From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Seth Clevenger ran away from the field and won the 5,000 Friday at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Birmingham in meet-record time.

Clevenger, a Rowan junior from Haddonfield, won the 5,000 in a meet-record 13:33.55, finishing 150 meters ahead of 2^nd-place Aidan Matthai of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, who ran 14:03.55

Clevenger broke the meet record of 13:47.01 set in 2023 by Christian Patzka of Wisconsin-Whitewater and ran within 1 ½ seconds of his own NCAA Division 3 record of 13:32.09 that he set last month in Boston.

Rowan’s last national champion distance runner was Oakcrest’s Don Deckert, who won the steeplechase in 1984. Their last indoor distance All-America was his brother Don Deckert, who placed 3^rd in the 5,000 in 1986.

Clevenger came through 1,600 meters in 4:17.56 and already had a 60-meter lead. He came through 3,000 meters in 8:07.58 and 3,200 in 8:40.94. He ran his third 1,600 in 4:23.60 and closed in 31.05 for his final lap, 63.17 for his final 400 and 2:07.83 for his final 800.

Deptford destroyed the Gloucester County 800-meter relay record Friday, ran the 11^th-fastest time in the U.S. this year and 6th-fastest in state history and advanced to the 4-by-2 final at Boston THE TRACK Nationals.

The team of senior Johan Hernandez, sophomore Malikye Gonzalez, junior Laquan Brakenridge and senior Damon Albertson ran 1:27.55, the 3^rd-fastest time in qualifying for Saturday’s final and 2^nd-fastest this year by a New Jersey school.

Deptford shattered the Gloucester County record of 1:28.28 set last year by Washington Township at Ocean Breeze.

The time is 2^nd-fastest in South Jersey history indoors, behind only Camden’s iconic 1:26.90 from 2004 Easterns at the Armory with Dwayne Lewis, Sherron Bullock, Alonzo Brown and Carl Smith.

The only schools that ran faster than Deptford Friday were Westlake High of Waldorf, Md., which ran 1:26.93 and La Salle of Springfield, Montgomery County, which ran 1:27.27.

Deptford’s previous best time this year was a 1:29.55 at Easterns with a listed lineup of Albertson, Xavion Holmes, Hernandez and Liam Brown.

The final is scheduled for 7:58 p.m. Saturday.

All-Time South Jersey 800-Meter Relay List
1:26.90 … Camden, 2004
1:27.55 … Deptford, 2026
1:27.60 … Vineland, 2004
1:28.0h … Edgewood, 2001
1:28.28 … Washington Twp., 2025
1:28.45 … Camden, 2002
1:28.46 … Lenape, 2000
1:28.48 … Camden, 2007
1:28.77 … Pennsauken, 2023
1:28.77 … Camden, 2025
1:28.91 … Camden, 2000
1:29.06 … Oakcrest, 2012
1:29.16 … Rancocas Valley, 2025
1:29.17 … Camden, 2001
1:29.29 … Rancocas Valley, 2017
1:29.33 … Delsea, 2024
1:29.52 … Vineland, 2003
1:29.57 … Camden, 1997
1:29.61 … Camden, 1999
1:29.72 … Timber Creek, 2013
1:29.74 … Pennsauken, 2016
1:29.80 … Deptford, 2023
1:29.81 … Pennsauken, 2022
1:29.87 … Timber Creek, 2016
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2017
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2018
1:29.97 … Pleasantville, 2008

All-Time Gloucester County 800-Meter Relay List
1:27.55 … Deptford, 2026
1:28.28 … Washington Twp., 2025
1:29.33 … Delsea, 2024
1:29.80 … Deptford, 2023
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2017
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2018
1:30.12 … Delsea, 2007
1:30.15 … Deptford, 2020
1:30.40 … Delsea, 2009
1:30.40 … Deptford, 2025
1:30.60 … Delsea, 2008
1:31.33 … Deptford, 2024
1:31.33 … Williamstown, 2026
1:31.63 … Kingsway, 2022
1:31.76 … West Deptford, 2006

