Turnersville’s Kami Joe Hickson, a University of Maryland freshman, ran a collegiate-best 2:11.19 in the 800 Friday at the ACC Championships.

Hickson didn’t qualify for the finals, but she ran two seconds faster than she ran in her first collegiate 800 last month, a 2:13.14 in a meet at Penn State.

Hickson’s time is No. 11 in Maryland indoor history.

Hickson attended Washington Township High through indoors of her sophomore year. She ran 2:12.72 as a freshman at the 2017 outdoor state meet, No. 3 in South Jersey indoor history. She was the state Group 4 800 champ as a freshman with a 2:14.99 at the Bennett Center.

She transferred to Neumann Goretti High in South Philly before sophomore outdoor season, and her indoor PR is 2:08.58 from 2019 New Balance Nationals at the Armory in New York, where she placed eighth. 

Moorestown graduate Brandon Outlaw, a senior at Virginia, qualified for the 400-meter dash final at the ACC Championships Friday at Clemson.

Outlaw ran 47.16 in Friday’s trials, the fifth-fastest time of the eight runners in Saturday’s final.

It was Outlaw’s first open 400 in a year – since he ran a personal-best PR 46.58 for fourth in last year’s ACC meet at Notre Dame’s Loftus Center the last week of February in 2020.

The 47.16 is Outlaw’s second-fastest 400 as a collegian. He has an outdoor collegiate best of 47.27 from the 2019 ACC meet in Charlottesville, where he placed 9th.

Outlaw ran an outdoor PR 46.82 to win Group 3 sectionals at Bernards in the spring of 2017 and went on to win the Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington in 47.05.

The ACC 400 final is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. Saturday

Paulsboro senior Amirah Sharpe ran a big 400 PR at the adidas Indoor Nationals Friday morning in Virginia Beach.

Sharpe ran 56.23 and missed qualifying for the eight-runner final by 17-100ths of a second.

Her time is No. 11 in South Jersey history and less than half a second off the Gloucester County record of 55.83, set in 2016 by Kiara Lester of Deptford. It’s fastest ever by a South Jersey Group 1 girl.

It’s also No. 1 in New Jersey so far this year

You can find the all-time South Jersey top-50 here:

But here’s a look at every South Jersey girl that’s run sub-57 seconds indoors:

54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
56.19 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.21 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1997
56.23 … Amirah Sharpe [Paulsboro], 2021
56.34 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
56.44 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2006
56.62 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
56.65 … Britney Kott [Millville], 2009
56.76 … Simone Thomas [Willingboro], 2003
56.78 … Ajae Alvarez-Tyler [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
56.85 … Emily Duffey [Lenape], 2012
56.85 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.88 … Marcene Jack [Mainland Reg.], 2004
56.90 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1999
56.98 … Jade Pope [Pennsauken], 2020

Sharpe’s previous 400 PR was 57.08, which she ran in a meet on the same track earlier this month.

Sharpe has run as fast as 1:02.07 for the intermediates and 2:15.05 for 800 meters, but she hasn’t run an 800 since the 2019 outdoor Meet of Champions, where she was seventh in 2:16.29.

Twin sister Ariana Sharpe ran a huge PR of her own, placing 16th overall in 57.35. Her previous indoor PR was 58.23 on the same track earlier this month and her previous overall PR was 57.62 at the 2018 state Group 1 meet at Franklin Township.

Junior Jalen Ridgeway, who ran 1:53 at last year’s indoor Meet of Champions for Toms River North, is apparently now attending Cumberland Regional.

Ridgeway is listed as competing for Cumberland Regional in the results on MileSplit of a meet at the Bennett Center Thursday involving Highland, Deptford, Delsea and Cumberland Regional.

Ridgeway ran 2:00.85, winning the 800 over Highland’s Cole Wassell, the South Jersey Group 3 XC champion this past fall.

