There were so many remarkable performances by South Jersey athletes ta the Meet of Champions I didn’t want them to go unnoticed. But with the Olympic Trials following almost immediately after the M-of-C I never had a chance to highlight them.

So it’s been a few weeks but it’s never too late!

We’ll get to the boys in the next couple days, but here are five terrific performances from the Meet of Champions that I didn’t have a chance to write about earlier that you may have missed!

For complete results click here.

Olivia Bent-Cole: Camden Catholic soph Olivia Bent-Cole got faster every meet she ran this spring, starting out at 12.80 at the Olympic Conference Championships and culminating in the Meet of Champions, where she placed 6th in 12.18 after a PR 12.26 in the trials. Bent-Cole was the top sophomore in the M-of-C 100 final and the No. 2 underclassman, behind only Kent Place junior Christiana Nwachuku, who was 4th in 11.96. Bent-Cole also PR’d at 25.41 for 9th in the 200, where she was also the top soph. She was one of four girls to finish in the top-10 in both the 100 and 200. Her 12.18 is a school record.

Nevaeh Lorjuste: A Triton senior, Lorjuste was the top South Jersey finisher in the M-of-C 400, placing 4th in 57.07, a Triton school record. Lorjuste PR’d with a 56.98 at Group 3 sectionals at Delsea. Lorjuste was also the state Group 3 champion at 22 meters with a PR 25.51 and a sectional medalist in the 100. She’ll join Rowan’s powerhouse program in the fall.

Grace Wassell: The Highland sophomore’s best event most of the season was the 1,600, and she got her time down as fast as 5:04.85 at Haddonfield Distance Night, which wound up No. 7 in South Jersey this year and No. 7 among all New Jersey sophs. But after running 2:18.38 and 5:10.26 at states, she picked the 800 for Meet of Champions and PR’d by two seconds with a 2:15.18 for 5th place, and she did it unpressed out of the unseeded heat. She ran just 22-100ths of a second off Nia Holden’s school record of 2:14.98, set at 2018 sectionals at Central Regional. She was the No. 4 soph in New Jersey this year.

Diamond McLaughlin: Absegami’s McLaughlin capped a tremendous season with a 2nd-place finish in the M-of-C 400-meter intermediates with a lifetime-best 1:00.40. That was No. 6 in the U.S. this year and 6th-fastest ever by a South Jersey girl in the Meet of Champions. It’s also No. 9 in South Jersey history and just off the Atlantic County record of 1:00.26 set by Helena Leyrer of Buena when she won the 2012 Meet of Champions. Adelaide Asante of North Brunswick won the race in 1:00.24. McLaughlin’s previous PR was a 1:01.24 at Group 3 sectionals at Delsea. Here’s a look at the top South Jersey times in Meet of Champions 400-meter intermediate hurdles history:

59.03 … Tonya Lee (Rancocas Valley), 1988 (1)
59.56 … Torie Robinson (Winslow Twp.), 2013 (1)
59.96 … Mandie Dulin (Shawnee), 1997 (1)
1:00.10 …….. Dulin, 1996 (1)
1:00.13 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], 2019 (1)
1:00.26 … Helene Leyrer [Buena], 2012 (1)
1:00.40 … Diamond McLaughlin [Absegami], 2021 (2)
1:00.47 … Shaquanda Meylor [Woodrow Wilson], 2006 (2)
1:00.67 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2019 (3)
1:00.73 … Pam Richardson [Edgewood], 2001 (1)
1:00.74 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2003 (1)
1:00.79 … Courtney Smith [Penns Grove], 2014 (3)

Jenovia Logan: Logan capped a very consistent sophomore season with a 5-6 clearance for 3rd place in the M-of-C. She cleared at least 5-4 in every major meet, including three 5-6 performances. The top four girls cleared 5-6 at the M-of-C, including Delsea freshman Alaana Woolfolk, who won the event. Unfortunately, the girls high jump results were never posted so there’s no way to tell who cleared what heights on which attempts, but Woolfolk and Logan are among four returning jumpers in New Jersey who cleared 5-6 this past spring.  

 

The Haddonfield girls capped a terrific weekend at Outdoor Nationals with the second-fastest distance medley in South Jersey history.

