A few minutes after Cherokee’s Ethan Wechsler became the 4th-fastest South Jersey runner ever at 10,000 meters, Mainland Regional’s Kevin Antczak became 5th-fastest.

Running in the 3rd section of the 10,000-meter run at the Raleigh Relays – about 20 minutes after Wechsler finished his race on the same track – Antczak ran 29:33.01.

Two South Jersey runners had never previously run under 29:35 in the same decade. Two just did it on the same track within 20 minutes of each other.

And as many South Jersey alums ran 29:35 or faster in the space of half an hour as did in the previous 40 years.

Antczak, a junior at North Carolina State, had never raced at 10,000 meters. He has PRs of 8:04.87 for 3,000 meters and 14:08.24 for 5,000 meters.

But racing in a loaded field on his home track – 24 finishers in his race along broke 29 minutes and 89 runners in all broke 30 minutes – Antczak averaged 14:46 for two 5,000s. The splits once again are a disaster – he’s listed as covering the last 400 meters of the race in 16 minutes, 46.96 seconds – but Antczak averaged about 70.9 seconds per lap for 25 laps on the Paul Derr Track at North Carolina State

Click to access 028-1.pdf

All-Time South Jersey 10,000-Meter Run List
29:16.01 … Kevin O’Donnell [Camden Catholic], April 13, 2013, Lewisburg, Pa.
29:17.04 … Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], April 23, 1992, Philadelphia
29:20.80 … Paul Friedman [Moorestown], June 2, 1980, Philadelphia
29:22.69 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], March 24, 2023, Raleigh, N.C.
29:33.01 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], March 24, 2023, Raleigh, N.C.
29:35.97 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], May 16, 2014, West Lafayette, Ind.
29:53.85 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], March 25, 2005, Palo Alto, Calif.
30:16.81 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], May 7, 2022, Lawrenceville, N.J.
30:17.4h … Jack Kruse [Cherry Hill East], 1980 ???
30:22.55 … Ben Woodward [Highland], May 8, 2021, Lawrenceville

Syracuse’s Ethan Wechsler, a junior from Cherokee, destroyed his 10,000 PR Thursday night in Raleigh, and turned in the 4th-fastest time ever recorded by a South Jersey runner.

Closing in 63.47 for his final 400, Wechsler ran 29:22.69 at the Raleigh Relays, shattering his PR of 29:58.28 from this meet last year. He ran that race unattached and his previous official collegiate PR was 30:07.87 at the 2022 Raleigh Relays.

He’s the fastest South Jersey runner over 10,000 meters since Kevin O’Donnell of Camden Catholic ran 29:16.01 at Bucknell in 2013. The only other South Jersey runners to go faster are Eric Lorenz of Holy Cross, who ran 29:17.04 at the 1992 Penn Relays, and Moorestown’s Paul Friedman, who ran 29:20.80 in 1980 (haven’t figured out where yet).

Wechsler broke the Cherokee alumni record of 29:53.85 set by Keith Krieger at the 2005 Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

The official splits are a little messed up, but Wechsler negatived the race, passing through 5,000 meters in about 14:49 before coming back in 14:33. That 14:33 second half of his race is only 15 seconds slower than his 5,000 PR of 14:18.28, set at the 2023 indoor ACC Championships in Louisville.

All-Time South Jersey 10,000 Top-10
29:16.01 … Kevin O’Donnell [Camden Catholic], April 13, 2013, Lewisburg, Pa.
29:17.04 … Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], April 23, 1992, Philadelphia
29:20.80 … Paul Friedman [Moorestown], June 2, 1980, Philadelphia
29:22.69 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], March 28, Raleigh, N.C.
29:35.97 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], May 16, 2014, West Lafayette, Ind.
29:53.85 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], March 25, 2005, Palo Alto, Calif.
30:16.81 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], May 7, 2022, Lawrenceville, N.J.
30:17.4h … Jack Kruse [Cherry Hill East], 1980 ???
30:22.55 … Ben Woodward [Highland], May 8, 2021, Lawrenceville
30:22.60 … Anthony Dentino [Washington Twp.], 2012

If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know in the comment section! This top-10 list is my best effort but it’s very difficult putting together accurate all-time South Jersey lists and I rely on you guys to help out if you see a mistake!

