Clearview senior Abigail Waddington opened her senior year with a two-mile PR and the No. 9 time in Gloucester County history.

Waddington placed 2nd in the two-mile at the Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival on Staten Island in 11:07.38, which converts to 11:03.51 for 3,200 meters.

She finished behind only Zariel Macchia of William Floyd High in Mastic Beach, Suffolk County, N.Y. Macchia, who ran 10:33.22, was the Nike Indoor Nationals two-mile champ last winter and the USATF Under-20 cross country champion. She’s run as fast as 10:08.50 outdoors.

Waddington broke her own indoor school record of 11:10.01 from last year’s Group 3 sectionals, where she was 2nd to Northern Burlington’s Liliah Gordon. Her overall PR and the Clearview outdoor school record is 11:00.19 from the Tri-County Conference Championships at Kingsway in May.

All-Time Gloucester County 3,200 Performance List
10:29.90y … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009
10:40.03 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
10:43.2y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1983
10:52.05 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007
10:52.53 … Allie Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2020
10:59.04 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
10:59.13 … Vickie Ajimoko [Williamstown], 2013
10:59.90 … Aubrey Pierontoni [Kingsway], 2022
11:03.51y … Abigail Waddington [Clearview], 2023
11:03.78 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017

Mainland’s McKenna Pontari hit 17 feet for the first time and broke the school record, and teammate Emma Crozier-Carole was just a few inches behind in the long jump competition at the Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival in Staten Island.

Pontari and Carole, who are both seniors, placed 1st and 2nd in the long jump at Ocean Breeze and moved into the No. 8 and 9 spots on the all-time Atlantic County indoor performance list.

And they both did it on their final attempts.

Pontari, who missed all of last year with a Lysfranc foot sprain, had a PR of 15-10 ½ from the 2021 Atlantic County Championships at Buena. She matched that in her first indoor meet this winter, the Bishop Loughlin Games, also at Ocean Breeze.

On Tuesday, she PR’d four times – 15-11 ¾ on her first attempt, 16-8 on her second, 16-11 ¼ on her third and then she 17-footer on her final attempt. She also had jumps of 16-0 ¾ and 16-7 ½, so she averaged 16-6 ½ on six legal jumps after bringing a PR of 15-10 into the meet.

Crozier-Carole, a budding heptathlete, has a long jump PR of 17-7 from a dual meet against Holy Spirit in the spring of 2021 and had a big-meet official PR of 16-5 from her 6th-place finish at Group 3 sectionals at Delsea. This is her first season of indoor track and her first season overall since outdoors her sophomore year.

On Tuesday, Crozier-Carole hit 16-0 on her 4th jump and 16-3 ¾ on her 5th before moving up from 5th place to 2nd with her 16-8 on her final attempt.

Another Mainland jumper, senior Paige Bonczek, placed 6th with an indoor PR of 15-11 ½. She has an outdoor 16-7 to her credit from last spring’s Cape-Atlantic Championships at Bridgeton as well as a 17-1 in a dual meet.

Mainland is going to score some serious long jump points this year!

Mainland’s indoor school record before Tuesday belonged to Crozier-Carole, who jumped 16-2 ¼ last week at the Bishop Loughlin Games.

Mainland’s big-meet outdoor school record is 17-5 by Victoria Henry from the 2014 Rowan Invitational. Some schools choose to include dual meet marks in school record lists.

Atlantic County indoor all-time performance list
18-6 ½ … Asia Young [Holy Spirit], 2016
18-5 …… Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
18-4 ¼ … Gabrielle Germann [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
17-11 ¾ … Angela Clyburn [Egg Harbor Twp.], 1991
17-11 ½ … Frances Bundy [Pleasantville], 1998
17-10 ½ … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], 2001
17-8 ¼ … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
17-0 … McKenna Pontari [Mainland Reg.], 2023
16-8 … Emma Crozier-Cartole [Mainland Reg.], 2023
16-5 ¾ … Alex Romanelli [Abegami], 2009

Junior Ryan Merlino broke the Oakcrest pole vault record in his 2022-23 season opener.

Merlino, the top sophomore in the state last spring with a 13-6 at the Atlantic County meet at Buena, cleared 13-7 at the SJTCA Winter Meet #1 at the Bubble.

That broke the school indoor record of 13-6 by one inch. Ray Rodriguez set the mark at 13-6 from an SJTCA Small School meet at the Bubble in 2014 and matched it at an Olympic Conference meet at the Bubble in 2015. Michael Baglivo also cleared 13-6 in 2020.

Merlino’s mark is 3rd-best overall in Oakcrest history, behind two outdoor marks – Tony DeFeo’s 14-6 at 2004 state Group 3 meet at Egg Harbor and Rodriguez’s 14-0 at the 2015 Atlantic County meet at Buena.

It’s also No. 2 this year in the state, behind only the U.S.-leading 16-5 by Brian Sullivan of Hillsborough at the Armory.

