Monmouth’s Sebastien Reed, a junior from Pitman, broke up nationally ranked Princeton’s pack Friday at the New Jersey Jam at the Princeton XC Course in West Windsor.

Princeton, ranked No. 2 behind Villanova in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region poll and No. 24 nationally in NCAA Division 1, went 1-2-3-4-6-7-8-9, with Reed placing 5th and just half a second out of 3rd place.

Reed covered the 5.6-kilometer course in 16:59.0, finishing less than 10 seconds behind winner Anthony Monte, an NCAA qualifier in both track at 10,000 meters and in cross country.

A 16:59 for 5.6K equals 15:09 pace for 5,000 meters.

Reed, who ran for former Westfield legend Matt Elmuccio at Pitman High, ran 14:15.94 for 5,000 meters at the Penn Relays in April, only three seconds off the school record of 14:12.67 set by Nick Pellegrino of Marlboro at the 2004 IC4A Championships at Yale University in New Haven.

Rutgers sophomore Zeb Hinker from Lower Cape May Regional and Rider senior Gobi Thurairajah from Egg Harbor Township both also finished in the top 20. Hinker ran 17:35 for 18th place and was Rutgers’ top finisher, and Thurairajah was Rider’s No. 2 finisher.

In the women’s race, Monmouth junior Isabella Leak from Egg Harbor, Rider freshman Maddie Dischert of Atlantic City, Monmouth junior Allie Pierontoni from Kingsway all finished in the top 20. Leak ran 14:39.9 over 4,000 meters for 13th, Dischert ran 14:41.0 for 15th and Piertontoni 14:59.6 for 18th.

Kevin McDonnell, a former Camden Catholic runner from Moorestown, won the Philly 10K Sunday in 30:40.

McDonnell, who ran at St. Joe’s, finished about 100 meters ahead of 2nd-place Ethan Hermann, who ran 30:56.

At St. Joe’s, McDonnell set a school record that still stands with a 29:16.01 at 10,000 meters in a meet at Bucknell in 2013. He was runner-up in the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships in 2009, when St. Joe’s won its first team title since 2000. He was a two-time NCAA XC qualifier for the Hawks.

McDonnell has a 5,000 PR on the track of 14:03.52 from 2013 in Williamsburg, Va.

Runner-up Hermann attends Drexel, which does not have a track team. He’s a journalism major at Drexel and currently a music and entertainment writer for the school’s student newspaper, The Triangle.

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali cruised into the 100-meter hurdles final Wednesday at the World Track Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Ali ran 12.49 – the 9th-fastest time of her life and 3rd-fastest ever in a qualifying race – and earned a large-Q qualifier as the second finisher in the third of three semifinal races at the National Athletics Center along the eastern banks of the Danube River.

Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist, won the third semi in 12.41. The top two finishers in each of three semifinal races and the next two-fastest times advanced to the final at 9:25 p.m. Thursday.

On Wednesday, both small-Q qualifiers – Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland and Danielle Williams of Jamaica – ran 12.50, Kambundji in the first semi and Williams just behind Ali in the third race.

World No. 1 Kendra Harrison, the U.S. record holder at 12.20 from 2016 in London, had the fastest time in the semis with a 12.33 in the first race.

Ali’s 12.49 was tied for 3rd-fastest behind Harrison and Camacho-Quinn. Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas ran 12.49 in the first heat.

Harrison and Charlton were aided by a 0.5 assisting wind. Ali ran into a 0.4 wind.

Ali, 34 and with three kids, was the 2019 World Champion with her 12.34 in Doha. On Thursday, she’ll attempt to become only the third U.S. woman to win multiple World Championships. Gail Devers won in 1993 in Stuttgart, 1995 in Gothenburg and 1997 in Athens, and Michelle Perry in 2005 in Helsinki and 2007 in Osaka.

The only other double winner is Austrailian Sally Pearson, who won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and London in 2017.

Here’s a look at Ali’s 10-fastest lifetime times, with six of 10 coming since June 8:

12.30 … Herculis Diamond League [f], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.49 … World Championships [sf], Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 23, 2023 [—]

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali coasted to a win in her 100 hurdles heat at the World Championships Tuesday at the National Sports Center in Budapest, Hungary.

