From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Olympic track is almost over, XC camps are in full swing and high school official high school cross country practices are allowed to start in just 10 days, with the first meets following a week later.

The traditional South Jersey XC opener, the venerable Cherokee Challenge, now in its 28th year, is just 29 days away.

So with all that in mind we figured we’d start posting some lists, and we’ll start with DREAM Park and the top 50 South Jersey returners from 2023 on the 5K LOGAN Township layout, which will be in its seventh season of use this fall.

As always, any errors or omissions, let me know in the comment section. Now get off your computer and get those miles in!

15:38.92 … Liam Tindall [Cherokee], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
15:46.21 … **Ryan Duffy [Kingsway], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
15:48.68 … Dylan Saber [Williamstown], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
16:07.51 … *Matthew Littlehales [Delsea], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:08.85 … *Dominic Burgio [Williamstown], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
16:09.70 … Nikhil Raman [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Open
16:10.50 … *Logan Bromley [Cherokee], Olympic Conference
16:10.99 … Ethan Buck [Ocean City], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:11.51 … *Peter Simpson [Moorestown], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:18.82 … Brody Bogos [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Open
16:19.27 … *Colin Moore [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Open
16:19.78 … Christian Rouzard [Rancocas Valley], Olympic Conference
16:20.34 … Benjamin Realley [Cherokee], Olympic Conference
16:20.79 … Mason Wassell [Highland], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:21.09 … Bennett Wright [Haddonfield], South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals
16:21.25 … *Alvin Lin [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Open
16:21.34 … *Ryan Gibson [Haddonfield], South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals
16:25.03 … Brandon Lyons [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
16:25.24 … Ty Blackman [Glassboro], South Jersey Group 1 Sectionals
16:25.39 … *Yanni Ekatomatis [Shawnee], Olympic Conference
16:26.76 … Ryan Haefele [Eastern], Olympic Conference
16:27.08 … Noah Stapleton [Shawnee], Olympic Conference
16:27.82 … Anthony DiBattista [Cherokee], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
16:27.83 … Benjamin Weiner [Cherokee], Olympic Conference
16:30.59 … *Erik Preisner [Ocean City], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:32.74 … Sean Alemi [Paul VI], Bob Kiessling Invitational
16:32.90 … *Luke Andresen [Haddonfield], South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals
16:34.82 … David Kershner [Williamstown], South Jersey Open
16:37.51 … *Dominic Pileri [Cherokee], Olympic Conference
16:38.40 … *Benjamin Sautter [Cherry Hill East], Olympic Conference
16:40.04 … *Milo Poerner [Cherry Hill East], Olympic Conference
16:40.86 … Enzo Corona [Cherokee], South Jersey Open
16:43.10 … **Chris Monaghan [Paul VI], Olympic Conference
16:44.20 … Ethan Worst [Clearview], South Jersey Open
16:47.32 … Sean Leahy [Camden Catholic], Olympic Conference
16:47.78 … Christian Napoli [Paul VI], Bob Kiessling Invitational
16:49.08 … Elias Knoll [Shawnee], Olympic Conference
16:51.29 … Kal Heyman [Ocean City], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
16:51.30 … *Ben Andrus [Haddonfield], South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals
16:53.30 … Ethan Caprarola [Bishop Eustace], Olympic Conference
16:54.26 … Reggie Hernandez [Haddon Heights], South Jersey Group 2 Sectionals
16:55.30 … Arjun Patel [Millville], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
17:04.33 … **Cian Sherlock [Cherry Hill East], Olympic Conference
17:04.86 … *Michael Driscoll [Kingsway], South Jersey Group 4 Sectionals
17:05.90 … **Sean Sooy [Cherokee], Olympic Conference
17:11.80 … **Justin Zhou [Cherry Hill East], South Jersey Open
17:12.23 … **Keenan Neuman [Ocean City], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
17:13.77 … **Caden Briggs [Paul VI], Olympic Conference
17:14.50 … Andrew Kellem [Highland], South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals
17:14.74 … Julian Rich [Camden County Vo-Tech], Olympic Conference

** – Rising sophomore
* – Rising junior

After a disappointing performance at the Olympics in Paris, Florence javelin thrower Curtis Thompson reached out on social media to his supporters on Wednesday.

Thompson, 28, placed 27th Tuesday with a best throw of 251-11 in his 2nd Olympics. He’s a 4-time U.S. champion, 2-time Olympic Trials winner and the No. 3 American thrower in history.

