Cherry Hill East Johnnie Jackson, a former one-time NCAA champion for Louisiana State, hit a PR this spring and has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month.

Jackson, 27, threw a PR 237-1 at a recent meet at LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge, snapping his four-year-old PR of 235-3, which he threw in Eugene in June of 2017.

It was only Jackson’s second meet since April of 2019. He opened the 2021 season with a near-PR of 235-1 in a meet at Irwin Belk Stadium on North Carolina A&T’s campus in Greensboro, N.C.

Jackson’s best throw in 2018 was 219-0 in a meet in Baton Rouge and his best in 2019 was 224-0 in a meet in Meadville, Pa., so he’s already far beyond where he’s been the last few years.

With his 237-1, Jackson surpassed the qualifying standard of 236-2 for the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month in Eugene.

Jackson’s throw is best ever by a New Jersey native and ranks him 12th among U.S. men this year and No. 61 in U.S. history.

Jackson wasn’t an elite thrower in high school. He had PRs of 48-4 1/4 in the shot put when he placed 3rd in the 2012 Olympic Conference Championships at Washington Township and 155–2 in the discus when he placed 7th at the state Group 4 meet at Old Bridge later in 2012.

As a freshman at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, he first competed in the hammer on March 29, 2014, throwing 179-0 to win a meet at Cowley County College in Arkansas City, Kansas. He threw 189-11 by the end of his freshman year and placed second at the NJCAA National Championships in Mesa, Ariz., less than three feet behind winner Brady Grunder of Iowa Central Community College.

He improved to 208-6 as a sophomore at Coffeyville and again placed second at nationals, this time to Sergio Guiro of Cowley at Hutchinson, Kansas.

At LSU, he threw 217-1 as a junior and then as a senior he threw 235-4, taking sixth at NCAAs. He won the NCAA title in the weight throw indoors at College Station, Texas.

At the U.S. Trials at Hayward Field, Jackson will throw at 12:05 p.m. on Friday, June 18. The finals are at 4:25 p.m. that Sunday, June 20.

Jackson also has a discus PR of 183-9 from a meet in Columbia, S.C., in May of 2017 and was ranked as high as 66th among U.S. men in 2017, which is the last time he threw the discus competitively. His PR in the indoor 35-pound weight throw is 77-3 1/2 from a meet in Birmingham, S.C., in January, 2017.

 

It’s sectional weekend with South Jersey athletes heading for four sites to compete for berths at the state championships.

On Friday and Saturday, South Jersey Groups 1 and 4 are at Washington Township, South Jersey Groups 2 and 3 at Delsea, Central Jersey Groups 1 and 4 at Long Branch and Central Jersey Groups 2 and 3 at Jackson Township.

Here are some handy links to help you enjoy this weekend’s action!

Girls program with meet records and all-time team winners: Click here.

Boys program with meet records and all-time team winners: Click here.

S.J. Group 1-4 entries: Click here.

S.J. Group 2-3 entries: Click here.

C.J. Group 1-4 entries: Click here.

C.J. Group 2-3 entries: Click here.

Who’s where? You can find out in the official spring classifications: Click here.

Rules and regulations are all here in the NJSIAA spring track regs: Click here.

Order of events: Click here.

N.J. Milesplit Sectional Hub: Click here.

 

Missed this one over the weekend, but congrats to Willingboro High School graduate Kenady Wilson, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in the high jump!

Wilson, a freshman at North Carolina A&T, cleared 5-9 3/4 at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus in Jacksonville and placed 10th overall. The top 12 from each of two regions advance to the NCAA Championships June 9-12 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Nine jumpers cleared 5-11 1/2 and eight cleared 5-9 3/4, but only three of those eight advanced, and Wilson made the cut because she didn’t have any misses at either 5-7 3/4 or 5-9 3/4. 

If she had one miss at 5-7 3/4 she would have missed out on nationals. If she had a miss at 5-9 3/4 there would have been a jumpoff with Jordan Fields of South Carolina for the 12th qualifying spot.

Wilson cleared 5-8 several times at Willingboro and then hit a PR of 5-8 3/4 in her final high school meet, the 2019 National Scholastic Championships in Greensboro, N.C. (at what is now her home track), which is No. 8 in South Jersey history.

