Hope Edwards, the fastest sophomore in the U.S. in the 400IH, will represent Haiti at World Under-20 Championships!!!!!!!!

Hope Edwards, who was the fastest sophomore intermediate hurdler in the U.S. this past year while competing for Pennsauken, will race in the World Under-20 Championships this week in Eugene.

Edwards, who just turned 16 on July 2, will represent Haiti in the 400-meter hurdles. Her mom is from Haiti, giving her eligibility to compete for Haiti.

Edwards is the youngest of the 55 competitors in the 400-meter hurdles.

The World Under-20 Championships are open to athletes who haven’t turned 20 by the end of this year.

Edwards ran her PR of 58.72 when she placed 3rd at West Philly Nationals in June. That is 8th-fastest in state history and 3rd-fastest by a sophomore, behind Sydney McLaughlin and Natalie Dumas, who is also entered. It’s 8th-fastest in state history and 3rd-fastest in South Jersey history, behind Dumas at 55.99 and Winslow’s Krystal Cantey, who ran 56.83 in 2005.

Edwards ran 55.94 in the 400 indoors and then outdoors broke 60 in the 400IH for the first time with a 59.17 when she was 2nd to Dumas at the state Group 4 meet before her breakthrough 58.72 at Franklin Field.

Edwards is also ranked 18th in the world in the Under-18 division.

Edwards is scheduled to race in the trials at Heyward Field at 1:41 p.m. EST Thursday. The semis are at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, with the finals following at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Natalie Dumas added to U.S. relay pool for World Under-20 Championships in addition to 400 hurdles!!!!!!!!

The USATF finally got around to acknowledging that there is a U.S. team heading to the Under-20 World Championships this week in Eugene, and eight-time national champion Natalie Dumas is listed in the 400-meter hurdles – which we already knew – but also in the 4-by-4 relay pool.

Dumas, who graduated from Eastern in June, won the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in 56.13 last month, automatically qualifying to represent the U.S. in the World Under-20 Championships. She became the first South Jersey woman to win an Under-20 (formerly Junior National) title since Kingsway’s Denise Liles won the 100 at the 1984 meet at L.A. Coliseum in 11.84.

One day later on the same track, Dumas won the 400 at Hayward Field Nationals in 52.21. She has a 400 PR of 51.14 from West Philly Nationals last June.

Dumas is ranked 5th in the world and 1st among U.S. women in the Under-20 division in the intermediate hurdlers with her 56.13 in Eugene. Her 55.99 PR, also from West Philly Nationals last June, is 12th-fastest all-time among U.S. women under 20.

With a spot in the relay pool, Dumas becomes eligible for both the women’s 4-by-400 and the mixed 4-by-400. Both races will have semifinals and finals, and if Dumas runs a leg on any of those four races she would medal if the U.S. medals.

The meet runs from Wednesday through Sunday at Heyward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.

The intermediate hurdles first round is scheduled for 1:41 p.m. EST on Thursday, with the semifinals at 9:15 p.m. Saturday and the final at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

The women’s 4-by-4 is two rounds – a semifinal at 1:45 p.m. Saturday and the final at 5:42 p.m. Sunday. The mixed 4-by-4 – two men, two women – has semis at 1:22 p.m. Wednesday and the final at 11:50 p.m. later Wednesday.

Dumas is the No. 3 seed in the 400 hurdles with her 56.13 behind Tumi Ramokgopa of South Africa, who ran 56.05 in Johannesburg in March, and Alexandra Stefania UȚĂ of Romania, who ran 5609 in Tampere, Finland, last month.

Ramokgopa, Stefania UȚĂ and Dumas also have the three-fastest PRs in the field, 55.55 in Tampere last August for Stefania UȚĂ, 55.90 for Ramokgopa in Potchefstroom, South Africa, last April and 55.99 for Dumas in West Philly last June.

World Under 20 is open to athletes who aren’t 20 by midnight on Dec. 31. Dumas, 17, will turn 18 on Friday, so she will be eligible for this competition series again next summer.

‘It just takes one throw:’ Curtis Thompson talks about his dramatic 6th javelin win at U.S. Nationals!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did it seem familiar when Curtis Thompson won the U.S. javelin title on his final throw?

It should because it’s happened before.

