Competing in terrible conditions, Millville senior Leah Howard placed 3rd in the javelin Friday at the 127th annual Penn Relays at the grass throwing fields across the Amtrak lines from Franklin Field in West Philadelphia.

Howard popped a 148-7 on her first throw and that held up for 3rd place behind Julia Magliaro of Trinity School of Hicksville, N.Y. [164-7] and Belle Bosch of Chestnut Ridge of New Paris, Pa. [150-7].

Howard surpassed 140 feet on two other throws – 142-9 on her 3rd attempt and 144-10 on her 4th.

According to the MileSplit national database, Howard ranks No. 3 nationally and No. 2 in state history at 163-1 from the Woodbury Relays last weekend behind Trinity Spooner of South Beauregard in Longville, La. (171-11) and Magliaro.

Her finish is best by a South Jersey girl in the Penn Relays since 2000, when Haddonfield Olympian Erin Donohue took 2nd with a 139-10, finishing behind only Anna Bobiak of Villa Maria of Malvern, Pa. Later in the day, Donohue ran a 4:58 anchor on Haddonfield’s DMR team, which ran 12:02.34 and finished 2nd to San Lorenzo Valley High of Felton, Calif.

Lynlee Phillips of Shawnee placed 2nd in the 1998 Penn Relays with a throw of 136-5 with the old javelin. Susan Warnick of Meyersdale High in Summit Township, Somerset County, Pa., won the meet that year with a 138-9.

Northern Burlington sophomore Liliah Gordon ran the 9th-fastest 3,000 in South Jersey history on a cold and rain Friday afternoon at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field.

Gordon placed 14th among some of the best distance runners in the country, covering the 12 ½ laps in 9:57.23.

That’s equivalent to 10:41.25 for 3,200 meters or 10:45.01 for the full two miles. Gordon’s outdoor PRs for 3,200 is 10:49.76 from earlier this month at Cherokee. She ran 10:38.20 for 3,200 meters indoors at Ocean Breeze at the Meet of Champions last month.

The only New Jersey runner who finished ahead of her was XC Meet of Champions runnerup Lindsay Hausman of Kent Place in Summit, who ran 9:52.74 for 12th place.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey 3,000-meter sub-10 List
9:40.23 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010 Penn Relays
9:44.72 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012 Penn Relays
9:45.73 … Megan Venables [Highland], 2010 Penn Relays
9:50.11 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017 Penn Relays
9:50.95 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016 Penn Relays
9:53.19 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009 Penn Relays
9:55.0h … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2007 Penn Relays
9:57.12 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2007 Penn Relays
9:57.23 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2023 Penn Relays
9:57.9h … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1981
9:59.5h … Deanna Germano [Shawnee], 1985

Willingboro’s Kaila Speight, Aaliyah Robinson, Jaden Murry and Nester Wea ran 48.78 in the 400-meter relay at the 127th annual Penn Relays Friday at Franklin Field to advance to the Philadelphia Area Championship Race on Saturday.

Willingboro’s time was fastest of 188 New Jersey schools that raced at Penn Friday and 24th-fastest of 550 schools overall.

Among the 23 faster schools, nine were from Jamaica and two from the Bahamas, so Willingboro was 13th-fastest among U.S. schools.

The only faster New Jersey schools Friday were Union Catholic of Scotch Plains [47.48] and Paramus Catholic [48.48]. So the Chimeras were New Jersey’s fastest public school.

Spright, Robinson and Murry are freshmen, and Wea is a sophomore.

The nine-fastest teams qualify for the Championship of America race at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Willingboro was among the nine-fastest schools from the Northeast that will race at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Also in Willingboro’s race are Union Catholic [47.48], Benjamin Cardozo of Bayside, N.Y. [48.34], Paramus Catholic [48.48], Guilderland of Guilderland Center, N.Y. [48.77], Chester, Pa. [48.82], North Babylon, N.Y. [48.92], Downingtown East of Exton [48.96] and North Penn of Lansdale [49.01].

Willingboro’s 48.78 is its fastest since 2009, when the Chimeras ran 48.08 to win the Emerging Elite race at Greensboro Nationals. Beverly Brownlee, Asja Goode, Tiye Saran Mutazz and Shanavia Thomas ran on that team.