On his Facebook page, Thompson wrote:

“Thank You! Thank you for the support! Thank you for the Love! Coach and our prep for this meet was great, I felt good and ready to throw far today but it just didn’t happen. Also I am okay!

“This Olympic journey doesn’t always end this way, and I know there are both sides of this Story. But there are a few things that are consistent. The love from family and friends and you all reminding me that this meet doesn’t define me as a person.

The support from Usatf year in and out reminding me this meet doesn’t define me as a an athlete!

All love”

It was a disappointing Olympics for Florence’s Curtis Thompson, who placed 27th in the javelin early Tuesday morning at Stade de France in Paris.

Thompson was bidding to become the first American in 20 years to reach the Olympic javelin final.

He threw 251-11 on his 1st attempt and that wound up as his best throw of the competition. It was more than 20 feet less than he threw in June to win his 4th U.S. National Championship and 2nd Olympic Trials.

Thompson finished 13th out of 16 throwers in Flight A, which was over soon after 5 a.m. EST. He wound up 27th out of 32 qualifiers. Thompson placed 21st in 2021 in Tokyo with a best throw of 256-6.

The top 12 placers – plus anyone else who threw 275-6 [84 meters] – qualified for the final. Only seven throwers reached the auto qualifier, and the cut-off for the final turned out to be 272-0.

Thompson, a four-time U.S. champion and two-time Olympic Trials winner, has a lifetime-best of 287-9 two summers ago at American JavFest in East Stroudsburg, Pa., No. 3 in U.S. history. He threw 272-5 at the Trials in Eugene in June and then 271-0 back in East Stroudsburg three weeks ago.

In his javelin career, Thompson has surpassed 270 feet nine times.

No American has reached the Olympic javelin finals since Breaux Greer placed 12th in Athens in 2004. No American has placed in the top 10 since Tom Pukstys was 8th in Atlanta in 1996. No American has medaled since Bill Schmidt of Western Pennsylvania placed 3rd in Munich in 1972. Schmidt has a South Jersey connection – he did his basic training after joining the Army at Fort Dix, only 12 miles from Thompson’s hometown of Florence.

Thompson was the only U.S. thrower in this year’s Olympics.

The last South Jersey athlete to medal in the javelin at the Olympics was Lawnside native and Haddon Heights graduate Bill Miller, who won the silver medal in Helsinki in 1952 with a throw of 237-8 with the old javelin (in use through 1986).

Thompson, 28, threw the 251-11 on his first of three attempts. He fouled on his 2nd and then finished with a 243-6.

Thompson’s Mississippi State teammate, Anderson Peters of Grenada, threw 290-7, the 2nd-best qualifying mark going into the finals. (Marks do not carry over)

South Jersey has had at least one track competitor in 10 of the last 11 Olympics (and it would have been 11 of 12 if not for the 1980 boycott).

2024: Curtis Thompson
2021: English Gardner, Curtis Thompson
2016: Nia Ali, Priscilla Frederick, English Gardner, Marielle Hall,
2012: None
2008: Erin Donohue
2004: Nadia Davy
2000: Shana Williams
1996: Carl Lewis, Dennis Mitchell, Shana Williams
1992: Carl Lewis, Dennis Mitchell, Jack Pierce, Lamont Smith
1988: Carl Lewis, Carol Lewis, Dennis Mitchell
1984: Carl Lewis, Carol Lewis,

If you don’t have any plans at 4 a.m. Tuesday, there’ll be a Curtis Thompson Viewing Party so friends, family and fans of the two-time Olympic javelin thrower can watch Thompson compete in Paris.

The javelin qualifying is split into two groups, with Group A scheduled for 4:20 a.m. and Group B at 5:50 a.m. The fields for each group haven’t been announced yet.

All supporters of Thompson are welcome at the Florence Township Municipal Building Courtroom to watch live.

Light refreshments will be provided (bagels, coffee, juice, etc.), courtesy of Vinny G’s Bagels and Deli. Curtis Thompson yard signs will be available for $15.

Parking will be available in the rear lot of the municipal building, which is located at 8th Street and Broad Street.

The top 12 throwers from Thursday’s qualifying rounds will compete in the final at 2:25 p.m. EST on Thursday. There’ll be another watch party for the final!

Thompson won his 4th U.S. javelin title and 2nd U.S. Olympic Trials title last month in Eugene, Ore.

He’s ranked 23rd in the world this year with his winning throw of 272-5 at the Trials, and his lifetime-best 287-8 from July of 2022 in East Stroudsburg, Pa., is No. 3 in U.S. history.

