Delsea senior Reese Gebhard equalled the No. 3 pole vault performance in Gloucester County history Thursday and broke the meet record at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford.

Gebhard cleared 11-0, smashing her PR of 10-6, which she cleared both indoors in February at the Bubble and outdoors last week at the South Jersey Elite at Delsea.

She shattered the meet record of 10-2 set in 2012 by Clearview’s Christina Kursewicz.

Gebhard was clean all the way up through 11-6. She passed through the first three heights, then cleared 9-0, 9-6, 10-0, 10-6 and 11-0 all on her first attempt.

Runner-up Sophia Bostwick of Washington Township also PR’d with a 9-6 clearance on her first attempt. Freshmen took 3rd and 4th and both also PR’d at 8-6 – Cali Lacovara of Washington Township and Brynn Greenwood of Williamstown. Lacovara got 3rd based on fewer misses at 8-6.

Here’s a look at the all-time Gloucester County top-10:

12- 7 1/2 … Ashley Preston [Delsea], 2018
11-6 … Gabby Vetere [Washington Twp.], 2022
11-0 … Elizabeth Douglas [West Deptford], 2015
11-0 … Christina Kursewicz [Clearview], 2012
11-0 … Elissa Ingram [Kingsway], 2011
11-0 … Reese Gebhard [Delsea], 2023
10-10 … Miranda Roberts [Washington Twp.], 2012
10-10 … Katie Selfridge [Delsea], 2014
10-9 … Lexi Brown [Delsea], 2013
10-7 … Kaitlyn Smith [Gateway], 2022
10-6 … Claudia Theriault [West Deptford], 2013
10-6 … Erin Gray [Kingsway], 2017

Deptford’s Lathan Brown ran Gloucester County’s fastest intermediate hurdles race in 14 years Thursday at the Gloucester County Championships on his home track at Deptford.

Brown won the race in 53.67, dropping his PR from 54.11 from last week’s South Jersey Elite at Delsea. His time is No. 4 in the state this year, behind Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker [52.18], Seton Hall Prep’s Ryan Matulonis [53.41] and Morristown’s Jason Meza [53.65].

That 53.67 is fastest by a Gloucester County runner since 2009, when Washington Township’s Tim Carey ran 52.10 . He broke the school record of 54.03 set by Shaquille Dixon at the 2015 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield.

Brown’s time is 2nd-fastest in meet history. Carey set the meet record of 52.90 when he won the 2009 race at Delsea.

The versatile Brown has run 48.96 for 400 meters, 1:56.19 for 800 meters and 15.80 in the high hurdles. He was 3rd at Group 2 states in the intermediates last year at Franklin Township and this past indoor season won the 400 at indoor states at the Bubble and placed 3rd in the 800 at Easterns at the Armory.

Washington Township’s Kanye Mills also PR’d for 2nd place with a 55.03. His previous PR was 55.06 at last year’s state Group 4 meet at Franklin. His time is No. 10 in the state this year and No. 3 in South Jersey behind Tucker and Brown.

Here’s the all-time Gloucester County sub-54 list:

51.62 … Fred Sharpe [Paulsboro], 1997
52.10 … Tim Carey [Washington Twp.], 2009
52.66 … Aaron Younger [Delsea], 2007
52.72 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2000
53.22 … Will Washington [Delsea], 2006
53.67 … Lathan Brown [Deptford], 2023
53.84 … Andy Carson [Woodbury], 1997
53.94 … Edwyn Pierre [Williamstown], 2017

You want a PR? We’ve got you a PR.

Jordan Hadfield, a sophomore at Schalick, went into the Salem County Championships at Pennsville Wednesday with a 1,600 PR of 5:41.21 from indoor Group 1 states at the Bubble in February and an outdoor PR of 5:45.40 from last year’s Salem County Championships, also at Pennsville.

All she did Wednesday was shave nearly half a minute off her PR and win her first county title.

