Samuel Gerstenbacher, a graduate of Schalick and Elizabethtown University, won the 3,000 Friday night at the Fastrack National Invitational at Ocean Breeze with a personal-best time.

Gerstenbacher, racing unattached, ran 8:19.36 and won by 40 meters over Matt Hynes of Vermont, who ran 8:26.03.

Gerstenbacher’s previous 3,000 PR was an 8:26.67 when he won his final indoor race for Elizabethtown at the AARTFC Championships in March of 2000 in Rochester.

Gerstenbacher and Hynes separated from the pack on the sixth lap and ran together until the 13^th lap, when Gerstenbacher took off with a 32.59 lap. He then closed with 31.42 and 30.00 for a final 400 of 61.42. His final 800 was a 2:07.72.

This was Gerstenbacher’s first race on the track since last summer, when he ran a 9:23.53 steeplechase at Icahn Stadium in New York, but he’s been running outstanding on the roads, including a 1:06.18 for 25^th place in the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Hardeeville, S.C., in December; 23:54 for sixth in the Philadelphia Marathon 8K in November; 31:11 in a road 10K in Camden and Philly in November

Senior Nicole Clifford won four events and led the Cherokee girls to the first indoor sectional title in school history Friday.

Clifford won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay, and Cherokee outscored Rancocas Valley 84-60 to win the South Jersey Group 4 championship at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Cherokee’s 84 points are 2^nd-most in South Jersey Group 4 since the inception of indoor sectionals in 2008. Southern Regional scored 91 to win the 2012 title.

We wrote earlier tonight about Cherokee’s 1-4-5 finish for 16 points in the 1,600 with Clifford, freshman Megan Niglio and sophomore Kerry O’Day [https://sjtrackblog.com/2022/02/11/nicole-clifford-runs-all-time-s-j-11-in-1600-as-cherokee-girls-go-1-4-5-at-sectionals/], but Cherokee’s distance team added 11 points in the 800 and 16 in the 3,200.

In the 800, Clifford ran 2:18.87 and won by three meters over Olivia Takla of Toms River North, who ran 2:19.35, and junior Kelsey Niglio was sixth in 2:22.25, and in the 3,200, Clifford ran 11:15.18 and finished about 30 meters ahead of Kingsway’s Aubrey Pierontoni, who was second in 11:23.02. O’Day and Niglio once again finished 4-5, O’Day with an 11:28.55 and Niglio just 5-100ths of a second back in 11:28.60.

That’s 43 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Senior Alison Cooke, junior Kelsey Niglio, sophomore Madison Van Haren and Clifford ran 4:01.96 to win the 1,600-meter relay, Clifford anchoring in 59.2.

Cooke and Kelsey Niglio picked up 14 points in the 400 with a 2-3 finish, Cooke running 59.87 and Niglio 1:00.29. Rancocas Valley’s Kasey White won the race in 59.79.

Van Haren ran 7.51 for third place in the 55-meter dash, behind seniors Anabella Chin of R.V. [7.31] and Joslynn Whaley of Atlantic County Tech [7.45].

Cherokee added 11 points in the pole vault, with senior Jillian Strauss placing second with a 9-0 clearance and senior Isabella Kadar tied for fourth at 8-0.

Senior Miles Allen won three gold medals and senior Anaias Hughes won two, and the Willingboro boys won their seventh consecutive indoor sectional title and ninth overall.

Allen won the 55 in a personal-best 6.60 and the 400 with a PR 51.90 and also led off the winning 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:35.09. Hughes won the hurdles in a PR 7.79 and the high jump at 5-8.

Willingboro won the South Jersey Group 1 title at the Bennett Center in Toms River with an unofficial 104 points, 4th-most any group in South Jersey since the inception of indoor sectionals in 2008 and 9th-most ever of any sectional meet state-wide. (The results do not list team scoring, so the total is based on my own often shaky math.)

Willingboro won Central Jersey Group 2 titles in 2011 and 2012 and then started its streak in 2015, when it won Central Jersey Group 1. After winning South Jersey Group 1 in 2016, the Chimeras won CJ-1 four straight years. Sectionals weren’t held last year.

