Lauren Princz raced against some of the other top freshman sprinters in the country Sunday and the results were impressive!

Princz, a ninth-grader at Egg Harbor Township High School, placed fourth in the Freshman 60-Meter Dash at the National Scholastic Championships at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan with a time of 7.66.

The 60 isn’t run as much on the high school level as the 55, but her time is still No. 3 in South Jersey history and only 13-100ths off the South Jersey record of 7.53 set in 2014 by Winslow’s Torie Robinson. It’s the fastest by a New Jersey freshman since Myasia Jacobs of Paramus Catholic ran 7.54 in 2009. She’s also the state record holder in the 60 with a 7.34 in 2011. It’s also No. 13 in state history.

Princz ran 7.68 in the trials before her 7.66 in the final. Trinity Possum of Braselton, Ga., won in 7.51.

She’s the daughter of 1998 Eagles draft pick Allen Rossum, who spent 12 years in the NFL and was a Pro Bowl returner in 2004 with the Falcons. Allen Rossum was also a star sprinter in high school.

Princz was second in the Meet of Champions at 55 meters this winter with a 7.18 and had a season-best time of 7.09 when she took third at Easterns. That was 2-100ths of a second off the school and Atlantic County record of 7.07 set in 1991 by Angela Clyburn.

Her 7.66 on Sunday converts to a 7.11 for 55 meters, so she was right on her PR pace for the slightly longer distance.

N.J. ALL-TIME 60-METER DASH LIST
7.34 Myasia Jacobs [Paramus Catholic], 2011
7.45 Aleah Williams [Montclair], 1997
7.47 Dominique Booker [Immaculate Conception], 2009
7.50 Melisa Barber [Montclair], 1997
7.53 Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
7.55 Ogechi Nwaneri [Chatham], 2008
7.56 Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
7.57 Bria Mack [Williamstown], 2017
7.58 Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
7.61 Jenna Harris [Franklin Twp.], 2003
7.62 Georgina Nembhard [Ocean Twp.], 2007
7.64 Haisha Bisiolu [Union], 2014
7.66 Jamie Walker [Haddon Heights], 2007
7.66 Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
7.67 Sydney Hawkins [Phillipsburg], 2017
7.69 Racquel Vassell [East Orange], 2005
7.70 Denesha Ransome [Irvington], 2014
7.70 Cleopatra Morrison [Long Branch], 2014

Cinnaminson senior Kamron Kobolak shattered his own Burlington County shot put record when he placed fifth at the National Scholastic Indoor championships with a throw of 62-7 3/4 at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan.

Kobolak broke his own county record of 61-3 set on Feb. 6 at the Cherokee Throwdown No. 3 in Marlton.

Before that, the county record was 60-0 1/2 set by Ell Ash of Willingboro at the 2004 Easterns.

So Kobolak in the span of  about five weeks has added 2 1/2 feet to the Burlington County record. He’s also surpassed Ash’s outdoor county record of 60-6 1/2, set at the 2004 Burlington County Open.

Kobolak opened with a 55-2 1/2, a foul and then a 59-3 3/4 that got him into the finals, where he bombed the PR on his first attempt before finishing with two fouls.

Patrick Larrison of Oklahoma City won with a 67-6 throw.

Kobolak’s throw is No. 4 in South Jersey indoor history, behind only Braheme Days Jr. of Bridgeton [70-8 in 2012], Ray Wilks of Bridgeton [63-11 in 1995] and Nick Pulli of West Deptford [63-1 3/4 in 2014]. Kobolak know ranks No. 22 in state indoor history.

On the overall South Jersey indoor / outdoor combined list, Kobolak moved up to No. 8.

