Clearview, Shawnee off to fast starts at South Jersey Shootout!!!

The Clearview and Shawnee girls were head and shoulders above the rest of the pack Saturday at the South Jersey Shootout.

Both averaged under 20:30, with no other team averaging under 21 minutes.

The South Jersey Shootout is comprised of three varsity races, one matching everybody’s top two runners, another pitting their third and fourth runners and a third with each school’s fifth, sixth and seventh runners.

Top five times are added up, and in the merged results, Clearview, ranked No. 14 in the state, finishes with a 56-68 win over Shawnee, ranked No. 12.

It’s an incredible sign of Clearview’s depth that Shawnee would have had its third girl ahead of Clearview’s first if everybody were in one race, but Clearview still would have defeated Shawnee.

Clearview had its five scorers run between 20:11 and 20:41.

In the 1-2 race, Julia Rothstein was seventh in 20:11 and Kaitlin Donohue 10th in 20:31. The Pioneers came up big in the 3-4 race, with Emily Schaeffer [20:22] and Kate Woolam [20:41] placing second and third. Clearview then went 1-3-7 in the 5-6-7 race behind Megan Jones, who won it in 20:28, Ava Fritz, third in 21:12, and Rachel Doring, seventh in 21:48.

So Clearview’s scorers were Rothstein [8th place overall], Schaeffer [11th], Jones [12th], Donahue [13th] and Woolam [17th]. Subtract one point each because a runner in the top five wasn’t running for a full team and you have 56 points.

Shawnee wasn’t far behind.

The Renegades went 3-4 in the 1-2 race with Kara Bonner and Claire Rankin both breaking 20 minutes, they went 1-5 in the 3-4 race behind Grace Kearns [20:10] and Georgia Larzeler [20:50] and then they finished 4-8 in the 5-6-7 race with Laura Mavracic running 21:31 and Cara Keevey 22:24.

In team scoring, that came out to 3-4-6-19-36 for 68 points.

Rounding out the top five girls teams were Haddon Township [127], Ocean City 165] and Morristown [203].

Mainland’s Alyssa Aldridge blasted an 18:22 over the 5,000-meter course at Gloucester County College in Deptford Township, the fastest overall time by nearly a minute. Alex Weber of Ocean City ran 19:18 for second overall.

The rest of the individual top 10 was Bonner, Rankin, Kelsey Cummings of Triton [20:00], Annika Merkh of Haddon Township [20:01], Kearns, Rothstein, Ocean City’s Emma Bergman [20:17] and Alexis Mullarkey of Kingsway [20:20].

Thompson and Mirabelli, SJ rivals, go 1-2 in javelin at USATF jrs.!!!!!!

step0001-100They’ve been battling since they were sophomores in high school, Thompson at Florence and Mirabelli just down Rte. 130 at Holy Cross.

They’re still battling, and at the USATF Junior National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., long-time rivals Curtis Thompson and Chris Mirabelli finished first and second in the javelin, Thompson with a 237-4 bomb and Mirabelli with a throw of 225-5.

Thompson recently finished his freshman year at Mississippi State and Mirabelli finished his first season at Rutgers.

Seth Zuidema of U. Conn and Midland Park High School placed third at 197-02, giving New Jersey a sweep of the top three spots. Thompson, Mirabelli and Zuidema were New Jersey’s top three-ranked javelin throwers last year

Thompson, who was third at NCAAs, also placed sixth in the senior men’s javelin event with a throw of 237-8.

Thompson’s PR is a 248-1 at the SEC Championships, and Mirabelli’s is 227-6 from the Penn Relays. Zuidema’s career-best is a 207-5 at the Florida Relays.