Thompson graduated from Florence High School in 2014 and was the 2016 NCAA champion for Mississippi State. He won the 2023 Pan Am Games javelin in November in Santiago, Chili.

 

With Olympic track getting underway Thursday morning, and Florence’s Curtis Thompson scheduled to compete in the javelin next week, we thought it would be fun to take a look at every track Olympian South Jersey has produced.

I counted 16 Olympians from 11 high schools – Willingboro has produced three and Haddonfield and Woodbury two each and one Olympian grew up in South Jersey but went to high school in Philadelphia.

Incredibly, of South Jersey’s 16 track Olympians, 11 won at least one medal! That’s incredible!

Thompson joins Carl Lewis and Carol Lewis, Dennis Mitchell, Browning Ross and Mel Sheppard as the 6th South Jersey athlete to reach two Olympic Games in an individual event. So he’s the first since  Willingboro Track Club teammates Carl Lewis and Mitchell in 1996.

I think I have everyone but could be missing someone, possibly from the early years of the Olympic Games. I’m sure if I dud forget someone, Bill Collins will let me know within 30 seconds of this post going up! He’s quite the South Jersey track historian!

As for Thompson, he’s scheduled to throw the javelin early  Thursday morning. We don’t know yet if Thompson will be in Group A or Group B for qualifying, but they will throw at 4:20 a.m. and 5:50 a.m. early Thursday morning.

Don’t forget to set your alarm and support South Jersey’s only track Olympian in 2024!

Nia Ali [Pleasantville]: Ali won the silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016 with a time of 12.59.

Don Bragg [Penns Grove]: After setting a pole vault world record of 15-9 ¼ at the Olympic Trials, Bragg won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome with a 15-5 clearance.

Nadia Davy [Bridgeton]: Davy won a bronze medal after running the third leg on Jamaica’s 3rd-place 1,600-meter relay team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Jamaica ran 3:22.00. Davy also competed in the open 400 and ran 52.04. She was the fastest non-qualifier in the trials and officially finished 25th.

Erin Donohue [Haddonfield]: Donohue qualified in the 1,500-meter run in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She ran 4:16.05 and placed 28th overall.
Priscilla Frederick [Paul VI]: Competing for Antigua and Barbuda, Frederick qualified for the high jump at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She cleared 6-2 ¼ in qualifying and finished 28th overall.

English Gardner [Eastern]: Gardner won a gold medal on the U.S. 400-meter relay team in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and a silver medal in the 2021 Games in Tokyo on the 4-by-1. She ran the 3rd leg in 2016, racing with Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix and Tori Bowie, who ran 41.01, still 2nd-fastest in world history. In 2021, she didn’t run in the final but ran the 3rd leg in qualifying, joining Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels and Aleia Hobbs to run 41.90. The U.S. ran 41.45 in the final with Oliver, Daniels, Jenna Prandini and Gabrielle Thomas. Gardner also reached the 100 final in 2016 and placed 7th in 10.94.

Marielle Hall [Haddonfield]: Hall ran the 10,000 in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and placed 33rd in the final in 32:39.32.

Al LeConey [Moorestown]: At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, LeConey won a gold medal as part of the record-setting U.S. 400-meter relay team. In the trials, LeConey ran the 3rd leg and the team of Louis Clark, Frank Hussey, LeConey and Loren Murchison set a world record of 41.2. They lowered the world record to 41.0 in the semifinals and then tied it in the final, edging Great Britain by 2-10ths of a second for the gold medal.

Carl Lewis [Willingboro]: Despite being robbed of likely medals by the 1980 U.S. Olympic boycott, Lewis won nine Olympic gold medals and a silver and is one of only two Olympians to win a gold medal in the same event (long jump) in four consecutive Olympics. Al Oerter (discus) is the other. Lewis’s first Olympics was in 1984 in Los Angeles, where he won the 100 in 9.99, the long jump at 28-0 and the 200 with an Olympic-record 19.80. In his final event, he anchored the winning 400-meter relay team, with Sam Graddy, Ron Brown, Calvin Smith and Lewis setting a world record of 37.83. In 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, Lewis won the 100 with a world-record 9.92 after Ben Johnson was DQ’d for a positive test for a banned substance, he won the long jump 28-7 ¼ and took 2nd in the 200 to Joe DeLoach with a 19.79. In 1992 in Barcelona, he won his 3rd straight long jump with a 28-5 ¼ (after a 28-5 ¾ in qualifying) and anchored the gold-medal 4-by-1, which also included Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell and Edgewood graduate Dennis Mitchell. That quartet set a world record of 37.40 and won by more than half a second over Nigeria. In 1996 in Atlanta, Carl won his 4th straight long jump gold medal with a 27-2 ¾ on his final attempt. He never competed again.