Allison Colflesh, Payton Weiner, Lindsay Colflesh and Sarah Naticchia ran 12:00.47 for fifth place in the DMR at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, one day after breaking the South Jersey record in the 4-by-8 with a 9:00.51 for second place.

The only faster time in South Jersey history is Lenape’s 11:53.15 at the 2012 Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

Allison Colflesh led off with a 3:41.88 for 1,200 meters and Weiner split 61.10 for the 400. Lindsay Colflesh ran 2:17.87 and Naticchia anchored in 4:59.63.

The previous school record – and Camden County record – was 12:02.34 set by the 2000 Haddonfield team of Holly Cosnett, Adrienne Butler, Erin O’Donnell and Olympian Erin Donohue at the Penn Relays.

ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY DMR TOP 10
11:53.15 … Lenape, 2012
12:00.47 … Haddonfield, 2021
12:00.64 … Ocean City, 2004
12:02.34 … Haddonfield 2000
12:02.37 … Haddonfield, 2014
12:04.39 … Lenape, 2010
12:05.39 … Ocean City 2005
12:05.98 … Sterling, 2017
12:06.73 … Ocean City 1994
12:07.21 … Lenape 2008

ALL-TIME NEW JERSEY DMR TOP 10
11:32.29 … Red Bank Catholic, 2011
11:37.86 … Red Bank, 2003
11:40.81 … Southern Regional, 2007
11:42.16 … Roxbury, 2008
11:42.17 … Red Bank, 2002
11:45.54 … Southern Regional, 2006
11:47.67 … Southern Regional, 2008
11:47.95 … Voorhees, 2002
11:48.04 … Columbia, 1997
11:49.73 … Randolph, 2019
11:50.03 … Roxbury, 2006
11:50.73 … Ridgewood, 2012
11:50.7h … Summit, 1981
11:51.76 … Voorhees, 2007
11:52.24 … Bernards, 2012
11:53.13 … West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 2015
11:53.15 … Lenape, 2012
11:54.22 … Ridgewood, 2019
11:54.9h … Summit, 1982
11:55.13 … Randolph, 2010
11:55.41 … Red Bank, 2001
11:55.55 … Red Bank Catholic, 2012
11:56.10 … Mount St. Dominic, 2013
11:56.69 … Ramapo, 2007
11:56.60 … Southern Regional, 2004
11:57.85 … Northern Highlands, 2015
11:57.88 … Roxbury, 2007
11:57.96 … Bernards, 2013
11:58.33 … North Hunterdon, 2017
11:58.4h … North Hunterdon, 1987
11:58.43 … Randolph, 2007
11:58.74 … Southern Regional, 2009
11:59.6h … Ridgewood, 1982
11:59.78 … Mendham, 2012
12:00.16 … North Hunterdon, 2018
12:00.32 … Southern Regional, 2016
12:00.47 … Haddonfield, 2021
12:00.64 … Ocean City, 2004
12:00.67 … Columbia, 1998
12:00.91 … Red Bank Catholic, 2010
12:01.22 … Pope John XXIII, 2008
12:01.34 … Southern Regional, 2010
12:01.55 … Voorhees, 2009
12:01.9h … Ridgewood, 1983
12:02.00 … Randolph, 2013
12:02.34 … Haddonfield 2000
12:02.36 … High Point, 2013
12:02.37 … Haddonfield, 2014
12:02.6h … Bernards, 1983
12:02.79 … Northern Highlands, 2014
12:02.8h … Ridgewood, 1998
12:03.07 … Randolph, 2014
12:03.10 … Immaculate Heart Academy, 2008
12:03.21 … Roxbury, 2005
12:03.5h … Ridgewood, 1994
12:04.39 … Lenape, 2010
12:04.68 … Southern Regional, 2012
12:05.38 … Hunterdon Central, 2002
12:05.39 … Ocean City 2005
12:05.53 … Pope John XXIII, 2006
12:05.81 … Voorhees, 2019
12:05.98 … Sterling, 2017
11:32.29 … Red Bank Catholic, 2011
11:37.86 … Red Bank, 2003
11:40.81 … Southern Regional, 2007
11:42.16 … Roxbury, 2008
11:42.17 … Red Bank, 2002
11:45.54 … Southern Regional, 2006
11:47.67 … Southern Regional, 2008
11:47.95 … Voorhees, 2002
11:48.04 … Columbia, 1997
11:49.73 … Randolph, 2019
11:50.03 … Roxbury, 2006
11:50.73 … Ridgewood, 2012
11:50.7h … Summit, 1981
11:51.76 … Voorhees, 2007
11:52.24 … Bernards, 2012
11:53.13 … West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 2015
11:53.15 … Lenape, 2012
11:54.22 … Ridgewood, 2019
11:54.9h … Summit, 1982
11:55.13 … Randolph, 2010
11:55.41 … Red Bank, 2001
11:55.55 … Red Bank Catholic, 2012
11:56.10 … Mount St. Dominic, 2013
11:56.69 … Ramapo, 2007
11:56.60 … Southern Regional, 2004
11:57.85 … Northern Highlands, 2015
11:57.88 … Roxbury, 2007
11:57.96 … Bernards, 2013
11:58.33 … North Hunterdon, 2017
11:58.4h … North Hunterdon, 1987
11:58.43 … Randolph, 2007
11:58.74 … Southern Regional, 2009
11:59.6h … Ridgewood, 1982
11:59.78 … Mendham, 2012
12:00.16 … North Hunterdon, 2018
12:00.32 … Southern Regional, 2016
12:00.47 … Haddonfield, 2021
12:00.64 … Ocean City, 2004
12:00.67 … Columbia, 1998
12:00.91 … Red Bank Catholic, 2010
12:01.22 … Pope John XXIII, 2008
12:01.34 … Southern Regional, 2010
12:01.55 … Voorhees, 2009
12:01.9h … Ridgewood, 1983
12:02.00 … Randolph, 2013
12:02.34 … Haddonfield 2000
12:02.36 … High Point, 2013
12:02.37 … Haddonfield, 2014
12:02.6h … Bernards, 1983
12:02.79 … Northern Highlands, 2014
12:02.8h … Ridgewood, 1998
12:03.07 … Randolph, 2014
12:03.10 … Immaculate Heart Academy, 2008
12:03.21 … Roxbury, 2005
12:03.5h … Ridgewood, 1994
12:04.39 … Lenape, 2010
12:04.68 … Southern Regional, 2012
12:05.38 … Hunterdon Central, 2002
12:05.39 … Ocean City 2005
12:05.53 … Pope John XXIII, 2006
12:05.81 … Voorhees, 2019
12:05.98 … Sterling, 2017