This is Wilson’s first year of outdoor college track, and she won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title In Greensboro earlier this month with a PR 5-10 1/2 before getting her NCAA qualifier this past weekend. So her high school and college PRs were both recorded at the same track.

Wilson is now ranked No. 43 among all U.S. women.

The North Carolina A&T web site does not list any school records, but according to Athletic.Net, which goes back to 2008, Wilson’s jump is the best by a North Carolina A&T woman since at least 2008.

The women’s high jump is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST Saturday at Hayward Field.

 

Rancocas Valley graduate Erika Kemp qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5,000 Saturday with a monster PR in Attleboro, Mass.

Kemp ran 15:10.10 in the Platinum PT Qualifier at Bishop Feehan High School, easily getting under the qualifying standard of 15:20.00. She’s already qualified for the 10,000 at the Trials.

The former North Carolina State All-America came into this month with a PR of 15:28.69 from the 2019 Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. She lowered it to 15:26.18 two weeks ago in Irvine, Calif.

The Trials run from June 18 through June 27 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The first round of the women’s 5,000 is scheduled for 8:54 p.m. EST on June 18 with the final following at 8:40 p.m. EST on June 21. The 10,000, with only one round, isn’t until 6:44 p.m. on June 26.

Kemp’s time is No. 10 among U.S. women this year, No. 34 in the world and No. 51 in U.S. history. 

It’s also No. 4 ever among New Jersey natives. We put together an all-time New Jersey top 10., with the runners listed here with their hometown and high school and where and when they ran their PR:

14:51.42 … Josette Norris [Tenafly H.S.], Irvine, Calif., 2021
15:02.27 … Marielle Hall [Mount Laurel, Haddonfield H.S.], Azusa, Calif., 2019
15:05.38 … Julie Culley [Lebanon Township, North Hunterdon H.S.], London, 2012
15:10.10 … Erika Kemp [Mount Holly, Rancocas Valley Regional H.S.], Attleboro, Mass., 2021
15:11.27 … Sarah Pagano [Ringwood, Immaculate Heart Academy], Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, 2018
15:18.06 … Dana Giordano [Bernardsville, Bernards H.S.], San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 2020
15:18.53 … Ashley Higginson [Colts Neck H.S,], Palo Alto, Calif., 2015
15:22.98 … Amy Van Alstine [Midland Park H.S.], Palo Alto, Calif., 2014
15:23.71 … Anne Marie Lauck [Glen Gardner, North Hunterdon H.S.], Sacramento, Calif., 2000
15:35.97 … Nicol Traynor [Basking Ridge, Ridge H.S.], Palo Alto, Calif., 2014

Kemp, who has a 10,000 PR and Olympic Trials qualifier of 31:35.63 from last year, also PR’d this month at 1,500 meters with a 4:16.41 at Icahn Stadium in New York. Her previous 1,500 PR was 4:17.84 in Portland, Ore., in 2018.

Let’s take a deeper look at Rowan’s 4th-place finish at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Greensboro.

Rowan placed fourth with 41 points, finishing behind only Wartburg College of Waverly, Iowa, which scored 54 points, and two Wisconsin schools – Eau Claire with 49 and Oshkosh with 48. Another Wisconsin school, La Crosse, was fifth with 39 points.

This is the 10th time Rowan has finished in the top 5 at Division 3 nationals. Only four schools have recorded more top-5 finishes: Lincoln of Lower Oxford Township, Chester County (29 times), Wisconsin La Crosse (29), North Central of Naperville, Ill. (18), and Mount Union of Alliance, Ohio (13).

Rowan won the meet five years in a row from 1980 through 1984 and was 2nd in 1978 and 1979, 3rd in 2018 and 5th in 1998.

Rowan’s 41 points at this year’s meet are their most since they won the 1984 team title with 114 points. Not sure what the scoring system was back then but that’s a lot of points!