Hadfield won the 1,600 in 5:16.54, making her the 3rd-fastest sophomore in South Jersey this year – behind Cherokee’s Megan Niglio [5:05.21] and Vineland’s Georgina Chalow [5:16.20], both at the South Jersey Elite last Thursday at Delsea.

What’s more, Hadfield ran unpressed.

She was out in 2:32.99 and had a 50-meter lead with 800 to go and a 100-meter lead at the gun lap, eventually winning by 150 meters.

That’s a Salem County sophomore class record, and it’s No. 2 among Group 1 sophomores this year, behind only Delana Einreinhofer of Walkill Valley, who ran 5:05.31 at a meet this week at Walkill Valley High in Hamburg.

It’s also fastest by a South Jersey Group 1 miler since 2017, when Abby McCully of Pitman ran 5:14.99 at the Gloucester County Championships at Delsea.

The Salem County 1,600 record was set by Olivia Gerstenbacher with a 5:13.06 at the 2016 Rowan Open in Glassboro, so she’s only 3 1/2 seconds off that with 2 1/2 seasons to go.

Hadfield also won the 3,200 in 12:18.09. Her PR is 11:58.96 from her 5^th-place finish at Group 1 states last spring at Pennsauken.

Hadfield plays soccer in the fall.

Washington Township’s Izzy Deal put together a monster performance for Ursinus in the Centennial Athletic Conference Championships this past weekend, winning the javelin throw, setting a school record in the hammer throw and recording a personal best in the shot put.

At her home facility in Collegeville, Deal won the javelin with a 140-5, broke the school record with a 132-10 for 5th place in the hammer and PR’d in the shot with a 43-5 for 2nd place.

The javelin is her 3rd conference title. She won the shot and javelin in 2021 at Mulhenberg College in Allentown.

Deal won the javelin by more than six feet over Holly Ferrara of Gettysburg. Her PR and school record is 148-6 from a meet last month at Princeton. That’s No. 4 in NCAA Division 3 this year and less than five feet off No. 1 Avery Decker of Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, who threw 152-3 last month at a meet in Crete, Neb.

In the shot, Deal improved her PR from 42-9 ½ from last month in a meet at Widener University in Chester, Pa. Adria Better of Swarthmore won the event with a 46-11 3/4, No. 7 nationally in D-3.

She’s now No. 33 in Division 3 in the shot. She’s also only 8 ½ inches off the school record of 44-1 ½ supposedly set by Rachelle Pecovsky in 1994 (at least, that’s according to Ursinus’s web site. From Newspapers.com, it appears that Pecovsky was a triple jumper and gymnast, so who knows).

In the hammer, Deal threw 132-10, which topped the school record of 130-11 set last year by Zenya Yanoff in a meet last year at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Deal is a two-time javelin All-America. She placed 8th in the 2021 meet in Greensboro, N.C., and 6th last year in Geneva, Ohio.

This year’s NCAA Championships are scheduled for May 25-27 at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, N.Y.

Rowan’s Nevaeh Lorjuste, a sophomore from Triton, ran one of the fastest 400s in NCAA Division 3 Sunday in winnng the NJAC title at Ramapo University in Mahwah.

She also teamed up with a couple other South Jersey middle-distance runners to help Rowan run top-10 national times in two relays.

Lorjuste ran 55.46 to win the New Jersey Athletic Conference 400 title by more than a second over 2nd-place Maria Grill of The College of New Jersey, who ran 56.50.

Lorjuste’s time is No. 6 in NCAA Division 3 and is almost certain to qualify her for the NCAA Division 3 Championships in …..

Her previous PR was a 56.77 when she placed 3rd in last year’s NJAC meet in Ewing. She lowered that to 56.60 when she led the qualifiers in Saturday’s trials before her breakthrough race in the final.