English Gardner is going back to the Olympics! 

Gardner, a graduate of Eastern High School and a 400-meter relay gold medalist in 2016, has been added to the U.S. Olympic Team’s relay pool for Tokyo, according to report by Jim Lambert of New Jersey Milesplit.

Gardner raced herself into contention for a relay berth by running 10.96 in the Olympic Trials semifinals – her fastest time since 2016 – and placing sixth in the final.

Being added to the relay pool means Gardner will travel to Tokyo with the U.S. team and be eligible for relay duty in either round. Gardner has more international relay experience than any of the other Americans.

She ran the third leg in 2016 when the U.S. ran 41.01 and won the 400-meter dash final at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro despite having to race out of lane 1. Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and Tori Bowie also ran on that team.

That’s the No. 2 time in world history, behind only then 40.82 the U.S. ran to win the 2012 gold medal in London. Tianna Madison, Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter ran on that team.

There are two rounds of the 400-meter relay in Tokyo – trials on Aug. 5 and finals on Aug. 6.

With Trials winner Sha’Carri Richardson unable to run the 100 because of a one-month suspension, Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels and Jenna Prandini are scheduled to run the 100 in Tokyo, and Jenna Prandini, Gabby Thomas and Gardner form the remainder of the relay pool. Richardson could also be added to the relay pool since her suspension ends after the 100 but before the 4-by-1.

Since Thomas and Prandini are also in the 200, there’s a chance one or both of them could focus on the 200 and drop out of the 100, which means there’s a chance Gardner could be added to the 100-meter dash.

