On a cold, breezy, rainy afternoon at Franklin Field, Oakcrest junior Ryan Merlino recorded the best performance by a South Jersey pole vaulter at the Penn Relays in 19 years.

Merlino cleared an outdoor PR 14-8 and placed 6th at the 127th annual Penn Relays.

Merlino cleared 14-9 indoors at Boston Nationals, but his outdoor PR is the best mark by an Atlantic County vaulter outdoors since Absegami’s Brandon Kurtz cleared 15-7 at the 1991 South Jersey Group 3 meet at Bridgeton.

Merlino entered the competition with an outdoor PR of 14-6 from earlier this spring at Fast Times at Cherokee.

At Penn Thursday, he cleared opening height 14-2 on his first attempt and 14-8 on his second.

Merlino is the first South Jersey vaulter to finish in the top six at Penn since Jarrod Brovero took 3rd at 13-11 ¼ in 2016. He’s the first South Jersey vaulter to clear 14-8 or higher at Penn since Haddonfield’s Mike Davis tied for 3rd in 2004 with a 15-1 clearance. Kurtz placed 5th in the 1991 Relays with a 14-3 ¼ clearance.

All-Time South Jersey Outdoor Pole Vault List
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014
15-6 … Marco Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977
15-2 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003
15-0 … Mark Murphy [Haddonfield], 1985
15-0 … Ricky Clemons [Willingboro], 1989
15-0 … Dave Murname [West Deptford], 2000
15-0 … Josh Moline [Gateway], 2000
15-0 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2010
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2010
15-0 … James Lynch [Deptford], 2019
15-0 … Matt Mancini [Cinnaminson], 2006
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2022
14-9 … Tony DeFeo [Oakcrest], 2004
14-9 … Ed Zubrzycki [Highland], 2009
14-8 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2023
14-7 ¼ … Bob Stumm [Kingsway], 1987
14-7 … Jarrod Brovero [Delsea Reg.], 2016
14-7 … Tony Ferrari [Delran], 1982

Haddon Heights shattered the school record Thursday morning in the 4-by-8 and came within 3 ½ seconds of qualifying for the Championship of America race at the Penn Relays.

Jack Bolling’s 1:58.21 split led Heights to a 8:01.43, fastest by a South Jersey school this year and a school record by more than eight seconds.

Heights was the 6th-fastest New Jersey school in four 4-by-8 races at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Cumberland Valley High of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was the last qualifer for Friday’s championship race with a 7:57.84.

Colin Patterson led off with a 1:59.28 split, followed by Bolling, Matthew Iuvara’s 2:00.73 and Jonathan Hastings’ 2:03.22. All four are seniors.

Heights placed 4th in the second of four races and 18th of all 66 schools that qualified for Penn.

Highland ran 8:07.02 in the same race, led by Gavin Gallo’s 1:59.73 split. Cole Knoedler, Cortland Webb and Aziz Kane also raced for Highland.

Seton Hall Prep of West Orange [7:49.99], Chatham [7:51.26] and Toms River North [7:56.02] will represent New Jersey in the Championship of America race, scheduled for 5:50 p.m. Friday. Rumson-Fair Haven [7:58.46] and Summit [7:59.35] also ran sub-8.

Delsea’s Elisia Lancaster, a former All-America at Southern Illinois now competing unattatched, uncorked one of the best hammer throws in the world this year at a meet this past weekend in Illinois.

Lancaster threw 220-3 at the Fighting Illini Challenge Demirjian Park, one inch off her PR of 220-4 . She placed 2nd to American record holder, former World Champion and two-time Olympian DeAnna Price, who threw 246-9 – No. 3 in the world this year.

Lancaster’s 220-3 is No. 11 this year in the U.S. and No. 52 in the world.

Lancaster’s PR is 220-4 from a meet last May in Des Moines, Iowa. That’s No. 63 in U.S. history and just two inches shy of the South Jersey alumni record of 220-6 set by Delsea graduate Jamine Moton in Baton Rouge in May of 2002.

Lancaster had four throws well over 200 feet last weekend. She opened with a 214-3 and after a foul hit 209-4. After another foul she finished with the 220-3 and a 211-10.

This was only Lancaster’s second meet this year. She threw 204-7 last month in a meet in Tampa.

At Delsea, Lancaster threw the shot 39-2 ½ and the discus 124-5 – both those PRs were at 2016 South Jersey Group 3 sectionals in Bayville. She was a state medalist in the shot and a sectional runner-up in the discus.