All-Time New Jersey 800-Meter Relay List
1:26.24 …. Bergen Catholic, 2026
1:26.31 … Bergen Catholic, 2025
1:26.90 … Camden, 2004
1:27.04 … Union Catholic, 2014
1:27.50 … Toms River South, 2023
1:27.55 … Deptford, 2026
1:27.80 … Union Catholic, 2013
1:27.6h … Vineland, 2004
1:27.89 … Nottingham, 2020
1:27.95 … St. Peter’s Prep, 2025
1:28.0h … Edgewood, 2001
1:27.8h … East Orange, 2017
1:28.28 … Washington Township, 2024
1:28.35 … Union Catholic, 2008
1:28.35 … Trenton, 2008
1:28.45 … Camden, 2002
1:28.46 … Lenape, 2000
1:28.46 … Trenton, 2012
1:28.48 … Camden, 2007
1:28.53 … St. Peter’s Prep, 2026
1:28.59 … Livingston, 2024
1:28.62 … Plainfield, 2001
1:28.62 … Toms River North, 2024
1:28.73 … Trenton, 2008
1:28.74 … Elizabeth, 2019
1:28.76 … East Orange, 2018
1:28.77 … The Lawrenceville School, 2011
1:28.77 … Pennsauken, 2023
1:28.77 … Camden, 2025
1:28.81 … Franklin Twp., 2016
1:28.85 … West Orange, 2012
1:28.86 … Paramus Catholic, 2023
1:28.91 … Camden, 2000
1:28.91 … Toms River North, 2026
1:28.7h … Trenton, 2003
1:28.95 … Piscataway, 2025
1:28.95 … Irvington, 2006
1:28.98 … North Brunswick, 2025

Timber Creek’s Nyla Jones, a Rowan sophomore, smashed the school record in the 60-meter hurdles Friday and advaned to the final at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Birmingham, Ala.

Jones ran 8.64, beating the school record of 8.68 set by Aspen McMillan of South Brunswick when she placed 4^th at 2019 NCAA Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Rosbury, Mass.

Jones is already an All-America after placing 5^th in the 400-meter hurdles last spring at Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.

Her previous hurdles PR was an 8.69 in a meet last month at the Ott Center.

The final is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Stockton junior Ahmad Fogg from Egg Harbor Township soared within an inch of a national title on his final attempt and settled for a remarkable 2^nd-place finish and All-America honors in the long jump at the NCAA Division 3 Championships Friday in Birmingham.

Fogg jumped 24-0 ¾ on his 3^rd attempt to move into the lead, then got bumped into 2^nd when Joshua Rivers went 24-6 ¼ on his 4^th jump. Fogg again came close to the lead when he hit 24-4 ¼ on his 5^th jump and then sailed 24-5 ¾ on his final attempt. Rivers added a quarter of an inch on the last jump of the competition, winning at 24-6 ½.

Fogg, who still has the triple jump Saturday, is Stockton’s 9^th men’s indoor All-America and 3^rd in the long jump. Shawnee’s Greg Foster won the 1988 D-3 long jump title for Stockton and Jared Lewis of Deptford placed 8^th in 2016. Foster and Lewis both also won the triple jump.

This was Fogg’s first trip to NCAAs and first All-America honor.

Fogg opened with a 23-0 and 23-7 ½ before his 24-0 ¾ on his final jump of the trials. He went 23-6, 24-4 ¼ and 24-5 ¾ in the finals.

Rivers and Fogg had the only six 24-foot jumps of the competition.

Rowan freshman Bright John from Sterling earned All-merica honors in his first NCAA meet with a 23-2 ¾ on his 4^th jump for 6^th place. He was the only freshman in the top six.

Rowan freshman Anthony Parker from Salem, the No. 2 seed at 25-0, was a surprise non-starter.

Woodstown lowered its Salem County record and placed 13^th Thursday evening in the 3,200-meter relay at Boston THE TRACK Nationals.

Woodstown ran 7:55.26, 11^th-fastest in South Jersey history and a bit lower than their 7:55.62 from the Millrose Games at the Armory in January.

Their time is 4^th-fastest all-time in New Jersey by a Group 1 school. It’s fastest by any South Jersey school since Kingsway ran 7:47.50 at the 2020 Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze.