Here are two lists: The all-time state indoor list and the all-time South Jersey combined list:

N.J. INDOOR SHOT PUT LIST
71-9 1/2 … Nick Vena [Morristown], 2011
70-8 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2012
67-3 … Kevin DiGiorgio [Bayonne], 1998
67-1 3/4 … James Gilligan [Toms River East], 2008
66-6 … Glen DiGiorgio [Bayonne], 2002
65-10 … Steve Adams [St. Joe’s Montvale], 1970
65-6 … Jordan West [Rahway], 2017
65-2 1/2 … Greg Cortina [Hun], 1971
64-5 3/4 … Luke Grodeska [St. Rose], 2016
64-5 1/4 … Bruce Heide [Springfield], 1975
64-5 1/2 … C.J. Licata [Gill St. Bernard’s], 2018
63-11 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
63-8 1/2 … Mike Alleman [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2008
63-8 1/4 … Rudy Guevara [Essex Catholic], 1971
63-6 … Ron Klotzer [Union], 1974
63-5 1/2 … Aaron Echternacht [Hopewell Valley], 1991
63-2 1/2 … Uzoma Orji [Matawan], 2002
63-1 3/4 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
62-11 1/2 … Stephen Mozia [Hackensack], 2011
62-11 … Keith Rzewuski [St. Joe’s Metuchen], 1998
62-9 1/2 … Christopher Staton [Franklin Twp.], 2012
62-7 3/4 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
62-4 … Tyrone Garland [Matawan], 1993
62-2 1/4 … Brian Cortina [Hun], 2005
62-1 1/2 … Bob Vorhies [Our Lady of the Valley], 1977

S.J. COMBINED SHOT PUT LIST
70-8 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton] 2012 [I]
64-10 1/2 … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1997 [o]
64-6 1/4 … Ron Dayne [Overbook], 1996 [o]
64-5 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995 [o]
64-4 1/4 … Chris Robinson [Penns Grove], 1990 [o]
63-1 3/4 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014 [i]
63-0 … Lou Gordon [Bridgeton], 1995 [o]
62-7 3/4 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018 [I]
61-10 1/2 … Harry Dilts [Pitman], 1971 [o]
61-6 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea],  2013 [o]
61-4 1/2 … Bubba Green [Millville], 1976 [o]
61-4 … Kofi Yamoah [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013 [o]
61-3 … Kamron Kobolak, Cinnaminson [2018] [i]
61-2 1/4 … Matthew Huckabee, Timber Creek [2010] [o]
60-3 … Donate Rivera, Pleasantville [2012] [o]
60-0 1/2 … Ell Ash, Willingboro [2004] [i]

Senior co-captains Harrison Escoffery and Jeffrey Jon Tucker of Rowan University placed second and third in the high jump Saturday at the NCAA indoor track championships in Birmingham, Ala.

Stefan Duvivier of Tufts cleared a personal-best 7-2 1/2 on his second attempt for the win. He missed one try at 7-3 3/4 before calling it a day. He entered with a PR of 6-9 3/4.

The meet record is 7-3 1/4, set in 1993 by Ken Hoffman of St. Olaf.

Tucker, an Eastern graduate, passed at the opening height of 6-3 1/2 and cleared 6-5 1/2 on his first attempt, then passed all three attempts at 6-7 1/2, since clearing it wouldn’t have helped him move up. He made 6-9 on his second try, then cleared a season-best 6-10 3/4 on his first attempt, moving past Escoffery and into second place.

Escoffery, from Hackensack, had entered at 6-5 1/2, passed at 6-7 1/2 and cleared 6-9 on his first try, then 6-10 3/4 on his second and 6-11 3/4 on his third, to regain second place from his close friend and teammate. He missed three tries at 7-1 but as it turned out he would have had to clear 7-3 1/4 to win.

Tucker has a PR of 7-0 1/2 from a meet in Winston-Salem, N.C., in February of 2015 but his best this year was a 6-9 3/4 last weekend at Ithaca.

Escoffery PR’d at 7-0 1/4 last month in a meet at the Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island, N.Y.

Schalick senior Zyra Thomas popped a massive PR of 47-5 3/4 on her third throw of the trials to break the South Jersey overall record and hung on to win the championship shot put Saturday at the National Scholastic Indoor championships at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan.

She’s the first South Jersey girl to win an individual title at indoor nationals in 12 years and the first Salem County girl or boy or Tri-County Conference girl or boy to ever win one. Schalick is located in Pittsgrove Township, between Elmer and Newfield.

