Wait … what???  

Kingsway sophomore Nicole Lipieta, who had a 1,600 PR of 5:20, ran 4:57.63 in the 1,600 at the Holmdel Twilight Series Royal Rumble 2021 Wednesday evening.

Lipieta placed second to Colts Neck senior Lilly Shapiro, who won the race in a U.S. No. 1 4:40.15, No. 2 in New Jersey history behind Danielle Tauro of Southern Regional, who ran a 4:39.25 full mile to win the 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro (converting to 4:37.45 for 1,600).

As for Lipieta, her previous-best was a 5:20.33 at Cherokee in an outdoor meet held in March during the indoor season. She did run a fast 3,200 at Cherokee last month, taking sixth in a field of 74 girls with an 11:06.14 at the Night of 3200s.

But 4:57?

Lipieta’s time is No. 6 in the state this year and No. 3 in South Jersey, behind Haddonfield seniors Sarah Naticchia [4:57.12] and Allison Colflesh [4:57.41], who both ran slightly faster this past weekend at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township.

Her time is No. 29 in South Jersey history and No. 8 in Gloucester County history, fastest since Delsea’s Celine Mazzi ran 4:56.23 at the 2014 state Group 3 meet at South Plainfield. (Mazzi ran 4:54.58 at the 2014 indoor Meet of Champions at the Bubble).

There’s no Gloucester County Championships or Tri-County Conference Championships listed on the 2021 MileSplit outdoor schedule so it’s possible she won’t race again in a major event until the South Jersey Group 3 sectionals at Delsea the weekend of June 4-5.

Here’s a look at the fastest times in Gloucester County history, with Kingsway girls taking up five of the top 12 spots!

4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982

4:49.26 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017

4:55.70 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012

4:56.43 … Liz Locke [Kingsway], 2010

4:56.55 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009

4:56.23 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014

4:57.48 … Felicia O’Donnell [Delsea], 2011

4:57.63 … Nicole Lipieta [Kingsway], 2021

4:59.38 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009

4:59.54 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007

4:59.6h … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985

4:59.89 … Destiny Stanford [Kingsway], 2017

5:00.61 … Lindsay Kane [Washington Twp.], 2012

5:00.7h … Patti Addis [Williamstown], 1984

5:02.08 … Vickie Ajimoko [Williamstown], 2013

What a race by Kyle Rakitis!!!

The Kingsway junior shattered the 42-year-old Gloucester County 1,600 record Wednesday night at the Holmdel Twilight Series Royal Rumble 2021.

Rakitis won the 1,600 in 4:10.15, breaking the county mark of 4:10.29 (converted from a full mile) set by Gateway’s Mike Mantini in 1979. 

Mantini ran 4:11.75 for a full mile at the New Jersey Olympic Classic at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway on June 24, 1979, edging second-place Greg Herzog of White Plains, N.Y. (my teammate at White Plains and Mike Pascuzzo’s teammate at Maryland). 

For track purists who subscribe to the belief that you can’t break a mile record running a 1,600 (because it’s shorter), the Gloucester County 1,600 record was 4:11.07, set by Washington Township’s Xavier Fraction at the 2009 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.

Either way, Rakitis is the fastest four-lapper in county history!

Rakitis’s time is No. 2 in the state this year behind Jackson Braddock of Southern Regional, who ran 4:06.25 last weekend at the Ocean County Championships at Jackson Liberty. It’s No. 23 nationally on the MileSpliit U.S. database and No. 7 among juniors.

His time is also No. 5 in South Jersey history and fastest in 12 years, since Brett Johnson of Ocean City ran 4:07.07 and Colin Baker of Haddonfield ran 4:09.30, both as juniors.

Rakitis was out in 62.5, came through 800 in 2:05.7, hit 1,200 meters in 3:09.3 and then closed in 60.8. (The timing company didn’t provide splits, so Jim Lambert clocked the MileSplit video! Thanks Lambo!)

He raced unpressed. He won by 80 meters over Ethan Hood of Holmdel, who placed second in 4:23.72. 

Rakitis’s previous PR was 4:17.39 indoors at Ocean Breeze in March. Thanks to the lost 2020 season he had never really run a hot outdoor 1,600. His outdoor 1,600 PR before Wednesday night was a 4:28.66 his freshman year at Cherokee.

