From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Rancocas Valley graduate Micah Wood, a Rutgers grad student, ran a huge intermediate hurdles PR Friday in his 2024 outdoor season opener.

Wood placed 2nd in the 400IH at the UCF Knights Invite at the University of Central Florida Track and Soccer Complex in Orlando in 51.42. Jameson Woodell, a Rutgers grad student from Hunterdon Central, won the race in 51.14.

Wood’s previous PR was a 52.35 in his last outdoor race – at the Big Ten Championships in May in Bloomington, Ind.

Woodell is the Rutgers school record holder at 49.82 from the 2022 NCAA East Prelims, also in Bloomington.

Wood’s time is No. 7 in Rutgers history. He’s one of four South Jersey runners on that top-10 list: Delsea’s Aaron Younger is No. 2 with his 50.65 at 2010 NCAA Regionals in Greensboro, N.C.; Lenape’s Steve Swern No. 8 with a 51.68 at 2010 IC4As in Princeton; and Delran’s Harran Williams No. 10 with 52.19 from 2002 IC4As at Princeton.

Wood is also No. 8 on the all-time Monmouth list with a 52.91 from his win at the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in Lawrenceville. He transferred from Monmouth to Rutgers after the 2021 outdoor season.

That 51.42 is No. 13 on the all-time South Jersey alumni list and No. 2 among Burlington County runners behind Lenape’s Mike Brown, who ran 50.04 in 2002 in Holmdel.

Georgia Tech’s Isabella Turner, a junior from Shawnee, ran a 1,500 PR Friday afternoon.

Turner won her section of the 1,500 at the Florida State University Relays at Mike Long in Tallahassee in 4:43.94, finishing 50 meters ahead of second place. She placed 9th overall.

Turner’s previous PR was a 4:46.93 just last week at a home meet at Georgia Tech’s George C. Griffin Track in Atlanta.

Before the past week, her 1,500 PR was 4:55.26 from a meet last March in Tallahassee. So she’s lowered her PR nearly 12 seconds since last weekend.

Winslow graduate John Purvis, now a junior at Marshall after spending his freshman year at Morgan State, uncorked a hammer PR Thursday in a meet at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla.

Purvis threw 164-0 on his 2nd throw to surpass his lifetime-best 163-6 from a meet at Towson as a Morgan State freshman in 2022.

Purvis threw the shot 55-7 at Morgan State when he placed 2nd at the MEAC indoor Championships in Virginia Beach two years ago and he has a discus PR of 152-7 from a meet last spring in Durham, N.C. He hasn’t thrown the discus yet for Marshall, although he’s scheduled to on Friday.

Erika Kemp ran a 10,000 PR to open her 2024 season Saturday at The Ten – that’s the name of the meet, The Ten – in Southern California.

Kemp ran 31:28.69 at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, shaving seven seconds off her lifetime-best of 31:35.63 set on the same track during a December 2020 meet – her only race between the onset of COVID in March 2020 and the following March.

After focusing on the roads the last couple years, it was her first race on the track in nearly three years, and it locks up her Olympic Trials qualifying time.

Her time is No. 38 in U.S. history, according to the World Athletics database and No. 13 in the world this year. She finished 13th in a world-class field and 8th among U.S. women.

Kemp’s time is No. 2 ever by a New Jersey alum, behind Marielle Hall of Haddonfield, who ran 31:05.71 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

This was Kemp’s first race since January, when she ran a half-marathon PR 1:09.10 in Houston, and her first race on the track since May of 2021, when she ran a PR 4:16.41 for 1,500 meters at Icahn Stadium in New York.

Here’s my best attempt at an all-time New Jersey 10,000 top-10 list (actually a sub-33:30 list):

31:05.71 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], Sept. 28, 2019, Doha, Qatar
31:28.69 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], Dec. 5, 2020, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
31:37.26 … Anne Marie Lauck [North Hunterdon], Aug. 21, 1993, Stuttgart, Germany
31:51.66 … Sarah Pagano [Immaculate Heart Academy], May 2, 2019, Palo Alto, Calif.
32:52.74 … Amy Van Alstine [Midland Park], June 13, 2015, Portland, Ore.
32:54.07 … Monica Hebner [Northern Highlands], May 25, 2023, Sacramento, Calif.
32:58.73 … Katie Kellner [West Windsor-Plainsboro South], April 6, 2012, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:05.13 … Janet Smith [Bernards], June 2, 1988, Eugene, Ore.
33:07.10 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], May 28, 2021, Portland, Ore.
33:15.95 … Meghan McGlinchey [West Deptford], April 4, 2014, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:18.99 … Melody Fairchild [Ocean City], April 13, 1996, Eugene, Ore.
33:23.12 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], March 26, 2010, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:24.79 … Megan Curham [Villa Walsh], May 10, 2014, New Haven, Ct.

