Senior Isaiah Lewis, junior Brandon Greene and senior Terry McNeill swept the hurdles, leading the Winslow Township boys to their first sectional title indoors or out in 12 years.

Winslow outscored Ocean City by 1 1/2 points, using the 24 points in the 55-meter highs for a 51 1/2-50 win in the South Jersey Group 3 meet at the Bennett Center.

The Winslow boys hadn’t won a sectional title since the Group 3 title indoors in 2008. Their last outdoor title was in Group 4 in 2006.

Lewis ran 7.66 to win the 55 highs, breaking his PR of 7.68 from the Varsity Classic earlier this month at the Armory. Greene ran 7.79, breaking his PR of 7.82, also from the Varsity Classic. McNeill took third in 7.81.

Lewis and McNeill also placed third and fifth in the high jump for 10 more points that turned out to be critical.

Winslow also got a win in a hotly contested shot put competition that saw two of the state’s best go head-to-head.

Senior John Purvis, one of only two 60-footers in the state this year, won the event with a 57-9 1/4 after a good challenge from Hammonton senior Nate Karl, who threw within three-quarters of an inch of his PR at 56-10 1/4. They are ranked No. 2 and 4 in the state.

McNeill, Greene, Lewis and sophomore Trey Moore teamed up to take third in the 1,600-meter relay in 3:33.88.

Led by their tireless distance crew and the remarkably versatile senior Rachel Bonnet, the Haddonfield girls won their state-record ninth team title Sunday in the 13-year history of indoor sectionals.

Haddonfield scored 137 points, the most ever in any South Jersey indoor sectional and most ever in any Group 2 sectional and one point shy of the record for most points in any indoor sectional.

Haddonfield had been tied with Bernards and Ridge with eight titles since indoor sectionals were first held in 2008. Bernards competed in North II Group 2 on Friday and placed fifth, and Ridge will compete in the North II Group 4 sectionals this coming Friday,

The Haddonfield girls won Group 1 in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and have now won Group 2 in 2019 and 2020. 

Haddonfield swept the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 for 72 of a possible 72 points in the three long track events.

The only school to score more points in an indoor girls sectional is Bernards, which scored 138 to win North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 in 2010.

Despite Haddonfield’s three distance sweeps, the star of the day may have been Bonnet, who not only competed in an unusual selection of events — the high jump, hurdles and shot put – she recorded a first and two seconds for 26 huge points for the Bulldogs.

Bonnet won the high hurdles in 9.10 and placed second in the high jump at 5-0 and shot put with a 33-9.

Lindsay Colflesh led the 1-2-3 800 sweep with an indoor PR 2:19.84, with Allison Colflesh second in 2:21.33 and junior Olivia Stoner third in 2:23.34, an indoor PR.

Here’s a post about the 1,600 – https://wordpress.com/post/sjtrackblog.com/17192 – which Haddonfield swept behind juniors Sarah Naticchia, Allison Colflesh and Payton Weiner.

Naticchia and seniors Evie Andrewes and Lilly Sirover ran on the 3,200-meter sweep, Naticchia winning in 11:25.46, Andrewes second in 11:53.40 and Sirover third in 11:55.47. That’s a 26-second indoor PR for Andrewes.

Lindsay Colflesh also placed third in the 400 in 1:00.12.

Grace Kegler took second in the hurdles in 9.21 and third in the pole vault at 9-0. That’s a one-foot PR in what appears to be just her fourth career pole vault competition, according to MileSplit.

Junior Robin Rosen tied for fourth in the high jump at 4-10 and was second in the pole vault at 10-6.

