Monster discus opener Monday for Cinnaminson senior Malicah Etienne at the Penn Relays Throws Qualifier in Lincroft.

Etienne placed 2nd in 174-5, a huge PR and the No. 24 throw in South Jersey history. Fabian Gonzalez of Southern Regional, the state Group 4 champ last year, won with a 183-5 throw.

Unfortunately, field event series are not available, which is ridiculous in this day and age. But here we are.

Etienne’s improvement in the discus has been dramatic. He didn’t throw as a freshman, had a PR of 134-3 as a sophomore and then hit 158-1 last spring to win the state Group 2 meet at Delsea.

So this is a 16-foot PR in his first meet of the year, although he was over 170 feet in a scrimmage last week.

His throw is No. 2 in Burlington County and also No. 2 in school history, behind Kamron Kobolak’s 185-6

Etienne also placed 3rd in the shot put at 55-5 ¾, another PR. Etienne PR’d at 54-2 indoors at the Group 2 state relays at the Bubble. His previous outdoor PR was 51-6 from the SJTCA Elite at Delsea last May. He’s Cinnaminson’s fourth 55-footer, following Kamron Kobolak [61-11 ¾ in 2018], Duane Sanders [58-7 in 2003] and Ryan Addlesberger [57-5 ¼ in 2015].

I was remiss in not mentioning R.V. senior Devon Brooks, who also PR’d with a 163-5 for 3^rd place. Brooks’ previous PR was a 159-9 at the state Group 4 meet last year at Franklin High.

From what I can find, that’s a school record for Brooks. Nick Mirabelli, better known as the Meet of Champions javelin champ, threw 161-9 at the 2018 state Group 4 meet, also at Franklin.

All-Time Burlington County Discus Top 10
185- 6 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
174-5 … Malicah Etienne [Cinnaminson], 2023
174- 4 … Dennis Norman [Cherokee], 1997
174- 3 … Alex Lewis [Delran], 2000
171-10 … Steve Muse [Kennedy], 1984
171- 6 … Rashaun Graves [Willingboro], 2013
170-10 … John McNeil [Kennedy], 1976
170- 4 … Kurtis Johnson [Burlington Twp.], 1987
169- 8 … Ell Ash [Willingboro], 2004
169- 7 … Chuck Spinner [Willingboro], 1979

All-Time South Jersey Discus 170-foot List
216-11 … Ron Dayne [Overbrook], 1996
199- 6 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2013
197- 0 … James Plummer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
192- 5 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
191-11 … Franklin Simms [St. Augustine], 2022
189- 7 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
185-11 … John Mooers [Middle Twp.], 2015
185-10 … Russ Willett [Penns Grove], 1985
185- 7 … Matt Huckabee [Timber Creek], 2010
185- 6 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
185- 5 … Ken Manahan [Deptford], 1976
184- 4 … Adam Hunt [Collingswood], 2017
183-9 … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
181-10 … Jason Winrow [Cumberland Reg.], 1989
180- 3 … Howard Clark [Pennsauken], 1998
179-11 … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
179-11 … Will Cioffi [Pitman], 2013
178- 0 … Jim Stites [Millville], 1970
174- 9 … John Ridinger [West Deptford], 1982
173-10 … Mark Rifkin [Cherry Hill West], 1978
175- 7 … John Clark [Pennsville], 2007
174-11 … Rich Lewis [Williamstown], 1985
174-11 … Cadee Berardelli [Delsea], 2022
174- 6 … Josh Dillard [Lindenwold], 2005
174-5 … Malicah Etienne [Cinnaminson], 2023
174- 4 … Dennis Norman [Cherokee], 1997
174- 3 … Alex Lewis [Delran], 2000
173- 6 … Ryan Knight [Delsea], 1996
173- 3 … Jake Nwosu [Delsea], 2019
173- 2 … Darren Wan [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
172- 1 … Derek Frazier [Williamstown], 1978
171-10 … Steve Muse [Kennedy], 1984
171- 6 … Rashaun Graves [Willingboro], 2013
171- 4 … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1998
170-10 … John McNeil [Kennedy], 1976
170- 4 … Kurtis Johnson [Burlington Twp.], 1987
170- 0 … Anthony Robertson [Penns Grove], 2014

We just wrote about Princeton junior Arianni Smith, but we have to again because she set two more PRs Saturday and moved up in both events on the all-time Princeton top-10 lists.