“I’ve done it before,” he said. “I think it was 2023, probably did that. But it just comes down to just trusting what we prepare for and how we prepare, it’s enough. We don’t have to do anything extra. It’s really just locking in and kind of executing the best of your capabilities. So that’s really kind of just boiled down to it.”

In 2023 in Eugene, Thompson was in 3rd place through four rounds at 248-9. He moved up to 2nd with a 256-7, trailing Capers Williamson, who had thrown 258-10 on his 2nd attempt. So he had one final chance to move into the lead, and he responded with a 265-6 on his final throw to lock up his 3rd national title.

On Saturday, the circumstances were similar. He had the lead at 254-1 before Georgia’s Jordan Davis threw 270-2 – 4th-best throw in the world this year – on his final throw. Once again, Thompson responded, this time with the 2nd-best throw in meet history and 3rd-best throw of his life, winning his 6th national title at 287-4.

“Really, it was just locking back in, settling back down, and kind of get back in the groove of things,” he told reporters covering U.S. Nationals at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York. “It just takes one throw.”

Davis’s bomb was the 2nd-best throw of his life and 3rd-best by an American this year. That’s what Thompson had to overcome on his final attempt after five straight throws of 254 or worse.

“I kind of looked at my coach and just kind of smiled and laughed because, you know, we’re competitors,” Thompson said. “We live for competition. We live for that type of energy and you either feed off it and use it or you ignore it and do what you can without it.

“But it was definitely exciting to have him have that throw out there and kind of get everything kind of woken up.”

Thompson is the 5th American thrower to win six U.S. javelin titles and 1st since Breaux Greer from 2000 through 2008. His 284-4 winner trails only Greer’s 299-6 at the 2007 meet on the all-time U.S. Championships performance list, and it’s No. 2 in the world this year, behind Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Tharanga Pathirage 303-10 – all-time world No. 8 – in Rome last month.

Thompson won the 2018 title in Des Moines as a 22-year-old, won the 2021 Olympic Trials in 2021 and 2024 in Eugene and also won national titles in Eugene in 2022, 2023 and 2025. There was no meet in 2020 so he’s won six of the last eight U.S. Championships.

“It means a lot to be able to do this again for the fourth time in a row,” he said. “Super exciting to be able to do that. I’m blessed and grateful to be able to continue to do what I love. Every single title that I’ve gained, every single championship that I’ve competed in holds a dear spot in my heart, my thoughts.”

Thompson has five more meets coming up, all in Europe. He’ll throw Aug. 21 and Aug. 27 at Diamond League meets in Sweden – Aug. 21 in Lausanne and Aug. 27 in Zurich. He’s scheduled for ISTAF Berlin on Aug. 30, the Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium, on Sept. 4, and then the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 13.

“I’m just going to continue building off this going into the second half of the season, it’s good. We prepared for this meet because we always want to throw far. We have to go far to win. I mean, you can see it. It just takes one throw. So, I mean, I could have not have thrown what I’ve thrown in that last throw, and Jordan would have got his title from having just one throw.

“So it’s really just continuing to gather all the experience that I’ve been gaining and just building off of it and get ready for the second half.

“Right now, I’m at the point where I’m like I don’t want to train, I just want to compete. So it’s exciting to get to that point physically and mentally and kind of just build from there. So, this is like a peak now, build a little bit, and then we’ll peak again towards the end of the year.”

Thompson is already one of the greatest javelin throwers in U.S. history. Only Thompson and Greer have thrown at least 287 feet and won six national titles. Although with Cy Young Jr. in 1952, Tom Petranoff in 1983 and Greer in 2007 he’s one of only four American throwers to medal at World Championships, which he did last year in Tokyo.

Thompson’s 287-4 Saturday was just seven inches off his PR of 287-11, which he threw in Austin last year.

He’ll shoot for U.S. title No. 7 next spring – only Greer has won more than six – and compete at the World Championships in Beijing and then compete for his 3rd U.S. Olympic berth in 2028.

“It’s never a given that you’ll make the team so continue to try and do our best to make the team and once you make the team go get some hardware from those meets,” he said. “I mean that’s that’s been a a new standard that we’re trying to create. Not just going to these meets, we’re going to get that get some hardware and bring it back.”

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde records 11th consecutive top-8 shot put finish at U.S. Nationals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde recorded his 11th consecutive top-8 finish in the shot put at U.S. Nationals Sunday at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York.