Other South Jersey schools under 50 seconds Friday were Timber Creek [49.34], Winslow Township [49.47], Pennsauken [49.74] and Washington Township [49.97].

Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis extended her outdoor PR and was the top American finisher in the triple jump at the 127th annual Penn Relays Friday at Franklin Field.

Curtis, who set a South Jersey record of 41-3 ¼ at Boston Nationals last month, improved her No. 3 mark in South Jersey history Friday, placing 2nd with a 40-10 ¼.

That’s only a quarter of an inch off the No. 2 mark in South Jersey history – a 40-10 ½ by Northern Burlington’s Ashley Edwards in 2014 at Greensboro Nationals. Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith, now at Rutgers, set the South Jersey mark of 42-2 at the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

Jade-Ann Dawkins of St. Jago in St. Catherine, Jamaica, had the five-best jumps of the competition, including the winning 42-8 ¾, which she hit on her 2nd attempt and repeated on her 3rd.

Curtis was in 6th place until she sailed 40-10 ½ on her final attempt, moving past four competitors. Until her final attempt, Curtis’s best jump was 39-0 ¼, which she did twice – on her 3rd and 5th attempts (with identical -0.6 wind).

On her clutch final jump, she passed Morgan Bridges of Bullis School of Potomac, Md. [39-6], Julia Dial of Thomas Edison of Alexandria, Va. [39-8 ½] and Llyric Driscoll of Western Branch of Chesapeake, Va. [40-7 ½].

Curtis is the top triple jumper in New Jersey by nearly two feet. Union Catholic’s Alexandra Bonn placed 8th Friday at 38-2 ¼, and sophomore I’mara Ford of Moorestown is No. 3 with her 38-1 ¼ at the Lenape Invitational.

Curtis is No. 15 in the U.S. according to the MileSplit national database and the No. 4 junior.

The Cherokee girls advanced to the Championship of America 3,200-meter relay at the 127th annual Penn Relays Friday morning at Franklin Field.

Senior Kelsey Niglio, junior Kerry O’Day, freshman Maddie Meder and sophomore Megan Niglio ran 9:23.45, the 9th-fastest time of the 68 schools that qualified for the Penn Relays.

The 12-fastest schools from four qualifying races qualify for the Championship of America, scheduled for 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

Cherokee is one of three New Jersey schools to qualify for the CoA race. Union Catholic led all qualifiers at 9:11.26, and Rumson-Fair Haven ran 9:22.29. The cutoff was 9:25.44. The full list of qualifiers is here.

Cherokee qualified for Penn with its 9:19.80 at the Millrose Games at the Armory in February. Cherokee ran 9:21.19 in the qualifying rounds last year at Penn and placed 4th in the CoA race in 9:17.77 with Kelsey Niglio, O’Day, Megan Niglio and Nicole Clifford.

Because they were racing in the fourth and final section, Cherokee had a good idea what it needed to qualify for Saturday. Only eight schools had broken 9:25 in the first three races, so the Chiefs were able to race with an eye on the clock, knowing exactly what they needed to get through.

Kelsey Niglio led off with a 2:19.35 split that got Cherokee near the front of the pack, and O’Day followed with a 2:18.31 that got the Chiefs into the lead. Meder, in her first Penn Relays and only her fourth lifetime high school outdoor track meet, split 2:26.82, and Niglio closed in 2:20.60, keeping Cherokee safely ahead of the rest of the pack.

Derrick Robinson became Cinnaminson’s first Penn Relays medalist in 20 years Thursday morning with a 5th-place finish in the high jump.

Competing in poor conditions at Franklin Field – cold, breezy, drizzly – Robinson cleared 6-4 and tied for 5th with Zeraun Daniel of Poly Prep of Brooklyn.

Robinson cleared opening height 6-2 on his first attempt and 6-4 on his second before going out at 6-6, which wound up being the winning height for Ja’Mari Manson of Bloomfield (Conn.).

He’s Cinnaminson’s first Penn Relays medalist since Jon Anderson took 5th in the 3,000 in 2003 with a time of 8:35.71.