Boro also got wins from senior C.J. Johnson with a 53-10 1/4 in the shot put and sophomore Jackson Murry in the pole vault with a 10-6.

Seniors Geordan Collins, Jaylen Young and Christopher Johnson joined Allen on the winning 1,600-meter relay team.

Senior Byron Gary placed second in the pole vault (10-0), Collins was third in the 400 (PR 52.62), Young was fourth in the 400 (52.74), sophomore Rae-Juan Gayle ran 6.86 for fourth in the 55 (6.86), junior Xavier Tolliver took fourth in the high jump (5-6), soph Kedaar Wilson placed fourth in the hurdles (8.50), Johnson ran fifth in the 800 (PR 2:10.68) and senior Nazsir Sheppard-Kidd placed fifth in the shot put (41-1 1/2).

Cherokee senior Nicole Clifford became the 13th South Jersey girl to run sub-5 minutes for 1,600 meters Friday evening at the Bubble.

Clifford led a 1-4-5 finish in the 1,600 at the South Jersey Group 4 sectional race with a 4:58.69.

That’s No. 11 in South Jersey history and No. 4 in Burlington County history, and she did it on a slow, flat track.

That’s fastest by a South Jersey girl indoors since Haddonfield’s Briana Gess ran 4:51.60 at the 2016 Meet of Champions. It’s also No. 3 in New Jersey this year, behind Lilly Shapiro of Colts Neck, who ran an all-time New Jersey No. 2 4:45.39 full mile in Boston Friday evening, and Lindsay Hausman of Kent Place School in Summit, who ran 4:57.01 last month at the Armory.

Freshman Megan Niglio placed 4th in 5:14.96 and sophomore Kerry O’Day was 5th in 5:17.46.

That’s 16 points in one event for the Chiefs.

This was Clifford’s first indoor 1,600 since her freshman year, and her previous indoor PR was 5:31.19 at 2019 sectionals on the same track in Toms River.

Her outdoor PR is 5:07.10 this past spring at Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township.

Niglio’s time was a PR since it was her first lifetime 1,600-meter race. It’s fastest by a South Jersey freshman since Haddonfield’s Allison Colflesh ran 5:13.49 at 2018 states and fastest by a Burlington County freshman in 10 years – since Camille Franklin of Lenape ran 5:07.01 at the 2012 Meet of Champions.

This was also O’Day’s first indoor 1,600. Her lifetime PR was a 5:21.95 last spring at Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township.

Clifford, Niglio and O’Day ran in an unseeded heat because they didn’t have seed times, thanks to cancellations that the Bubble’s recent temporary closing caused.

Kingsway’s Aubrey Pierontoni ran 5:05.01 to win the seeded heat and wound up second overall. 

All-Time South Jersey Indoor Sub-5 List
4:41.52y … Michelle Rowen [Wash. Twp.], 1983
4:49.46y … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
4:51.60 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
4:53.36 … Lindsey Kane [Washington Twp.], 2014
4:54.58 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:55.04y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:56.1h,y … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:57.12 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
4:57.72 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2010
4:58.48 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
4:58.69 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:59.29 … Julia Despirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:59.39 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012

All-Time Burlington County List
4:57.12 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2015
4:57.72 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2010
4:58.48 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2010
4:58.69 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:59.29 … Julia Despirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:59.39 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
5:00.39 … Lisa Burkholder [Cherokee], 2004
5:00.78y … Monica Olkowski [Cherokee], 1990
5:01.86 … Kristen Niedrach [Shawnee], 2012
5:03.97 … Camille Franklin [Lenape], 2014
5:04.48 … Kara Bonner [Shawnee], 2016
5:06.53 … Brittnee Bynoe [Willingboro], 2003
5:07.60 … Miya Johnson [Lenape], 2008
5:08.12 … Shelby Bobbie [Rancocas Valley], 2014
5:08.46 … Casey Doyle [Shawnee], 2008
5:08.7y … Deanna Germano, Shawnee, 1986

Rutgers sophomore Kristina Tossas hit a long jump PR Friday at the Rutgers Invite at the Armory.