The previous Kingsway outdoor record was 4:11.84, set by Tom Cooke at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge. Stone Caraccio ran 4:13.46 at the 2019 state Group 3 meet at Franklin, which means Kingsway is now the third South Jersey school with three milers under 4:14. Haddon Township had Mike Elder (4:08.7 in 1973), Luke Petela (4:11.78 in 2015) and Ed Blakeley (4:12.3 in 1975) and Ocean City had Johnson in 2009, John Richardson (4:09.19 in 2003) and Schoedler (4:11.46 in 2010).

Timber Creek senior Joshua Thaler, coming off a PR 1:57.32 at the Camden County Championships, PR’d in fourth place in 4:24.97. His previous 1,600 PR was 4:38.97 at the Bubble in February of 2020.

Here’s a look at every South Jersey runner who’s gone sub-4:14 for the 1,600 or converted mile. The full all-time top-50 can be found here.

ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY 1,600 SUB-4:13 LIST
4:07.07y … Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 2009
4:08.7y ….. Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1973
4:09.19 … John Richardson [Ocean City], 2003
4:09.30 … Colin Baker [Haddonfield], 2009
4:10.15 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 2021
4:10.24y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
4:11.07 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:11.15 … Ryan Garvin [Lenape], 2009
4:11.46 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], 2010
4:11.49 … Jim Wyner [Mainland Reg.], 2004
4:11.69 … Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 2013
4:11.78 … Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2015
4:11.84 … Tom Cooke [Kingsway], 2012
4:11.86y … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 2002
4:12.05y … Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 1999
4:12.08 … Bill Dolan [Clearview], 2014
4:12.1y ….. Al Harden [Millville], 1978
4:12.3y ….. Ed Blakeley [Haddon Twp.], 1975
4:12.5y ….. Dick Caton [Woodbury], 1978
4:13.23 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:13.1y … Ricky Jacques [Burlington Twp.], 1968
4:13.26y … Greg Pelose [Haddonfield], 2015
4:13.46 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2019
4:13.4y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway[, 1973
4:13.64h … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1988
4:13.71 … Dominick Munson [Timber Creek], 2015
4:13.83 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2003
4:13.85 … Jacob Clark [Pleasantville], 2013

And here’s the all-time Gloucester County top-10!
4:10.15 … Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway], 
4:10.29y ….. Mike Mantini [Gateway], 1979
4:11.07 … Xavier Fraction [Washington Twp.], 2009
4:11.84 … Tom Cooke [Kingsway], 2012
4:12.5y ….. Dick Caton [Woodbury], 1978
4:13.23 … Justin Branco [Delsea], 2015
4:13.46 … Stone Caraccio [Kingsway], 2019
4:13.4y … Greg Stremmel [Gateway[, 1973
4:13.83 … Carmen Cavella [Washington Twp.], 2003
4:15.0y … Bob Marino [Williamstown], 1975
4:15.14h … Fred Sharpe [Paulsboro], 1997

Winslow Township graduate Tionna Tobias surpassed 5,000 points in her first collegiate heptathlon, scoring 5,083 points and placing ninth overall and second among freshmen.

Competing at the Big Ten Championships at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill., Tobias scored 1,037 points in the 100-meter hurdles with a lifetime-best 13.59 and 924 points in the 200 with a lifetime-best 24.60 and also surpassed 700 points in the high jump (5-2 1/2), long jump (18-11 3/4) and 800 (PR 2:23.98).,.

The only freshman to finish ahead of Tobias was Jessica Franklin of Illinois, who scored just 77 more points.

Tobias is the fifth Iowa woman to surpass 5,000 points in the heptathlon. Senior Jenny Kimbro (third with 5,477) and junior Dallyssa Huggins (5,437) placed 3rd and 4th. Kimbro holds the school record with 5,679 points.

Tobias also moved into the No. 6 spot in Iowa history in the 100-meter hurdles with her 13.59.

Tobias’s previous high score in a heptathlon was 4,672 points at the 2019 AAU National Club Championships in Kissimmee, Fla., which she won.

Brandon Outlaw ran the fastest 400 of his life in the final of the ACC Championships this past weekend.

Outlaw, a Moorestown graduate who’s now a junior at Virginia, ran 46.13 in the final after a personal-best 46.20 in the trials. He placed third behind Jacory Patterson of Virginia Tech (45.14) and DaeQwan Butler of Florida State (45.83). Patterson is No. 8 in NCAA Division 1 with a 44.81 earlier this year.