Awotunde, the defending champion with a lifetime-best 73-8 ½ last year in Eugene, placed 8th with a best throw of 66-5 ¾ on his 1st attempt. He fouled on his next four throws before finishing with a 65-9 ½.

Awotunde has a season-best 69-1, which ranks 21st in the world this year and 8th among Americans. His 73-8 ½ from last year is No. 17 in world history and 10th on the all-time U.S. list.

Josh Awotunde Year-by-Year Nationals Performances
2017 Indoors, did not compete

2017 Outdoors, 14th, 62-4 ¾
2018 Indoors, did not compete
2018 Outdoors, 7th, 66-0 ¾
2019 Indoors, 3rd, 67-8
2019 Outdoors, 5th, 68-9 ½
2021 Outdoors, 5th, 71-8
2022 Indoors, 2nd, 71-3 ¾
2022 Outdoors, 3rd, 70-6 ¾
2023 Indoors, did not compete
2023 Outdoors, 2nd, 72-6
2024 Indoors, did not compete
2024 Outdoors, 5th, 71-5
2025 Indoors, 3rd, 69-0 ½
2025 Outdoors, 1st, 73-8 ½
2026 Indoors, did not compete
2026 Outdoors, 8th, 66-5 ¾

Aliya Garozzo placed 6th in 400 hurdles at U.S. Championships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aliya Garozzo of Sicklerville and Paul VI placed 6th in the 400-meter hurdles Sunday at the U.S. Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York.

Garozzo, racing out of challenging Lane 1, ran 56.11 after a 55.47 in Saturday’s qualifying rounds. She ran her lifetime-best 54.90 in Des Moines, Iowa, in April.

This was Garozzo’s first final in her 4th U.S. championships. She raced the intermediates at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials and last spring and this past indoor season in the flat 400.

Garozzo is the first woman from Paul VI to place in the top eight at U.S. Nationals since high jumper Priscilla Frederick tied for 7th at 6-0 1/4 in 2012.  Her 6th-place finish is best by a PVI woman since another high jumper, Deirdre Mullen, was 4th in the 2008 meet at 6-3.

It’s the best finish by a South Jersey woman in the 400-meter hurdles at Nationals, topping consecutive 7th-place finishes by Rancocas Valley’s Tonya Lee in 1995 and 1996. She ran 57.61 in 1995 and 56.59 in 1996 in the Olympic Trials.

Winslow’s Tionna Tobias places 7th in long jump at U.S. Nationals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Despite just one legal mark, Winslow’s Tionna Tobias placed 7th in the long jump Sunday at the U.S. Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York.

Tobias jumped 20-5 ¼ on her 1st attempt before fouling on her five final jumps.

Still, that 20-5 ¼ held up for her 2nd straight top-8 finish at nationals. She placed 4th at indoor nationals at Ocean Breeze in February with a wind-legal 21-5 ½.

Tobias is ranked 9th among Americans this year with her season-best 21-10 ½ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa, in April. She’s 23rd in U.S. history with a 22-9 from a meet in Gainesville, Fla., in July 2024.

Tobias becomes the first girl from Winslow to place at U.S. Nationals and the first South Jersey woman to place in the top eight in the long jump since Shameka Marshall of Oakcrest took 7th in the 2011 meet in Eugene, Ore., with a wind-aided  21-8 1/2.

WITH HER TWO-BEST THROWS THIS YEAR, CHEROKEE’S JESSICA WOODARD PLACES 4TH IN SHOT PUT AT U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard popped her two-best throws of the season and placed 4th in the shot put at the U.S. Championships Saturday at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York.

This is Woodard’s 13th consecutive top-8 finish at an indoor or outdoor U.S. Championship meet.

She finished just 7 ¼ inches off the podium.

Woodard threw 60-10 on her 2nd throw and 60-10 ½ on her 5th throw. Her previous best this year was a 59-10 ¾ in Charlottesville back in April, and those are her biggest throws since last year’s U.S. Championships in Eugene last Aug. 2, where she placed 5th with a 62-8. They’re her 50th and 51st lifetime 60-foot throws.

Woodard has now placed in the top eight in the last 13 U.S. championship meets she’s entered, including indoors and outdoors, a remarkable record of consistency. She’s placed in the top 10 in all 15 national championships she’s entered.