Most points in indoor sectional history
138 – Bernards, NJ2-1, 2010
137 – Haddonfield, SJ-2, 2020
133 – Hopewell Valley, CJ-2, 2009
130 1/3 – Haddonfield, SJ-1, 2009
129 – Bernards, NJ2-1, 2009
125 – Willingboro, CJ-1, 2010
124 1/2 – Haddonfield, SJ-1, 2015
124 – Haddonfield, SJ-1, 2016
119 – Essex County Tech Market Street, NJ2-1, 2012
118 – Bernards, NJ2-1, 2014
114 – Hopewell, CJ-2, 2008
112 – Bernards, NJ2-1, 2013
112 – Haddonfield, SJ-2, 2019
111 – Delsea, SJ-2, 2014
110 – Collingswood, SJ-1, 2019
109 – Ridge, NJ2-4, 2017
107 1/2 – Ridgewood, NJ1-4, 2019
106 – Haddonfield, SJ-1, 2014
105 – Randolph, NJ1-4, 2010
105 – Columbia, NJ2-4, 2011
102 – Weequahic, CJ-1, 2013
102 – Haddonfield, SJ-1, 2012
100 1/3 – Whippany Park, NJ2-1, 2016
100 – Delsea, SJ-2, 2011

Haddonfield juniors Sarah Naticchia, Allison Colflesh and Payton Weiner all ran indoor PRs of at least six seconds and swept the 1,600 at sectionals.

Naticchia ran 5:06.90, Colflesh 5:08.17 and Weiner 5:12.74 and swept the first three spots at the South Jersey Group 2 meet at the Bennett Center Saturday morning.

Naticchia’s previous indoor PR was a 5:13.84 from states last year. Colflesh’s was a 5:20.06 from a meet in December at the Armory. And Weiner’s was 5:19.54 from states in 2018.

Colflesh actually ran below her outdoor PR of 5:07.01 as well.

Haddonfield also has junior Lindsay Colflesh, who has run 5:24.02 this year and 5:17.80 outdoors.

Hopefully a four-mile relay is in this group’s future!

Naticchia, Colflesh and Weiner ran the three-fastest times in South Jersey so far this year. They’re No. 6, No. 9 and No. 19 in the state.

Delsea’s Marco Morales recorded the best pole vault performance ever in an indoor New Jersey sectional meet Saturday morning when he cleared 15-8.

Morales won the South Jersey Group 2 title at the Bennett Center, and his twin brother Nico, competing for the first time in six weeks, was second at 14-6.

Marco Morales broke the overall sectional record of 15-6 set in 2013 by Robbinsville’s Craig Hunter. Hunter’s 15-6 was also the overall sectional Group 2 record. Morales also broke the overall South Jersey sectional mark of 15-1 set in 2014 by Kingsway’s Dylan Altland, and he broke the South Jersey Group 2 sectional mark of 14-7 that he set last year.

Indoor sectionals have been held since 2008.

Marco Morales and Nico Morales shared the indoor South Jersey record of 15-7 with West Deptford’s Dan Batdorf from 2008 until Marco cleared 15-7 at Ocean Breeze last month. Then he jumped 16-0 at Ocean Breeze on Monday to break his own South Jersey indoor record and tie the overall South Jersey indoor/outdoor mark of 16-0 set by Haddon Heights’ Bob Green in 1992.

Interestingly, Morales’s mark is also superior to the outdoor South Jersey sectional pole vault record of 15-7 shared by Brandon Kurtz of Absegami in Group 3 in 1991 and Jordan Subai of Toms River South in Group 4 in 2010.

What a performance by the Ocean City boys in the 1,600 at the Group 3 sectionals!

Sophomore Owen Ritti, senior Luke Kramer and junior Tyler Greene swept the 1,600, all in 4:32 or faster.

That’s 24 points in one event for the Red Raiders at the Bennett Center!

Ritti ran an indoor-outdoor PR of 4:27.62, Kramer was second in a season-best 4:30.54 and Greene Edged Ryan Tobin of Toms River South for third in a personal-best 4:32.09.