Thompson ranks No. 7 on this year’s world junior list and No. 3 on the all-time United States junior list:

255-4 .… Sam Crouser (Gresham [Ore.] High School), 2010
253-0 .… Sean Keller (Heritage [Washington] High School), 2012
248-1 .… Curtis Thompson (Mississippi State), 2015
246-10 .. Bill Stanley (Ohio State), 2013
244-10 .. Joe Zimmerman (Washington), 2010
239-7 … Justin Carter (Auburn), 2014
238-10 .. Chris Hill (McNeese State), 2007
238-8 … Troy Burkholder (Washington), 1996
236-1 …. Devin Bogert (Texas A&M), 2012
235-10 .. Delyle Woods (San Jacinto Junior College), 1993

English Gardner keeps getting faster! Would you believe 10.79? OMG!!!!!!!!

e4fb166e-0346-42cd-ae3f-cc9bae533737Eastern High School graduate English Gardner continued her resurgent 2015 season in Eugene this weekend, lowering her PR from 10.84 to 10.79 and moving up from No. 12 in U.S. history all the way to a tie for No. 7.

Gardner’s is now fastest in the world this year, tied with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who ran the same time in Kingston, Jamaica, on the same day.

This is the second PR in three weeks for Gardner, who lowered her lifetime best from 10.85, set at the 2013 nationals in Des Moines to 10.84 three weeks ago on the same track at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene where USATF nationals are being held this weekend.

Gardner’s best last year was 11.01, so she’s already a ridiculous 22/100ths of a second faster this year than last year.

With her second-place finish, Gardner earned a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the IAAF World Championships in Beijing Aug. 22-30.

“I had an amazing day,” Gardner said, according to the USATF web site. “If you had asked me two months ago if English Gardner would make the U.S. team, I’d have said, ‘Heck, no.’ The 10.79 is just a plus – the cherry on the cake.”

Gardner ran her 10.79 with a legal 1.5 wind in the trials on Friday. She followed with a 10.84 with 1.5 in the semifinals and a 10.86 with a 1.2 in the final, where she finished just behind Tori Bowie, who ran 10.81.

Gardner is also the fastest Amercan in six years, since Carmelita Jeter ran 10.64 in 2009. Two of the six Americans in history faster than Gardner — Marion Jones and Torri Edwards — were suspended for banned substances. Another, the late Florence Griffith-Joyner, was long suspected but never caught.

Here is the updated all-time U.S. list (the times for Jones and Edwards are their fastest during periods preceding their known use of banned substances, as per IAAF policy):

  • 10.49 … Florence Griffith-Joyner (1988)
  • 10.64 … Carmelita Jeter (2009)
  • 10.65 … Marion Jones (1998)
  • 10.76 … Evelyn Ashford (1984)
  • 10.78 … Dawn Sowell (1989)
  • 10.78 … Torri Edwards (2008)
  • 10.79 … Inger Miller (1999)
  • 10.79 … English Gardner (2015)
  • 10.80 … Tori Bowie (2014)
  • 10.82 … Gail Devers (1992)
  • 10.82 … Gwen Torence (1994)
  • 10.83 … Sheila Echols (1988)
  • 10.85 … Muna Lee (2008)
  • 10.85 … Tianna Bartoletta (2012)
  • 10.85 … Barbara Pierre (2013)

Gardner’s time equals No. 14 in world history, according to the IAAF all-time rankings:

  • 10.49 … Florence Griffith-Joyner (1988)
  • 10.64 … Carmelita Jeter (2009)
  • 10.65 … Marion Jones (1998)
  • 10.70 … Shelly-Ann Frasier-Pryce, Jamaica (2012)
  • 10.73 … Christine Arron, France (1998)
  • 10.74 … Marlene Ottey, Jamaica (1996)
  • 10.75 … Kerron Stewart, Jamaica (2009)
  • 10.76 … Evelyn Ashford (1984)
  • 10.76 … Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaica (2011)
  • 10.77 … Irini Privalova, Russia (1994)
  • 10.77 … Ivet Lalova, Bulgaria (2004)
  • 10.78 … Dawn Sowell (1989)
  • 10.78 … Torri Edwards (2008)
  • 10.79 … Inger Miller (1999)
  • 10.79 … English Gardner (2015)
  • 10.79 … Xuemei Li, China (1997)
  • 10.79 … Blessing Okagbare, Nigeria (2013)

Lenape grad Thompson an NCAA medal contender in intermediates!!!

step0001-94Lenape graduate Evann Thompson is enjoying a big year at Pitt and was one of the top qualifiers over the weekend for the NCAA Division 1 track championships.