Gardner, 29, battled back from a nasty battle with COVID that nearly derailed her 2021 season to run 11.13 in Maryland in June.

Other than a series of weird races in Fort Worth in July of 2020 – an outdoor 60, a 100, a 150 and a 300 – she didn’t race at all from the World Championships in Doha in September of 2019 until a meet in Walnut, Calif., this past May, where she ran 11.29. She ran a wind-legal 11.10 in late May in Jacksonville – her fastest wind-legal 100 since 2018.

With her 10.96 at the Trials – slightly wind-aided but still very fast – Gardner showed she’s still a world-class sprinter, and with another month of training and getting stronger after her COVID battle, there’s no reason to think she can’t go even faster.

Gardner won the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene in 10.74, to this day the 8th-fastest time in world history and No. 5 in U.S. history.

The Haddonfield girls shattered their own South Jersey 3,200-meter relay record Friday at the Outdoor Nationals in Eugene.

The team of seniors Sarah Naticchia, Lindsay Colflesh, Olivia Stoner and Allison Colflesh ran 9:00.51 at historic Hayward Field and placed second to Niwot (Colo.), which won the race in 8:52.48, No. 8 in meet history.

Haddonfield’s time is No. 10 in state history.

Naticchia led off with a 2:15.40 split and Lindsay Colflesh followed with a 2:14.63. Stoner split 2:14.04 and Allison Colflesh anchored in 2:16.44.

What a way to go out for this remarkable group of seniors, who have helped make Haddonfield one of the top programs in the country for the last several years.

Niwot and Haddonfield came into the race ranked No. 1 and 2 in the country at 8:55.86 and 9:04.72 and both ran faster in their final race of the year.

Haddonfield ran 9:04.72 in May at the Cherokee Relays. That broke the South Jersey record of 9:05.62 set by Lenape at the 2012 Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

Before this year, Haddonfield’s school record was 9:06.30 at the 2008 Penn Relays.

Cherokee placed eighth in 9:21.99, just off their 9:20.44 from the Cherokee Relays.

Kelce Niglio, Nicole Clifford, Meghan Carroll and Erin Jackson ran for the Chiefs, with Niglio splitting 2:14.22, Clifford 2:18.80, Carroll 2:27.70 and Jackson 2:21.28.

For the complete all-time South Jersey top-50, click here.

Here’s a look at the all-time New Jersey 4-by- list!

8:45.37 … Columbia, 2014
8:52.80 … Southern Regional, 2009
8:54.88 … Columbia, 1997
8:55.44 … Freehold Township, 2014
8:55.82 … Ridge, 2017
8:56.45 … Pope John XXIII, 2007
8:59.16 … Voorhees, 2002
8:59.78 … Union Catholic, 2019
9:00.38 … Bernards,2010
9:00.51 … Haddonfield, 2021
9:00.43 … Ridgewood, 2012
9:03.74 … Red Bank Catholic, 2012
9:03.4h… Bernards, 1983
9:04.22 … Roxbury, 2008
9:05.62 … Lenape, 2012
9:05.83 … Lenape, 2008
9:06.30 … Haddonfield, 2008
9:06.47 … West Windsor-Plainsboro, 2014
9:06.80 … Voorhees, 2008
9:06.92 … Randolph, 2010
9:07.1h … Columbia, 1983

 

Highland senior Floyd Whitaker soared a quarter of an inch short of 50 feet Thursday afternoon and won the national triple jump championship by two inches.

Whitaker jumped 49-11 3/4 on his second attempt at the Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The top three jumpers all finished within four inches of each other.

Whitaker held off Solomon Washington of of Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas, who jumped 49-9 3/4 on his second attempt, and Aren Spencer of Christ Church, Barbados, who hit 49-7 3/4 on his first jump. 

Washington followed up with jumps of 49-6 1/2 and 49-8 1/4 but couldn’t catch Whitaker, who backed up his 49-11 3/4 with a 49-10 on his third attempt. Spencer fouled four times but did have a second jump over 49 feet at 49-1. Anthony Woods of St. Xavier High in Louisville, Ky., was fourth at 49-1 1/2, making it four jumpers over 49 feet.