But she really found her calling in the hammer. She first tried it in the spring of 2018 as a freshman at Rowan College South Jersey. She spent the spring of 2020 at Towson and didn’t throw the hammer at all, but after transferring to Southern Illinois she blossomed with a 207-11 in a meet in Lawrence, Kan., and she improved to 220-4 last spring.

The magic number is 232-11, the qualifying standard for the U.S. Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., July 6-9.

Kadence Dumas’s speedy anchor at the Woodbury Relays helped the Eastern girls move into the No. 1 spot in the state this year in the sprint medley time.

Dumas, a senior, ran 2:15.67 to bring Eastern home in 4:11.43, ahead of Cherry Hill East, which ran 4:13.09. Freshman Natalie Dumas led off for the Vikings with a 1:00.77 lap, and junior Lomaria Tengbeh and senior Makenzie James handled the 200s.

Cherry Hill East finished 2nd in the Group 4 race with juniors Girliana Puglisi and Kristin Maye, sophomore Janell Mordin and senior Alexis Tepper running 4:13.09, No. 3 in the state this year and also a school record.

http://milesplit.live/meets/519987/events/44/results/F/F

Eastern broke the school record of 4:14.38 set by Jailya Ash, Jewel Ash, Dariyah Corbett-Collier and Olivia Covington at the Don Danser Relays at Lenape.

Eastern’s time is No. 17 in Camden County history and fastest since 2019, when Paul VI ran

4:02.60 … Sterling, 2017
4:02.89 … Woodrow Wilson, 2002
4:03.04 … Camden, 1995
4:04.86 … Woodrow Wilson, 2009
4:05.38 … Paul VI, 2019
4:05.2h … Winslow Twp., 2003
4:08.23 … Timber Creek, 2011
4:08.64 … Woodrow Wilson, 2003
4:09.23 … Pennsauken, 2014
4:10.0h … Camden, 2003
4:10.44 … Highland, 1998
4:10.5h … Woodrow Wilson, 2005
4:10.74 … Highland, 2003
4:10.74 … Pennauken, 2015
4:10.8h … Haddon Heights, 1980
4:11.43 … Eastern, 2023
4:11.2h … Haddonfield, 2009
4:11.5h … Camden, 1994
4:11.91 … Timber Creek, 2010
4:11.8h … Overbrook, 2000

Mainland’s two long jumpers PR’d with their 1-2 finish at the Woodbury Relays, and an impressive freshman from Winslow wasn’t far behind.

Senior Emma Crozier-Carole PR’d with an 18-2 ¼ to win at Woodbury and senior teammate McKenna Pontari placed 2nd at 17-10 ¾.

Although Crozier-Carole was credited with an 18-3 in a dual meet, the 18-2 ¼ is a huge big-meet PR. Her previous official PR was a 16-9 ¾ at Easterns last month at the Armory.

Pontari’s 17-10 ¾ was nearly a foot better than her previous best – a 17-0 at Ocean Breeze back in December.

Crozier-Carole and Pontari now rank No. 8 and No. 9 in Atlantic County history. They both surpassed the previous Mainland outdoor long jump record of 17-5 set by Victoria Henry when she won the 2014 Rowan Open. They’re No. 3 and 6 in the state.

Their 1-2 finish was the first at Woodbury by teammates since 2012, when Cidae’a Woods of Winslow won with an 18-5 and teammate Brianna McGrath was 2nd at 18-1.

Speaking of Winslow, freshman Ma’Syiah Brawner placed 3rd at Woodbury with a PR 17-8 ¾ after jumping 17-8 ½ at the Spartan Relays at Deptford a week earlier. Brawner jumped 17-3 indoors at Ocean Breeze in February and has also high jumped 5-4, triple jumped 35-8 ½ and run 8.66 for the 55-meter hurdles. She’s No. 3 in South Jersey

Brawner is the top freshman long jumper in New Jersey and No. 3 in the triple jump. Indoors she led all New Jersey freshmen in the hurdles triple jump, high jump and was No. 2 in the long jump. She hasn’t hurdled yet outdoors in a major meet.

Ocean City senior Elaina Styer also went over 17 feet at Woodbury with a 17-2 ½ for 4th place. Styer jumped 18-5 in a dual meet earlier this spring, and her big-meet PR is a 17-3 ½ from the Lenape Invite. She’s also a 5-4 high jumper, has run 60.0 in the 400 and thrown the shot 33-5 ½ and the javelin 79-2.