She goes into NCAAs as the No. 6 seed.

At the East Regionals in Jacksonville over the weekend, Thompson advanced easily with a 58.37 in the first round and followed that up with a season-best 57.02 for second place in the next round — the regional final is actually considered the NCAA quarterfinal. Thompson was the third underclassman across the line.

Thompson’s previous season best was a 57.33 from two weeks earlier, when she placed second to Sage Watson of Florida State at the ACC Championships in Tallahassee. Her PR is a 56.87 from East Regionals last year. She did not have a great race at nationals as a sophomore, running 58.89 and placing 17th overall.

That 56.87 is the Pitt school record. She is also the school record holder indoors with a 1:30.98 for 600 meters. She’s also run as fast as 2:10.21 for 800 meters — an event she never ran in high school.

Thompson is the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships, which is scheduled for June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Thompson had a PR of 1:01.99 during her years at Lenape. She was state champ in the 400IH as a senior in 2012.

A breakdown of Thompson’s season, with her top performances in all her various events is here.

For a complete list of all men’s and women’s NCAA qualifiers, click here.

Thompson is also ranked No. 20 among all U.S. women and No. 54 in the world.

She’s also only 13-100ths of a second off the 56.89 qualifying mark for the USATF nationals, June 25-28, also at Hayward Field. Her 56.87 last May came about a month before the qualifying window opened.

Palmyra soph Carmichael bombs her way to state discus title!!!!

Two weeks ago, Tomara Carmichael’s discus PR was 106-5. Not bad for a sophomore.

Now? She’s added more than 20 feet to that PR and finds herself a sectional champion, a state champion and the top Group 1 thrower at states in more than a decade.

Wow!!!

The improbable story of Tomara Carmichael starts last spring. She threw 36-6 1/2 in the shot and 106-5 in the discus, making her the No. 1 freshman in South Jersey in the shot and No. 2 in the disc, behind Gabriel Harris-David of Timber Creek, who threw 114-8.

She even placed fifth at states in the shot, making her the first Palmyra girl to win a medal at the outdoor state meet since 2008, when Rejeana Marigna tripled the 100, 200 and 400.

This year, Carmichael won both throws at the BCSL Freedom meet and was top-three in both at the County Open. She extended her shot PR to 36-6 3/4 with a third at sectionals in the shot and PR’d at 119-5 for second at the Open.

But the big breakthrough came this past weekend at Egg Harbor, when she added another eight feet to her discus PR, hurling the platter 127-9 to win the state Group 1 title. She was also second in the shot, giving Palmyra 18 team points.

Carmichael is the first Palmyra girl ever to win a field event at the state championships.

She missed the meet record of 134-4 — set in 1991 by Karen Schwartz of Mountain Lakes in 1991 — by less than seven feet. And she has two years to go.

Her winning throw of 127-9 is the best in the Group 1 state meet in 12 years, since another BCSL Freedom Division thrower, Rose Perry of Riverside, won with a throw of 128-8.

She’s the first sophomore to win the state Group 1 discus title in at least 20 years. Official results don’t list class before 1996.

Overall, Carmichael goes into the Meet of Champions Wednesday ranked No. 8 among all entries and tops among South Jersey throwers, two inches ahead of shot put state champion Ronetta Hunter of Burlington Township.

 

English Gardner moves up to all-time US #12 with 10.84 in Eugene!!!!

step0001-43Eastern High graduate English Gardner, now in her second post-collegiate season, continues to prove she’s one of the best sprinters in the world.

Gardner ran a blistering 10.84 to win the 100-meter dash Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where she ran her college track.

Gardner won one of two sections of the 100. At the time she crossed the finish line, her time was No. 1 in the world in 2015. Moments later, Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won a different section of the 100 in a world-leading 10.81, leading two others also under 10.84.