Her time is fastest by a Rowan woman in seven years, since Pemberton graduate Shailah Willoiams set the school record of 54.74 in her final college meet, when she placed 3rd at the 2016 NCAA Division 3 Championships in Waverly, Iowa.

At Triton, Lorjuste won South Jersey Group 3 sectionals at Delsea as a senior in a high school PR 56.98 and placed 2nd at states in 57.21 and 4th in the Meet of Champions with a 57.07. She was also a state champ in the 200.

As a freshman at Rowan, she ran 59.10 indoors 57.18 outdoors then reached NCAAs indoors in Albuquerque this past winter and ran an indoor lifetime best 58.06.

In the 4-by-4, Rowan ran 3:50.31, No. 9 in NCAA Division 3. Kat Pederson of Hillsborough, sophomore Molly Lodge of Woodstown and sophomore Jasmine Broadway of Burlington Township anchored in 55.09.

In the 4-by-1, the Profs ran 46.76, No. 7 in NCAA Division 3. Lorjuste, Broadway and Lodge were joined by anchor Promise Fadahunsi from Monroe Township High. That’s only 20-100ths of a second off the school record of 46.56 set when the Profs placed 3rd at the the 2016 NCAA Division 3 Championships in Waverly, Iowa. Williams was joined by Ebonique Jones from William Penn, Aspen McMillan of South Brunswick and Lexus Matos of Camden Catholic on that team.

Broadway also won the 200 and set a school record of 24.33 in the trials, placed 6th in the 100 in 12.30 after a PR 12.21 in the trials and also ran on the 4-by-1.

Lodge also ran a PR 1:02.01 for 2nd in the intermediates, placed 5th in the 100 with a 12.22 after a PR 12.14 in the trials and took 5th in the 200 in 25.19.

Jason Nwosu, a William & Mary freshman from Delsea, was named Most Valuable Field Performer after winning one event and placing in two others at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.

Nwosu threw 54-6 with the 16-pound ball and won the shot put Saturday by 4 ¾ inches over Brayden Hodgest of North Carolina AT&T, who threw 54-1 ¼. On Friday, he threw 156-10 for 6th in the hammer and 150-0 for 4th place in the discus.

Nwosu has PRs this year of 55-2 ¼ in the shot, 157-10 in the discus and 165-5 in the hammer. Indoors, he threw 53-1 ½ in the shot (No. 11 in school history) and 54-4 ¾ in the weight throw (No. 15 in school history).

He already ranks No. 7 in school history in the shot, No. 11 in the discus and No. 15 in the hammer, an event he never tried before March.

He’s closing in on the William & Mary freshman class shot record of 55-6 set 40 years ago by George Dippold at the 1983 William & Mary Invitational in Williamsburg, Va.

William and Mary has the best page of school records and performance lists I’ve ever seen. Great job!

 

Kingsway graduate Autumn DeMary, a senior at Bloomfield, ran the 2nd-fastest time in meet history in the 100-meter hurdles at the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference Championships Saturday in Lakewood.

DeMary ran a huge personal-best 14.17 – with legal wind – to win the hurdles by a whopping five meters at Georgian Court.

Although the CACC hasn’t bothered updating its championships performance list in two years, the only faster time in meet history is Jasmine Staten’s 14.11 last year. Staten ran for Rancocas Valley and graduated from Lenape.

DeMary’s time is also 2nd-fastest in school history behind Staten’s 14.08 in April of 2018 in a meet in Newark.

DeMary entered the meet with a PR of 14.55 from a meet last year in Glassboro. She lowered that to 14.54 in the trials Saturday and then demolished it in the final, which she won by 70-100ths of a second over Shanell Pusey of Holy Family, who was 2nd in 14.87, The field ran into a 0.3 wind.

With the breakthrough performance, DeMary now ranks 2nd in the NCAA Division 2 East Region, behind only Raven-Symone Jarrett of American International, who ran 14.11 Friday in a meet in Manchester, N.H.