Duke junior Austin Gabay from Cinnaminson became the 5th South Jersey runner to dip under 14 minutes in the 5,000 Thursday evening at the Raleigh Relays.

Gabay ran 13:58.84 and closed in 62.82 to lock up his sub-14 performance.

That’s nearly a 20-second PR for Gabay, who ran 14:17.98 last April at a meet at Azusa, Calif. That was actually his last track 5,000. He ran 14:20.48 last year at the Raleigh Relays and those are his only collegiate 5,000s.

The only other South Jersey runners to go sub-14 are Cherokee’s Jack Shea [13:44.57 in 2022], Eastern’s Karl Savage [13:48.61 in 2003], Cinnaminson’s Jon Anderson [13:58.23 in 2009] and Rancocas Valley’s Mark Strucko [13:58.30 in 1984]. The full all-time South Jersey top-10 is below.

From 1,000 meters to 4,600 meters, Gabay ran all his laps between 1:06.81 and 1:08.36, with only one lap under 1:07 and only one lap over 1:08. He needed a 63.97 final lap to get under 14 and beat that by over a second.

I tried to cobble together an all-time Duke top-10 list and this is what I came up with. Might be missing one or two guys but who knows. Maybe not.

Duke Sub-14 List (may not be totally complete)
13:42.50 … C.J. Ambrosio, 2022
13:48.90 … Robbie Perkins, 1975
13:50.22 … Domenick DeMatteo, 2012
13:52.30i … Sam Rivera, 2022
13:52.41 … Brian Alf, 1981
13:54.43 … Chris Theodore, 2022
13:54.76 … Shaun Thompson, 2016
13:58.84 … Austin Gabay, 2024
13:58.87 … Josh Lund, 2011
13:59.02 … James Kostelnik, 2013

All-Time South Jersey 5,000-Meter List
13:44.57 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], April 29, 2022, Palo Alto, Calif.
13:48.61 …Karl Savage [Eastern], April 17, 2003, Walnut, Calif.
13:58.23 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], April 23, 2009, Philadelphia
13:58.30 … Mark Strucko [Rancocas Valley], April 8, 1984, Austin, Texas
13:58.84 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], March 28, 2024 Raleigh, N.C.
14:03.52 … Kevin McDonnell [Camden Catholic], April 5, 2013, Williamsburg
14:06.23 … Sam Gerstenbacher [Schalick], April 29, 2022, Philadelphia
14:09.10 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], April 4, 2014, San Francisco
14:09.37 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], March 30, 2012, Raleigh, N.C.
14:12.0h … Mike Elder [Haddon Twp.], 1977
14:13.72 … Miles Schoedler [Ocean City], April 5, 2013, Williamsburg, Va.
14:15.73 … Conor Melko [Bishop Eustace], May 15, 2021, Springfield, Mass.
14:15.94 … Sebastien Reed [Pitman], April 29, 2022, Philadelphia
14:16.10 … John Richardson [Ocean City], April, 2008, Palo Alto, Calif.
14:17.77 … Keith Krieger [Cherokee], April 6, 2007, Durham, N.C.
14:17.99 … Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], May 7, 2006, Storrs, Ct.
14:18.28 … Ethan Wechsler [Cherokee], Feb. 23, 2023, Louisville, Ky.
14:19.97 … Joe Halin [Cherokee], N.C. State, 2005

What a start to Leah Howard’s college career!

Howard, a Texas Tech freshman from Millville, threw 159-9 on her final attempt Saturday to win the Masked Rider Open at Texas Tech in Lubbock. Howard also had a 157-6 in her series. She won by 5 ½ feet over Bruna Veira de Jesus of New Mexico Junior College of Hobbs, N.M.

Howard’s throw is No. 5 in the NCAA Division 1 among freshmen and it’s No. 4 in the Big 12. It’s listed as No. 17 among U.S. women on World Athletics, although they’ve been slow to update the database lately.

Howard has a PR of 163-1 from last year’s Woodbury Relays. That’s No. 2 in state history behind Oakcrest’s Brielle Smith, who threw 168-6 at Woodbury in 2019.