Carol Lewis [Willingboro]: Carol made the 1980 team but lost an opportunity to compete because of the U.S. boycott. In the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, She made the final and placed 9th at 21-1 after a 21-5 ¾ in qualifying. In 1988 in Seoul, Lewis jumped 21-2 ¾ in qualifying and was the top non-qualifier, finishing 13th overall.

Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood]: In his first Olympics, 1988 in Seoul, Mitchell lost out on a likely gold medal when the U.S. team was DQ’d for baton pass from Calvin Smith to Lee McNeill outside the exchange zone. He also just missed a medal in the 100, placing 4th in 10.04, just 5-100th of a second behind Smith in 3rd. In 1992 in Barcelona, Mitchell took 3rd in the 100 in 10.04, finishing behind only Linford Christie of Great Britain [9.96] and Frankie Fredericks of Namibia [10.02], and ran 3rd leg on the winning 400-meter relay team, following Michael Marsh and Leroy Burrell and handing off to anchor Carl Lewis, his one-time Willingboro Track Club teammate. Their 37.40 set a world record. In 1996, Mitchell, anchored the Silver Medal 4-by-1, which ran 38.05 and finished 2nd to Canada. Jon Drummond, Tim Harden and Marsh ran the first three legs. Mitchell again placed 4th in the 100 final, this time in 9.99.

Jack Pierce [Woodbury]: Pierce ran 13.26 to place 3rd and win the bronze medal in the 1992 Games in Barcelona behind Canadian Mark McKoy [13.12] and American Tony Dees [13.24].

Browning Ross [Woodbury]: In London in the 1948 Olympic Games, Ross placed 7th in the steeplechase in 9:23.2. He qualified for the steeple at the 1952 Games in Helsinki but finished 12th in his qualifying heat in 9:44.0 and was 23rd overall.

Mel Sheppard [Almonesson]: In the 1908 Olympics in London, Sheppard set an Olympic record of 4:05.0 in the 1,500 semifinals, a record that stood until the next semifinal race, when Great Britain’s Norman Hallows ran 4:03.6. In the final, Sheppard won in 4:03.6, winning his first gold medal and tying Hallows’ Olympic record. In the 800, Sheppard set a world record of 1:52.8 and then he ran a 1:55.4 anchor on the medley relay (now called the sprint medley), with William Hamilton and Nate Cartmell on the 200 legs and Philadelphia’s John Taylor the 400. The U.S. won the gold medal with a time of 3:29.4. In 1912, Sheppard ran 1:52.0 in the 800, finishing 2nd to Ted Meredith of the U.S., who set a world record of 1:51.9. Sheppard won his 4th and final gold medal anchoring the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team, which also included Edward Lindberg, Meredith and Charles Reidpath and set a world record of 3:16.6. Meredith died in 1957 after spending his final years living in Haddonfield.

Lamont Smith [Willingboro]: After running 44.30 and placing 4th in the 400 at the 1992 Trials in Atlanta, Smith earned a spot in the relay pool and led off the U.S. gold-medal relay in Atlanta with a 44.62 split. He was followed by Alvin Harrison, Derek Mills and Anthuan Maybank. The U.S. ran 2:55.99, which remains 7th-fastest in world history.

Curtis Thompson [Florence]: In the 2021 Games in Tokyo, Thompson threw 256-6 on his 1st attempt and placed 21st overall. He also had throws of 256-2 and 255-6 and missed the 12-man final by about 14 feet. Thompson, now a four-time U.S. champion and two-time Olympic Trials champ, is ranked 23rd in the world this year with his 272-5 in Eugene at the Trials last month.

Shana Williams [Bridgeton]: At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Williams failed to get a legal mark in the long jump. In 2000 in Sydney, she placed 20th with a 21-1 ½ on her 1st attemptin the qualifying round. She missed advancing to the final by about six inches.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

Today: Alton Curtis, Millville

Millville sophomore Alton Curtis proved himself one of the more versatile athletes in South Jersey this spring.