But the performance was huge for Gardner, whose best time last year was 11.01. She lowered her PR from 10.85, from when she won the 2013 U.S. title in Des Moines.

Gardner, who lost her senior year at Eastern after getting hurt in a Powderpuff Football game, now finds herself No. 4 in the world, with the top six times all coming from Eugene Saturday night. She’s also No. 2 among Americans, behind Tori Bowie, who ran 10.82 for third in the other 100 final at the Prefontaine meet.

Gardner, a two-time NCAA champ at Oregon, moved into the No. 29 spot on the all-time world list and 12 spot on the all-time U.S. list. Her time is fourth-fastest by an American woman since 2000:

  • 10.49 … Florence Griffith-Joyner (1988)
  • 10.64 … Carmelita Jeter (2009)
  • 10.65 … Marion Jones (1998)
  • 10.76 … Evelyn Ashford (1984)
  • 10.78 … Dawn Sowell (1989)
  • 10.78 … Torri Edwards (2008)
  • 10.79 … Inger Miller (1999)
  • 10.80 … Tori Bowie (2014)
  • 10.82 … Gail Devers (1992)
  • 10.82 … Gwen Torence (1994)
  • 10.83 … Sheila Echols (1988)
  • 10.84 … English Gardner (2015)
  • 10.85 … Muna Lee (2008)
  • 10.85 … Tianna Bartoletta (2012)
  • 10.85 … Barbara Pierre (2013)

Here’s a link to the all-time world list, and the 2015 world list is here.

Gardner will be one of the favorites in the 100 at the U.S. Championships back at Hayward Field in Eugene June 25-28.

 

Astonishing distance performance lifts Haddonfield boys to state title!!!

Haddonfield's Greg Pelose ran 1:54 and 4:15 at Group 2 states.
Haddonfield’s Greg Pelose ran 1:54 and 4:15 at Group 2 states.

Three half-milers at 1:56 or faster? Three milers at 4:20 or better? A meet record in the 4-by-8? A third place in the 3,200?

The Haddonfield boys roared to their fourth outdoor Group 2 track state championship in seven years Saturday at South Plainfield, and they did it largely on the strength of an absurd performance in the longer track races.

Final team scores are still not available, but it appears that Haddonfield scored 38 of its 49 points in the 800, 1,600, 3,200 and 4-by-8.

Let’s take a look at how Haddonfield put together the fifth state championship in school history:

800-METER RUN: An incredibly fast race, with 17 runners under two minutes — including five from the unseeded heat — and 12 under 1:57. That’s insane. In fact, last place — last place — was 2:01.89.

As for Haddonfield, junior Austin Stoner ran 1:54.63 for third, junior Greg Pelose was fourth in 1:54.93 and senior Jack Wood ran seventh in 1:56.07.

Pelose has run 1:54.54, but the times were PRs for both Stoner and Wood. Stoner and Wood had both run their previous PRs at the Haddonfield Invitational, 1:54.98 for Stoner and 1:57.29 for Wood.

Pelose, Stoner and Wood now rank No. 2, 3 and 9 this year in South Jersey. They are ranked No. 6, No. 8 and No. 17 from the six state championship meets over the weekend.

10 points.

1,600-METER RUN: Pelose won in 4:15.10, with Stoner fourth in 4:19.66 and senior Danny Brennan sixth in 4:20.31. All three times are PRs of at least two seconds.

Pelose’s previous fastest 1,600 was a 4:17.41 at the Cherokee Night of Racing. Stoner’s was a 4:24.55 dating back to the Haddonfield Invitational last year, and Brennan’s was a 4:22.86 at this year’s Haddonfield Invite.

Pelose’s time is No. 11 out of all the state meets this weekend.

15 points.

3,200-METER RUN: Senior Chad Evans ran 9:39.05 for third place on a hot afternoon at South Plainfield. He ran a few seconds faster — in much better conditions — at the Cherokee Night of Racing.

3 points.