Last weekend at the Raleigh Relays, the Pennsville native ran 14.02 in the hurdles, 57.74 in the flat 400 and 24.74 in the 200. Those moved her into No. 6 on the all-time Princeton list in the hurdles and No. 4 in the 400.

On Saturday at the Big 5 Meet at Franklin Field in West Philly, Smith won both hurdles and set lifetime bests in both races.

In the 100-meter highs, she broke 14 seconds for the first time, lowering her PR from 14.02 to 13.94 and beating the field by 2 ½ meters. Monmouth’s Yasmeen Tinsley was 2nd in 14.28. That 13.94 is No. 5 in Princeton history and No. 3 this year in the Ivy League, behind two Harvard runners – Izzy Goudros ran 13.66 and Josefina Biernacki 13.81 at a meet last month in Houston.

In the 400-meter intermediates, Smith lowered her PR nearly a second from 59.69 to 58.76. She had run 59.69 in a meet last April in Coral Gables, Fla. The 58.76 is No. 1 in the Ivy League this year and No. 2 in Princeton history, behind only Sally Anderson’s 58.19 when she placed 9th at the 1983 NCAA Championships in Houston. Anderson is now Sally Willig, an accomplished geologist. The woman Smith bumped to move into the No. 2 spot is Haddonfield’s Carly Bonnet, who ran 59.12 at 2019 Heps at Princeton.

In the highs, three of the top six finishers are from South Jersey. Penn’s Shevell Higgs from Winslow ran 14.78 for 5th place in only her second race in the last 14 months and Monmouth sophomore Meredith Upikle from Cinnaminson was just behind her in 6th place in 14.85.

Updike also placed 3rd in the 400IH in 1:02.97, followed by Anne Rutledge of Egg Harbor in 4th place in 1:03.16 in her first intermediates race since the 2021 Meet of Champions.

Jah’mere Beasley is usually too busy with the short sprints and relay duty to run the open 400, but he jumped in one Saturday and turned in a PR and the fastest time by a Rowan quarter-miler in five years.

He came back and ran a hot 200, winning unpressed in 21.39, his fastest since he ran 21.22 last May when he placed 6th at NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.

More on the 200 later.

As for the 400, it was only the second open 400 of Beasley’s college career indoors or out. He won the 400 at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University in Chester, Pa., in 47.86. That’s nearly a second faster than his previous PR of 48.78, which he ran last April in a meet in Baltimore.

Beasley run some hot 400 splits for the Profs, including a 47.82 indoors in February when Rowan ran an NCAA Division 3-record 3:10.09. He also ran on Rowan’s national-champion 4-by-4 last year indoors.

He also never ran a 400 at Sterling, according to the New Jersey MileSplit database. So he apparently just ran 47.86 in his second lifetime open 400.

Beasley is a seven-time NCAA Division 3 All-America in the 60, 200 and various relays.

His time is fastest by a Rowan 400 runner since his high school teammate, Francis Terry, ran 47.55 in a meet at Swarthmore in 2018.

Beasley won the race by half a meter over former Bucknell runner Christian Lupica, who was 2nd in 47.95.

The Rowan school record is held by Salem graduate Maurice Ransome, who ran 46.19 in 1990. I can’t find any record of that performance anywhere, so don’t know where he did it, but Ransome did place 2nd at 1990 NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Naperville, Ill., in 47.38 and 4th in 1989 in 47.83.

As for the 200, Beasley led a 1-2 Rowan finish ahead of freshman Evan Corcoran from Kingsway, who was 2nd in 21.96.

Beasley set the Rowan school record of 20.91 when he placed 5th at last year’s NCAA Division 3 Championships.

Florence Olympian Curtis Thompson recorded the best season-opening throw of his javelin career Friday.

Thompson, competing at the Texas Relays in Austin, threw 260-1 on his second throw of the season. His previous-best season opener was a 252-8 in his opener two years ago on March 20, 2021, at the Falcon Classic in Montevalla, Ala.

Thompson placed 3rd overall behind Keyshawn Strachan of Auburn and the Bahamas, who PR’d with a world-leading 276-5, and Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi of Baylor and Nigeria, who threw 262-5.