All-Time Atlantic County Indoor List
14-6 ¼ … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
14-1 … Joshua Cohen [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
14-0 … Dan Pope [Hammonton], 2004
13-7 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2023
13-6 … Ian Best [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2010
13-6 … Vince Murrey [Buena Reg.], 2011
13-6 … Aidan Skelly [Hammonton], 2013
13-6 … Ray Rodriguez [Oakcrest], 2014
13-6 … Michael Baglivo [Oakcrest], 2020

Williamstown’s Ciara Demarest opened her senior year with an indoor shot put PR and the No. 8 throw in Gloucester County history.

Demarest threw 40-5 ½ at the SJTCA meet at the Toms River Intermediate East School adjacent to the Bubble, just beyond her indoor PR of 40-5 set when she won the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals last February. She went on to place 3rd at states and 5th at the Meet of Champions.

Her throw Monday is her second-best ever. She hit 41-0 ¼ last May at the Delsea Crusader Field #1 meet. She also surpassed 40 feet in four other meets, including the Meet of Champions, where she placed 7th.

Demarest’s throw is best by a Gloucester County girl indoors since Emily Hilt of Kingsway threw 40-8 ¾ at the 2017 state Group 4 meet. She’s closing in on the school record of 42-7 ¾ set by Typhanie Bates on her first throw at the 1995 state Group 3 meet at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym.

Here’s the all-time Gloucester County indoor list:

44-3 ½ … Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004
43-4 ½ … Victoria Imbesi [Our Lady of Mercy], 2009
43-3 … Janiece Rose [Delsea], 2011
42-7 ¾ … Typhanie Bates [Williamstown], 1995
42-5 ½ … Genevieve Rybicki [Our Lady of Mercy], 2007
41-3 … Tara Daniels [Kingsway], 2013
40-8 ¾ … Emily Hilt [Kingsway], 2017
40-5 ½ … Cierra Demarest [Williamstown], 2022
39-10 ½ … Gianni Johnson-Slater [Delsea], 2022
39-8 ¼ … Karen Johnson [Williamstown], 2006

Timber Creek junior Naylah Jones moved into the all-time South Jersey top-25 in the 55-meter dash Saturday in her 2022-23 season debut.

Jones’s PR before Saturday was 7.36 from her 3rd-place finish in the state Group 3 meet last year at the Bubble. She lowered that to 7.23 in the trials Saturday at the Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory before blazing a 7.16 in the final.

Her time is No. 12 in Camden County history and only 5-100ths of a second outside the all-time Camden County top-10.

Jones placed 3rd in the final, behind two girls from Nassau County, N.Y. – Ashley Fulton of Elmont (7.07) and Sariah Doresca of Baldwin (7.10). Their times rank 6th, 9th and 13th nationally in the early going this indoor season on the MileSplit U.S. database.

Jones shaved 3-100ths of a second off the Timber Creek school record, which was held by Adia Starnes, who ran 7.19 in the trials of the 2017 Ocean Breeze Invitational. She went on to place 4th in the Meet of Champions on the slower Bubble track in 7.28.

Here’s a look at all the girls in Camden County history who’ve run 7.20 or faster:

6.90y … Patti Dunlap [Camden], 1979
6.91 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2010
6.95 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
6.95 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
7.06 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], 2019
7.07 … Aliya Harrison [Sterling], 2018
7.07 … Dennisha Page [Woodrow Wilson], 2019
7.09 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.09 … Emily Carson [Haddonfield], 2013
7.11 … Jamie Walker [Haddon Hts.], 2006
7.12 … Asante Johnson [Camden], 2009
7.16 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2023
7.17 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
7.19 … Adia Starnes [Timber Creek], 2017 —
7.20 … Medina Salaam [Camden], 1994
7.20 … Fametta Lewis [Wilson], 2007
7.20 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2013

 

Washington Township’s Yashahya Brown opened his junior year with the No. 6 high hurdles time in Gloucester County history.

Brown ran 7.51 to win the Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational Saturday at the Armory. He finished first among 51 hurdlers who entered the event.

Brown’s indoor PR over the 55-meter hurdles coming into the meet was an 8.05 from the Collegeville Invitational at Ursinus’s Floy Lewis Bakes Fieldhouse this past January. He blew that away with a 7.65 to lead all qualifiers in the trials before edging Anthony Collins of Harry S Truman in Levittown, Pa., by 1-100th of a second in the final.

Brown had a breakthrough outdoor season last spring that included a PR 14.08 to win the Olympic Conference meet on his home track in Turnersville. Over the summer, he ran 55.88 in the 400 intermediates and placed 2nd in both the highs and intermediates at the USATF Youth National Championships at Icahn Stadium in New York.

His 7.51 is only 3-100ths of a second off the school record of 7.49 set by Devon Carter when he won the 2010 Easterns at the Armory and matched four days later when he won the Meet of Champions at the Bubble.