Texas Tech has a tremendous women’s javelin tradition, with two NCAA champions and 22 All-Americans.

Howard began her career with a win a week earlier at the Wes Kittley Invitational at Abilene Christian. She threw 152-7 on her 5th attempt and also had a 151-6 on her first throw – her very first college throw.

World Athletics does not list a birth date for Howard, but she is likely eligible for U.S. Under 20 Championships in Eugene in June, which is the qualifier for World Juniors in Lima, Peru, in August.

Athletes who don’t turn 20 before midnight Dec. 31, 2024, are eligible. Most college freshmen meet the eligibility requirement.

Gabriel Moronta, in his first outdoor 400 since he was at Pleasantville High School, moved into the all-time South Florida top-10 with a hot race on his new home track in Tampa.

Moronta, who spent the 2021 indoor season through the 2023 indoor season at Mississippi State and recorded some brilliant 800 and 400 hurdles performances, has resurfaced at USF and opened his outdoor season with a 46.55 at the USF Bulls Alumni Invitational.

That’s an outdoor PR and No. 6 in school history.

Moronta never ran a flat 400 outdoors at Mississippi State, although he ran 46.24 indoors in February of 2023 at Clemson. That’s 8th-fastest ever by a South Jersey runner, and that was actually his final race for MSU.

Moronta lost his senior year of outdoor track to COVID, and the 46.55 was his first outdoor 400 since June 1, 2019, when he ran 49.68 at the state Group 2 meet at Central Regional.

At Mississippi State, Moronta ranks 4th in school history in the indoor 400 with his 46.24. He ran 51.38 in the intermediates at the 2022 Southeastern Conference Championships in Oxford, Miss., and 1:49.33 at the 2021 SEC meet in College Station, Texas.

On the all-time South Jersey list, he’s 10th in the 800 with the 1:49.33 and 12th in the 400 hurdles in addition to 8th in the 400.

Moronta hasn’t run a 400 hurdles race since since he ran that 51.38 PR nearly two years ago.

Moronta ranks 20th in NCAA Division 1 so far this spring with his 46.55.

With PRs of 46.24 and 1:49.33, Moronta is the only middle-distance runner on both the all-time South Jersey 400 and 800 lists. Jaymes Dennison is close at No. 15 with 46.90 for 400 meters in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2018, and No. 5 with 1:47.63 in Tempe, Ariz., in 2017.

Rancocas Valley’s Kristina Tossas, a junior at Rutgers, opened her 2024 season with some big jumps Saturday at the Knights Invitational at Central Florida in Orlando.

Tossas hit a lifetime-best 20-11 ½ on her final jump, although that was wind-aided. But she did have a wind-legal 20-1 ¼ on her 3rd attempt

Teammate Celine Brown from Plainfield won with a 21-0 ½ that was also wind-aided. She had a legal 20-2.

For Tossas, the 20-1 ¼ is only a few inches shy of her wind-legal outdoor PR of 20-5 set last March in a meet in Orlando last March.

Tossas was the Big East long jump champ last winter in Geneva, Ohio, with her lifetime-best 20-9. She was 3rd this past spring.

Tossas is No. 4 in Rutgers history outdoors and No. 3 indoors. She’s also No. 9 in the triple jump indoors at 39-6, although she only triple jumped once indoors.

 

At 35 years old and a decade and a half as an elite athlete, Nia Ali decided to try a new event.

Ali, a Pleasantville graduate, 2016 Olympic silver medalist and 2019 World Champion, is one of the top hurdlers in world history. But she’s also versatile enough that she was once an All-America heptathlon at Tennessee before transferring to USC to focus on the hurdles.

On Saturday, she decided to try her hand at an event she had never contested – the 100-meter dash.

Competing at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla., Ali won the 100 in 11.41, edging Olympian Liang Xiaojing of the Peoples Republic of China, who ran 11.42.

The shortest race in a heptathlon is 200 meters, and Ali has a PR of 23.90 from a heptathlon in Fayetteville, Ark., back in 2009. But even at Pleasantville she never ran an open 100, although she did win the South Jersey Group 2 meet in the 200 in 2006 at Buena in 24.12, which 18 years later is still 9th-fastest in South Jersey.

