From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Hannah Byrd-Leitner, a freshman at Virginia and a three-time Meet of Champions pole vault champ for Moorestown, started off her college career by placing 3^rd in the Liberty Kickoff in Lynchburg, Va.

Byrd-Leitner cleared 12-9 ½, which is only two inches outside the all-time Virginia top-10 and only 2 ½ inches off her indoor PR of 13-0, which she set when she won the state Group 3 title at the Bubble this past February.

Byrd-Leitner cleared 11-3 ¾ on her 1^st attempt, 11-9 ¾ on her 2^nd and 12-9 ½ on her 1^st. She went out at 13-3 ½, which would have been a lifetime best. She cleared 13-2 outdoors when she won the 2024 Meet of Champions at Pennsauken.

Her 12-9 ½ clearance is 5^th-best all-time by a Virginia freshman.

https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/625181/results/f/4/pv?tab=field-series

12-9 ½

Vermont freshman Sydney Greenidge from Riverside opened her college career with an impressive 60-meter dash Saturday.

Greenidge ran 7.93 and placed 3^rd at Boston University’s Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.

That’s the fastest time by a Vermont freshman since at least 2010, which is as far back as TFRRS goes. Vermont doesn’t have any top-10 lists on its web site.

Greenidged’s high school PR was a 7.62 for 55 meters in a meet this past January at Ursinus. That converts to an 8.31 for 60 meters, so you can see what a big-time performance this was. A 7.93 converts to 7.39 for 55 meters.

Greenidge is not listed on Vermont’s roster, so but it’s not the most common name so I’m assuming it’s the same one.

In his first race for Syracuse, Riverside’s Jamir Brown ran the 5^th-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in school history.

Brown, who set the NCAA Division 3 record of 7.72 a year ago today at Ocean Breeze in his first race for Rowan, ran a lifetime-best 7.71 in the trials of the Greg Page Relays Saturday morning at historic Barton Hall on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

The final is scheduled for early Saturday afternoon.

Brown set the NCAA Division 3 record over the 110-meter highs with a 13.60 in the trials of the NJAC Championships last May in Ewing.

Brown’s time is fastest ever by a Burlington County hurdler, breaking a tie with Willingboro’s Isaac Williams, who ran 7.72 in Houston in 2015.

Syracuse does not have an all-time top-10 list on its web site, but I cobbled this together in anticipation of Brown’s arrival at Syracuse. It’s No. 4 all-time by a South Jersey hurdler and tied for 9th-fastest in New Jersey history.

All-Time Syracuse List
7.49 … Jarret Eaton, 2012
7.61 … Jaheem Hayes, 2023
7.65 … Freddie Crittenden, 2017
7.69 … Angelo Goss, 2018
7.71 … Jamir Brown, 2025
7.74 … Matt Moore, 2018
7.75 … Donald Pollitt II, 2014
7.81 … Amadou Gueye, 2013
7.82 … Emanuel Joseph, 2025
7.85 … Richard Floyd, 2018
7.86 … Tyler Garland, 2020
7.87 … David Gilstrap, 2017
7.91 … Anthony Vazquez, 2024
7.93 … Brevin Sims, 2021
7.94 … David Peters, 2025

All-Time New Jersey Alumni 60-Meter Hurdles List
7.46 … Jeff Porter [Franklin Twp.], Feb. 1, 2014, Mondeville, France
7.50 … Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], March 10, 1989, Madrid, Spain
7.50 … Anwar Moore [Camden], Feb. 24, 2008, Boston
7.52 … Jack Pierce [Woodbury], Feb. 25, 1995, Fairfax, Va.
7.55 … Devon Hill [Trenton], March 10, 2012, Nampa, Idaho
7.64 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], Jan. 25, 2025, Lubbock, Texas
7.66 … Cory Poole [East Orange], Feb. 14, 2020, Clemson, S.C.
7.69 … Guy Rose [Wayne Hills], Feb. 24, 2001, State College, Pa.
7.71 … Chris Serrao [East Brunswick], Jan. 11, 2025, Philadelphia
7.71 … Jamir Brown [Riverside], Dec. 6, 2024, Staten Island
7.72 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], Jan. 9, 2015, Houston
7.73 … Todd Matthews [Notre Dame], Feb. 17, 2001, Blacksburg, Va.