Here’s a look at all of Rowan’s top-10 finishers:

1978: 2nd [35]
1979: 2nd [44]
1980: 1st [61]
1981: 1st [58]
1982: 1st [119]
1983: 1st [97]
1984: 1st [114]
1985: 8th [27]
1996: 9th [17]
1997: T8th [25]
1998: 5th [35]
2012: 8th [23]
2018: 3rd [27]
2021: 4th [41]

Here’s how Rowan scored:
200-METER DASH [8 points]: Jah’mere Beasley [Sterling], 2nd [21.18]
400-METER RELAY [2 points]: Julian Pratt [Camden], Donovan Clement [Deptford], Jah’mere Beasley [Sterling], Nana Agyemang [Parsippany], 7th [41.22]
1,.600-METER RELAY [10 points]: Amara Conte [Ferris], Hunter Barbieri [Egg Harbor], Justin Bishop [Mainland Reg.], Francis Terry [Sterling], 1st [3:11.81]
TRIPLE JUMP [10 points]: Ahmir Johnson [Wissahickon], 1st [49-7]
JAVELIN [8 points]: Dan McAleavey [Howell], 1st [206-6]
JAVELIN [3 points]: Julio LeBron [Memorial-WNY], 6th [192-6]

All of Rowan’s points other than Pratt’s 4-by-1 relay leg came from underclassmen. Beasley is a potential scorer in the 100 as well as the 200 and Johnson in the long jump as well as the triple jump.  Beasley missed the 100 final by 5-100ths of a second and Johnson missed the long jump final by one-quarter of an inch (and Agyemang by 1 1/2 inches). So there’s no reason to think a year from now the Profs can’t make a run at their first national title since 1984.

Johnson became Rowan’s first-ever triple jump national champion. The 4-by-4 won for the fifth time (1984, 1985, 2011, 2012).

Congrats to Rowan coach Dustin Dimit and his exceptional coaching staff, which includes Olympians Milton Goode (high jumpers) and Norm Tate (horizontal jumpers, hurdlers, sprinters) as well as Ryan Gebhardt (javelin), Eric DuBois (distance), Liz Madden (throws), Sam Maniglia (multis) and John Oberg (vaulters)

Clayton senior Amirah Sharpe ran her first 800 in two years on Thursday and turned in one of the fastest times in the state this year.

Sharpe won the 800 at the Cherokee Last Chance 2021 in 2:15.29, just a fraction of a second off her lifetime PR of 2:15.05 from when she won the state Group 1 title for Clayton at Franklin High School in June of 2018.

She repeated her state Group 1 win in 2019 in 2:15.84 before focusing on other events in the winter of 2020. After the 2020 outdoor season was cancelled, she ran very fast this past indoor season at everything from the 55-meter dash up to the 600 but didn’t run any 800s.

And she’s focused on other events this spring, running 12.84 for 100 meters, 24.35 for 200, 55.16 for 400 and 1:01.63 for the intermediates before finally finding an 800 that made sense and nearly PR’ing.

Her time is No. 12 in the state this spring and No. 2 in South Jersey, behind only Haddonfield senior Lindsay Colflesh, who ran 2:13.72 at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township two weeks ago.

And here’s a rarity – Sharpe now owns the school record in the 800 at two different schools.

Sharpe ranks No. 1 in New Jersey this year in the 200, No. 2 in the 400 and intermediates and No. 12 in the 800. That’s remarkable range. And 12.84 in her only 100.

Delsea senior Carly Nicholson was second in 2:18.91

Amanda Demko, a freshman at The College of New Jersey from Shawnee, earned All-America honors Saturday at the NCAA Division 3 National Track Championships as part of TCNJ’s 1,600-meter relay team.

Demko ran a 56.59 second leg for the Lions, who placed fifth in 3:49.76 at Irwin Belk Stadium on the North Carolina A&T campus in Greensboro, N.C.

Sophomore Megan Gasnick (Park Ridge) led off with a 58.66, sophomore Allison Uhl (Park Ridge) ran the third leg in 58.56 and Samantha Gorman (Scotch Plains-Fanwood) anchored in 55.94.

The Lions barely got through in Thursday’s 4-by-4 trials, running 3:48.87 and securing the eighth and final qualifying spot by 18-100ths of a second over Washington University of St. Louis. Demko ran the third leg on Thursday and split 57.01.