Ridgeway ran 1:53.72 last March and placed fifth at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze. That time made him the No. 1 sophomore in the U.S. last indoor season.

He ran 1:59.11 earlier this month competing unattached in a meet in Virginia Beach, which retroactively becomes the No. 1 time in South Jersey this winter now that it’s known he’s a student at Cumberland Regional.

That time is also No. 2 in the state so far this year behind Myles Plummer of Union Catholic, who ran 1:55.79 at the same meet in Virginia that Ridgeway ran 1:59.11.

The Cumberland County indoor 800 record is 1:55.14, set by Vineland’s Shannon Sherrer at the 2002 Meet of Champions at Jadwin Gym. He finished 1-100th of a second behind Ken Sinkovitz of Bergen Catholic in that race.

Ridgeway’s outdoor 800 PR is from his freshman year – the last time he raced outdoors. He ran 1:57.91 at 2019 Group 4 states at Franklin Township High School.

Ridgeway is the son of Urie Ridgeway, who starred at Bridgeton and Fairleigh Dickinson. Urie Ridgeway was the 1988 South Jersey Group 3 XC champ and ran 15:47 at Holmdel back when sub-16 was rare. At the time it was the No. 3 time ever by a South Jersey runner. Ridgeway also ran 9:10.0 for two miles.

Urie Ridgeway is Tribal Secretary of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe and is a consultant with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, serving as a chaplain to Native American inmates.

Delsea senior Joe Metzger popped a personal-best 54-8 1/2 in the shot put Thursday in a meet at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

That’s the No. 2 mark in the state in the early going this indoor season behind Cole Tucker of Colts Neck, who threw a U.S. No. 2 62-8 1/4 Tuesday, also in a meet at the Bubble.

Metzger’s previous indoor PR was a 54-1 1/4 a year ago this week at the Bubble. In his only previous meet this winter, he threw 51-7 3/4, also at the Bubble.

With the throw, Metzger moved into the all-time Gloucester County indoor shot put top-10. Four of the top-10 spots are occupied by Delsea athletes:

63-1 ¾ … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
60-3 … Harry Dilks [Pitman], 1971
58-9 … Greg Ross [Deptford], 1976
58-8 ¾ … Bill Goldsborough [Delsea], 2018
57-11 … Kwabena Keene [Washington Twp], 2008
57-9 ½ … Rich Lewis [Williamstown], 1985
57-8 1/4 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
56-5 ¼ … Chris Pressley [Woodbury], 2003
55-4 ¾ … Ryan Knight [Delsea], 1996
54-8 1/2 … Joe Metzger [Delsea], 2021
54-4 ¾ … Sam Shinn [Kingsway], 2016

Sincere Rhea matched his season-best time in the high hurdles Thursday, qualifying comfortably for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Championships.

Rhea ran 7.88 – the fourth time in his college career he’s run exactly 7.88 – and matched the third-fastest time going into Saturday’s final.

Josh Braverman of Iowa won the first of three hears in 7.85 and Rhea, a Penn State sophomore, was just behind with his 7.88. Five hurdlers ran between 7.85 and 7.88. The winner of each heat plus the next six-fastest hurdlers qualified for the final. The cutoff was 7.98.

Rhea, a St. Augustine graduate and native of Maurice River Township in Cumberland County, ran 7.88 at the Nittany Lion Opener in January, and also at the Penn State Invitational, also last month. He also ran 7.88 last year at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson.

His PR is 7.76 from the trials of last year’s Big Ten Championships at SPIRE. He went on to place third in 7.82.

This this year’s final is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Saturday.

Iowa sophomore Tionna Tobias ran within 8-100ths of a second off her hurdles PR in the trials of the 60-meter hurdles Thursday at the ACC Championships. 

Tobias, a Winslow graduate, ran 8.53, finishing second in her qualifying race and posting the 5th-fastest time among 24 entrants. The winner of each heat and the next six-fastest times advanced to Saturday’s final. Tobias was the 5th-fastest qualifier.