On Saturday, Woodard opened at 57-7 ¾ before popping the 60-10 on her 2nd throw and then 59-7 ½ on her 3rd. In the finals, she threw 58-3 ¾ and 60- ½ before a final-throw foul.

Woodard’s career best is 63-7 ¾, which she threw when she placed 3rd at 2022 U.S. Nationals in Eugene. That ranks 19th in U.S. history.

Jessica Woodard U.S. Championships History
2026 Outdoors [New York], 4th, 60-10 ½
2026 Indoors [Staten Island], 4th, 59-0 ¼
2025 Outdoors [Eugene], 5th, 62-8
2025 Indoors, Did not compete
2024 Outdoors [Eugene], 7th, 60-3
2024 Indoors [Albuquerque], 4th, 60-11 ¼
2023 Outdoors [Eugene], 5th 60-3 ¼
2023 Indoors [Albuquerque], 3rd, 57-11 ½
2022 Outdoors [Eugene], 3rd, 63-7 ¾
2022 Indoors [Spokane], 3rd, 61-4 ¼
2021 Outdoors [Eugene], 7th, 57-11 ¾
2021 Indoors [cancelled]
2020 Outdoors [cancelled]
2020 Indoors [Albuquerque], 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Outdoors [Des Moines], 6th, 57-10 ¾
2019 Indoors [New York], 7th, 57-11 ½
2018 Outdoors [Des Moines], 9th, 58-0 ¾
2018 Indoors: Did not compete
2017 Outdoors [Sacramento], 8th, 57-5 ½

Jessica Woodard All-Time 60-Foot Throws
63-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
62-8 … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., Aug. 2, 2025
62-7 … World Championships [qualifying], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 15, 2022
62-3 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
61-10 ¼ … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
61-8 ¾ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-8 ¾ … Memorial van Damme, Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium, Sept. 7, 2023
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 ¾ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
61-7 … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
61-6 ½ … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
61-5 ¼ … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
61-5 ¼ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-4 ¼ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
61-4¼i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
61-3 ¾ … Ed Murphey Classic, Wolfe Track Complex, Memphis, Aug. 4, 2023
61-3 ½ … NCAA Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 7, 2018
61-3 … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
61-2 ¼ … Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athletisme de Rabat, Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah, Rabat, Morocco, May 28, 2023
61-1 ¾ … Diamond League Meeting de Paris, Stade Charléty, Paris, June 9, 2023
61-1 ¼ … World Championships [final], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 16, 2022
61-0 ¼ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., Aug. 2, 2025
60-11 ¼ … U.S. Championships, Albuquerque Convention Center, Feb. 16, 2024
60-11 ½ … Iron Wood Classic, Iron Wood Throwers Center, Rathdrum, Idaho, June 28, 2025
60-11 ½ … U.S. Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., Aug. 2, 2025
60-10 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-10 ½ … U.S. Championships, Icahn Stadium, New York, July 24, 2026
60-10i … U.S. Indoor Championships, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 26, 2022
60-10 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2022
60-10 … U.S. Championships, Icahn Stadium, New York, July 24, 2026
60-9 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7 ¼ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021
60-7 ½i … Don Kirby Elite, Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center, Feb. 12, 2022
60-6 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2023
60-6 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-5 ¾ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2021
60-4 ¾ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
60-4 ½ … USATF Throws Fest, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 20, 2023
60-4 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022
60-4 … Goteborg Grand Prix, Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 16, 2019
60-3 ¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 24, 2021
60-3 ¼ … U.S. National Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023
60-3 ¼ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-3 … Big 12 Championships, Lawrence, Kans., May 13, 2017
60-3 … Ed Murphey Classic, Memphis, Tenn., July 30, 2022
60-3 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-3 … NACAC Championships, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Aug. 21, 2022
60-2 ½ … U.S. Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 29, 2024
60-1 ¼ … Chula Vista High Performance #3, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., May 2, 2021
60-0 ½ … Chula Vista High Performance #1, Elite Training Stadium, Chula Vista, Calif., April 3, 2021
60-0 ½ … Tucson Elite Classic, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 19, 2022

Paul VI’s Aliya Garozzo advances to 400-meter hurdles final at U.S. Championships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aliya Garozzo from Sicklerville and Paul VI advanced to the 400-meter hurdles final Saturday at the U.S. Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.