Robinson is also South Jersey’s first high jump medalist at Penn since 2015, when Ameer Banks of Delsea cleared 6-7 ¾ for 4th place.

This winter, Robinson cleared 6-6 in a SJTCA meet at the Bubble in Toms River.

Premier Wynn split 47.76 and Bryce Tucker 48.12 and Pennsauken ran 3:18.87 — the 11th-fastest 4-by-4 of 568 high schools Thursday in winning the South Jersey Large-School race at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field.

Pennsauken missed advancing to the Championship of America race by just 1.05 seconds. The nine-fastest schools will race on Friday in the Championship of America final.

Pennsauken did advance to the Philadelphia Area Championship race, scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Friday

Pennsauken was 2nd-fastest among New Jersey schools, behind only Seton Hall Prep of West Orange, which qualified for the CoA race with a 3:16.67.

Abington [3:18.44] is the only entrant that ran under 3:20 Thursday. Next-fastest in the race will be Central Bucks West of Doylestown [3:20.45], Episcopal Academy of Newtown Square [3:22.09], Roman Catholic of Philly [3:22.39] and Cheltenham [3:22.42].

Pennsauken’s time is the fastest they’ve ever run at Penn. The 2017 team – with Donte Jamison, Braheem Whitfield, Nahzhir Russell and Martin Booker (47.35 anchor) – ran 3:18.99 finishing second to Rancocas Valley in the South Jersey race. Pennsauken’s time Thursday is fastest by any South Jersey school at Penn since R.V.’s 3:18.10 in 2017.

Freshman KaRon Ali led off with a 51.85 split and junior Ladanian McGrath split 51.15. Pennsauken trailed Washington Township by 4-100ths of a second at the second handoff but led by nearly six seconds by the time Wynn – the indoor Meet of Champions 200 champ – handed off to Tucker – the two-time Meet of Champs intermediate hurdles winner.

Washington Township wound up 2nd with a season-best 3:29.88 followed closely by Timber Creek [3:30.89], Eastern [3:31.14], Cherokee [3:31.31], Winslow [3:32.62], Kingsway [3:32.98] and Highland [3:32.99]. Second place is Washington Township’s best finish since they took 2nd in 2012.

Eastern senior Rajahn Dixon had the fastest split of the race, anchoring in 47.70. Winslow anchor Chukwuemeka Ajaegbulemh [50.72] and Cherokee’s Patrick Ditmars [50.82] also ran sub-51.

This is the second year in a row Pennsauken has won the South Jersey Large-School race. Nadir Paige, Wynn, Joel Oquendo and Tucker ran 3:20.88 last year.

Deptford won the Small-School race in 3:27.07 with Lathan Brown anchoring in 49.04 Darryl Wayman, junior Abu Jabbie and junior Christian Berry ran the first three legs.

Willingboro placed 2nd in 3:30.88 with Theo Pryce, Marvin Dedilius, Kedaar Wilson and Jackson Murry. After Deptford’s Brown, the next-fastest splits were by Clayton’s Alexander Osayemi [50.73] and Willingboro’s Murry [51.37].

This was Deptford’s 7th win in the Small-School race:

2022: 1. Deptford 3:27.07, 2. Willingboro 3:30.88, 3. Clayton 3:33.58
2018: 1. Deptford 3:19.98, 2. Willingboro 3:21.16, 3. Paul VI 3:21.87
2016: 1. Deptford 3:23.97, 2. Willingboro 3:23.99, 3. Haddonfield 3:24.27
2015: 1. Deptford 3:23.79, 2. Winslow Twp. 3:25.23, 3. Willingboro 3:25.47
2004: 1. Deptford 3:29.50, 2. Sterling 3:30.78, 3. Holy Cross 3:30.83
2002: 1. Deptford 3:28.08, 2. Cinnaminson 3:29.55, 3. Haddon Heights 3:32.55
2001: 1. Deptford 3:28.20, 2. Woodstown 3:30.23, 3. West Deptford 3:32.61

Pitman’s Emily Galvin PR’d in the hammer throw and broker her own school record with a 186-0 at the 127th Penn Relays Thursday on the throwing fields across the Northeast Corridor train tracks from Franklin Field.

That’s No. 3 in NCAA Division 3 this year.