And here’s what I came up with for an all-time South Jersey 10,000 list:

31:05.71 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], Sept. 28, 2019, Doha, Qatar
31:28.69 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], Dec. 5, 2020, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
33:07.10 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], May 28, 2021, Portland, Ore.
33:15.95 … Meghan McGlinchey [West Deptford], April 4, 2014, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:18.99 … Melody Fairchild [Ocean City], April 13, 1996, Eugene, Ore,
33:23.12 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], March 26, 2010, Palo Alto, Calif.
33:27.41 … Laura Mason [Northern Burlington], April 27, 1995, Philadelphia
34:27.85 … Jenna Darcy [Shawnee], March 31, 2006, Palo Alto, Calif.
34:30.63 … Kylie Anicic [Kingsway], March 23, 2023, Raleigh, N.C.
34:34.91 … Katie Van Horn [Triton], March 20, 2007, Palo Alto, Calif.

Delsea graduate Jason Nwosu, a William and Mary sophomore, opened the 2024 outdoor season with a big PR, winning the Dan Stimson Memorial Invitational with the No. 4 throw in school history.

Nwosu threw 56-5 ¼ on his 3rd throw as part of a triple throws win at his home facility in Williamsburg, Va.

His previous PR with the 16-pound ball was 55-2 at the same meet last year. His 56-5 ¼ is the best throw by a William and Mary athlete in five years, since Preston Richardson threw a school-record 60-3 ¼ at the Penn Relays and K.J. Cook threw 57-0 at a home meet in Williamsburg.

Nwosu also won the discus at 146-6 and the hammer throw with a 166-2. He’s thrown 157-10 in the disc – that’s No. 10 in school history – but the 166-2 is a hammer PR. He threw 165-5 in April in a meet in Williamsburg.

Indoors, Nwosu is No. 11 in William and Mary history with a 53-1 ½ in Februry of 2023 in a meet in Blacksburg, Va., and No. 5 in the weight throw with a 61-2 ¼ last month in a meet in Annapolis, Md.

The Sharpe triplets were back in action Saturday, competing at the same meet for the first time in almost a year.

Racing at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at Georgia Tech’s George C. Griffin Track in Atlanta, Arianna Sharpe won the 200 in 24.20 and the 400 in 53.40, Amirah Sharpe was 2nd in the 400 in 53.90 and 3rd in the 200 in 24.60 and Ariel Sharpe placed 4th in the 400 in 57.93 but didn’t race the 200. (Even though they don’t look like it, all the times are FAT.)

Ariel Sharpe competed Saturday for Auburn, where she’s a sophomore. Amirah and Arianna competed unattatched, although it appears likely they still attend Auburn.

All three triplets, who led both Paulsboro and Clayton to state Group 1 championships, began competing for Auburn as freshmen last year indoors.

Arianna ran 24.51 and 52.42 indoors and 24.64 and 54.54 outdoors. Amirah ran 53.37 indoors last year and then 24.23 and 53.44 outdoors. Ariel ran 58.14 indoors and 57.37 outdoors.

Arianni is No. 3 in Auburn history in the indoor 400 and Amirah is No. 9 in the 400 outdoors. Her 52.42 is the fastest 400 ever by an Auburn freshman.

Click to access 2023_Almanac.pdf

This past indoor season, Amirah Sharpe didn’t race at all, Arianna competed in one meet in Nashville in February unattached and ran 24.30 and 53.91 and Ariel ran two meets with an Auburn affiliation.

So Saturday’s meet was Amirah Sharpe’s first since NCAA East Preliminaries in May in Jacksonville, Ariannia’s second since NCAA East Prelims and Ariel’s third since a meet in Tuscaloosa in April of 2023.

It was the first meet all three have raced at since that Crimson Tide Invitational last April 21 and 22 at Alabama.

