 team. He raced at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Columbia, last August, and will race in the Pan Am Under-20 Championship Aug. 4-6 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

Stoll was 2nd last year in 54:15.71. Allen has defeated Stoil twice in a row now since Stoil edged Allen to win the National Scholastic title last June, also at Hayward Field.

Kingsway graduate Sam Allen placed 3rd in the 20,000-meter racewalk Saturday morning at the USATF National Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Allen covered 50 laps on the Hayward Field track in 1:31:58.72, an average of 7:25 per mile for the 12.4-mile race.

Allen’s matched his previous-best finish at a national championship meet. He was 3rd over 20,000 meters last February at the USATF 20-kilometer (road course) World Team Trials in El Cajon, Calif.

Allen, 21, finished only 27 seconds behind 2nd-place Emmanuel Corvera, who crossed the line in 1:31.31.53. Nick Christie won the race in 1:25.30.31. Allen recently finished his junior year at Cornell.

Allen will represent the U.S. in the NACAC Under-23 Championships July 21-23 in San Juan, Costa Rica.

For most of the first half of the race, Allen was in 6th place, but over the final 10,000 he settled into a pack with Jordan Crawford and Jason Cherng, and those three remained together in 3rd, 4th and 5th until the final lap, when Allen closed with a 1:40.23 – the fastest single lap any of the competitors other than Christie recorded – to edge Crawford and Cherng.

Allen wound up finishing about five seconds ahead of Crawford and six seconds ahead of Cherng.

Allen was the youngest qualifier for the race. Crawford and Cherng are both 23.

Allen recorded his 20,000 PR of 90:43.43 at the World Trials in El Cajon.

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, the Olympic silver medalist in 2016, matched her fastest time of the year Friday night and easily advanced to the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles at the USATF National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Ali ran 12.53, the 2nd-fastest time among all entrants. She placed 2nd in the first of three qualifying races, finishing behind only all-time world No. 2 and 2021 Olympic silver medalist Kendra Harrison, who ran 12.50.

The top four finishers in each of the three races along with the next four-fastest hurdlers advance to Saturday’s semifinals, so Ali earned an auto-qualifier with her 2nd-place finish.

Ali also ran 12.53 at the Tom Jones Memorial at Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Fla., on April 15.

Ali is all-time world No. 12 and U.S. No. 4 with her 12.34 to win the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

So far this year, Ali ranks No. 9 in the world and No. 6 among U.S. women.

Tia Jones won the second race in 12.56, and Alaysha Johnson won the 3rd in 12.60. The fastest qualifiers were Harrison at 12.50, Ali at 12.53, Jones at 12.56 and Tonea Marshall – 3rd in Ali’s race – with 12.58.

Winslow graduate Tionna Tobias ran 13.43 in the third heat and placed 6th, missing a berth in the semifinals. In her first U.S. championships, the rising Iowa senior placed 20th among all U.S. women.

Ali and Tobias rank No. 1 and 2 in South Jersey history in the 100-meter hurdles with 12.34 and 13.11. They are also No. 1 and 2 in South Jersey history in the heptathlon (5,870 for Ali in 2016 and 5,640 for Tobias in Bloomington, Ind., in May.

Ali will race in the semifinals at 9:02 p.m. Saturday. The top three in each of two semis as well as the next two-fastest hurdlers will advance to the final, scheduled for 10:55 p.m. Saturday.