3,200-METER RELAY: Stoner, Wood, Pelose and senior Chris Goings won by 30 meters over Pleasantville in 7:53.27, not far off their season-best and South Jersey #1 7:52.11 from sectionals.

The Bulldogs broke the meet record of 7:58.43 set last year by a Haddonfield that included Pelose, Stoner, Goings and John Greenberg.

10 points

The Bulldogs’ 11 other points came in the field, from Jake Walter (third, shot put, 52-7 1/4), Kevin Wolf (fourth, discus, 152-3) and Ian Picking (sixth, pole vault 13-0).

Haddonfield’s previous state titles came in 1987 in Group 1 and in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in Group 2.

 

Historic triple by Pierce leads Rancocas Valley to first state title!!!

1459113_953430805034_5933927472541852857_nA monster triple by Sterling Pierce carried Rancocas Valley to the first state title in the program’s long and storied history this weekend.

Pierce was simply too good to be denied.

He won the 100-meter dash in 10.76.

He won the 200 in 21.77.

He anchored the 400-meter relay team, which ran a New Jersey-best 42.20 and broke the meet record of 42.60, set last year by Sayreville.

Rancocas Valley – a dead program before Jeff Dzuranin took over in 2013 — outscored Old Bridge, 47-36 to become the first Burlington County school to win Group 4 since Fred Rucker’s Lenape group 15 years ago.

And the Villanova-bound Pierce became Burlington County’s first triple winner at states since Delran’s Todd Lowber in 2000 and the first in Group 4 since future Olympic gold medalist Lamont Smith won the 200 and 400 and anchored the winning 4-by-4 in 1991.

For the sake of comparison, Pierce in one meet won more outdoor state titles than every Rancocas Valley boy in the previous 30 years combined. He’s the first R.V. boy ever to win two events (or three) at a state meet.

Here’s a list of all Rancocas Valley state champs in the program’s history:

2015 Outdoor
Sterling Pierce, Group 4 100-Meter Dash (10.76)
Sterling Pierce, Group 4 200-Meter Dash (21.77)
JeSean Foster, Shaun Ellis-Bradley, Dyson Scott, Sterling Pierce, Group 4 400 Relay (42.20)
2006 Indoor
Phil Reid, Group 4 200-Meter Dash (23.01)
1999 Outdoor
Jason Cowden, Group 4 Javelin (190-11)
Jason Cowden, All-Group Javelin (202-8)
1991 Outdoor
Dan Morris, Group 3 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles (54.70)
Dan Morris, All-Group 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles (53.48)
1984 Indoor
Eugene Munford, Group 3 55-Meter High Hurdles (7.4)
1980 Indoor
Doug Atkinson, Group 3 3,000-Meter Run (8:57.8)
1977 Indoor
Barry Anderson, Group 3 High Jump (6-8)
1976 Indoor
Barry Anderson, All-Group High Jump (6-6)
1974 Outdoor
Greg Honsby, Group 4 880-Yard Run (1:54.9)
Greg Honsby, All-Group 880-Yard Run (1:54.7)
1973 Outdoor
Bill Robinson, Roger Schneider, Jerry Felton, Ken Maxson, Group 4 Mile Relay (3:24.2)
1969 Outdoor
Al Rich (Rancocas Valley), All-Group 120-Yard High Hurdles (15.0)
1964 Outdoor
*Don Mims (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 120-Yard High Hurdles (14.8)
1963 Outdoor
Herm Butler (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 Long Jump (21-10)
1961 Outdoor
John Stroud (Rancocas Valley), Group 3 High Jump (6-0?)

Pierce — coached by R.V. sprint coach Eric Warren — was incredible, but this wasn’t a one-man show.

Senior Zakiyy Williams placed second in the triple jump with a 46-6 3/4, senior Diante Bah tied his PR of 6-6 for fourth in the high jump, junior Robert Marks threw a personal-best 179 4 for fourth in the javelin and junior Isaiah Curbelo ran 1:56.26 for sixth in the 800.