Rowan sophomore Nyla Jones, in her first meet since earning All-America honors in May, ran a 60-meter hurdles PR and nearly broke the school record in the 300 Friday at Ocean Breeze.

Jones, from Timber Creek, ran 8.93 in the finals of the Fastrack Invitational, lowering her PR from 8.95, which she ran when she won the NJAC indoor title at the Ott Center in February.

Her time is fastest by a Rowan woman in seven years, since Aspen McMillan from South Brunswick set the school record of 8.68 in the trials of the 2019 NCAA Division 3 Championships in Roxbury, Mass. McMillan went on to place 4^th in the final.

Jones also won the 300 in 40.69, only 10-100tbs of a second off the Rowan school record of 40.59 set by Woodstown’s Molly Lodge at last year’s TCNJ Opener at the Armory. It was only Jones’ second lifetime 300. She ran 42.96 in the same race that Lodge ran 40.69 last December.

Rowan sophomore Paige Franklin from Williamstown placed 3rd in 41.53 in her first lifetime 300. The versatile Franklin was a javelin medalist at last year’s NJAC meet at Ewing.

Jones earned All-America honors last spring when she placed 5^th in the 400-meter hurdles at Division 3 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.

Daizhae’ Brown from Cedar Creek began her college track career Friday by running the 3^rd-fastest 60-meter dash time in Georgian Court history.

Brown, a freshman at the Lakewood school, placed 5th at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze in 7.82.

That trails only a 7.74 by Aretha Edwards from Lincoln High in Jersey City in 2018 and a 7.75 by Charisma Bosley of Ewing in 2019 on the all-time Georgian Court list. Susan Lora from Stratford, Conn., in 2013 also ran 7.83.

Brown never ran a 60 in high school. Her 55 PR was 7.36 at the Bubble in 2024, which converts to 8.02 for 60 meters. So 7.83 is not only a PR but significantly faster than her converted 55 PR.

In the trials, Denirah Jones of Woodbury, a freshman at Rowan, ran 7.92 in her collegiate debut. That equals her lifetime best set at the Ott Center in January. She did not run in the final.

In her first competition in 18 months, Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis, a Clemson freshman, placed 3^rd in the triple jump and 4th in the 400 at the Clemson Opener Friday.

Curtis had not competed in any meet since the 2024 New Balance Outdoor Nationals at Franklin Field, where she placed 9^th in the 400-meter hurdles and 6^th in the triple jump.

Curtis, a two-time Meet of Champions triple jump winner and a state medalist in the intermediates, 400, long jump and high hurdles, spent last year at Virginia Tech but did not compete.

On Friday, competing for Clemson for the first time and as a collegian for the first time, Curtis jumped 40-2 ¾ on her first attempt. She had two other legal jumps over 39 feet. She ran 57.75 in the 400, lowering her indoor PR from 57.80 from the 2024 state Group 3 championships at the Bubble.

Rowan seniors Kwaku Nkrumah from Teaneck and Jason Agyemang from North Plainfield, who have both won NCAA Division 3 hurdles titles, got the indoor season off to a hot start when they both ran 7.95 in the 60-meter highs Friday at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze.

Nkrumah was given the wind at 7.945, with Agyemang 2^nd in 7.947.

Nkrumah was the national champ over the 110-meter highs in Myrtle Beach in 2024. Agyemang won the 60-meter highs last winter in Rochester in 7.76.

Only seven hurdlers in Division 3 – four from Rowan – broke 8.00 last winter. Nkrumah has an indoor PR of 7.87 from a meet in Ithaca in March. Agyemang’s is that 7.76. Agyemang is No. 3 in Division 3 history and Nkrumah is No. 11.

Also for Rowan, senior Valentin Augustin from Hamilton West, a multi-eventer, placed 4^th in a personal-best 8.18. His previous PR was 8.27 from a meet in 2023 at Ocean Breeze. And senior Anaias Hughes from Willingboro was 6^th in 8.26, just off his PR of 8.17 from last year at the Armory.

The Haddonfield boys have a chance to prove they’re one of the top teams in the country Saturday at the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon.

Haddonfield, ranked 16^th nationally by DyeStat, placed 2^nd in the Nike Northeast Regionals two weeks ago, earning an auto berth at Nike Nationals.