Start with the 110-meter hurdles. Curtis was the top sophomore in New Jersey this spring with his 14.80 PR in the trials of the Group 4 sectionals at Pennsauken. He just missed placing in the final – he placed 7th, 6-100ths of a second out of 6th – but he was the top sophomore in the race, and his 14.80 was fastest by a Cumberland County sophomore since Millville’s Azim Smith ran 14.25 at the 2000 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.

But Curtis tried a little bit of everything this spring. At the Mustang Pentathlon at Mainland Regional, he finished first with 3,048 points, high jumping 5-8, long jumping 20-1, pole vaulting 10-6, throwing the shot 35-2 ½ and running 1,500 meters in 5:08.00.

But his main event is the 110 highs, and he was the top soph at the South Jersey Elite [15.19], he placed 2nd to senior teammate Isaac Roberts in the Cumberland County Championships at Bridgeton with a 15.71 (Millville swept, with sophomore Amir Sweazie 3rd) and then he was 5th at the Cape-Atlantic Meet at Bridgeton in 15.62 and again the top sophomore. He also won the pole vault at the Cumberland County meet.

Indoors, Curtis ran as fast as 7.83 and placed 5th in the state Group 4 meet at the Bubble and was the top sophomore. He was the No. 2 soph in the state [Chad Stone of St. Peter’s Prep ran 7.76], and his 7.83 was 2nd-fastest by a South Jersey soph in the last 20 years, behind only national champion Sincere Rhea of St. Augustine, who ran 7.70 at 2017 Easterns at the Armory and won Armory Nationals two years later.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

 Today: Claire Magee, Paul VI

There was quite a group of sophomore 400 runners in South Jersey this year, led by Sianni Wynn of Pennsauken, Natalie Dumas of Eastern and and Olivia Okaro of Winslow. But don’t forget Paul VI’s Claire Magee, who was the 6^th-fastest sophomore quarter-miler in New Jersey this past season.

Coming off an indoor season where she ran 7.49 for 55 meters and 58.11 for 400 meters, Magee ran a PR 56.59 at the South Jersey Elite at Delsea, where she placed 2^nd to Wynn, who ran 54.24.

She placed 2^nd to Dumas, the national 400 hurdles champ, at the Camden County meet at Haddon Township in 57.22 and then took 6^th in the state Parochial A meet at Stockton, where she was the first South Jersey finisher.

Magee’s 56.59 made Magee the No. 6 sophomore in New Jersey and No. 4 in South Jersey, behind Dumas, Wynn and Okaro. 

She broke the school record of 56.88 set at the 2019 Rowan Open in Glassboro by Aliya Rae Garozzo, who competed in the 400 hurdles last month at the U.S. Olympic Trials and will be a senior at Penn this fall.

Her 56.59 was also the fastest time by any South Jersey parochial school runner in 48 years, since Carla Hunt of Holy Cross ran 55.4 over 440 yards at the 1976 Eastern States Championships in Washington, D.C. That converts to 55.1 for 400 meters.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.

 Today: Xavier Sabb, Glassboro

Xavier Sabb had quite a freshman year for Glassboro, and since he plays basketball for the Bulldogs the spring season was actually his first try at high school track.

Sabb didn’t take long to make a name for himself. At his first major meet – Delsea Crusader Field Meet – he won the long jump with a 20-7 1/2. Two weeks later at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford, he ran 10.97 and placed 2nd to All-America Ajani Dwyer in the 100, ran 22.23 for 3rd in the 200 and high jumped 6-0 to take 2nd.

Championship season brought out the best in Sabb, who ran a PR 10.79 for 3rd in the 100 at the South Jersey Group 1 meet and 22.50 for 5th in the 200. He went on to place 3rd in the 100 at states and 7th in the 200.

And at West Philly Nationals, he ran 10.83 and set a high jump PR of 6-2 ¾, taking 3rd and 6th in the country in the freshman division.

Sabb was the No. 1 freshman in New Jersey in the 100, No. 2 in the 200 (Neptune’s Essien Plummer ran 22.02 at Group 3 states), No. 3 in the high jump and No. 14 in the long jump.

His 10.79 is 2nd-fastest ever by a South Jersey freshman, behind Malachi James’ 10.76 for Willingboro at the 2021 Meet of Champions. His 100 and high jump marks are best ever by Gloucester County freshmen.

Amari Sabb, Xavier’s brother, was Gloucester County high jump champ at 6-2 this spring as a sophomore.