DeMary was 2nd in the 2021 meet in 15.17 behind Bloomfield teammate TeSeanna Harris of C.A. Morgan Village Academy in Camden [14.70] and 3rd last year behind Staten [14.11] and Harris [14.53]. The CACC does not hold an indoor conference meet.

DeMary also placed 6th in the 200.

At Kingsway, DeMary ran 14.67 and was a two-time sectional hurdles medalist despite losing the entire 2020 season to COVID.

Kingsway graduate Orion Joyner, a junior at Rhode Island, sailed past the 50-foot barrier for the first time in his life and placed 2nd in the triple jump Sunday at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in Amherst, Mass.

Joyner fouled on his first two attempts but leaped 50-4 ¾ on his 3rd jump and finished 2nd to Virginia Commonwealth sophomore David Coles, who jumped 51-1 ½ – also a PR – on his fifth attempt.

Joyner’s previous PR was a 48-11 ¾ three weeks ago in Storrs, Conn. Before this season, his PR was 48-7 from the A-10 indoor Championships winin Kingston, R.I., in February. He’s won the last two A-10 indoor titles.

At Kingsway, Joyner jumped 48-1 ¼ at 2019 South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township, No. 5 in South Jersey history.

With a 50-4 ¾, Joyner moves into the No. 3 spot in URI history behind Tom Campbell [52-11 in 1992] and Casey Burley [50-10 ¾ in 2018].

Washington Township junior Dahlia Beasley, in her first 200 of the year, ran the fastest time in New Jersey this year as part of a speedy sprint double.

Beasley, who high jumped at the Woodbury Relays but hadn’t run an open race since early in the indoor season, won the 200 at the South Jersey Open at Delsea in 24.87 – 11th-fastest in Gloucester County history – and took 2nd in the 400 in 56.68 behind Eastern senior Kadence Dumas, who ran 56.64.

Other than summer track, Beasley hadn’t run an open 200 since early in the 2022 indoor season. But at Delsea Saturday at the South Jersey Open, she was first across the line. Second place went to Willingboro sophomore Nester Wea, who ran 24.99 out of an earlier section. More on her later.

The only other girl to run sub-25 this year in New Jersey is Pennsauken freshman Sianni Wynn, who ran 24.90 on the same track Thursday at the South Jersey Elite.

In the 400, Dumas and Beasley posted the No. 2 and 5 times in the state this year and became the first two South Jersey girls under 57. Beasley has a PR of 56.62 from South Jersey Group 4 sectionals last spring at Buena, which is No. 13 in Gloucester County history.

Milesplit credits Beasley with a 25.01 and a 56.47 from 2022, but both times were made in an out-of-season USATF meet in New York and don’t qualify for high school lists. For summer meets to qualify for all-time lists, they must be a continuation of the high school season, such as U.S. Juniors.

Beasley also has a high jump PR of 5-6.

Meanwhile, Wea is the first Willingboro girl to break 25 seconds in the 200 meters in 20 years, since Halimah Bashir ran 24.93 in 2003 and the first Chimera sophomore since Michelle Glover ran 23.56 in 1979. Her time is fastest by any Burlington County or South Jersey sophomore since Sheriyah Nutt ran 24.18 at the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

Wea’s time is No. 13 on the all-time Burlington County list, and it came in her very first high school outdoor 200-meter dash. She had an official high school 200 PR of 26.86 from the Bubble in February.