Senior Karson Chew led off with a 1:57.75, senior Jacob Marino and junior David Farrell split 2:01.03 and 2:01.94 and senior Josh Crawford anchored with a 1:54.56.

The only faster New Jersey Group 1 schools are Pleasantville’s 7:45.55 when they won 2013 Easterns at the Armory and two Bernards performances from the 1980s converted from two-mile relays – a converted 7:54.18 in 1984 and 7:45.5 in 1983.

All-Time South Jersey 3,200-Meter Relay List
7:43.64 … Cherokee, 2012
7:45.55 … Pleasantville, 2013
7:47.50 … Kingsway, 2020
7:48.92 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2017
7:51.45 … Washington Twp., 2009
7:51.78 … Cherokee, 2000
7:52.77 … Pleasantville, 2006
7:52.95 … Willingboro, 2003
7:53.64 … Willingboro, 2002
7:54.76 … Pleasantville, 2007
7:55.26 … Woodstown, 2026
7:55.40 … Washington Twp., 2008
7:55.44 … Haddonfield, 2010
7:56.97 … Haddonfield, 2026
7:57.28 … Rancocas Valley, 2018
7:57.29 … Oakrest, 2009
7:57.56 … Haddonfield, 2019
7:58.08 … Egg Harbor Twp., 2016
7:58.40 … Deptford, 2026
7:58.5h … Willingboro, 1983
7:59.05 … Pleasantville, 2015
7:59.51 … Pleasantville, 2012
7:59.84 … Kingsway, 2014
7:59.91 … Kingsway, 2013

St. Augustine’s Steph Janasiak ran the fastest 400 by a South Jersey 9^th-grader in 10 years Thursday on Day 1 of Boston Nationals.

Janasiak placed 6^th of 49 entries in the freshman 400 with a 50.73. That breaks his own Atlantic County freshman record of 51.25 that he ran at the Ott Center in February.

Janasiak’s time is 3^rd-fastest by any Atlantic County runner this year, behind teammate Marc Maccario’s 48.57 at the Meet of Champions this past Sunday at Ocean Breeze and Egg Harbor’s Xavier Aucule, who ran 50.13 in January at the Ott.

It’s fastest by any South Jersey freshman since 2016, when Luke Colehower of Haddonfield ran 49.44 at the Meet of Champions at the Bubble.

Cherry Hill East’s Alexis Tepper and Atlantic County Tech’s Desi Stroud will be carrying the flag for South Jersey at the NCAA Division 2 Championships in Virginia Beach this weekend.

Tepper, in her first year at Bloomsburg after spending two years at UMBC, qualified as the 21^st seed in the mile with her PR and school-record 4:54.15 at Ocean Breeze last month.

She went on to win PSAC titles in the mile [4:59.73] and 3,000 [10:04.50] as well as the DMR [12:11.32] and also took 2^nd in the 800 [2:16.90].

Stroud qualified in the long jump with a 23-7 ½ at a meet in January in Bethlehem. He has a PR of 24-3 from an outdoor meet last March in Chester, Pa.

Tepper will race in the mile qualifying at 4:05 p.m. Friday. The final is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. on Saturday.

Stroud jumps at 5:10 p.m. Friday.

For South Jersey athletes competing this weekend at the Division 1 Championships click here.

For the story on Division 3 qualifiers click here.

Ocean City’s Elaina Styer, Haddonfield’s Seth Clevenger, Egg Harbor’s Ahmad Fogg and Paulsboro’s Jamile Gantt are among the top seeds heading into the NCAA Division 3 Championships this weekend in Birmingham.

Let’s take a look at the South Jersey contingent that will compete at the Birmingham Crossplex Friday and Saturday:

MEN
60-METER DASH
Rancocas Valley’s Masai Byrd, a Rowan senior, qualified with his PR 6.79 at Ocean Breeze. He’ll race in the 60 trials at 3:15 p.m. Friday, with the final scheduled for 12:10 p.m. Saturday.