Kaitlyn Dermen, a 2014 Millville High School graduate and NCAA Division 3 All-America at Stockton, became the No. 1 woman pole vaulter in New Jersey history earlier this month with a massive PR at an indoor meet in Basking Ridge.

Dermen cleared 14-4 at the Vault Factory Independence Day Pole Vault Meet. The previous New Jersey alumni record was 14-0 ½ by Shawnee graduate Stephanie Maugham as a University of Rhode Island senior at a meet in Fresno, Calif., on April 6, 2002.

Dermen’s previous PR looks like a 13-8 ¼ from a Vault Factory meet last summer, also in Basking Ridge.

Dermen’s mark makes her the No. 32 woman in the U.S. this year. No progression information is available in the results.

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 at NCAA Division 3 Championships in May of 2018 in La Crosse, Wisc. She was also a conference medalist at Stockton in the 100-meter high hurdles and 400-meter intermediates.

Here’s a look at her pole vault year-by-year PRs:

2012: 9-0
2013: 10-6
2014: 11-5 ¾
2015: 11-2 ½
2016: 11-10
2017: 12-7 ½
2018: 12-5 ½
2019: 11-11 ¾
2020: 11-9 ¾
2021: 13-7 ¼
2022: 13-6
2023: 12-10 ¼
2024: 14-4

Here are the known 13-footers in South Jersey alumni history:

14-0 ¾ … Stephanie Maugham [Shawnee], April 6, 2002, Fresno, Calif.
13-8 ¼ … Kaitlyn Dermen [Millville], July 29, 2023, Basking Ridge
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

Tionna Tobias recorded an absolutely unbelievable long jump PR Friday at the American Track League Holloway Pro Classic at James G. Pressley Stadium in Gainesville.

Tobias, a 2019 Winslow Township graduate who finished her University of Iowa career this spring, popped a massive 22-9 ¼ on her final attempt with legal wind to win the event.

Tobias’s previous lifetime best was 21-4 ¼ at the Pepsi Florida Relays at the same facility in March, so that’s a nearly 1 ½-foot PR.

Her jump is 5th-best in the world this year and 3rd-best by an American woman, behind only Tara Davis-Woodhall [23-6 ½ in Rome in June] and Jasmine Moore [22-10 ¾]. Davis-Woodhall, Moore and Monae’ Nichols made the U.S. Olympic Team headed to Paris, but Tobias’s 22-9 ¼ would have placed her 3rd in the Trials.

Tobias’s jump is No. 20 on the all-time U.S. list.

Tobias, 23, opened with a 20-1 ¾, 19-11 and 20-3 ½ before jumping 19-2 ¾ and 19-9 ½ before her monster PR on her final jump with a legal 0.9 meters-per-second tailwind.

She won by nearly two feet over Trinidad-Tobago Olympian Tyra Gittens, who jumped 20-10 ¾ on her final attempt.

It’s also No. 3 in New Jersey history, behind Olympians Carol Lewis of Willingboro [23-1 ¼ in 1985] and Shana Williams of Bridgeton [23-0 in 1996].

It’s the best jump by a New Jersey woman since Williams jumped 22-10 at the 1998 Penn Relays – 26 years ago.

Tobias, a two-time All-America at Iowa, split her time among the long jump, high hurdles and heptathlon in college. She ran 13.11 and reached the NCAA Championships in the 100-meter highs in 2023 and won the Big Ten Conference heptathlon with 5,640 points last year.

But with one huge jump Friday, she showed that her best opportunity to be in elite could very well be in the long jump.

Tobias was listed as a senior at Iowa this past spring and has apparently exhausted her NCAA eligibility. She competed Friday with a “USA” affiliation.

All-Time South Jersey Alumni Long Jump List
23-1 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Aug. 21, 1985, Zurich
23-0 … Shana Williams [Bridgeton], June 21, 1996, Atlanta
22-9 ¼ … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], July 19, 2024, Gainesville, Fla.
22-1 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], June 26, 2010, Des Moines, Iowa
21-6 ¾ … Tisifenee Taylor [Woodbury], April 21, 2007, Bethlehem, Pa.
21-5 ½ … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], April 15, 2016, Tallahassee, Fla.
21-0 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], May 12, 2017, Columbia, S.C.
20-9 … Kristina Tossas [Rancocas Valley], Feb. 24, 2023, Geneva, Ohio
20-6 … Asia Young [Holy Spirit], April 6, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
20-5 ½ … Tina Johnson [Burlington Twp.],  May 22, 1999, West Lafayette, Ind. [+1.2]