And junior JeSean Foster and seniors Shaun Ellis-Bradley and Dyson Scott joined Pierce on the winning 400-meter relay team.

Rancocas Valley won every meet it entered this year – every dual meet, the Woodbury Relays, the BCSL and County Open, sectionals and states. Egg Harbor was second at Woodbury, sectionals and states.

Finally, here’s a list of all the South Jersey schools to win the boys Group 4 team title. R.V. finds itself in pretty good company!

1969 – Vineland*
1970 – Millville*
1975 – Camden
1979 – Willingboro
1981 – Willingboro
1982 – Willingboro
1983 – Edgewood
1984 – Edgewood
1985 – Edgewood
1990 – Willingboro
1991 – Willingboro
1992 – Shawnee
1993 – Willingboro
1994 – Willingboro
1995 – Camden
1996 – Camden
1997 -Camden
1999 – Millville
2000 – Lenape
2001 – Millville
2002 – Winslow Twp.
2003 – Winslow Twp.
2004 – Winslow Twp.
2008 – Absegami
2011 – Oakcrest
2015 – Rancocas Valley

* – Team title not officially awarded from 1968-1970.

Kenny Brosier latest stud Willingboro intermediate hurdler!

Haddonfield always has tremendous distance runners. Penns Grove always seems to have terrific high hurdlers. And Bridgeton always has terrific throwers.

Willingboro is the same way with intermediate hurdlers.

Kenny Brosier on Friday became the 10th Willingboro intermediate hurdler to run sub-54 seconds when he won the state Group 2 title at South Plainfield in a personal-best 53.86.

No other South Jersey school is close to Willingboro in producing standout intermediate hurdlers.

Here’s a list of the 10 Boro 400 hurdlers who’ve broken 54 seconds. The list includes Chauncey Lamar, who ran 53.7 for Kennedy in 1978.

  • 52.89 … Devon Patton, 1990
  • 52.71 … Mike Morrison, 2003
  • 52.92 … Shareef Muhammad, 2003
  • 53.14 … Michael Bolling, 2000
  • 53.1h … Darryl Merriman, 1982
  • 53.5 ….. Marc Dickerson, 1979
  • 53.63 … Dwayne Joseph, 2004
  • 53.79 … Brandon Hill, 2013
  • 53.86 … Kenny Brosier, 2015
  • 53.7h … Chauncey Lamar, 1978 [JFK]
  • 53.92 … Gerard Reynolds, 1990

Brosier edged Deptford senior Shaqulle Dixon by about 1 1/2 meters to win the state title Friday. Dixon ran 54.03.

Brosier has posted big PRs in his last two races. He took a PR of 55.06 from the Moorestown Invitational into sectionals, which he won in 54.48.

Here are the top 10 seeds for the Meet of Champions next week, with five of the top nine from South Jersey:

  • 51.73 … Taylor McLaughlin (Union Catholic), 1st, Parochial A
  • 52.93 … Cory Poole (East Orange), 1st, Group 4
  • 53.35 … Ray Clark (Abraham Clark), 1st, Group 1
  • 53.50 … Chris Mesiano (Schalick), 2nd, Group 1
  • 53.59 … Thomas Zor (Millville), 2nd, Group 4
  • 53.86 … Kenny Brosier (Willingboro), 1st, Group 2
  • 54.03 … Shaquille Dixon (Deptford), 2nd, Group 2
  • 54.05 … Marco Joseph (Paterson Eastside), 3rd, Group 4
  • 54.08 … Ali-Quan Stokes (Oakcrest), 1st, Group 3
  • 54.13 … Kelvin Almonte (Memorial-WNY), 4th, Group 4

For all of Willingboro’s 400IH tradition, Brosier is the first to win a state group title in the event in 21 years. Michael Bolling won the Meet of Champs in 2000 after placing second to Dwight Ruff in the state Group 4 meet. Ruff was called for a disputed false start in the Meet of Champs.