It was Whitaker’s first national title, although he did win the freshman triple jump at the 2018 New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

Whitaker’s 49-11 3/4 is the second-best jump of his life. He won his first of two consecutive Meet of Champions titles in 2019 with a 50-2 1/2. He won this past M-of-C with a 49-7.

Whitaker jumped 48-2 1/2 into a moderate wind (0.2) on his first attempt before his winning 49-11 3/4. He finished the trials with a 49-10 before going 48-11 3/4, 47-6 1/4 and 48-10 1/4 in the finals.

He averaged 48-10 1/2 on his six legal jumps. 

Whitaker is the first boy from Camden County to win a national outdoor title since Anthony Miles won the long jump in 2003, and he’s the first South Jersey boy to win a field event at nationals since Braheme Days Jr. of Bridgeton won the shot and James Plummer of Egg Harbor Township won the discus in 2013.

Paul VI ran a season-best 42.42 Thursday in the 400-meter relay qualifying rounds at the Outdoor Nationals, qualifying for the final on Friday.

The team of senior Matthew Jenkins and juniors Matthew Mazero, Cameron Serafinelli and Michael Mazero placed third in the first of three heats at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. 

There are no auto qualifiers. The nine-fastest times in three heats advanced to the final. Overall, Paul VI had the 7th-fastest time.

The only time Paul VI ran faster for a 4-by-1 was 2018, when the team of ran 42.25 and 41.96 at New Balance Nationals after a 42.28 at the Meet of Champions.

The time matches the No. 2 time in South Jersey this year, behind Rancocas Valley’s 41.99 to win the Meet of Champions last month. Deptford also ran 42.42, also at the Meet of Champions. It’s No. 4 in the state.

The final is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. EST Friday.

Nothing quite as exciting as becoming an Olympian.

Win the Olympic Trials javelin and then sit around and wait a week and a half while some ranking system that’s so complicated nobody on Earth understands it (and isn’t even explained anywhere that we’ve been able to find) decides to update itself and give you enough information to figure out for yourself that, yeah, you’re an Olympian.

is this any way to run a sport? Welcome to U.S. Track and Field.

What a mess.

Curtis Thompson, the world-class javelin thrower from Florence, can now safely – finally – say he’s an Olympian.

We think.

edit – At about 1 p.m., Thompson made it official on Twitter!

Five years after coming up three inches short of winning the Trials and being forced to stay home because of an archaic qualifying rule, Thompson learned he’s an Olympian based on an equally archaic and complex series of qualifying rules in use for the first time.

Thompson won the javelin at the U.S. Trials last month with a throw of 271-3. Because that was just short of the IAAF’s javelin standard of 85 meters (278-10) – a standard only 11 people in the world have reached this year and only three Americans have EVER reached, none since 2007 – he had to wait to learn if he qualified based on a world ranking system the IAAF uses.

Although the details are apparently a closely guarded secret that USATF and IAAF don’t want anybody to know, the system ranks athletes not just on their performance – Thompson is ranked 19th in the world – but on their top five performances over a period of time that appears to be three years (but we’re not sure). Each performance is assigned a numeral grade based on the performance, the importance of the meet and the athlete’s place. Each athlete’s top-five scores are averaged out into a ranking figure, and even if you don’t have the standard, if this figure is among the top 32 in the world as of today and you finished in the top three in the Trials, you’re an OlympIan.

With us so far?

The deadline for athletes to update their scores was yesterday. Thompson, as you can see (click here), is either 27th or 24th, depending on whether you use the ranking on the left side of the screen or the one on the right. We have no idea which one is the important one because none of this is explained anywhere and USATF has refused to return messages we left asking them to explain any of this.

But the important thing is both numbers – 24 and 27 – are less than 32, which means Thompson is safely in the qualifying range after the June 30 deadline for athletes to improve their ranking.

The only thing we don’t know is if this site has been updated through all meets that count in the scoring system. There is no date on the list and neither the USATF or IAAF has bothered to release any information about qualifying.

In any case, even if the list isn’t final, the odds that six (or nine) javelin throwers could improve their score enough to unseat Thompson at this point is statistically zero. 

He’s going to Tokyo.