With Sterling graduates Marquise Young Jah’mere Beasley in the lineup, Rowan ran the fastest 1,600-meter relay in NCAA Division 3 this weekend in Columbia, S.C.

The Profs placed 2nd in the USC Outdoor Open in 3:10.07, which bumped Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of Claremont, Calif., from the top spot on the 2023 Division 3 list. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ran 3:10.56 in a meet earlier this month at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.

Unbelievably, the official results – and this is a major meet at a major Division 1 school – do not include splits, and of course Rowan’s web site barely mentions the performance and doesn’t list any splits.

Young led off, Nana Agyemang from Parsippany High ran second, Beasley third and Amara Conte of Ferris High in Jersey City anchored. Conte ran a PR 47.06 in the open 400 in Columbia, No. 4 in NCAA Division 3.

Rowan missed its school record by 1-100th of a second. The Profs ran 3:10.06 this past May at the NCAA Division 3 Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, with John Owens of West Windsor-Plainsboro North leading off, followed by Agyemang, Beasley and Conte.

Rowan’s performance ranks 33rd all-time in NCAA Division 3. The Profs are already the 13th-fastest school in D-3 history, according to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association web site.

Although it’s not posted yet, Rowan’s 3:10.07 should be No. 40 on the 2023 U.S. list.

The Profs finished 2nd to Alabama State, which won the race in 3:08.61.

Rowan will race some of the top Division 1 schools in the country in the Championship of America 1,600-Meter Relay heats at the 127th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. The heats are scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday, and the winner of each of three heats and the next six-fastest schools advancing to the Championship of America final, scheduled for 3:35 p.m. Saturday.

In Columbia, a second Rowan team, with senior Joe DeVito of Jackson Liberty, freshman Evan Corcoran from Kingsway, freshman Masai Byrd of Rancocas Valley and freshman Jason Agyemang of North Plainfield, placed 8th in 3:23.73.

Corcoran also ran 10.38 and 21.55 in the 100 and 200 but both races were greatly wind-aided – the 100 at 4.6 and the 200 at 3.3.

According to the wind-correction calculator, a 10.38 is worth 10.54 with no wind and 10.45 with 2.0 – the maximum allowable wind. The 21.55 is worth 21.75 with no wind and 21.61 at 2.0. Corcoran’s wind-legal PRs are 10.79 and 21.73.

Seniors Andrae Johnson and LaMarc Rex and junior Aziere Stukes each ran on one winning team and two 3rd-place teams to lead Oakcrest to its second Woodbury Relays team title and first in 2018.

The Falcons edged Willingboro 44-42. Oakcrest’s only other team title came in 2005, when Oakcrest outscored Highland 43-40 to win the Group 3 championship at West Deptford.

Johnson, Rex, Stukes and seniors Andrae Johnson and Corey Thomas won the sprint medley in 3:44.53, with Thomas splitting 50.27 and Johnson anchoring in 2:01.80.

Johnson and Rex both ran on 3rd-place 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 teams, and Stukes anchored the 3rd-place 400-meter relay team and led off the 3rd-place 800 relay. Johnson’s 51.32 split was fastest for Oakcrest on the 4-by-4, and his 2:02.72 was fastest on the 4-by-8. Oakcrest ran 3:32.41 and 8:24.68.

Junior Clayton Husta, senior Andrew Martin and junior Asad Hunt ran the first three legs on the 4-by-1, and Martin, Hunt and Thomas ran the last three legs on the 4-by-2. Oakcrest ran 43.78 and 1:33.12.

Senior Al Amin Page led off the 4-by-4, and sophomore Quaran McCoy anchored. Page and junior Cale Aiken joined Rex and Stukes on the 4-by-8.

Husta, junior Kelvin Urena, junior Asmar Gibbs Dugan and senior Jaiden Santiago ran 1:04.91 for second in the shuttles.

On the DMR, sophomore Israel Kennedy ran the 1,200, McCoy the 400, Page the 800 and Aiken anchored.

Penns Grove senior Janier Armstead popped the best discus throw by a Salem County athlete in 38 years Saturday at the Woodbury Relays.

Armstead bombed a 177-3 on his final throw of the competition to place 2nd to Southern Regional’s Fabian Gonzalez, who won with a 181-2. Gonzalez won the Meet of Champions and placed 4th at Nationals as a sophomore in 2021.

Armstead’s previous PR was a 165-10 last spring at the Tri-County Championships, where he placed 2nd to Delsea’s Jason Nwosu, who threw 182-7.