Thomas had PR’d with a 45-6 when she placed second at the Meet of Champions in Toms River, but she added nearly two feet to that mark Saturday and broke the South Jersey indoor record of 46-1 1/2 set last year by Najeaya Singleton of neighboring Vineland at Group 4 states at the Bennett Center in Toms River and the overall mark of 47-1 1/4 set at the 2013 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield by Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard.

Thomas won by three inches and change over U.S. No. 2 Payden Montana of Berwick (Pa.), who threw 47-2 1/2 on her fifth throw. Montana has a 49-5 1/4 to her credit from last month.

U.S. leader Shelby BIgsby of Montclair, who threw 50-2 at Easterns, was sixth at 45-0 1/4.

Thomas’s throw is No. 11 in state history. She’s the third straight South Jersey athlete to win the shot put at indoor nationals, following Nickolette Dunbar of Whippany Park in 2016 [54-7 1/2] and Alyssa Wilson of Monsignor Donovan in Toms River last year [54-5 1/4]. They are the only New Jersey winners in meet history.

Here’s a list of all the South Jersey girls who have won titles at indoor nationals:

Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], mile, 2001 [4:51.15]
Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], pole vault, 2004 [12-9 1/2]
Ocean City, distance medley, 2005 [12:12.22]
Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 60-meter hurdles, 2006 [8.36]
Winslow Township, shuttle hurdles, 2013 [32.45]
Zyra Thomas [Schalick], shot put, 2018 [47-5 3/4]

And the updated all-time South Jersey shot put list:

47-5 3/4 … Zyra Thomas [Schalick], 2018
46-1 1/2 … Najeaya Singleton [Vineland], 2017
45-3 … Nacole Moore [Bridgeton], 2000
44-6 1/2 … Sylvia Galarza [Millville], 2004
44-3 1/2 … Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004
44-0 1/2 … Melinda Boykin [Bridgeton], 1996
43-11 3/4 … Stephanie Scaramella [Bishop Eustace], 2007
43-10 1/4 … Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 2006
43-10 … Rosetta Hunter [Burlington Twp.], 2015
43-4 3/4 … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2012
43-4 1/2 … Victoria Imbesi [Our Lady of Mercy], 2009
43-3 … Janice Rose [Delsea], 2011
42-7 3/4 … Typhanie Bates [Williamstown], 1995
42-5 1/2 … Genevieve Tybicki [Our Lady of Mercy], 2007
42-4 … Sophia Coleburn [Haddon Heights], 2007
42-0 1/2 … Lisa Stuto [Winslow Twp.], 2009
42-0 1/4 … Lola Agabalogun [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
41-10 … Lillian Rivera [Pemberton], 1984

Here’s the all-time New Jersey indoor list:

Aspen McMillan ran a PR in the 60-meter high hurdles, and she nearly won a national title.

McMillan, a Rowan University junior from South Brunswick, placed second in the high hurdles Saturday at NCAA Division 3 indoor track nationals at the Birmingham (Ala.) Crossplex.

Senior Nicole Baroletta of Geneva College of Beaver Falls, Pa., edged McMillan by 1-100th of a second in the final, Baroletta hurdling to the win in 8.71 and McMillan second in 8.72.

McMillan’s previous PR was an 8.74 at a meet in Ithaca, N.Y., last month. Baroletta also PR’d, lowering her best mark from an 8.79 from a meet in Youngstown, Ohio, last month.

This is McMillan’s second All-America performance but her first in an individual event. She earned All-America honors as a freshman outdoors running on Rowan’s third-place 400-meter relay team.

Stockton senior Jared Lewis won his second consecutive NCAA Division 3 national triple jump title Saturday, beating Yorai Shaoul of MIT by half an inch.

Lewis, a native of Westville and a graduate of Deptford High, only managed two legal attempts but jumped an indoor personal-best 50-1 3/4 on his second attempt of the trials. His series looked like this: Foul / 50-1 3/4 / Foul / 48-1 1/2 / Foul / Foul.