Galvin, a Rowan senior and transfer from Villanova, placed 9th in the hammer at Penn behind eight NCAA Division 1 athletes.

Her previous PR of 185-3 came last spring in her final meet for Villanova, when she placed 3rd at the Big East Championships in Storrs, Conn. That’s No. 2 in Villanova history.

She came close to that PR with a 183-7 in a meet at Rowan earlier this month and got even closer with a 184-3 at Princeton two weeks ago.

On Thursday, she popped the 186-0 on her first attempt. She also had a 181-7 in her six-throw series.

Galvin is now less than three feet from the NCAA Division 3 all-time top-25, which goes down to 188-11. She’s also No. 1 all-time in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Gloucester County’s other outstanding hammer thrower named Emily also had a strong day at Penn. Kingsway graduate Emily Hilt of Rutgers-Camden threw 173-3, the 3rd-best throw of her life. Hilt PR’d with a 178-3 at a meet in Galloway Township earlier this month. She’s ranked 7th in NCAA Division 3.

On a cold, breezy, rainy afternoon at Franklin Field, Oakcrest junior Ryan Merlino recorded the best performance by a South Jersey pole vaulter at the Penn Relays in 19 years.

Merlino cleared an outdoor PR 14-8 and placed 6th at the 127th annual Penn Relays.

Merlino cleared 14-9 indoors at Boston Nationals, but his outdoor PR is the best mark by an Atlantic County vaulter outdoors since Absegami’s Brandon Kurtz cleared 15-7 at the 1991 South Jersey Group 3 meet at Bridgeton.

Merlino entered the competition with an outdoor PR of 14-6 from earlier this spring at Fast Times at Cherokee.

At Penn Thursday, he cleared opening height 14-2 on his first attempt and 14-8 on his second.

Merlino is the first South Jersey vaulter to finish in the top six at Penn since Jarrod Brovero took 3rd at 13-11 ¼ in 2016. He’s the first South Jersey vaulter to clear 14-8 or higher at Penn since Haddonfield’s Mike Davis tied for 3rd in 2004 with a 15-1 clearance. Kurtz placed 5th in the 1991 Relays with a 14-3 ¼ clearance.

All-Time South Jersey Outdoor Pole Vault List
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014
15-6 … Marco Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977
15-2 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … Mark Murphy [Haddonfield], 1985
15-0 … Ricky Clemons [Willingboro], 1989
15-0 … Dave Murname [West Deptford], 2000
15-0 … Josh Moline [Gateway], 2000
15-0 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2010
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2010
15-0 … James Lynch [Deptford], 2019
15-0 … Matt Mancini [Cinnaminson], 2006
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2022
14-9 … Tony DeFeo [Oakcrest], 2004
14-9 … Ed Zubrzycki [Highland], 2009
14-8 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2023
14-7 ¼ … Bob Stumm [Kingsway], 1987
14-7 … Jarrod Brovero [Delsea Reg.], 2016
14-7 … Tony Ferrari [Delran], 1982

Haddon Heights shattered the school record Thursday morning in the 4-by-8 and came within 3 ½ seconds of qualifying for the Championship of America race at the Penn Relays.

Jack Bolling’s 1:58.21 split led Heights to a 8:01.43, fastest by a South Jersey school this year and a school record by more than eight seconds.

Heights was the 6th-fastest New Jersey school in four 4-by-8 races at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Cumberland Valley High of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was the last qualifer for Friday’s championship race with a 7:57.84.

Colin Patterson led off with a 1:59.28 split, followed by Bolling, Matthew Iuvara’s 2:00.73 and Jonathan Hastings’ 2:03.22. All four are seniors.

Heights placed 4th in the second of four races and 18th of all 66 schools that qualified for Penn.

Highland ran 8:07.02 in the same race, led by Gavin Gallo’s 1:59.73 split. Cole Knoedler, Cortland Webb and Aziz Kane also raced for Highland.

Seton Hall Prep of West Orange [7:49.99], Chatham [7:51.26] and Toms River North [7:56.02] will represent New Jersey in the Championship of America race, scheduled for 5:50 p.m. Friday. Rumson-Fair Haven [7:58.46] and Summit [7:59.35] also ran sub-8.