Armstead came within six inches of that PR with a 165-4 on his 4th attempt Saturday and then PR’d at 169-10 on his 5th attempt before PR’ing again with the 177-3 on his final attempt.

He actually barely advanced to the finals after two fouls and a 144-6 in the trials. That left him in 7th place after three throws, and only eight get three more throws.

The only superior mark in Salem County history came in 1985, when Penns Grove’s Russ Willett threw 185-10 at the Bridgeton Relays (held that year at Cumberland Regional).

Armstead’s mark is No. 4 in the state this year. Unfortunately, it came too late to qualify for the Penn Relays, where Cinnaminson’s Malicah Etienne [174-5] and Rancocas Valley’s Devon Brooks [167-11] will represent South Jersey.

All-Time South Jersey 170-Foot Discus 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
177- 3 … Janier Armstead [Penns Grove], 2023
175- 7 … John Clark [Pennsville], 2007
174-11 … Rich Lewis [Williamstown], 1985
174-11 … Cade Berardelli [Delsea], 2022
174- 9 … John Ridinger [West Deptford], 1982
174- 6 … Josh Dillard [Lindenwold], 2005
174- 5 … Malicah Etienne [Cinnaminson], 2023
174- 4 … Dennis Norman [Cherokee], 1997
174- 3 … Alex Lewis [Delran], 2000
173-10 … Mark Rifkin [Cherry Hill West], 1978
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

Crazy 800 PR Friday night for Timber Creek graduate Josh Thaler at the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pa.

Thaler, a sophomore at St. Joe’s, won the 800 in 1:51.80, his first time under 1:55, 1:54, 1;53 or 1:52. Thaler’s previous PR was a 1:55.85 at the Fasttrack Invitational at Ocean Breeze in February, and his outdoor PR was 1:55.91 from last year’s Widener Invitational.

He ran 1:56.08 in his final high shool meet, the 2021 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield in June 2021. Two years ago, he had never broken two minutes. Now he’s No. 10 in the Atlantic 10.

Thaler is the second South Jersey high school grad to have a breakthrough spring for St. Joe’s. Washington Township’s Jayden Greene, a junior, ran 1:50.79 last weekend at Princeton.

St. Joe’s goes into Penn with Greene at 1:50.79, Thaler at 1:51.80, Maris Tranquille from Perth, Australia, 1:52.30 and Gavin Campbell of Central Bucks South 1:52.93 as well as Sean Murphy of Bishop Shanahan at 1:53.51 and Michael Szwed from Delea at 1:53.98. The Hawks are scheduled to run the 4-by-8 at 5:10 p.m. on Saturday.

The Hawks could run an all-South Jersey 4-by-8 with Greene, Thaler and Szwed along with one of any number of former South Jersey runners on the St. Joe’s roster. Noah Deckert of Delsea ran 3:50.29 for 1,500 meters last weekend, Matthew Coffey from Camden Catholic ran 3:53.23,

In the same race Friday night at Widener, The College of New Jersey junior Sean Burtnett ran 1:53.70 and placed 6th a week after PR’ing at 1:53.21. And Rowan freshman Brett Shea, a Hofstra transfer, ran 1:57.13, a collegiate PR.

For the first time in 13 years, the Willingboro girls are Woodbury Relays champs.

Willingboro, which won 10 Woodbury team titles from 1980 through 2010, returned to the winner’s circle Saturday at the 49th annual Wodobury Relays, outscoring 2nd-place Paul VI and Sterling 40-36 in the Group 2 competition.

Freshmen Aaliyah Robinson and Jaden Murry and sophomore Nester Wea were triple winners for the Chimeras on the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams.

In the 4-by-1, Willingboro won in 48.91, with junior LeRaven Isaac followed by Robinson, Murry and Wea. Freshman Kaila Speight led off the 4-by-2, followed by Robinson, Murray and Wea, and a winning 1:43.65. Murry, Robinson, Wea and Isaac ran 4:04.05 to win the 4-by-4, with Isaac anchoring in 59.72.

Wea, Murry, Robinson and Isaac placed 2nd in the sprint medley in 4:29.88, and the team of sophomore Chyanne Edwin, freshman Kimora Haskins, sophomore Janelle Sanabria and junior Dallas Walker ran 11:11.57 for 5th in the 4-by-8.

The Chimeras won Group 4 in 1980, 1981, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997, Group 3 in 1998 and 1999 and Group 1 in 2010.