Shaoul jumped 50-1 1/4 on his third attempt but couldn’t get any closer to Lewis. They were the only two jumpers over 50 feet. Luther Newbury, who went in as the top seed at 49-6 1/4, finished third with a 49-2 1/2 on his final jump.

Lewis and Shaoul went in as the No. 2 and 3 seeds. Lewis’s best previous jump this season was a 49-6 1/4 at Lehigh back in December. Shaoul’s best this year had been 48-7 1/4.

Lewis’s previous indoor PR was a 49-6 1/4 sophomore year at the New Jersey Athletic Conference meet at the Ocean Breeze facility on Staten Island, N.Y. His overall PR is a 50-11 when he was second to Newbury at outdoor nationals in Alliance, Ohio, last spring.

Lewis is the eighth repeat triple jump winner in the 33-year history of the NCAA indoor track nationals. His 50-1 3/4 is the 11th-best mark in meet history.

Lewis is the first New Jersey Athletic Conference triple jumper to win the indoor national title in 30 years.

Another Stockton horizontal jumper from South Jersey won the long jump and triple jump in 1988. That was Greg Foster, a graduate of Shawnee High. Foster was the first competitor in the first event at the 1988 Olympic Trials in Indianapolis.

Foster and Lewis are the only indoor national champions in Stockton history.

Lewis is now an eight-time All-America — six times in the triple jump and twice in the long jump. He’s earned All-America status in the triple jump at six consecutive NCAA national championships – every one but indoors his freshman year, when he was 10th.

Winslow Township seniors Flora Ahiarakwe and Shakira Dance and sophomores Janeya Hammond and Nylah Perry ran 1:39.58 in the trials of the 800-meter relay at the National Scholastic Indoors at the 168th Street Armory on Saturday, shattering their own South Jersey record.

Winslow recorded the fourth-fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s 800-meter relay finals and broke the South Jersey record of 1:39.75 that the same four girls set a few weeks ago on the same Manhattan track at Easterns.

The six-team championship race is scheduled for 12:55 p.m. on Sunday.

Also qualifying for the final are Bullis High of Potomac, Md. [1:36.69]; Nansemond River of Suffolk, Va. [1:37.81]; Western Branch of Chesapeake, Va. [1:37.91]; Southeast of Raleigh, N.C. [1:40.17]; and C.D. Hylton of Woodbridge, Va. [1:41.31].

With its race Saturday, Winslow moved up from fifth to fourth on the all-time New Jersey list. Winslow is the only South Jersey school to break 1:40 indoor and they’ve now done it three times — 1:39.94 at trials at nationals last year and the two performances this year.

Here’s the all-time New Jersey list, with the meet the mark was achieved also listed where known.

1:38.99 … Columbia, 2014 [Millrose]
1:39.29 … Union Catholic, 2016 [Easterns]
1:39.37 … Columbia, 2011 [Nationals]
1:39.58 … Winslow Twp., 2018 [Nationals]
1:39.74 … Franklin, 2003 [Easterns]
1:39.94 … Winslow Twp., 2017 [Nationals]
1:39.94 … East Orange, 2007 [Easterns]
1:40.51 … Union Catholic, 2014 [Nationals]
1:40.67 … Union Catholic, 2017 [Easterns]
1:40.77 … Moorestown, 2000 [Easterns]
1:41.07 … Union Catholic, 2015 [Armory Invitational]
1:41.13 … Queen of Peace, 2003
1:41.14 … Woodrow Wilson, 2006
1:41.19 … Camden, 2008 [Easterns]
1:41.28 … Woodrow Wilson, 2005
1:41.42 … Moorestown, 1999
1:41.43 … East Orange, 2004
1:41.59 … Lincoln, 1981
1:41.65 … Jackson, 2008
1:41.67 … Columbia, 2013 [Easterns]
1:41.67 … Franklin, 2005
1:41.70 … Willingboro, 2002
1:41.74 … Franklin, 2001
1:41.78 … Winslow Twp., 2014 [Nationals]
1:41.87 … Trenton, 1986
1:41.91 … Trenton, 1983
1:41.96 … Newark Central, 1983
1:41.97 … Columbia, 2012 [Easterns]
1:41.98 … Camden, 2009 [Easterns]

Another trip to nationals, another trip to the podium for Jess Woodard.