Here’s a list of Willingboro’s state champions in the intermediate hurdles:

  • 1979 – Marc Dickerson, Group 4 (38.6) [330 yards]
  • 1982 – Darryl Merriman, Group 4 (53.1)
  • 1989 – Gerard Reynolds, Group 4 (54.0)
  • 1990 – Gerard Reynolds, Group 4 (53.92)
  • 1990 – Devon Patton, Meet of Champions (52.89)
  • 1994 – Kenyon Reid, Group 4 (54.48)
  • 2000 – Michael Bolling, Meet of Champs (53.60)

Brosier on Friday also took fifth in the 400 in 49.71. Teammate David Miller was sixth in 49.96. With Tyler Davidson going 49.26 at the County Open, Willingboro now has three 400 guys under 50 seconds this year.

With Brosier, Miller, Davidson and Tyshen Hernendez, Willingboro is the No. 4 seed in the 1,600-meter relay on Saturday.

Ocean City’s Grisbaum taking on loaded field in 3,200 at states!

step0001-20
Ocean City’s Devon Grisbaum racing at the Armory this winter.

It’s been a long time since Ocean City’s Devon Grisbaum lost a 3,200, and she’ll face a loaded field Saturday when she shoots for a state Group 3 title.

Grisbaum, the Meet of Champions winner indoors, ran the fastest 3,200 in New Jersey this year at sectionals, winning by over 90 meters with a 10:41.57. She wasn’t far off her PR of 10:39.15, set when she was sixth at Meet of Champions last spring.

Even though she’s a Meet of Champions winner, Grisbaum has actually never won a state group title. But she’s been close. Grisbaum ran a very fast 18:33 at Holmdel at the state Group 3 XC meet, taking third behind West Morris Central’s Sierra Castaneda and Catherine Pagano of Northern Highlands. This winter, she ran 10;54 at indoor states at the Bubble, taking second to Grace Dwyer of Hamilton North, who ran 10:50.

On Saturday, she’ll be one of five girls that broke 11 minutes at sectionals toeing the line at states at South Plainfield. Pagano is the No. 2 seed at 10:45.33, with Olivia Viparina of Roxbury (10:53.37), Castaneda (10:55.86) and Amanda Bakley of Pennsauken (10:59.56) also under 11 and Julia Guerra of Indian Hills (11:00.51) and Dwyer (11:01.57) very close.

Grisbaum hasn’t lost a 3,200 since indoor states. She holds the Cape May County and the Cape-Atlantic League outdoor records with her 10:39.15 (although Brittany Sedberry ran 10:19.30 indoors in 2006).

Here’s a look at all the all-time South Jersey outdoor 3,200-meter list:

  • 10:12.8 ….. Michelle Rowen (Washington Twp.), 1983
  • 10:19.31 … Chelsea Ley (Kingsway), 2009
  • 10:22.02 … Megan Lacy (Cherokee), 2012
  • 10:28.6 ….. Erin Donohue (Haddonfield), 2001
  • 10:30.57 … Dina Iacone (Washington Twp.), 2012
  • 10:32.4 ….. Mindy Rowand (Sterling), 1985
  • 10:33.22 … Holly Bischof (Bishop Eustace), 2012
  • 10:33.25 … Megan Venables (Highland), 2011
  • 10:34.79 … Theresa Cattuna (Cherry Hill East), 2007
  • 10:35.59 … Amanda Goetschius (Delsea), 2007
  • 10:37.47 … Meghan McGlinchey (West Depford), 2009
  • 10:37.53 … Vanessa Wright (Haddonfield), 2005
  • 10:39.15 … Devon Grisbaum (Ocean City), 2015
  • 10:40.24 … Katie Van Horn (Triton), 2005
  • 10:42.22 … Jenn Rawls (Highland), 2009
  • 10:45.12 … Brianna Gess (Haddonfield), 2014
  • 10:49.95 … Erika Kemp (Rancocas Valley), 2013
  • 10:43.3 ….. Deanna Germano (Shawnee), 1985
  • 10:44.23 … Brittany Sedberry (Ocean City), 2004