His PR before the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships at North Carolina State in Raleigh was 46.35 from another meet in Raleigh back in March. He came into the 2021 spring season with a PR of 46.58 from the 2020 indoor ACC meet at Notre Dame, a previous collegiate outdoor PR of 47.27 from the 2019 ACC meet in Charlottesville and an outdoor lifetime best of 46.82 from Group 3 sectionals at Bernards in the spring of 2017.

Outlaw’s time is No. 23 in the NCAA Division 1 East Region heading into the NCAA Prelims in Jacksonville later this month.

Outlaw’s time is https://storage.googleapis.com/virginiasports-com/2021/05/4e44d247-21_records-lists.pdf and only 29-100ths off the school record of 45.84 set by Alfred Shirley at the 2018 NCAA East Preliminary Round in Tampa. Outlaw’s 46.58 is the Virginia indoor school record. 

Egg Harbor senior Lauren Princz took advantage of some nice hot summer weather conducive to sprinting to run the fastest 100 in the state this year and the 4th-fastest 200.

Princz, a two-time Meet of Champions winner, won the 100 in 11.99 and the 200 in 24.68 in a dual meet Tuesday at EHT. Even though it was a dual meet, fully automatic timing was used, courtesy of Tomahawk Timing.

Princz’s 100 time is only 18-100ths of a second off her lifetime best of 11.81, which she ran in 2018 when she won the national freshman 100 title in Greensboro. It’s her first FAT 100 since 2019 Nationals, when she ran 12.00.

The previous-fastest 100 time in the state this year was a 12.08 that Joy Enaohwo of Union ran at the Union County Championships at Governor Livingston in Berkeley Heights this past weekend.

In the 200, Princz’s unpressed 24.68 trails only Julia Jackson of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, who ran 24.42 at the Union County meet, and Clayton twins Amirah and Arianna Sharpe, who ran 24.65 and 24.66 in what was technically a scrimmage – an outdoor meet held before the start of the season – at Underhill Field in Maplewood in March. They may have still been attending Paulsboro at that point. They competed unattached and it’s not known when they transferred.

The Penn State-bound Princz’s 200 PR is 23.90 from her Meet of Champions win at Northern Burlington in June of 2018.

Princz, like everyone else, had her 2020 outdoor season wiped out because of the COVID shutdown and she didn’t race this past indoor season, so this was her first true elite performance since the 2020 indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze in March of 2020, where she ran a PR 6.98 to win the 55 and an indoor PR 24.83 to place second in the 200.

Second in the 100 Tuesday was teammate Mariah Stephens, who ran 12.83, and second in the 200 was Amiyah Stephens, who ran 26.60.

Runners PR by 12 seconds all the time.

In the 5,000 or 10,000. Maybe in the 3,200 if they get a fast race and great conditions. 

But in an 800???

That’s impossible!

But that’s exactly what Collingswood senior Owen Marish did on Saturday.

In his second lifetime 800, Marish won the 800 at the Camden County Championships in 1:56.65. He led Audubon senior Zachary Williams to a 1:57.85, with Haddon Heights senior Andrew Bayna also dipping under two minutes at 1:59.53.

In his only other lifetime 800, Marish ran a hand-timed 2:08.1 in a dual meet three weeks ago at Haddonfield, taking second to Sean Eisenhower, who won the race in 2:06.8.

Marish has run cross country throughout his high school career. He had a solid season this past fall, placing 12th at Group 2 sectionals with a 17:06.90 at DREAM Park in Logan Township.

This spring, in addition to the 2:08, he’s run 4:51.50 in his only 1,600. He did break 10 minutes in the 3,200, placing 48th at the Henderson Invitational in West Chester, Pa., with a 9:59.52.

But 1:56.65?

That’s outrageous.

His time is No. 11 this year in New Jersey and No. 4 in South Jersey, behind junior Kyle Rakitis of Kingsway (1:55.04), Pennsuaken sophomore Bryce Tucker (1:56.07) and Cherokee senior Brett Shea (1:56.60). It’s also fastest in the state this year in Group 2.