Ali was first across the line in the second of five qualifying races for the semifinals. The first four in each heat and the next four-fastest hurdlers qualified for the second round, which is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Ali, who won her first U.S. championship in June at 34 years old, ran 12.55 and won her race by 1-10th of a second over Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska, who ran 12.65.

Ali will be in Lane 6 in the 3rd of three semifinal races.

The first two finishers in each of the three races plus the next two-fastest runners advance to the final, which is scheduled for 3:22 p.m. on Thursday.

Ali is No. 2 in the world this year with her 12.30 in Monaco last month. U.S. record holder Kendra Harrison took over the No. 1 world ranking from Ali on Tuesday, when she won her qualifying race in 12.24. Harrison set the American record of 12.20 in London in 2016.

Ali’s 12.30 is No. 9 in world history and No. 3 all-time in the U.S., behind Harrison and Brianna McNeal, who ran 12.26 in Des Moines in 2013.

Ali won the 100-meter highs at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

A disappointing opening day at the World Championships for Delsea’s Josh Awotunde, who didn’t qualify for the shot put finals in the qualifying rounds early Saturday morning in Budapest, Hungary.

Awotunde threw 65-6 ½ and missed the cutoff of 68-0 ½ by 2 ½ feet. The top 12 throwers in the qualifying round or anyone who threw 70-2 ½ advanced to the final, which begins at 6:37 p.m. Saturday at the National Sports Center on the Danube River.

A tweet by Throwers Universe showed Awotunde committing a sector foul of a couple inches on what would have been an automatic qualifier.

The 65-6 ½ is an uncharacteristic performance for Awotunde, who placed 3rd at Worlds last year with a PR 73-1 ½ throw in Eugene. The last time he didn’t throw 20 meters (65-7 ¼) was at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 7, 2019, when his best throw was 62-5 ½.

Awotunde threw 72-6 ¼ to place second at U.S. Nationals last month. He’s surpassed 70 feet 22 times since May of 2021, including three throws of 72-10 or better at Worlds last year. Awotunde entered Worlds ranked 9th in the world with that 72-6 ¼.

Full series info for the qualifying rounds is not available in the official results.

Three South Jersey athletes will be in action at the World Athletics Championships, which begins this week in Budapest, Hungary.

Pleasantville graduate Nia Ali, Florence’s Curtis Thompson and Delsea’s Josh Awotunde will be competing in their specialties at the brand-new National Athletics Centre, located along the eastern bank of the Danube River.

Here’s everything you’ll need to follow along as Ali competes in the 100-meter hurdles, Thompson in the javelin and Awotunde in the shot put.

NIA ALI: Ali is the top seed in the 100-meter hurdles, thanks to her lifetime-best 12.30 in Monaco last month. That’s No. 9 in world history (No. 6 not including performances by Bulgarian and Russian athletes in the late 1980s and early 1990s) and No. 3 ever by an American. Ali, who will be 35 in October, is the top seed, but American record holder Kendra (12.31) and Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.31) are both within 1-100th of a second.

Ali won Worlds in 2019 with a 12.34, which was her PR before last month. She’s bidding to become the first double winner since American Michelle Perry in 2005 and 2007.

The meet record is 12.28 in 2011 by Australia’s Sally Pearson, who also won World in 2017 and was 2nd in 2013.

There are three rounds in the high hurdles. Ali races in the trials at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The semifinals are scheduled for 8:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, with the final at 9:25 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24.

JOSH AWOTUNDE: With his 2nd-place 72-6 ¼ throw at U.S. Nationals, Awotunde qualified for his second straight World Championships. Awotunde has a lifetime best of 73-1 ½ from the last edition of Worlds, when he placed 3rd as part of a U.S. sweep in Eugene last year.

Awotunde is the No. 8 seed at Worlds based on 2023 throws. He’s No. 18 in world history and No. 11 on the all-time U.S. list.