The Bulldogs will race at 10:05 a.m. Saturday at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. The field includes 22 full schools and 45 individuals.

Haddonfield is the 5^th New Jersey boys team and first from South Jersey to qualify for Nike Nationals.

The Kingsway girls made it in 2017 and placed 22^nd at Nationals and the Cherokee girls qualified in 2021, although the national meet was cancelled.

Here’s a look at Haddonfield’s team:

✓ Ben Andrus: Has run 4:13.60 and 9:08.27 on the track and was the state Group 2 XC champ last fall. Has an all-course 5,000 best of 15:34 and a Holmdel best of 15:43.

✓ Luke Andresen: Was the state Group 2 indoor 1,600 champ at 4:17.56 at the Bubble and then ran 4:10.82 for 3^rd at the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze. This fall took 3^rd at states and 5^that the Meet of Champions with a Holmdel PR of 15:42.

✓ Peter Simpson: State Group 2 champ last spring at 3,200 meters with a PR 9:14.76 and ran sub-4:15 twice, including 4:14.44. Won Group 2 sectionals this fall with a 15:39 at DREAM Park.

✓ Ryan Gibson: Won South Jersey Group 2 last fall and Camden County and Colonial Conference titles this fall.

✓ Michael Sinnes: Placed 12^th at states as Haddonfield’s 5^th man and ran a 5,000 PR of 15:46.58 at Pennypacker Park.

✓ Brandon Stoner: Camden County champ placed 3^rd at sectionals at DREAM Park with an all-course PR of 16:15. On the track, a three-time sectional medalist at 800 meters.

✓ Andrew Blum: The only junior in Haddonfield’s lineup, Blum won the Colonial Championship race and placed 3^rd at sectionals with an all-course PR 16:29.

Darien Cade, a Fairleigh Dickinson junior from Timber Creek, opened his indoor track season with a win at FDU’s Knights Midweek Clash at the Bogota Savings Bank Center in Hackensack.

https://milesplit.live/meets/719218/events/3/results/F/M

Cade threw 49-7 ¼ on his first throw of the new season, missing his PR by just over an inch. Cade threw 49-8 ½ when he placed 6^th in the Northeast Conference Championships in Easton, Mass., in May.

Cade missed his indoor PR of 49-8 ¼ from a meet at the Armory in January by one inch. He also had second throw over 49 feet, hitting 49-3 ¾ on his 3^rd attempt.

He led a 1-2-3 FDU / South Jersey sweep and a 1-2 Timber Creek sweep. Jayson Ross, a freshman from Timber Creek, opened his career with the 16-pound shot with a throw of 47-7 ¾ on his 1^stattempt. It was his only legal throw but good enough for 2^nd place.

Another FDU freshman, Justin Banks from Willingboro, placed 3^rd with a 44-10 ½ in his collegiate debut. He had a 44-10 on his 2^nd attempt and a 44-9 on his 4^th. Banks was indoor state Group 2 champ last winter and threw 52-7 with the 12-pound shot to win the Burlington County Open at Lenape.

Northern Burlington’s Liliah Gordon, who just finished her freshman XC season at Penn State, is entered in the USATF Senior Nationals Championships this weekend in Oregon.

Gordon is the only South Jersey high school graduate entered in either the men’s or women’s race.

The women’s race over 10,000 meters is scheduled to start at 4:50 p.m. EST Saturday at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.

Gordon only ran four races as a true freshman at Penn State, all over 6,000 meters, with a best time of 21:28.9 in the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh in Bethlehem and Lower Saucon Township.

She did not race after Big Ten Championships in East Lansing, Mich., on Oct. 31.

Gordon placed 2^nd last fall in the Under-20 XC Championships in Lubbock, Texas and then took  5^th last spring at 5,000 meters on the track at the USATF Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with a PR 16:38.54, a South Jersey record and 4^th-fastest in New Jersey history.

USATF XC Nationals are run at Glendoveer Golf Course in conjunction with Nike Cross Nationals.

The Haddonfield boys qualified for Nike Nationals by placing 2^nd in the Northeast Regionals two weeks ago in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. They are scheduled to run on the same course over 5,000 meters at 10:05 a.m. Saturday.