200-METER DASH
Three Rowan sprints – sophomore Rajahn Dixon from Eastern, junior Eli Hendricks from Penns Grove and junior Evan Corcoran from Kingsway – will race in the 200 trials at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with the final slated for 6:25 p.m. Saturday. Dixon is the No. 2 seed with his 21.15 at the NJAC Championships at the Ott Center. Hendricks has run 21.31 and Corcoran 21.50.

400-METER DASH
Glassboro’s Dallas Hohney, a Rowan junior, ran 47.75 in Youngstown, Ohio, last month to earn the No. 12 seed. The 400 trials are 4:25 p.m. Friday, with the final following at 5:35 p.m. Saturday.

MILE RUN
West Deptford’s Jacob Cobb, an MIT senior, ran a PR 4:07.01 in Boston to earn the No. 9 seed.  The mile trials are set for 3:50 p.m. Friday with the final at 5:10 p.m. Saturday.

3,000-METER RUN
Haddonfield’s Seth Clevenger, a Rowan junior, is the No. 1 seed with his 7:54.87, 3^rd-fastest all-time in NCAA Division 3. The 3,000 is a final by time at 6:50 p.m. Saturday.

5,000-METER RUN
Clevenger is also top seeded in the 5,000 with his NCAA Division 3-record 13:32.09 in Boston. The 5,000 is a final by time at 6:05 p.m. Friday.

60-METER HURDLES
Rowan has two of the top three seeds and three hurdlers in all. Senior Jason Agyemang is No. 2 seed at 7.87 and senior Kwaku Nkrumah is No. 3 at 7.88. Both are former Division 1 national champions. Also qualifying is senior Valentin Augustin with a PR 8.11.

DISTANCE MEDLEY
Rowan is the No. 8 seed at 9:45.25. The 12 qualifiers all ran between 9:40.22 and 9:46.14. Blaik Slavinski will run the 1,200, Clearview’s Matthew Niedbalski the 400, Teddy Wilson the 800 and Clevenger the mile. The DMR final is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

HIGH JUMP
Rowan has three of the top four seeds and five jumpers in all. NCAA Division 3 freshman record holder David Brown of Edison is the top see at 7-2 ¼, Paulsboro’s Jamile Gantt and Noah Wampole from Radnor are tied as No. 3 seed at 6-10 ¾, Pleasantville’s  Isaiah Davenport is tied for No. 5 at 6-10 ¼ and Arrington Rhym from Hamilton West is tied for No. 10 at 6-9. Also, Highland’s Jayden DeLeon, a Rutgers-Camden freshman, is tied for the No. 5 seed at 6-10 ¼. The high jump is at 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

LONG JUMP
Three of the top 11 seeds are from South Jersey. Rowan freshman Anthony Parker from Salem is No. 3 at 25-0, Stockton junior Ahmad Fogg from Egg Harbor Township is No. 4 at 24-9 and Rowan freshman Bright John from Sterling is No. 11 at 23-11 ½. The long jump is at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

TRIPLE JUMP
Fogg is No. 2 seed in the triple at 49-9 ¼ and Rowan junior Joshua Justin from Passaic County Tech is No. 5 at 49-2 ¼, both from the NJAC meet at the Ott. The men’s triple is at noon Saturday.

WOMEN
5,000-METER RUN
Rowan junior Gabriella Pagano from Pope Paul XXIII is seeded 7^th at 16:45.30. The race starts at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday.

60-METER HURDLES
Rowan sophomore Nyla Jones from Timber Creek is seeded 11^th with her PR 8.69 from the Ott Center. Trials are 2:30 p.m. Friday, final at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

PENTATHLON
Stockton junior Elaina Styer from Ocean City is the top seed with her 3,747 points at the NJAC Championships at the Ott. Styer has PRs of 8.82, 5-5 ¼, 34-9, 18-0 ½ and 2:21.80. Pentathlon schedule Friday has the hurdles at 11:20 a.m., high jump at 12:20 a.m., shot put at 2:05 p.m., long jump at 3:35 p.m. and the 800 at 5:20 p.m.

The Pennsauken girls ran one of the 20-fastest 4-by-4’s in South Jersey history Sunday and they did it without Sianni Wynn.