People wonder why track and field is struggling. Why stands are empty at meets. Why the mainstream media generally ignores it.

Maybe because NOBODY ON THE PLANET KNOWS HOW SOMEONE BECOMES AN OLYMPIAN?

The USATF should have this all spelled out on the front of its catastrophically wretched web site, with a countdown — “CURTIS THOMPSON’S COUNTDOWN TO TOKYO” – that people can follow. On the contrary, they’ve never even mentioned the event on their web site since the Trials in Eugene.

This has to be the worst-run organization on the planet. Curtis Thompson appears to have made the Olympic team and should be on his way to Tokyo later this month and his own governing body doesn’t even want anybody to know!

In any case, we’re thrilled for Curtis, who deserved to go in 2016 and deserved it even more this year.

I just hope someone lets him know he’s on the team before the plane leaves for Tokyo!

Kingsway rising senior Ryan Allen won his second national scholastic racewalk title Wednesday when he finished first in the 3,000-meter event at the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Allen finished in a personal-best 14:28.87. His previous PR over the 3,000-meter event was 15:50.14 in Virginia Beach in March.

He  had an eight-second leg just 600 meters into the race and a 17-second lead at the 1,000. He won by about 275 meters.

Allen also won the one-mile racewalk at the adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia Beach in February.

On Wednesday, Allen finished more than a minute ahead of second-place Isaac Gray of Rochester, whose time was 15:43.24.

Allen is the younger brother of Kingsway graduate and rising Cornell sophomore Sam Allen, who placed sixth in the 20,000-meter walk last week at the U.S. Olympic Trials just outside Eugene.

Allen also ran for Kingsway’s track team and had a 1,600 PR of 4:31.94 at Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township. That makes him the No. 5 returner in Gloucester County, behind teammate Kyle Rakitis [4:08.58] – who races in the mile on Saturday – as well as Jacob of West Deptford [4:18.59], Peyton Shute of Woodbury [4:29.28] and Andrew Littlehales of Delsea [4:30.19].

Considering the meet is now 3,000 miles away, it’s not surprising the South Jersey contingent at National Scholastic Championships is so small.

But a handful of South Jersey athletes will be competing at Hayward Field in Eugene starting Wednesday and running through Saturday.

One of the more intriguing South Jersey entries is the Haddonfield girls, who are entered in both the 3,200-meter relay on Friday and the distance medley on Saturday. Allison and Lindsay Colflesh and Sarah Naticchia will be on both teams. Olivia Stoner will join them on the 4-by-8 and Peyton Weiner on the DMR.

Haddonfield is No. 2 nationally in the 4-by-8 with its South Jersey-record 9:04.72 from the Cherokee Relays in May. Top-ranked Niwot (Colo.), which ran 8:55.86 in May at the Pomona Invitational  in Lakewood, Colo., is also entered.

Haddonfield is No. 7 nationally in the DMR with a 12:06.82 at the Blue Devil Classic in Westfield in early May. The South Jersey DMR record is Lenape’s 11:53.15 with Camille Franklin, Ana de las Heras, Emily McGee and Natalia Ocasio at Nationals in Greensboro in 2012. 

The state records are Columbia’s 8:45.37 at the 2014 Penn Relays and Red Bank Catholic’s 11:32.29 at the 2011 Nationals in Greensboro.

Here’s a look at all the South Jersey entries this week in Eugene:

BOYS
100-Meter Dash Trials, 9 a.m., Friday
Matt Mazero [Paul VI]

400-Meter Dash Trials, 5:15 p.m. Friday
Michael Mazero [Paul VI]

Mile, 6:45 p.m., Saturday
Kyle Rakitis [Kingsway]

5,000-Meter Run, 10:30 a.m., Saturday
Josh Forrest [Collingswood]
Aidan Groff [Cherry Hill East]
Brady Shute [Woodbury]

400-Meter Hurdles, 9:40 a.m., Friday
Treshan Stevenson [Millville]

3,000-Meter Racewalk, 10:50 a.m., Wednesday
Ryan Allen [Kingsway]

Long Jump, 6:30 p.m., Thursday
Greg Foster [Lumberton, Lawrenceville School]