All-Time Gloucester County 200-Meter Dash List
23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
24.19 … Bria Mack [Williamstown], 2017
24.21 … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2006
24.32 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2015
24.35 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], 2021, 2022
24.35 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
24.42 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
24.45 … Cecelia Gerstenbacher [Delsea], 2017
24.71 … Jackie Dim [Washington Twp.], 2007
24.85 … Latoya Benson [Washington Twp.], 2001
24.87 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], 2023

All-Time Gloucester County 400-Meter Dash List
53.49 … Arianna Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
53.51 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
53.60 … Amirah Sharpe [Clayton], 2022
54.62 … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2008
55.3h … Lori Lewis [Woodbury], 1978
55.50 … Sabrina Burrell [Delsea], 2014
55.72 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2015
55.93 … Brianna Crofton [Delsea], 2009
56.24 … Thaila Cooper [Kingsway], 2013
56.35 … Nicol Corsey [Deptford], 1997
56.37 … Jackie Dim [Washington Twp.], 2007
56.62 … Dahlia Beasley [Washington Twp.], 2022

All-Time Burlington County 200 List
23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
24.01 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
24.17 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
24.18 … Sheriyah Nutt [Rancocas Valley], 2019
24.31 … Morgan Gordon [Rancocas Valley], 2009
24.42 … Halimah Bashir [Willingboro], 2002
24.49 … Annie Johnson [Shawnee], 2012
24.55 … Daneille Myricks [Willingboro], 2000
24.61 … Aliyah Tayor [Rancocas Valley], 2018
24.79 … Darynn Minus-Vincent [Rancocas Valley], 2018
24.81 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2015
24.94 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], 2012
24.99 … Nester Wea [Willingboro], 2023

Pennsville’s Arianna Smith destroyed a 40-year-old Princeton school record in the 400-meter hurdles Sunday and ran a huge high hurdles PR at the Ivy League Championships at Franklin Field.

Smith had a fantastic weekend, with two PRs, a school record, a 2nd in the intermediates, a 3rd in the highs and a blazing 53.97 anchor on the Tigers’ 3rd-place 1,600-meter relay team.

In the intermediates, Smith ran 57.84, finishing just behind Harvard freshman Chloe Fair, who won the race in 57.75.

She broke the school record of 58.19 set by Sally Anderson when she placed 9th at the 1983 NCAA Championships at the University of Houston.

Smith’s previous PR was 58.76 at the Big Five Meet on the same Franklin Field track in West Philadelphia.

Her time puts her No. 36 among U.S. women this year, 2-100ths of a second behind Eastern graduate Jewel Ash of Charleston Southern, who ran 57.72 last month in Knoxville.

It’s also 5th-fastest ever run by a South Jersey woman:

55.78 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], April 21, 1996, Walnut, Calif.
56.21 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], May 26, 2007, Gainesville, Fla.
56.87 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], May 30, 2014, Jacksonville, Fla.
57.16 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], May 9, 2022, High Point, N.C.
57.84 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 6, 2023, Philadelphia

In the 100-meter highs, Smith moved into the No. 2 spot on the all-time Princeton list with a huge PR 13.73. The school record is listed on Princeton’s web site as 13.08 by Nicole Harrison in the 1997 ECAC Championships in Fairfax, Va. But her winning time in that meet was actually 13.18, and the World Athletics web site doesn’t show her with a 13.08 at any point.

Smith’s previous PR was 13.94, also from the Big Five Meet at Franklin Field. She lowered that to 13.83 in the trials on Saturday before PR’ing again with 13.73 in the final.

Smith ran 14.44 in high school when she won the Salem County Championships in 2019, but she didn’t compete in the high hurdles again until this spring, so that’s three years in a row without contesting the 100-meter highs.

She ran 14.11 at Penn in her first high hurdles race since high school in March and is now 2nd-fastest in Princeton history just six weeks later.

Princeton placed 3rd in the 4-by-4 with Smith on the anchor leg. India Ingemi, Adelaide Asante and Brianna Mponzi ran the first three legs for the Tigers, whose 3:39.25 is No. 2 in school history behind the school record of 3:39.04 set at 2015 Heps, also at Franklin Field.

Penn won the 1,600-meter relay in 3:37.26 with Paul VI graduate Aliya Garozzo splitting 55.70 on the 3rd leg. The time is No. 7 on the all-time Penn performance list.