It was Thompson’s first meet since Sept. 8, when he finished his 2022 season with a 269-4 for 4th place at Weltklasse at Letzigrund in Zürich.

Thompson finished last year ranked No. 8 in the world and No. 1 American with a lifetime-best 287-8 at the American JavFest at East Stroudsburg (Pa.) South High School. That’s No. 3 in U.S. history.

He became the first American ranked in the top 10 in the world in the javelin in 15 years, since Breaux Greer in 2007.

Next up for Thompson is the Mt. SAC Relays at April 14 at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, Calif.

Sincere Rhea ran the hurdles faster than he ever has Saturday. But with an asterisk.

Rhea, a University of Miami junior from St. Augustine and Maurice River Township in Cumberland County, won the 110-meter hurdles in his 2023 debut at the Hurricane Invitational on his home track in Coral Gables, Fla., in 13.72.

But the performance was aided by an assisting wind of 4.1 meters per second. Any race of 200 meters or less with a tailwind over 2.0 meters per second is considered wind-aided for record purposes.

Still, it’s No. 5 among U.S. men and No. 12 in the world regardless of conditions in the early going this outdoor season.

Rhea’s wind-legal PR is 13.89, which he ran in May of 2021 as a freshman at Penn State in the trials of the Big East Championships in Champaign, Ill., and then matched last April at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge.

According to the Maximmoinat wind correction calculator, 13.72 is the equivalent of a 13.79 with a legal 2.0 wind or 13.93 with no wind. So Rhea’s fitness is there, especially this early in the season.

Rhea will be back in action and hopefully with legal wind this weekend at the Florida Relays, although the meet web site says the qualifying standard for the 110 highs is 13.50, which only one hurdler in the world has run this year – Japan’s Rachid Muratake, who ran 13.25 at the Sydney Track Classic two weeks ago in Australia.

So either that’s a mistake or the hurdles field will be very small.

In only his third outdoor meet in nearly two years, Cherokee graduate Lucciano Pizarro popped a big 60-foot shot put effort and near PR in a meet Saturday in Coral Gables, Fla.

Pizarro, a junior at Penn State, threw 60-8 and placed 2nd in the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational at the University of Miami. Harvard junior All-America Alexander Kolesnikoff won the competition with a 62-5.

Pizarro came up only 5 ½ inches short of his lifetime-best 61-1 ½, which he threw at the Jim Thorpe Invitational at Penn State in May of 2021. That’s the No. 9 throw in Penn State history, even though PSU hasn’t updated its all-time performance list in a few years.

Pizarro had three fouls in his series, but hit 60-8 on his 4th throw and also had a 59-6 ½ on his second throw.

He ranks 5th so far in the Big Ten Conference and is No. 10 on the 2023 U.S. list on the World Athletics web site.

Pizarro ranks 5th in South Jersey alumni history, behind world championships bronze medalist Josh Awotunde of Delsea [71-1 ½ in 2022], Bridgeton’s Braheme Days [66-3 ½ in 2016], Paulsboro’s Jon Kalnas [66-2 ¾ in 2008] and Kennedy’s Steve Muse [61-8 in 1987].

Thanks to a huge negative split, Edinboro’s Kylie Anicic from Kingsway PR’d in the 10,000 this weekend and came within three seconds of a 35-year-old school record.

Anicic ran 34:30.63 at the Raleigh Relays, falling just short of the Edinboro school record of 34:27.75 set by Kerrie Yenchak at the 1987 Florida State Relays. Her time is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division 2 Championships in May in Emporia, Kan.,

Her previous 10,000 PR was a 34:37.31 at a meet last April at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

Anicic’s time is No. 4 in NCAA Division 2 and No. 44 among U.S. women.

Anicic came through 1,600 meters in 5:33.64, 3,200 in 11:08.10 and 5,000 in about 17:25.8. So she negative’d the second 5,000 in 17:04.78 – only 25 seconds off her track 5,000 PR.

She closed in 5:21.23 for her final 1,600, 2:36.40 for her final 800 and 76.42 for her final lap.

Anicic also ranks No. 3 in school history in the 1,500 [4:30.52] and No. 2 in the 5,000 [16:39.84]. Indoors, she ranks No. 3 in the mile [4:58.38], No. 2 in the 3,000 [9:43.39] and No. 3 in the 5,000 [16:47.87].