Ritti’s previous PR was a 4:31.89 last weekend at Ocean Breeze. His time is No. 3 among New Jersey sophomores this year and No. 2 among South Jersey milers, behind Kingsway’s Kyle Rakitis [4:22.97]. It’s No. 5 overall in South Jersey this year.

Greene’s previous PR was a 4:39.08 last month on the same track, so that’s a seven-second PR for him. Kramer ran 4:27.60 at states last year.

Heck of a 400 race at the Bennett Center, with Pennsauken junior Jade Pope edging Winslow senior Nylah Perry by 8-100ths of a second.

Pope won the South Jersey Group 3 400 title early Sunday morning in 58.01, with Perry in 58.09. Winslow’s Janeya Hammond [58.84], Shawnee’s Amanda Demko [59.53] and absegami’s Diamond McLaughlin [59.93] also ran under a minute.

The three repeated their 1-2-3 finish from last year, when Pope ran 57.46, Perry 58.24 and Hammond 58.60.

Pope was second to Winslow’s Flora Ahiarakwe as a freshman, so she’s placed in the top two three straight years now with one to go.

Pope’s time is No. 3 in South Jersey this year behind Perry’s 56.85 at the Varsity Classic and Hammond’s 57.59 at the Hispanic Games, both at the Armory.

The Group 2 and 3 sectionals are just getting underway at the Bennett Center so lots of good stuff to come this morning and this afternoon!

Eric Barnes, an Egg Harbor graduate now running for Rutgers, PR’d in the 800 Saturday at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.

Barnes, a junior, ran 1:52.67 in a deep field of nearly 300 half-milers, finishing 33rd overall and third in his section.

https://www.lancertiming.com/results/winter20/valentine/index.htm

Barnes lowered his PR from 1:53.13, which he ran last month on the same track. He also beat his outdoor PR of 1:53.21.

His time is No. 9 in Rutgers history indoors. Ahead of him on that list at No. 4 is another South Jersey runner, Pleasantville graduate Joe Lewis, who ran 1:51.16 for R.U. in 2002.

Barnes had PRs of 1:54.06 outdoors at Egg Harbor and 1:56.43 indoors. He was third in the indoor Meet of Champions his senior year at EHT.

Senior Meredith Updike ran a meet-record and personal-best 8.29 to win the hurdles and highlight a huge day for Cinnaminson at the Central Jersey Group 2 meet Saturday at the Bennett Center.

Updike broke her 55-meter highs PR of 8.33 from her win at Group 2 states last winter on the same track.

The previous meet record was 8.45 by Mjcah Collier of Lawrence in 2017. Updike won last year’s race in 8.60.

Her time is No. 7 in the state this year and No. 3 by a South Jersey hurdler behind Jewel Ash (8.15) and Jailya Ash (8.20) of Eastern.

Her time is No. 3 in Burlington County history, behind only Olympic long jumper Carol Lewis, who ran 7.92 in 1981 for Willingboro, and Jasmine Staten of Lenape, who ran 8.28 in 2016.

Updike nearly broke the meet record with an 8.46 in the trials, then won the final by a whopping four meters over Matawan’s Tiana Ellis, who was second in 8.99.

The versatile Updike added an indoor PR in the 400 and an overall indoor/outdoor PR in the 800 for 22 total points in three events.

She placed 2nd in the 800 in 2:22.72, finishing just 16-100ths of a second behind winner Sydney Todd of Monmouth, and 4th in the 400 in 59.44.

The 400 time breaks her indoor PR of 59.73, which she ran twice last winter. Her previous overall 800 PR was a 2:22.93 last January.