The meet is being held at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, outside Cleveland.

Tobias has a high hurdles PR of 8.45 from the Hawkeye B1G Invitational earlier this month on the same track. That’s No. 8 in school history.

Tobias was a multiple state champion in a variety of events at Winslow and a Meet of Champions medalist in the hurdles, long jump and high jump.

She also long jumped Thursday, recording a leap of 18-3 on her third and final attempt and placing 13th overall.

The hurdles final is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Paul VI graduate Kambi Walker, a Louisville freshman, matched her college high jump PR of 5-5 Thursday in her first ACC Track Championships.

Walker cleared the opening height of 5-3 on her first attempt and 5-5 on her third attempt. She went out at 5-7. This was Walker’s third straight meet with a 5-5 clearance.

Walker, a Florence native, was the state Parochial A champ last winter. She cleared a PR of 5-7 at the 2019 New Balance Nationals at the Armory.

The meet is being held this weekend at Clemson.

Junior Ravin Hood broke the Rancocas Valley indoor shot put record this week, bombing a 38-2 1/2 in a meet with Northern Burlington and Cherry Hill East at the Bubble.

That’s No. 3 in the state so far during this indoor season.

Hood has an outdoor PR of 39-1 1/4, which she hit three times when she won the freshman shot put at New Balance Nationals at North Carolina A&T in June of 2019, her last outdoor meet. 

Her previous indoor PR and the former RV record was 37-9 1/2, which she threw in a meet at Cherokee in the winter of 2019. The R.V. outdoor and overall school record is 39-3, set by Danielle Steff at the 2016 BCSL Meet at Northern Burlington.

Hood underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in her knee and missed the 2020 indoor season. Then she didn’t compete outdoors because COVID erased the entire season. She’s competed in two meets at Toms River this winter, her first competition in 19 months.

Hood’s mark is No. 3 in the state in the early portion of the indoor season, behind Jada Mia Puryear of Union Catholic (39-2) and Mendham’s Melissa Aymil (38-5 1/4).

Hood’s best event is probably the discus. She was 3rd at states as a freshman and then threw 130-6 at the Meet of Champions, No. 35 in South Jersey history and a South Jersey freshman record.

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde threw within two inches of his shot put PR Sunday and recorded in an Olympic qualifyer.

Awotunde placed 3rd in the American Track League event at the Randall Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., with a throw of 69-9 1/2.

Awotunde surpassed the qualifying standard for the Tokyo Olympics, now re-scheduled for this fall. The standard is 69-2 1/2. That means if Awotunde finishes in the top three at the Olympic Trials he’ll make the U.S. Olympic team. If he doesn’t finish in the top three but either one or two of the top three don’t hit the standard, he could still go if his mark is among the top among Americans outside the top three at the Trials. The qualifying window closes June 29.

Awotunde’s mark ranks him 9th in the world, according to the IAAF’s 2021 international list  and 7th among Americans. 

World indoor record holder Ryan Crouser won the competition with a throw of 71-11 1/2 and Payton Otterdahl was second at 70-2 1/2.

Awotunde had six throws over 66-5 and averaged 67-11 3/4 in his series. He opened at 66-5 3/4 and 66-7 1/4, then surpassed 67 feet twice with 67-11 1/2 and 67-8 1/4 before closing with two bombs of 69-6 3/4 and 69-9 1/2.

Awotunde set his indoor PR of 69-11 3/4 in College Station in February of 2018. That’s No. 27 all-time on the U.S. list. He’s thrown 69-3 3/4 outdoors in L.A. in April of 2019. That’s No. 41 all-time U.S. outdoors. He’s also thrown 191-11 in the discus

At Delsea, Awotunde was Meet of Champions champ in the shot and runner-up in the disc in 2013. At South Carolina, he was a four-time All-America in the shot and discus.