Woodard, a fifth-year senior at Oklahoma, placed third in the shot put this weekend at the NCAA indoor track championships in College Station, Texas, with a throw of 57-0.

It’s her fifth All-America performance in her brilliant career at Oklahoma. She’s gone from eighth to fifth to third at indoor nationals the last three years and was third and eighth at outdoor nationals the last two years.

Woodard, a Cherokee High graduate, was less than 10 inches off her indoor PR of 57-8, which she set last month in Fayetteville.

Woodard was in seventh place until her fifth throw, when she uncorked a 56-10 3/4 to move up four spots. She solidified that with her 57-0 on her final throw.

She had opened with throws of 55-3 3/4 and 54-10 before fouling on her third throw of the trials and first throw of the finals.

Maggie Ewen of Arizona State won with a 60-8 and Emmonnie Henderson of Louisville was second at 58-3 3/4.

Woodard graduated last year and is competing as a fifth-year grad student. She has one more season of eligibility this spring and will compete in both the shot and discus for the Sooners outdoors.

Buena grad Casey Sturts, a senior at Monmouth, set a personal-best 12-9 1/2 placing third in the pole vault at the ECAC championships this weekend at Boston University.

This was quite a tune-up for nationals for the Rowan Profs.

Even without using some of their top people in their speciality events and limiting others to just one event or a relay leg, the Rowan men won the 15^th annual All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at Ithaca University.

Rowan scored 120 ½ points, beating SUNY Geneseo and Utica, who tied for second, by more than 70 points. Geneseo and Utica scored 49, followed by Ithaca (44), Brokport (43) and RIT (40).

Rowan scored 27 ½ points in the high jump, 16 in the 400 and high hurdles, 14 in the 200, 10 in the 4-by-4, nine in the triple jump, eight in the DMR, seven in the 60, five each in the 3,000 and long jump and three in the 800.

Rowan, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division 3, competes in the NCAA Division 3 championships starting Friday in Naperville, Ill.

Let’s take a look at exactly how Rowan won its first title ever in the AARTFC championships:

60: Sophomore Julian Pratt placed fourth with a personal-best 7.04 and senior Steve Jones ran seventh in 7.14

200: Junior Shai Mumford won in 22.03, finishing a half stride ahead of Eli Saucier of Hamilton and Dan Harden-Marshall of Ithaca, who both ran 22.08. Jones was sixth in 22.52.

400: Francis Terry, the freshman from Sterling, won easily in 49.35, and junior teammate Chris Mesiano was third in 50.37.

800: With Rowan’s top two half-milers on DMR duty, sophomore Martin Maldonado placed sixth in 1:59.28.

3,000: Sophomore Matt Russo placed fourth in 8:44.57, lowering his personal best from 8:48.15.

60 HURDLES: Senior Bobby Cooks ran 8.01 in both the trials and the final, winning by a whopping 23-100ths of a second. That’s about two meters ahead of the field. Freshman Tyler Garland was fifth into the finals at 8.38 but ran 8.30 for third.

4-BY-4: Rowan won by nearly a second and a half over second-place Geneseo. Mesiano led off in 50.26 and was followed by three freshmen – Justin Bishop split 49.53, Hunter Barbieri 50.21 and anchor Francis Terry from Sterling 48.42. That’s a season-best 3:18.40 with a junior and three freshmen.

DMR: As we wrote about earlier, Rowan broke the school record, with senior Nick Nocco, Terry, sophomore Nick Neville and senior Kevin Veltre running 9:58.72 for second to Geneseo.

HIGH JUMP: Seniors Jeffrey Jon Tucker and Harrison Escoffery went 1-2 at 6-9 ¾ and 6-8 and freshman teammates Jason Thobourne and Earnest Daniel cleared 6-4 for third and fifth. That’s a season-best for Tucker.

LONG JUMP: Tucker jumped 22-3 ¾ for fifth place.

TRIPLE JUMP: Escoffery and Daniel took fourth and fifth with 46-2 ½ and 45-8 ½.