There are two rounds of the men’s shot put and both will be held on Saturday, Aug. 19. The qualifying rounds are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. with the final following at 8:35 p.m.

CURTIS THOMPSON: Thompson, a 2021 Olympian, will also compete at Worlds for the second time. He won his 3rd U.S. title with a dramatic final-throw 265-5. He’s one of only three javelin throwers to win three U.S. titles since 1950.

Thompson placed 11th at 2022 Worlds, the best finish by an American since 2009. His PR 287-8 is No. 3 in U.S. history and is 11th-beset among the 37 competitors who qualified for this year’s Worlds.

Javelin qualifying rounds are scheduled for 10:10 and 11:45 a.m. Friday, Aug. 25. We don’t know yet whether Thompson will be in Group A or Group B. The final is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 27.

Time schedule: Click here.
Complete list of entries by event: Click here.
The complete 769-page World Athletics Championships media guide click here.
TV schedule: TBA
Live results: Click here (presumably)

Thanks to an electrifying finish, Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker won his first international championship Friday evening at the XXI PanAmerican Under-20 Championships.

Tucker won the 400-meter hurdles in 51.36 at José Antonio Figueroa Freyre Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, finishing two meters ahead of Puerto Rico’s Yan Vazquez, who was 2nd in 51.57.

It was a very fast early race, and Tucker was cruising along in a distant fifth place going into the second turn. At one point, he was as much as 15 meters behind the leaders. But he began making up ground on the final straight. He moved into 4th by the 8th hurdle and was in 3rd going over No. 9.

But he took the lead over the 10th and final 36-inch barrier and exploded to the line to win going away.

“I was just patient the whole way,” he said after the race on the live feed. “I saw where everyone was. I got to the 120 (meters left), I knew where my body was, I felt fine and just ran right through it.”

The time is Tucker’s 2nd-fastest. He ran 50.96 at Franklin High School in June to win his 3rd consecutive Meet of Champions title.

Tucker, who’ll be a freshman at Rutgers, placed 3rd at the U.S. Under-20 Championships but earned a lane at the PanAm Under-20s because the winner, Gage Goose of Lander (Wy.) Valley High was unable to make the trip.

Damon Frabotta, who recently finished his freshman year at Boston College, placed 2nd at the U.S. Under-20 meet in 51.89 but was 3rd Friday in 52.19 after leading early.

Both intermediate hurdles winners are from the Philadelphia area. Sanaa Hebron, a graduate of Neshaminy High in , won the women’s race in 56.90. Hebron recently finished her freshman year at Miami and was the ACC champ in the 400IH in a PR 56.08. She’s the daughter of former Eagles running back and kick returner Vaughn Hebron.

Kaitlyn Dermen, a 2014 Millville graduate, became the No. 2 pole vaulter in South Jersey history Sunday when she cleared 13-8 ¼ at the Vault Factory Summer Jump in Basking Ridge.

Dermen, an All-America at Stockton (and also a conference medalist in the high and intermediate hurdles), surpassed her lifetime best of 13-7 ¼ set in December of 2021 at the Fastrack Metro Season Opener Ocean Breeze. Her outdoor PR was 13-3 ¾ from a meet in April 2022 at the Lions Invitational at The College of New Jersey in Lawrenceville.

Dermen’s 13-8 ¼ clearance is 2nd-best in South Jersey history, behind only Shawnee graduate Stephanie Maugham, who PR’d at 14-0 ¾ in a meet in Fresno, Calif., in April 2002, while she was a senior at Rhode Island. She’s now Stephanie Colby and the U.S. Masters record holder in the 40-44 age group with an 11-5 ¾ clearance in Toronto in July 2019.

Detailed results aren’t available, but Dermen won by a foot over former Rider and Temple vaulter Allie Riches, who cleared 12-8 ¼.

Dermen first vaulted as a sophomore at Millville, clearing 8-6 indoors and 9-0 outdoors. She improved to 9-6 as a junior indoors and placed at Group 4 states and then took 8th at the Meet of Champions outdoors with a 10-6 clearance. She was a state runner-up and Meet of Champions 6th-place finisher indoors as a senior and improved to 11-1 and had a series of 11-6 clearances outdoors.