<strong>ALL-TIME S.J. 55 HURDLES LIST</strong>
7.29 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1981
7.89 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.89 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.94 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
7.98 … Nicole Belcher [Wilson], 1992
7.98 … Tisonna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2019
8.01 … Samantha Sharper [Wilson], 2008
8.03 … Alethia Jenkins [Pennsauken], 2000
8.03 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
8.04 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
8.05 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
8.06 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
8.10 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest]. 2008
8.10 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], 2019
8.11 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2014
8.15 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], 2020
8.16 … Te’Seanna Harris [Camden], 2019
8.17 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
8.18 … Gabrielle Bennett [Winslow Twp.], 2015
8.19 … Brittany Preston [Winslow Twp,], 2016
8.22 … Jamillah Nock [Wilson], 2004
8.23 … Tierra Hooker [Timber Creek], 2019
8.24 … Malea Broome [Millville], 2019
8.26 … Janee Sharper [Wilson], 2006
8.28 … Kristina Keegan [Haddonfield], 2003
8.28 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape, 2016
8.29 … Keisha Williams [Camden], 2015
8.29 … Aliya Rae Garozzo [Paul VI], 2019
8.29 … Meredith Updike [Cinnaminson], 2020
8.30 … Joshonda Johnson [Absegami], 2017

Mike Zurzolo, a College of New Jersey senior from Cherokee, had a huge 3,000 race in Boston Saturday, placing second out of 100 runners at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University.

Zurzolo ran a massive PR of 8:31.87, finishing behind only Neil Braganza of Yale, who won the race in 8:30.99.

That’s the fastest time by a TCNJ runner in 13 years.

Zurzolo was out in 2:18.7, 2:17.7 and 2:18.4 before running the final 600 in 1:37, which is 2:09 pace. He closed in 62.4 and 29.5.

His previous PR for 3,000 was 8:44.66 last month in a meet at the Armory. 

Zurzolo’s time is No. 19 in NCAA Division 3 and fastest by any NJAC runner this year by nearly 10 seconds.

At Cherokee, Zurzolo had an indoor 1,600 PR of 4:35.90, so he came through the 1,600 only about half a second slower Saturday in a 3,000 than his high school PR for a race nearly half as long.

Zurzolo’s 3,200 PR at Cherokee was 9:30.60. An 8:31.87 converts to approximately a 9:09.6 for 3,200 meters or about 9:12.8 for a full two miles.

His time is fastest by any TCNJ runner indoors or out since Brian Kopnicki ran 8:22.73 at the 2007 New Balance NYC Gotham Cup at the Armory on Jan. 12, 2007.

2020 indoor

2019 outdoor – 5th 20.97

2019 indoor – 3rd 20.63

2018 outdoor – 20.14 7th

2018 indoor – DNC

2017 outdoor – 14th 19.02

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde finished fifth in the shot put Saturday at the USATF Championships in Albuquerque, his fourth straight top-8 finish at nationals.

Awotunde threw 66-1 1/2 on his third throw and had four throws of 64-11 1/2 or better in a very consistent series.

Awotunde placed 7th and 5th at outdoor nationals the last two years and was third at indoor nationals last winter.

He was sitting in 8th going into his third and final throw of the first round when he popped a 66-1 1/2, not far from his season best of 67-1. He would have made the finals either way, but that throw moved him up from 8th into 4th.

Awotunde opened with throws of 62-10 1/2 and 63-11. In the finals, he threw 64-11 1/2, 65-10 1/4 and 65-7 but was bumped into 5th when Roger Steen threw 66-1 3/4 on his fifth throw. 

Awotunde, a Delsea graduate and five-time All-America at South Carolina, has PRs of 69-11 3/4 indoors and 68-1 3/4 outdoors, both from the 2018 SEC Championships.

Ryan Crouser won with a meet-record throw of 74-1 3/4, best in the world this year. He had the top four throws of the competition.

Awotunde, NCAA runner-up as a South Carolina senior in 2018, ranked 22nd in the world last spring at 69-3 3/4. He ranks 25th in the world this year with his 67-1. He’s No. 40 in U.S. history outdoors and No. 24 indoors. 

At Delsea, Awotunde was Meet of Champions winner in the shot put and runner-up in the discus. He threw 61-6 with the 12-pound ball in high school and 192-5 in the discus.