Rider’s Mariah Stephens won the hurdles with a PR and the No. 4 time in school history as part of a triple win in her season-opening outdoor meet on her home track in Lawrenceville.

Stephens, an Egg Harbor Township graduate, ran 14.12 in the 100-meter hurdles and triple jumped 38-10 ¼ at the Rider 5-Way Meet Sunday in Lawrenceville. She also ran a leg on the winning 4-by-100.

All three performances are No. 1 in the Metro Atlantic Conference two weeks into the season.

In the hurdles, Stephens ran unpressed, winning by seven meters over Magdalena Brogioli of Sacred Heart of Fairfield, Conn., who ran 14.99. The wind was a legal 1.4.

Stephens’ previous PR was 14.19 from the ECAC Championships last May in Williamsburg, Va. That was actually her last outdoor meet. Her 14.12 is only 4-100ths of a second from 2nd-fastest time in school history. Sara Gardner set the school record of 13.41 at the 2018 Metro Atlantic Championships in Lawrenceville.

In the triple jump, Stephens hit 38-10 ¼ on her second attempt. She had a second 38-10 ¼ later in her series that was slightly wind-aided at 2.1. Stephens ranks 3rd in Rider history at 39-7 ¾ from the same meet last year.

Stephens also ran the second leg on Rider’s first-place 400-meter relay team, which ran 47.23 and won by 15 meters over Sacred Heart. The 47.23 is No. 3 in school history and only 29-100ths of a second off the school record of 46.94 that Rider ran last year at Princeton with both Genesis Walker of Bordentown and Stephens running the first two legs.

Not one, not two, but three PRs for Pennsville graduate Arianna Smith at this weekend’s Raleigh Relays.

What a performance by the Princeton junior.

On Friday, Smith lowered her 100-meter hurdles PR from 14.11 at last weekend’s Penn Challenge to 14.02 – into a 0.9 meters-per-second wind. That’s No. 6 in Princeton history.

https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2012/5/10/205425944.aspx?id=618

She also ran 54.74 in the 400 on Friday, lowering her PR from 55.01 in January in a meet at Navy in Annapolis. Her previous outdoor PR was 56.68 from the 2019 state Group 1 championships at Franklin High. Because she specializes in the 400 intermediates, this was her first open 400 outdoors as a collegian. That 54.74 is No. 4 in Princeton history and fastest in seven years, since Cecilia Barowski set the school record of 52.97 at Heps at Princeton.

PR No. 3 for Smith came Saturday, when she ran 24.74 in the 200, lowering her PR from 24.91 in February at an indoor meet at the Armory. Her outdoor 200 PR was 25.25 from a meet last April at Princeton.

Smith has yet to run a 400 intermediates this spring. She ran 59.69 in April at a meet in Coral Gables, No. 6 in school history.

 

On June 1, 2019, Arianna Smith won the state Group 1 title in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.84 at Franklin High.

Then she didn’t run another high hurdles race for nearly four years.

Until Saturday.

When she ran the No. 6 time in Princeton history.

Smith, a Pennsville graduate and junior at Princeton, runs the hurdles indoors, but has been almost exclusively an intermediate hurdler outdoors since she arrived at Old Nassau in 2020.

Smith ran 59.69 last spring in a meet in Coral Gables, Fla., which is No. 6 in Princeton history. But last weekend, she got a rare opportunity to race the 100-meter highs at the Penn Invitational at Franklin Field, and she responded with a time of 14.11 and 2nd place, behind Army’s Saydee Aganus, who ran 14.01.

That makes her the only hurdler in Princeton history ranked in the top-6 in both the highs and intermediates.

That’s No. 3 in the Ivy League so far this year, behind two Harvard hurdlers – Izzy Goudros (13.66) and Josefina Biernacki (13.81) – and 1-100th of a second faster than Penn’s Aliya Garozzo from Paul VI, who finished just behind Smith at the Penn Challenge with a PR of her own at 14.12. Garozzo – 3rd in the Heps 500 indoors – also ran 59.96 to win the 400IH at the Penn Challenge, not far off her PR of 59.76 from last year’s 2nd-place finish at Heps (just ahead of Smith).

Princeton is at the Raleigh Relays this weekend, and we’ll likely see Smith race the 400IH for the first time this spring.