Tossas placed 3rd with a PR leap of 18-5 1/4. Her previous PR was a 17-11 just last weekend at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.

At R.V., Tossas had an indoor PR of 17-10 from a meet at the Bubble. Her outdoor best is an 18-7 1/2 when she won the state Group 4 title at Franklin High.

Tossas also had a 17-9 3/4 and a 17-10 1/4 in her series.

Pennsauken juniors Bryce Tucker and Joel Oquendo turned in a fast 1-2 finish in the 800 Tuesday night at the SJTCA meet at Ocean Breeze.

Tucker won the race in 1:57.38, fastest in New Jersey this year, and Oquendo followed in second with a massive PR of 1:59.58.

They join Ocean City senior Owen Ritti [1:58.18 at the Armory], Kingsway senior Kyle Rakitis [1:58.68 at the Bubble] and Pitman senior Cole Sharpnack [1:59.51 at the Bubble] as the fourth and fifth South Jersey half-milers under two minutes so far this winter.

For Tucker, fast 800s are nothing new. Although he’s a 400-meter hurdler first and foremost – he won the Meet of Champions as a sophomore last spring in 52.17 – he ran a school-record 1:56.75 at the 2020 Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze and ran as fast as 1:55.00 outdoors last spring in a meet in Metuchen.

But the race was a huge breakthrough for Oquendo, who came into the race with a PR of 2:05.89 from the Bubble in 2020 and shaved nearly 6 1/2 seconds from it.

Tucker and Oquendo now rank No. 1 and 3 in New Jersey among underclassmen, separated only by Union’s Gabriel Rodriguez, who ran 1:58.86 at the Union County Championships at the Jersey City Armory last month. 

Rancocas Valley senior Anabella Chin ran a personal-best 8.33 to win the 55-meter hurdles at the SJTCA meet at Ocean Breeze Monday evening, the No. 2 time in the stat this year.

Chin’s time is No. 4 in Burlington County history and shatters the school record of 8.35, set in 1988 by legendary Tonya Lee, who was an All-America at Tennessee and raced twice in the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

The only faster time in the state this year was an 8.23 by Union Catholic junior Ajanae Thompson at a meet last month at the Armory. According to the MileSplit national database, Chin’s time is No. 16 nationally.

Chin’s previous PR was an 8.42 last month at the Amory – in the same race Thompson ran 8.23.

Here’s the all-time Burlington County top-10 performance list:

7.92 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
8.28 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], 2016
8.29 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2020
8.33 … Anabella Chin [Rancocas Valley], 2022
8.35 … Tonya Lee [Rancocas Valley], 1988
8.38 … Kimberly Allen [Willingboro], 2004
8.42 … Stephanie Maugham [Shawnee], 1995
8.42 … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2015
8.44 … Yvette Murry [Cherokee], 1998
8.45 … Magenta Taylor [Willingboro], 1999
8.45 … Lindsey Walsh [Lenape, 2008 

Chin also placed second in the 55-meter dash with a personal-best 7.36, which is No. 2 in South Jersey behind Winslow senior Jaia James, who ran 7.21 at the Millrose Games Trials at the Armory last month. James won the 55 in 7.23. Her previous 55 PR was 7.59 at the Bubble last year.

Chin placed second in the 200, 400, high hurdles and intermediates at Group 4 outdoor sectionals last spring at Washington Township, helping the Red Devils win the team title.

Haddonfield teammates Seth Clevenger and George Andrus both moved into the top-5 two-milers in the state this year in their first open races of the winter. 

With South Jersey runners finally getting the opportunity to race on a fast, banked track instead of the sludge-footed Bubble in Toms River, Clevenger and Andrus led four runners under 9:33 at a SJTCA meet at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island, N.Y.

Clevenger, a senior, won the race in 9:22.47, and Andrus, a junior, was a step behind in 9:22.96. Kingsway senior Kyle Rakitis was third in 9:26.93. After Adam Angelone of Madison ran 9:33.68, Washington Township’s Chris Colavita made it four South Jersey runners under 9:45 with a 9:41.21 for 5th place.