Pennsauken placed 4^th in the Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze in 3:54.43 with a lineup of Sanaya Dupree, Olivia Dupree, Rai-Ana Rucker and Hope Edwards.

Wynn, who has run as fast as 52.80 – 5^th-fastest in state history – but on Sunday she was watching her fast teammates handle the 4-by-4. She’s listed in the official results but did not race.

Sanaya Dupree led off with a 58.96 split, her cousin Olivia ran 58.25, Rucker split 1:00.25 and Edwards anchored in 56.94.

Pennsauken’s time is No. 11 in Camden County history and No. 18 on the all-time South Jersey list. Pennsauken’s previous school record was 3:59.69 from the Group 3 state relays with Olivia Dupree, Ruckeer, Edwards and Wynn.

Their time is also 18^th-fastest in Meet of Champions history and the fastest 4^th-place time ever, just below Eastern’s 3:54.64 last year.

Winslow is the only South Jersey school to run faster at a Meet of Champions, with 3:45.50 this year, 3:45.89 last year and 3:51.49 in 2017.

This spring, Pennsauken will chase its outdoor school record of 3:50.21 set last April at the Penn Relays with Sianni Olivia and Sanaya Dupree, Ameenah Rodriguez and Wynn.

Pennsauken won’t contest the 4-by-4 at Boston Nationals but will load up the sprint medley with Wynn and Edwards likely handling the long legs. Edwards ran 2:13 .65 last spring as a Moorestown freshman and was the No. 2 freshman in New Jersey.

All-Time South Jersey 1,600-Meter Relay List
3:44.74 … Winslow Twp., 2025
3:45.37 … Willingboro, 2003
3:45.50 … Winslow Twp., 2026
3:47.95 … Willingboro, 2002
3:49.07 … Camden, 1995
3:49.50 … Winslow Twp., 2024
3:49.59 … Timber Creek, 2024
3:51.49 … Winslow Twp., 2017
3:52.37 … Willingboro, 2000
3:52.55 … Wilson, 2006
3:53.07 … Willingboro, 2025
3:53.61 … Willingboro, 1998
3:53.81 … Paul VI, 2020
3:53.6h … Willingboro, 1999
3:53.82 … Timber Creek, 2023
3:53.97 … Rancocas Valley, 2019
3:54.38 … Camden, 2009
3:54.43 … Pennsauken, 2026
3:54.59 … Willingboro, 2024
3:54.63 … Eastern, 2025
3:54.4h … Eastern, 2003
3:54.62 … Rancocas Valley, 2020
3:54.69 … Eastern, 2023
3:54.82 … Millville, 2008
3:54.99 … Winslow Twp., 2018

All-Time Meet of Champions 4-by-4 List
3:41.91 … Union Catholic, 2026 [1]
3:45.50 … Winslow Twp. 2026 [2]
3:45.70 … Union Catholic, 2025 [1]
3:45.89 … Winslow Twp., 2025 [2]
3:47.27 … Union Catholic, 2016 [1]

3:48.30 … Columbia, 2013 [1]

3:49.18 … Rumson Fair-Haven, 2025 [3]

3:50.32 … Union Catholic, 2015 [1]

3:50.82 … Union Catholic, 2017 [1]

3:51.49 … Winslow, 2017 [2]

3:51.68 … Union Catholic, 2020 [1]

3:52.16 … Union Catholic, 2023 [1]

3:52.76 … Columbia, 2014 [1]

3:53.50 … Columbia, 2010 [1]

3:53.84 … Union Catholic, 2019 [1]

3:54.10 … Piscataway, 2023 [2]
3:54.30 … Ramapo, 2026 [3]
3:54.43 … Pennsauken, 2026 [4]

3:54.64 … Eastern, 2025 [4]

3:54.69 … Eastern, 2023 [3]

St. Augustine senior Marc Maccario placed 4^th in the 400 at the Meet of Champions Sunday and ran within 22-100ths of a second of the Atlantic County record.

Maccario ran an indoor PR 45.57, 3^rd-fastest in Atlantic county history behind a 48.45 from Pleasantville’s Xander Roberts-Bogin at 2022 Easterns at the Armory and a 48.48 by Egg Harbor’s Amir Brock at 2017 Easterns, also at the Armory.