His time is the fastest by a Collingswood half-miler – by far – as far back as the MileSplit database goes, which is 20 years. They show Peter Urian running 2:01.00 at the 2011 Haddonfield Invitational. 

And I’m willing to bet it’s the fastest time ever by a New Jersey half-miler with a PR over 2:08!

 

Terrific double over the weekend for Woodstown graduate Xavier Seals at the CACC Championships.

Seals, a Georgian Court freshman, won the 800 in 1:55.18 and the 1,500 in 4:07.27 at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference meet on his home track in Lakewood.

In the 800, Seals edged teammate Chukwuebizie Andamadi, who was second in 1:55.67. Seals was out in 58.21 but came back in 56.98. 

He negative-split the 1,500 as well, out in 2:05.14 for the first 700 and closing in a blazing 2:02.14 and 56.26 (!) to again edge Andamadi, who ran 4:08.15.

Seals isn’t far off the school record of 1:54.80 in the 800, set two years ago by Andamadi at the Rider Invitational in Lawrenceville. The 1,500 mark is a little farther off but based on his closing speed certainly within reach at 3:58.51, set in 2017 by Uriah St. Lewis at the Monmouth Invitational in West Long Branch.

Seals also ran a 50.87 third leg on Georgian Court’s 3rd-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:26.47.

Georgian Court is coached by one-time Mike Murawski, a three-time state Parochial A high jump champ in 2002 and 2003 for Holy Cross. The Lions won their fifth CACC team title 262-112 over Bloomfield.

At Woodstown, Seals ran 2:02.51 and 4:27.59, which means he ran his closing 800 at the conference meet this weekend faster than his high school 800 PR. He placed 10th in the state Group 1 XC Championships at Holmdel in the fall of 2019.

Catching up with Elisia Lancaster, who bombed another hammer PR in a recent meet in Lawrence, Kan.

Lancaster, a Delsea graduate and now a junior at Southern Illinois, only had two legal throws out of six attempts but surpassed 200 feet for the first time – and second time – in her life.

She opened with a 207-11 and after three straight fouls hit 207-5 on her fifth throw. She finished by fouling again.

Lancaster began the spring with a hammer PR of 182-2 from a meet at Towson in Maryland from the spring of 2019, when she threw for Rowan College / Gloucester County. She transferred to Towson but only competed indoors and this spring had four meets in the 190’s before her breakthrough at Kansas.

Lancaster now ranks No. 42 in all of NCAA Division 1 and No. 19 in the West Region. She also ranks No. 39 among all U.S. women on the IAAF United States list.

Lancaster also threw 194-2 at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships this past weekend at her home facility in Carbondale, Ill.

The South Jersey alumni hammer record is 220-6, set by another Delsea athlete, Jamine Moton, when she won the 2002 NCAA Championship in Baton Rouge.

 

Buena grad Kristin Siegle got into a fast 1,500 field at the Trials of Miles in Jersey City Saturday and emerged with another personal best.

Racing against mainly post-collegiates the Rider senior placed sixth in 4:22.79, shattering her personal best and her Rider school record of 4:25.83 from the Philadelphia Metropolitan Collegiate Invitational.

That’s the equivalent of a 4:43.81 for a full mile or 4:42.16 for 1,600 meters for Siegle, who had a high school PR of 5:15.98 and never qualified for a Meet of Champions.

In a separate section of the 1,500, Lenape graduate Megan Quimby, who ran for Yale, finished first in 4:29.49, a personal best. Her previous PR was 4:32.07 in the prelims of the 2019 outdoor Ivy League Championships at Princeton. 

 

Camden’s Teseanna Harris, a sophomore at Bloomfield College in Essex County, won her first conference title Sunday with a collegiate-best time in the 100-meter hurdles.

Harris ran 14.70 – into a 1.1 meters-per-second wind – to win the 100-meter highs at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championships at Georgian Court in Lakewood.

She won by nearly half a second over teammate Autumn DeMary, who placed second in 15.17.

Harris’s previous best at Bloomfield was a 14.86 just two weeks ago in a meet in Newark and before that it was 15.46 from a meet last month.

Harris was also fourth in both the 100 in 12.80 (into a 1.8 wind) and the 200 in 25.93.

Harris graduated from Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy in Camden but competed for Camden High, since Creative Arts doesn’t have a track team. She was the 2019 state Group 2 high hurdles champ.