Garozzo ran 55.47 in the first of two semifinals, the 8th-fastest qualifying time. That’s her 3rd-fastest time ever and about half a second off her PR of 54.90, which she ran in Des Moines, Iowa, in April.

Garozzo will be in Lane 1 for the final at 5:11 p.m. on Sunday.

Pennsville’s Arianna Smith [57.38] and Eastern’s Natalie Dumas [58.58] did not advance.

HIGHLAND’S FLOYD WHITAKER PLACES 4TH IN TRIPLE JUMP AT U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Highland’s Floyd Whitaker, the NCAA runner-up last year for Oklahoma, placed 4th in the triple jump Saturday at the U.S. Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York.

Whitaker, ranked 7th among Americans with his PR 53-11 ¼  from College Station, Texas, in February, jumped 51-7 into a 2.2 meters-per-second headwind on his final jump.

Going into the final round, Whitaker was in 4th with a 50-11 on his 3rd attempt, but former Florida State All-America Kyvon Tatham bumped him into 5th with a 51-5 ½ on his final jump. Whitaker responded with his 51-7 to retake 4th place.

Whitaker, at 23 the youngest competitor in the top four, missed a podium finish by just 17 inches. He placed 13th last year in Eugene in his first U.S. championship meet.

He’s the first Highland athlete to place in the top eight at U.S. Nationals and the first male triple jumper with a top-eight finish.

Whitaker fouled on his 1st attempt, then had legal jumps of 49-11 ¼, 50-11 and 49-11 before a foul on his 5thjump.

Whitaker’s college teammate, former NCAA champion Brandon Green, placed 6th with a 50-10 ¼. Green had won all 21 previous head-to-head competitions vs. Whitaker.

DOWN TO HIS FINAL THROW, CURTIS THOMPSON WINS 6TH U.S. JAVELIN TITLE WITH 2ND-BEST THROW IN MEET HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Florence’s Curtis Thompson, buried in 2nd place and down to his final throw, uncorked the 2nd-best throw in meet history to win his 6th U.S. javelin title and 4th in a row and cement his legacy as one of the greatest javelin throwers in American history.

Thompson, whose best throw through five rounds was a pedestrian 254-1, bombed a 287-4 on his final throw – the last throw of the competition – to top the field at the U.S. Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in Manhattan.

Thompson led through five rounds with that 254-1, but the University of Georgia’s Jordan Davis (not that one) took the lead with a season-best 270-2 on his final throw, bumping the heavily favored Thompson into second.

After U.S. No. 2 Mark Minichello, the former NCAA champ at Penn, didn’t move up on his final throw, the competition came down to one throw, and Thompson – who hadn’t topped 254-1 all day – needed to throw at least 270-2 to win.

He did that and more, with the 3rd-best throw of his life and No. 2 throw in the world this year.

The only superior throw in U.S. National Championships history is American record holder Breaux Greer’s 299-6 at the 2007 meet in Indianapolis.

Thompson, the World Championships bronze medalist last year, is the 4th to win six national javelin titles and only the second in the last 25 years. He’s the 4th New Jersey athlete to win six national titles and just the 2nd since 1950, along with legendary Carl Lewis.

He’s the first to win four in a row since Greer of Louisiana won eight straight from 2000 through 2007. The last to win four in a row before Greer was Oregon’s Boyd Brown from 1939 through 1942.

Thompson, a 2014 Florence graduate, is ranked No. 3 in U.S. history with his lifetime-best 287-11 at the Texas Relays in Austin in March of last year. His best throw this year before Saturday was a 282-1 in Doha, Qatar, last month.

Thompson fouled on his 1st throw but took the lead with a 249-11 on his 2nd and then added to his lead with a 254-1 on his 3rd. Going into the finals, he led former Penn NCAA champion and U.S. No. 2 Mark Minichello, who hit 249-3 on his 2nd throw, by five feet, with Georgia’s Jordan Davis (not that one) 3rd at 248-10 and Rowan rising senior Damitrius Hester 4th at 241-10.

In the finals, Thompson opened with a 239-4 and another 254-1 to set up his final-throw heroics.

Thompson’s previous-best 6th throw was a 271-7 at the 2021 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Damitrius Hester, a rising senior at Rowan from Mahwah, had a terrific meet,  placing 4th in his first U.S. championship with a 241-10 on his 3rd throw, giving New Jersey two of the top four spots. That’s just four feet off his PR of 245-10, which he hit on his final throw to win the NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Oshkosh, Wisc.