His time is tied for 11^th-fastest in South Jersey history, 2-100ths of a second outside the all-time top-10. He’ll have a chance to move on those lists at Boston Nationals this weekend.

Maccario’s 48.57 is 15^th-fastest in meet history and tied for 3^rd-fastest by a South Jersey quarter-miler. Bryce Tucker of Pennsauken placed 2^nd in 47.50 in 2023, and Winslow’s Jayden Poteat was 2^nd in 48.43 last year.

His time is also 2^nd-fastest 4^th-place time in meet history behind Ryan Matulonis’s 48.26 in 2023. Clayton’s Alexander Osayemi also ran 48.57 for 4^th place last year.

Maccario first broke 50 seconds at Delsea last spring with a 49.32 and then broke 49 for the first time when he won the state Parochial A title at the Bubble in 48.63. He PR’d outdoors at 48.33 at the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken.

Maccario is the latest stud from the Buena Vista Township program that brought you sub-4-minute miler Mark Sivieri and national scholastic hurdles champion Sincere Rhea.

All-Time Meet of Champions 400 List
47.35 … Xavier Donaldson [Seton Hall Prep], 2023 [1]
47.43 … Jordaine Johnson [East Orange], 2025 [1]
47.49 … Seven Garcia [Hackensack], 2026 [1]
47.50 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2023 [2]
47.67 … Crue Brown [Manalapan], 2026 [2]
48.00 … Alexander Sadikov [Ocean Township], 2023 [3]
48.26 … Zyaire Clemes [Trenton], 2013 [1]
48.26 … Ryan Matulonis [Seton Hall Prep], 2023 [4]
48.33 … Taylor McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2015 [1]
48.43 … Jayden Poteat [Winslow Twp.], 2025 [2]
48.46 … Carlos Venegas [St. Joe’s-Metuchen], 2026 [3]
48.48 … Najee Glass [St. Peter’s Prep], 2011 [1]
48.50 … Lance Wigfall [East Orange], 2003 [1]
48.53 … Seven Garcia [Hackensack], 2025 [3]
48.57 … Alexander Osayemi. [Clayton], 2025 [4]
48.57 … Marc Maccario [St. Augustine], 2026 [4]
48.58 … Chinedu Amonu [Ewing], 2013 [2]
48.66 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991 [1]
48.66 … Adam Gorka [South Brunswick], 2020 [1]
48.71 … Mario Heslop [Franklin Twp.], 2018 [1]
48.76 … Favour Owolabi [North Star Academy], 2025 [5]
48.77 … Nasir Haines [Freehold Twp.], 2015 [2]
48.87 … Jack Ahart [Kinnelon], 2023 [5]
48.92 … Charles Cox [Monmouth], 2007 [1]
48.96 … Lathan Brown [Deptford], 2023 [6]
48.98 … Nadale Buntin [J.P. Stevens], 2018 [2]

All-Time South Jersey Indoor 400 List
47.50 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2023
47.90 … Brandon Outlaw [Moorestown], 2017
48.27 … Jade Smith [Camden], 2002
48.36 … Mohammad Kanu [Lenape], 2000
48.43 … Jayden Poteat [Winslow Twp.], 2025
48.45 … Xander Roberts-Bogin [Pleasantville], 2022
48.45 … Premier Wynn [Pennsauken], 2023
48.48 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
48.50 … Alex Reber [Cherry Hill East], 2013
48.55 … Royce Reed [Bridgeton], 1995
48.57 … Alexander Osayemi [Clayton], 2025
48.57 … Marc Maccario [St. Augustine], 2026
48.64 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
48.68 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
48.72 … Michael Mazero [Paul VI], 2022
48.74 … John Morris [Camden], 2001
48.75 … Luke Colehower [Haddonfield], 2017
48.79 … Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville], 2020
48.7h … Curt Mcintyre [Bridgeton], 1992
48.91 … Marlin Gross [Bridgeton], 2001
48.91 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
48.96 … Lathan Brown [Deptford], 2023