While 11.41 might not be quite world class, it does put her at No. 4 among U.S. women so far this spring and is fastest by a woman 35 or older since Tianna Madison ran 11.09 at the 2021 Olympic Trials in Eugene. Madison was 142 days older than Ali was Saturday (13,077 days vs. 12,935 days). Madison was a World Champion in the long jump and an Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter relay. She also attended the University of Tennessee.

Her 11.41 is also 7th-fastest ever by a South Jersey woman:

10.74 … English Gardner [Eastern], July 3, 2016, Eugene, Ore.
11.29 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], April 17, 2005, Walnut, Calif.
11.30 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], May 13, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
11.31 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], May 14, 2017, Atlanta
11.32 … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], May 14, 2016, Lincoln, Neb.
11.36 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], May 6, 1984, Houston
11.41 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], May 23, 2024, Coral Gables, Fla.
11.52 … Bria Mack [Williamstown], May 12, 2018, Knoxville, Tenn. [+0.5]
11.65 … Shardae Anderson [Paulsboro], April 14, 2007, Chapel Hill, N.C. [+1.1]
11.66 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], June 19, 2021, South Plainfield, N.J. [+1.0]

On Saturday, Ali also found time to win her primary event, placing 1st in the 100-meter hurdles in 12.86 in her first outdoor hurdles race this year. Ali is No. 9 in world history and No. 3 all-time among U.S. athletes with her 12.30 from Monaco this past July. She won her first outdoor U.S. title in July in Eugene with a 12.37 two weeks earlier.

Rancocas Valley graduate Micah Wood, a Rutgers grad student, ran a huge intermediate hurdles PR Friday in his 2024 outdoor season opener.

Wood placed 2nd in the 400IH at the UCF Knights Invite at the University of Central Florida Track and Soccer Complex in Orlando in 51.42. Jameson Woodell, a Rutgers grad student from Hunterdon Central, won the race in 51.14.

Wood’s previous PR was a 52.35 in his last outdoor race – at the Big Ten Championships in May in Bloomington, Ind.

Woodell is the Rutgers school record holder at 49.82 from the 2022 NCAA East Prelims, also in Bloomington.

Wood’s time is No. 7 in Rutgers history. He’s one of four South Jersey runners on that top-10 list: Delsea’s Aaron Younger is No. 2 with his 50.65 at 2010 NCAA Regionals in Greensboro, N.C.; Lenape’s Steve Swern No. 8 with a 51.68 at 2010 IC4As in Princeton; and Delran’s Harran Williams No. 10 with 52.19 from 2002 IC4As at Princeton.

Wood is also No. 8 on the all-time Monmouth list with a 52.91 from his win at the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in Lawrenceville. He transferred from Monmouth to Rutgers after the 2021 outdoor season.

That 51.42 is No. 13 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list and No. 2 among Burlington County runners behind Lenape’s Mike Brown, who ran 50.04 in 2002 in Holmdel.

Georgia Tech’s Isabella Turner, a junior from Shawnee, ran a 1,500 PR Friday afternoon.

Turner won her section of the 1,500 at the Florida State University Relays at Mike Long in Tallahassee in 4:43.94, finishing 50 meters ahead of second place. She placed 9th overall.

Turner’s previous PR was a 4:46.93 just last week at a home meet at Georgia Tech’s George C. Griffin Track in Atlanta.

Before the past week, her 1,500 PR was 4:55.26 from a meet last March in Tallahassee. So she’s lowered her PR nearly 12 seconds since last weekend.

Winslow graduate John Purvis, now a junior at Marshall after spending his freshman year at Morgan State, uncorked a hammer PR Thursday in a meet at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla.

Purvis threw 164-0 on his 2nd throw to surpass his lifetime-best 163-6 from a meet at Towson as a Morgan State freshman in 2022.

Purvis threw the shot 55-7 at Morgan State when he placed 2nd at the MEAC indoor Championships in Virginia Beach two years ago and he has a discus PR of 152-7 from a meet last spring in Durham, N.C. He hasn’t thrown the discus yet for Marshall, although he’s scheduled to on Friday.