Triple Jump, 1:30 p.m., Thursday
Floyd Whitaker [Highland]

400-Meter Relay, 11:35 a.m., Thursday
Paul VI [Matt Jenkins, Matt Mazero, Cameron Serafinelli, Michael Mazero]

800-Meter Relay, 1:35 p.m., Thursday
Paul VI [Cameron Serafinelli, Matthew Jenkins, Matt Mazero, Mike Mazero]

Four-Mile Relay, 11:20 a.m., Friday
Haddonfield [Tobias Janssen, Caleb Clevenger, John Hurly, Sean Eisenhower]

1,000-Meter Swedish Relay, 2:35 p.m., Wednesday
Paul VI [Matthew Jenkins, Cameron Serafinelli, Matt Mazero, Mike Mazero]

GIRLS
5,000-Meter Run, 9:30 a.m., Saturday
Sophie Steidle [Collingswood]

High Jump, 6 p.m., Thursday
Tatina Carr [Timber Creek]

Heptathlon, 2:50 p.m., Friday – 6 p.m. Saturday
Bryanna Craig [Millville / Lubbock Coronado], Heptathlon

3,200-Meter Relay, 12:30 p.m., Friday
Cherokee [Nicole Clifford, Meghan Carroll, Erin Jackson, Kelsey Niglio]
Haddonfield [Allison Colflesh, Lindsay Colflesh, Olivia Stoner, Sarah Naticchia]

Distance Medley, 11:30 a.m., Saturday
Haddonfield [Allison Colflesh, Payton Weiner, Lindsay Colflesh, Sarah Naticchia]

We got a little sidetracked by the Olympic Trials, but there’s a lot more to wrap up from the 2021 high school season, and we’ll start with Willingboro’s Malachi James, who capped a terrific freshman season with two top-8 finishes at the M-of-C.

James ran a PR 10.76 in the 100 trials at South Plainfield before placing fifth in the final with a 10.84, and he ran eighth in the 200 in 22.07. James ran 21.82 earlier this year.

James finished the year as the No. 15 freshman nationally in the 100 and 14 in the 200, according to the MileSplit database.

He’s the first freshman ever to place in the top-10 in the Meet of Champions in both the 100 and 200. 

His 5th-place in the 100 is the highest by any South Jersey freshman in any event at the M-of-C since 2012, when Dominique Irons of Haddon Heights was second in the triple jump.

The last freshman to medal in the 100 was Camden’s Jamar Ervin in 2000, when he set a national freshman record of 10.35 that still stands.

Ervin, like James, was coached by Martin Booker.

James is the fastest New Jersey freshman in the 100 since Ervin 21 years ago. A few freshmen have run faster in the 200 – Shamali Whittle of  Hamilton North ran 21.75 just two years ago (and doubled the M-of-C sprints this year with 10.55 and 20.95). 

It’s not clear what the South Jersey 200 freshman record is. James likely already has it. The MileSplit database goes back 20 years and doesn’t show anyone faster than James’ 21.82. Ervin didn’t run many 200s and never went under 22 seconds. Burlington’s Brondon Jenkins won a state Group 1 title in the 200 as a freshman in 1993 in 22.26 – a year later he ran 21.46 and won the M-of-C while attending Delran. But it looks like 22.26 was his fastest time in 1993.

The last freshman in the top-eight at a M-of-C in the 200 was Washington Township’s Clayton Crosse, who was eighth in 2015 in 22.27. 

Including converted hand times, James’ 10.76 is No. 12 in Burlington County history and fastest by a Willingboro sprinter since 1986, when Kenny Reynolds and Malik Crawford both ran hand-timed 10.5s, which converts to 10.74, or slightly faster than James ran in the M-of-C trials.

His 200 time is fastest by a Willingboro sprinter since Antonio Abney ran 21.75 in 2007.

James is the No. 3 New Jersey returner for 2022, behind two current juniors – Whittle and Fitzroy Ledgister of St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City, who ran 10.60 at the South Hudson Championships in Kearney. He’s the No. 8 returner in the 200 and shares the No. 1 spot in South Jersey with Pennsauken sophomore Ejani Shakir, who also ran 21.82.