At Stockton, she won NJAC titles indoors [11-9 ¾] and outdoors [12-3 ¾] as a junior in 2017 and indoors [12-1 ¾] and outdoors [12-1 ¾] as a senior in 2018. She earned All-America honors by clearing 12-3 ¾ for 4th place in May of 2018 in La Crosse, Wisc.

Her next PR appears to have been a 12-11 ¾ in a meet in Basking Ridge in August of 2020. According to her World Athletics page, her best previous jump this year was a 12-10 ¼ in Washington, D.C., in June.

Here’s a look at all the 13-foot vaulters from South Jersey that I know about. Let me know if there are any missing:

14-0 ¾ … Stephanie Maugham [Shawnee], April 6, 2002, Fresno, Calif.
13-8 ¼ … Kaitlyn Dermen [Millville], July 29, 2023, Basking Ridge, N.J.
13-8 … Anna Heim [Moorestown], May 13, 2010, Springfield, Mass.
13-5i … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], Feb. 9, 2004, New York
13-3 ¾ … Ashley Preston [Delsea], April 17, 2021, Philadelphia

Nia Ali turned in one of the greatest hurdles performances in world history Friday with a 12.30 to win the 100-meter highs at the Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvielle, Monaco.

That’s 9th-fastest in world history.

Ali, a 2006 Pleasantville graduate, lowered her lifetime-best 12.34 from her win at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, and took over the 2023 world lead from Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Qunn, who ran 12.31 in May at the Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.

“I feel amazing, it was a PB for me (and) the first time I won in a Diamond League (meet),” Ali told reporters at Stade Louis II Stadium.

“I cannot believe it and it is lovely to have won here in Monaco, it is a beautiful place and I really enjoy myself here, I am so happy I was able to give the best of myself here today. I started very fast and then in the middle of the race I told myself, “Do not fall asleep.’”

Ali held a slight lead over Harrison through four hurdles. They were tied at 6.30 through five hurdles and Harrison led through six (7.24 to 7.25), seven (8.18 to 8.20), eight (9.13 to 9.15), nine (10.10 to 10.13) and 10 hurdles (11.09 to 11.11).

But Ali was 3-100ths of a second faster from the final hurdle to the finish line.

Alaysha Johnson [12.39] and Tia Jones [12.39] finished 3rd and 4th, making it a 1-2-3-4 U.S. sweep.

“I really fought for it because I felt myself a bit behind at the last hurdle,” Ali said. “But then I just attacked the fiish line and (won.)”

For the full race analysis, click here.

Ali’s time is No. 9 performer in world history and No. 3 in U.S. history. Full all-time top-10 is below. Her 12.30 is 20th-fastest performance (including multiple races by the same hurdlers) in history.

Ali edged American record holder Kendra Harrison by 1-100th of a second. Harrison set the U.S. record when she set what was then a world record of 12.20 in London in 2018.

The race was held with a legal 0.6 meters-per-second tailwind.

Ali broke the meet record of 12.42 set by Gail Devers in 2002,

Ali, 34 years old and with three kids, is all the way back and better than ever after going 894 days – from Worlds in October 2019 to a meet in Coral Gables, Fla., in March 2022 – without running a 100-meter hurdles race.

Earlier this month, she won her first U.S. outdoor title in 12.37 and she also had a 12.38 in Poland and a 12.41 in Hungary in the past week as well as a 12.43 in the semifinals at nationals in Eugene.

That means she’s run five of the six-fastest times of her life in the last 13 days. The full list of her all-time top-10 is below.

This performance makes Ali the favorite going into the World Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

Ali, Harrison and Masai Russell will represent the U.S. at Worlds.

“My objective now for the rest of the season is to stay healthy and try to improve my technique,” she said. “I know that Budapest will be a very strong competition and a very fast race so I am looking forward to the challenges.”