His 245-10 is the No. 2 throw in NCAA D-3 history. Hester has one more year of college eligibility.  .

ALL-TIME NEW JERSEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
13 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro]
100-Meter Dash: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1990
200-Meter Dash: 1983, 1987
Long Jump: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1991
11 … Platt Adams [Newark High / Barringer]
Long Jump: 1908, 1911, 1912, 1914
Triple Jump: 1907, 1908, 1912
Pole Vault for Distance: 1910, 1913, 1914, 1915
8 … Eulace Peacock [Union]
100-Meter Dash: 1935
Long Jump: 1935
Pentathlon: 1933, 1934, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1945
6 … Curtis Thompson [Florence]
Javelin: 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
5 … Marty Liquori [Cedar Grove / Essex Catholic]
Mile: 1969, 1971
5,000-Meter Run: 1975, 1977, 1978
5 … Mel Sheppard [Almonesson, Brown Prep (Philadelphia)]
880-Yard Run: 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912

6-TIME U.S. JAVELIN CHAMPIONS
Breaux Greer [8]: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Tom Pukstys [6]: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999
Bud Held [6]: 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958
George Bronder [6]: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919
Curtis Thompson [6]: 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

MOST CONSECUTIVE U.S. JAVELIN TITLES
8 … Breaux Greer, 2000-2007
6 … George Bronder, 1914-1919
4 … Boyd Brown, 1939-1942
4 … Curtis Thompson, 2023-2026

CURTIS THOMPSON ALL-TIME 270-FOOT THROWS
287-11 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [2nd throw]
287-9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [2nd throw]
287-4 … U.S. Championships, New York, July 24, 2026 [6th throw]
286-2 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Freeport, Bahamas, Aug. 17, 2025 [2nd throw]
284-4 … World Championships, Tokyo, Sept. 18, 2025 [1st throw]
282-8 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2025 [3rd throw]
282-1 … Doha Diamond Discipline, Doha, Qatar. June 19, 2026 [1st throw]
279-11 … Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational, Ramona, Okla., April 10, 2026 [1stthrow]
279-10 … World Championships, Tokyo, Sept. 18, 2025 [3rd throw]
278-5 … USATF Lone Star Grand Prix, College Station, Texas, June 6, 2026 [1st throw]
277-11 … World Championships qualifying, Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 17, 2025 [2nd throw]
277-8 … Drake Relays, Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Idaho, April 23, 2026 [5th throw]
276-11 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [3rd throw]
276-4 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2022 [3rd throw]
276-0 … American Javfest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 11, 2026 [2ndthrow]
275-2 … USATF Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 31, 2025 [4th throw]
275-2 … Diamond Discipline Golden Gala, Rome, June 4, 2026
274-11 … Athletissima, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2022 [1st throw]
273-4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [1stthrow]
272-5 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 23, 2024 [1st throw]
272-1 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 23, 2026 [1st throw]
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016 [1st throw]
271-10 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [3rd throw]
271-9 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [4th throw]
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [6th throw]
271-0 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 13, 2024 [1st throw]
270-6 … USATF Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 31, 2025 [6th throw]
270-3 … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Invitational, Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland, Aug. 6, 2022 [2nd throw]

BEST THROWS IN MEET HISTORY
299-6 … Breaux Greer, 2007 [1]
287-4 … Curtis Thompson, 2026 [1]
280-2 … Breaux Greer, 2006 [1]
279-7 … Breaux Greer, 2001 [1]
275-6 … Tom Pukstys, 1997 [1]
275-2 … Chris Hill, 2009 [1]
275-2 … Curtis Thompson, 2025 [1]
273-11 … Riley Dolezal, 2013 [1]
273-1 … Cyrus Hostetler, 2016 [1]
272-7 … Sean Furey, 2014 [1]
272-6 … Tom Pukstys, 1993 [1]
272-5 … Curtis Thompson, 2024 [1]
271-11 … Curtis Thompson, 2016 [2]
271-10 … Michael Shuey, 2019 [1]
271-9 … Riley Dolezal, 2019 [2]
271-7 … Curtis Thompson, 2021 [1]
270-6 … Curtis Thompson, 2025 [-]
270-3 … Breaux Greer, 2004 [1]
270-3 … Tom Pukstys, 1998 [1]