Brown also ran a PR 6.83 in his first lifetime 55-meter dash.

Here’s a look at the top times in Gloucester County history:

7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.42 … Kevon Brown [West Deptford], 2009
7.42 … Naseem Smith [Deptford], 2019
7.48 … Tyrell Ross [Clearview], 2005
7.49 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
7.51 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2023

In her first meet competing for Ocean City High School, Sophia Curtis popped the No. 2 indoor triple jump in South Jersey history Saturday and broke the Cape May County record.

Curtis, who spent her freshman and sophomore years at Padua Academy in Wilmington, Del., jumped 38-4 ½ to win the triple jump at the Bishop Loughlin Games at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island.

She matched her indoor lifetime-best that she set this past February at the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Indoor Championships at Hytche Athletic Center at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princesss Anne, Md.

Her overall PR is 38-8 ¾ from the DIAA Meet of Champions this past May at Salesianum’s Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington.

The South Jersey indoor record in the triple jump is 40-1 ½ by Atlantic City’s Claudine Smith at the 2019 New Balance Nationals at the Armory. Curtis moved half an inch ahead of She’quell Higgs of Winslow Township for the No. 2 spot. Higgs jumped 38-4 at the 2013 Poreda Invitational at Lavino Fieldhouse in Lawrenceville.

Curtis’s jump is No. 15 overall in South Jersey history indoors and out.

The previous Cape May County indoor record was 35-6, set this past March at Nike Indoor Nationals at Ocean Breeze by Elaina Styler, who is now a senior at Ocean City.

The overall Cape May County record was 36-10 ½, set by Yvonne Wolef of Middle Township when she placed 5th at the 2010 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield.

After opening with her 38-4 ½, Curtis hit 37-1 on her second attempt before finishing the first round with a foul. In the finals, she jumped 37-5 ¾ and after another foul finished with a 37-8.

Her four legal jumps averaged 37-7 ¾, which is nearly a foot farther than the previous Cape May County overall record. One meet into her career at Ocean City, she owns the four-best triple jumps in Cape May County history.

Lizzie Schreiber of Walt Whitman High in Huntington Station, Suffolk County, N.Y., placed second at 37-3 ¾, so Curtis had the three-best jumps of the competition.

Curtis also placed 5th in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.82 after a 9.01 in the trials. She just missed her hurdles PR of 8.78, which she set when she won the Delaware state title in February.

Curtis was a triple winner this past spring at the the Delaware state championships, winning the 100 hurdles in 15.02, the 300 hurdles in 44.57 and the triple jump at 38-4.

Eastern’s Eva Sprewell opened her junior year with a huge high jump PR at the Bubble in Toms River.

Sprewell cleared 5-4 Friday, four inches above her previous PR of 5-0, which she cleared eight times last year – four times indoors and four times outdoors.

That’s the best high jump clearance by a girl from Eastern in six years, since Tamika Voltaire cleared a school-record 5-4 ¼ at the Bubble in January of 2017.

Thanks to @Eastern_Track for posting copies of some results pages from the meet since meet organizers and the meet’s timing company seem to have zero interest in anybody ever getting meet results.

Winslow freshman Ma’Syiah Brawner, in her first high school meet, cleared 4-10 for second place.

Mainland sophomore Sofia Day opened her season with an impressive two-mile win Saturday at  the Bishop Loughlin Games at Ocean Breeze.

Day ran 11:18.57 for the full two miles and finished 15 meters Ava Gumb of nearby St. Joseph Hill Academy in Staten Island, who ran 11:21.79.

Day was in third place with one lap to go, 10 meters behind Gumb and four meters behind Emily LaMena of John Glenn High in Elwood, N.Y., on Long Island.

But she ran her final 200 in a sizzling 31.48 to blow away the field.

Day ran her first three half miles in an evenly paced 2:50.85, 2:52.59 and 2:51.85 before closing in 2:43.28 for her final 800, 74.61 for her final 400 and 31.48 for her final 200.

Day’s time converts to 11:14.63 for 3,200 meters, which isn’t far off her PR of 11:08.72 from last year’s Meet of Champions at the Bubble. She didn’t compete last spring, so this was her first track race since the Meet of Champions in March.

Day is coming off a XC season where she placed 11th at the Meet of Champions.

There was definitely an Olympic Conference track meet at the Bubble yesterday  because MileSplit has videos on the site.

But results? They don’t seem to be anywhere.

Track and field for years had a problem getting results out in a timely and accurate manner and most of this has been solved by timing companies that provide instant live results. Venues like the Armory and Ocean Breeze even provide results in real-time as events are taking place.

But we’re not so lucky with the Bubble. The timing company that according to MileSplit timed the meet last night – JBAC Timers – doesn’t even seem to have a working web site.

It’s hard to write about a meet when the results aren’t available. So if anyone has ’em or knows where they are or how to find ’em please let us know in the comment section!