Clevenger’s 9:22.47 is No. 2 in New Jersey this year , behind only Triton’s Dennis Fortuna, who ran 9:21.36 last month at the Armory. Andrus moves into the No. 4 spot behind Fortuna, Clevenger and Ridge’s Jackson Barna [9:22.78 last month at Ocean Breeze]. Rakitis moves to No. 6 in the state.

For both Clevenger and Andrus, this was their first open race since the Eastbay (formerly Foot Locker) Northeast Regional XC Championships at Van Cortland Park in November.

Clevenger has run 15:36 at Holmdel, but his indoor (and overall) 3,200 PR was 9:52.09 in February of 2020 at South Jersey Group 2 sectionals at the Bubble.

Andrus had never run a track 3,200, although he did run 15:58 at Holmdel, so a time like this isn’t a total shock.  

Here’s a look at Haddonfield’s indoor sub-9:30 club:

8:58.81 … Jonathan Vitez, 2010
9:14.70 … Martin Riddell, 2020
9:16.7y … Jim Smith, 1980
9:22.47 … Seth Clevenger, 2022
9:22.60 … Brian Goldberg, 2004
9:22.96 … George Andrus, 2022
9:26.43 … Dan Gough, 1987
9:28.99 … Chris Platt, 2002

Rakitis had an indoor PR of 9:43.46 from a meet at the Bubble two years ago. He’s run 9:14.93 outdoors – at Cherokee’s Night of 3200s last April. His 9:26.93 is just off the Kingsway indoor 3,200 school record of 9:26.02 set in 2020 by Stone Caraccio, who’s now running for Monmouth.

His time is No. 8 in Gloucester County indoor history.

Here’s what the all-time Camden County indoor 3,200 list looks like:

8:58.81 ….. Jonathan Vitez [Haddonfield], 2010
9:08.42 … Oliver Adler [Cherry Hill East], 2020
9:10.4y ….. Ken Medlin [Haddon Township], 1970
9:11.1y ..… Mike Butynes [Sterling], 1970
9:11.2y ..… Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1974
9:13.33 ….. Michael Rankin [Paul VI], 2010
9:14.31 ….. Jimmy Daniels [Sterling], 2013
9:14.70 … Martin Riddell [Haddonfield], 2020
9:15.76 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1986
9:16.09 ….. Aaron Groff [Cherry Hill East], 2016
9:16.7y … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1980
9:20.33 … Robert Rawls [Triton], 2011
9:21.36 … Dennis Fortuna [Triton], 2022
9:22.1y … Marty Ludwikowski [Cherry Hill East], 1975
9:22.47 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], 2022
9:22.60 … Brian Goldberg [Haddonfield], 2004
9:22.96 … George Andrus [Haddonfield], 2022
9:23.34 … Steve Maine [Highland Reg.], 2013

And here’s the all-time Gloucester County top-10:

9:13.93 ….. Paul Szulewski [Williamstown], 2011
9:15.8y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1978
9:22.0y … Willie Marino [Williamstown], 1976
9:23.34 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2011
9:23.0y … Joe Siedlecki [Williamstown], 1973
9:24.71 … Nick Costello [Delsea], 2012
9:26.02 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2020
9:26.93 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2022
9:27.16 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], 2020
9:28.66 … Andrew Littlehales [Delsea], 2022

Eastern graduate Jailya Ash has only run the 60 in one meet this winter for U. Conn and she’s only hurdled in two meets for the Huskies.

But she’s already in the all-time Connecticut top-10 in both events.

First of all, let’s talk about the U. Conn all-time top-10. While most big-time track programs have updated all-time performance lists, which we always link to in our posts, Connecticut hasn’t bothered with one since 2012.

In fact, nobody has even updated the “history” section of the women’s track site in five years.

And if you click on the “2014 women’s track media guide,” you get a hockey media guide!

What are you doing up there in Storrs, U. Conn sports info? Talk about no respect for the track program!