TCNJ went into the meet as the No. 5 seed based on its 3:47.51, which they ran at the AARTFC Outdoor Championships in Rochester two weeks ago. That’s No. 5 in school history and fastest in 13 years.

This is the first TCNJ 4-by-400 team to place at nationals since 2015, when the team of Katelyn Ary, Michelle Cascio, Kristen Randolph and Joy Spriggs took seventh, and it’s the best finish by a TCNJ 4-by-4 since 2008, when when Jessica Bonelli, Jianna Spadaccini, Meryl Wimberley, Stephanie Herrick ran 3:46.44 for fourth place. 

Demko missed her senior year of outdoor track at Shawnee because of the shutdown, but she ran 58.54 indoors in March of 2020 placing 10th at the Meet of Champions. That made her Shawnee’s fastest quarter-miler since Annie Johnson, who ran 56.42 back in 2011. Johnson was the 2012 Meet of Champions winner in the 100 and 200.

Here’s a list of https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/tcnjathletics.com/documents/2019/5/28/Track_All_Americans.pdf. Good luck trying to decipher it. It’s a mess. Would be nice to have times, heights and distances also. This is track. Times, heights and distances are somewhat important. 

Rowan finished off a fantastic weekend at the NCAA Division 3 National Championships Saturday by winning the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:11.81.

The Profs, seeded 4th, were in fourth place after two legs, but junior Justin Bishop from Mainland Regional split 47.91 to move Rowan into second behind Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa, and junior Francis Terry from Sterling unleashed a brilliant 46.83 anchor to give the Profs the lead and the win. Loras finished second in 3:12.40.  

It’s the fifth time Rowan has won the 4-by-4 at Nationals and the first time since 2012.

Freshman Amara Conte from Ferris High in Jersey City led off with a 47.61 split for the Profs and sophomore Hunter Barbieri from Egg Harbor Township ran a 49.46 before handing off to Bishop.

Conte and Terry earned their first outdoor All-America honors and Barbieri and Bishop their second. Barbieri and Bishop were also on the 2018 Rowan 4-by-4 that placed fifth at NCAAs, along with Chris Mesiano of Schalick and Jamil Jackson from Highland.

Terry and Bishop are also both three-time indoor All-Americas, Terry in the 4-by-4 and 400 in 2018 and 4-by-4 in 2020 and Bishop on the 4-by-4 in 2018 and 2020 and the distance medley in 2018.

This was the 17th time Rowan has earned All-America honors with a top-8 finish at the NCAA Division 3 outdoor championships! 

Here’s a look at those 17 teams:

1978: 6th, 3:16.63 [Matt Forstenhauster, Gavin Cook, Gary Miller, David Hadley]
1980 : 4th, 3:11.02 [Anthony Stone, Robert Lee, Gustavo Rivera, David Hadley]
1981 : 2nd, 3:11.77 [Anthony Stone, Robert Lee, Gustavo Rivera, Willie Richardson]
1982 : 2nd, 3:11.53 [Anthony Stone, Nick Keney, James Thompson, Willie Lawson]
1984 : 1st, 3:12.40 [Anthony Stone, Ronald Moore, Edward Lamhing, Robert Abdullah
1985 : 1st, 3:11.57 [Tommie Adams, Ronald Moore, Keith Thomas, Willie Lawson]
1988 : 4th, 3:13.99 [Ralph Richardson, Kyle Bradley, Aaron Reaves, Maurice Ransome]
1989 : 6th, 3:14.81 [Ralph Richardson, Kyle Bradley, Eddie Jiminez, Maurice Ransome]
1990 : 4th, 3:14.50 [Tha’ub Ismail, Anrthony Dean-Neil, George Jakovic, Maurice Ransome]
1993 : 2nd, 3:15.25 [Rick Broadnax, Mike Crank, Mike Beck, Brad Leak]
1994 : 7th, 3:14.38 [Freddie Geddes, Tha’ub Ismail, Mick Beck, Brad Leak]
1998 : 3rd, 3:12.37 [William Cruz, Mark Davis, Aaron Johnson, Rich Dixon]
1999 : 6th, 3:13.73 [Julius Kinsler, Spencer Timmons, Greg Arnett, Rich Dixon]
2011 : 1st, 3:11.45 [Jayce Maxwell, Taylor Purdue, Ali Ejaz, Demetrius Rooks]
2012 : 1st, 3:10.56 [Jayce Maxwell, Taylor Purdue, Ali Ejaz, Demetrius Rooks]
2018 : 5th, 3:11.47 [Hunter Barbieri, Justin Bishop, Chris Mesiano, Jamil Jackson]
2021 : 1st, 3:11.81 [Amara Conte, Hunter Barbieri, Justin Bishop, Francis Terry]