Nią Ali’s 10-Fastest Lifetime Times
12.30 … Herculis Diamond League [f], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]

10-Fastest Performers in World History
12.12 … Tobi Amusan [Nigeria], Eugene, Ore., July 24, 2022
12.20 … Kendra Harrison [USA], London, July 22, 2016
12.21 … Yordanka Donkova [Bulgaria], Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, Aug. 20, 1988
12.25 … Ginka Zagorcheva [Bulgaria], Drama, Germany, Aug. 8, 1987
12.26 … Lyudmila Narozhilenko [Russia], Sevilla, Spain, June 6, 1992
12.26 … Brianna McNeal [USA], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013
12.26 … Jasmine Camacho-Quinn [Puerto Rico], Tokyo, Aug. 1, 2021
12.28 … Sally Pearson [Australia], Daegu, South Korea, Sept, 3, 2011
12.30 … Nia Ali [USA], Fontvielle, Monaco, July 21, 2023
12.31 … Britany Anderson [Jamaica], Eugene, July 24, 2022

Nia Ali continued her remarkable 2023 season with the 4th-fastest hurdles time of her incredible career Tuesday at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix Diamond League meet.

Ali, a 2006 graduate of Pleasantville High School, placed 2nd to world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria in the 100-meter hurdles the Bregyó Athletic Center in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, 40 miles south of Budapest, where Ali will race in the World Championships next month.

Amusan set the world record of 12.12 last July when she won the World Championships at Heyward Field in Eugene, Ore. Ali ran her PR of 12.34 – No. 12 in world history – when she won the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in October 2019.

On Tuesday, Amusan won the race in 12.35, and Ali was 2nd in 12.41. Alaysha Johnson and Tia Jones of the U.S. took 3rd and 4th in 12.50 and 12.51.

Ali, 34 and with three kids, has only run faster three times in her life – in the Worlds final at Doha in 2019, the Nationals final in Eugene last month and in Chorzow, Poland, on Sunday. So four of the five-fastest times of her life have come in the past 11 days and six of her 11-fastest times ever have come this spring.

Ali did not compete in 2020 because of COVID or in 2021, which she took off to focus on her family. So from Worlds in Doha on Oct. 6, 2019, until a meet at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., on March 19, 2022, she didn’t run a 100-meter hurdles race for 894 days.

She’s come back stronger than ever and is currently No. 5 in the world but only 6-100ths of a second behidn No. 1 Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who ran 12.31 in Los Angeles in May.

With her 12.41 Tuesday, her 12.37 and 12.43 at Nationals and her 12.38 two days ago in Chorzow, Poland, she currently owns four of the 19-fastest times run in the world this year.

Ali’s 12.37 made her the fastest woman 34 years old or older in history.

Ali, Kendra Harrison and Masai Russell will represent the U.S. at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 19-27.

The first round of hurdles is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 22, with the semifinals at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, and the finals at 3:25 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24.

Ali will try to become only the third U.S. woman to win multiple World Championships. Gail Devers won in 1993 in Stuttgart, 1995 in Gothenburg and 1997 in Athens, and Michelle Perry in 2005 in Helsinki and 2007 in Osaka. The only other double winner is Austrailian Sally Pearson, who won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 and London in 2017.

The only American women in history to run faster than Ali are Harrison [12.20 in London in 2016], Brianna McNeal [12.26 in Des Moines in 2013] and Devers [12.33 in Sacramento in 2000].

Here’s a look at the 10-fastest times of Ali’s life:

12.34 … World Championships [f], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.37 … U.S. Championships, [f], Eugene, Ore., July 8, 2023 [1st]
12.38 … Memorial Kamila Skolimowska Diamond League, Stadion Śląski [f], Chorzów, Poland, July 16, 2023 [3rd]
12.41 … Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix [f], Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 18, 2023 [2nd]
12.43 … U.S. Championships, Eugene [sf], Ore., July 8, 2023 [—]
12.44 … World Championships [sf], Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [—]
12.48 … U.S. Championships [f], Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships [sf], Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [—]
12.52 … U.S. Championships [sf], Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [—]
12.53 … Galan Bauhaus, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.53 … Tom Jones Memorial, Gainesville, Fla., April 15, 2023 [1st]
12.53 … U.S. Championships [h], Eugene, Ore., July 7, 2023 [—]