But we wanted too see where Ash ranked in U. Conn history with her hot start this winter so we compiled our own U. Conn all-time top-10 lists!

We started out with the list in the 2012 media guide, the most recent performance list Connecticut put together, and then updated it each year with marks from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s TFRRS (Track and Field Results Reporting Service). We also went back to 2007 to make sure we weren’t missing any older marks that had been missed.

And here’s what we learned:

Ash ran 7.60 in the 60-meter dash finals (after a 7.62 in the trials) at the Beantown Challenge at Harvard’s Gordon Track and Tennis Center last month, and that marks is tied for 10th in U. Conn history and fastest since 2014.

Ash has hurdled twice – going 8.64 at Ocean Breeze two weeks ago and then 8.59 this past weekend at the Armory. Her 8.59 from Saturday is No. 5 in Huskies history and again fastest since 2014.

Ash is one of only two women in U. Conn history to appear on the all-time top-10 in both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles. The other is Canadian Phylicia George, who set the school record in the hurdles at 8.24 in 2010 and ranks No. 6 in the 60-meter dash at 7.49 from 2009.

Since you can’t find these on U. Conn’s web site, here are the all-time Huskies indoor top-10s I came up with:

Connecticut All-Time 60-Meter Dash Top-10
7.26 … Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, 2011
7.40 … Taylor Anderson, 2014
7.41 … Jessie Foreman, 2007
7.43 … Monique Hodges, 2009
7.49 … Deysha Smith-Jenkins, 2014
7.54 … Phylicia George, 2009
7.56 … Celina Emerson, 2014
7.58 … Danielle Lynn, 2012
7.59 … Antonia Cadore, 2003
7.60 … Sheila McCabe, 1980
7.60 … Jailya Ash, 2022

Connecticut All-Time 60-Meter Hurdles Top-10
8.24 … Phylicia George, 2010
8.33 … April Garner, 2005
8.45 … Madalayne Smith, 2012
8.55 … Chantal Scott, 2014
8.59 … Jailya Ash, 2022
8.61 … Shavon Briscoe, 2012
8.61 … Tia Strackman, 2018
8.62 … Ashley Wiggins, 2017
8.63 … Toni-Ann Moore, 2015
8.67 … Gillian Flemmings, 2002

Ash will be back in action this weekend in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.

We wrote last week about Ash’s sister Jewel, who runs track for Charleston Southern. You can find that post here.

Marquise Young, a Rowan freshman from Sterling, ran PR’d in the high hurdles Saturday at Ithaca.

Young ran 8.30 to place second in the 60-meter hurdles at the Bomber Invitational at the Ithaca (N.Y.) Athletics and Events Center.

His time is No. 19 in NCAA Division 3 this year and No. 5 among freshmen. It’s also No. 1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, well ahead of No. 2 Cameryn Martin of Montclair State at 8.63.

Young was second in the 110-meter highs last spring at the NJAC Championships at Ramapo University in Mahwah as part of a 1-2-3 Profs sweet. Sophomore Liam Davies won at 15.14, Young ran 15.18 and freshman Kevin King from Ocean City 15.32. 

Neither Davies nor King has raced this year for Rowan, but Young has run consistently in the low 8.3’s in his first year over the 42-inch barriers indoors. 

He ran 8.32 at Ocean Breeze in January and then 8.36 on the same track later in January.

On Saturday, Young ran 8.46 in the qualifying heats before his PR 8.30 in the final.

At Sterling, Young ran 56.46 in the intermediates and 15.10 in the 110 highs and medaled in both races at sectionals. He spent the 2019 outdoor season at Camden County College, earning All-America honors with 2nd-place finishes in both hurdles races at NJCAA Division 3 Nationals at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.Y., and running PRs of 15.29 over the 42-inch hurdles and 55.51 in the 400IH.

He didn’t run the intermediates last spring in his first year at Rowan but lowered his 110HH PR to 14.98 in a meet at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

Young races Friday at the Fasttrack National Invitational at Ocean Breeze. The NJAC Championships are scheduled for Feb. 21, also at Ocean Breeze.