With 10 points earlier in the day from Amir Johnson, who won the triple jump; eight points earlier in the afternoon from Jah’mere Beasley in the 200; and 10 from the 4-by-4, Rowan finished the meet with 41 points for fourth place, behind Wartburg of Waverly, Iowa (54), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (49) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (48). 

Rowan’s 41 points are their most since they won the 1984 team title with 114 points.

 

Sterling graduate Jah’mere Beasley, a Rowan sophomore, placed second in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division 3 Championships Saturday.

Beasley matched his lifetime best of 21.18 in placing second to top-seeded J.P. Vaught, a freshman at Centre College in Danville, Ky.. who followed his 10.51 win in the 100 with a 20.83 win in the 200. 

Vaught and Beasley were the two-fastest qualifiers in Thursday’s trials at Irwin Belk Stadium on the North Carolina A&T campus in Greensboro, Vaught with a 21.11 and Beasley at 21.33.

This is the third All-America honor of Beasley’s short career at Rowan so far and the second of the day. He earned All-America status as part of Rowan’s indoor 1,600-meter relay team last year (which did not get to race because the meet was cancelled) and earlier Saturday he ran on Rowan’s 7th-place 400-meter relay team.

He’s the first Rowan sprinter to earn All-America honors in the 200 since Glassboro High graduate Ali Ejaz placed fourth in the 2012 final in 21.31. The best previous finish in Rowan history by a sprinter in the 200 was Charles Cooper’s 3rd-place in 21.30 at the 1979 Championships. Cooper was a 1978 graduate of Paulsboro.

Beasley and Ejaz share the Rowan school record at 21.18, and Beasley has now done it twice. 

Rowan now has 31 points and is in fifth place in the team standings with the No. 3 seed in the upcoming 1,600-meter relay.

Cherry Hill East graduate Jude Misko, a senior at Rutgers-Camden, popped a 198-5 on his first throw and that throw stood up through six rounds to give Misko the national title at the NCAA Division 3 Track Championships at Irwin Belk Stadium in Greensboro, N..

Misko becomes the second national champion in the 48-year history of Rutgers-Camden’s track program. Deptford graduate TimLiew won the javelin in 2012 and 2013.

Misko went into the meet as the No. 2 seed with a PR of 200-9 from the Philadelphia Metropolitan Collegiate Invitational last month at Franklin Field. The top seed, Widener freshman Alex Kristeller, had a Pr of 206-9 from the MAC Championships in Chester.

The top four finishers all threw within two feet of Misko, and Jacob Bugella of Wisconsin-Stout, Kristeller and Bryce Reynolds of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., all had multiple throws over 190 feet while Misko watched.

Bugella threw 196-10 on his second throw and also had a 195-6, Kristeller threw 196-0, 196-3 and 196-9 and Reynolds threw 194-7, 196-5, 192-2 and 195-3.

Had to be harrowing for Misko as he watched the best throwers in NCAA Division take aim at his 198-5, but when Bugella’s final throw was measured at 184-2, Misko had his national championship. 

Stockton senior Darren Wan of Egg Harbor Township placed 10th overall with a throw of 179-3. Wan missed the finals by just four feet.

Misko, who won the JUCO national title in 2017 for Rowan College-Gloucester County with a 164-1 in Columbia, Md., was competing in his first NCAA National Championships.

Misko had a terrific series. He followed his 198-8 with a 190-5, 192-8, 190-11 and 195-4. He passed his final throw with the win secured but averaged 193-7 on his five throws.

Misko is on the Dean’s List at Rutgers-Camden and has received numerous NJAC academic honors. He’s a criminal justice major hoping to pursue a career in law enforcement.