The Sharpe triplets’ dad, Fred Sharpe, starred at Paulsboro and was a two-time All-America for Auburn in 20023.

Washington Township’s Kami Joi Hickson, a senior at Maryland, smashed her 800 PR Saturday at the Black and Gold Invitational in Orlando.

Hickson ran 2:08.19 at the Central Florida Track and Soccer Complex, placing 5th overall. Her previous PR was a 2:08.58 at 2019 Armory Nationals after she had transferred from Washington Township to Neumann Goretti in East Passyunk. Her previous college PR was a 2:08.70 in a meet in College Park last May. At Washington Township she ran 2:12.04 at the 2017 Meet of Champions.

Her 2:08.19 is No. 6 in Maryland history and fastest in 11 years, since Julie Sinkovitz from Woodcliff Lake and Immaculate Heart Academy – ironically in Washington Township, Bergen County – ran 2:07.15 in the prelims of the 2013 ECAC Championships at Princeton.

Where does her time rank in Maryland history? Great question. The “women’s outdoor top 10 list” link on their web site is dead. Using the Wayback machine I found a 2019 partial list with incomplete information and then I updated it using stats on TFRRS and articles on Newspapers.com and came up with an all-time Maryland women’s outdoor 800 list. Something the Maryland sports info office could have done in about 20 minutes if they cared as much as me:

2:05.61 … Bobbie McGee, State College, 1984
2:06.61 … Myah Hicks, Bloomington, Ind., 2012
2:06.7h … Rosalind Taylor, Washington, D.C., 1987
2:07.15 … Julie Sinkovitz, Princeton, 2013
2:07.51 … Kerrie Bowes, N/A/, 1996
2:08.19 … Kami Joi Hickson, Orlando, 2024
2:09.25 … Catherine Voelpel, College Park, Md., 2017
2:09.81 … Carolyn Forde, State College, 1983
2:09.88 … Alexandra Lucki, Princeton, 2016
2:10.09 … Kelley Pry, Atlanta, 2008

Here’s a look at the fastest half-milers ever from South Jersey, with Hickson in the No. 13 spot:

1:59.85 … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], June 17, 1996, Atlanta
1:59.99 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], July 13, 2010, Liège, Belgium
2:02.20 … Kimarra McDonald [Rancocas Valley], June 2, 2012, Nashville
2:02.49 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], June 25, 2006, Indianapolis
2:03.34 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], June 15, 2013, Indianapolis
2:03.88 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], May 13, 2012, Baton Rouge, La.
2:05.06 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], May 31, 2013, West Chester, Pa.
2:06.15 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], May 13, 2022, Durham, N.C.
2:07.18 … Kristen Neidrach [Shawnee], Kortrijk, Belgium, July 10, 2021
2:07.25 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], March 26, 2011, Houston
2:08.02 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], April 2, 2022, Palo Alto, Calif.
2:08.36 … Sarah Robbie [Cherokee], May 13, 2017, University Park, Pa.
2:08.18 … Kami Joi Hickson [Washington Twp.], March 15, 2024, Orlando

Isabella Deal broke the Rowan indoor shot put record last month when she threw 42-9 ¾ in a meet at Widener University in Chester, Pa.

On Friday, she added the Rowan outdoor shot put record to her resume.

Deal, a Washington Township graduate and three-time javelin All-America for Ursinus, is starting her first outdoor season for Rowan and threw 43-4 ½ at the Emory Spring Break Classic in Atlanta.

Although the results have disappeared from the timing site , they were there last night and did show Deal with a 43-4 ½ placing 2nd to Grace Frye of Cleveland State, who won with a 43-8 ¾ throw.

Although Rowan’s web site shows the school record as 42-8 by Kyanna Hawkins-Deravin of Pemberton, which she threw early in the 2015 season in a meet at Princeton’s Jadwin Gym, the previous record was actually 42-11 ½ by Makayla Taylor of Randolph in a meet in 2022 at Stockton University in Galloway.

Not surprising that Rowan’s web site hasn’t been updated in two years. Maybe one day Deal will get credit for the record. Maybe not.

In any case, Deal now holds the Ursinus and Rowan outdoor shot put records, the Rowan indoor shot put record and the Ursinus javelin record. Rowan’s javelin record is listed as 153-2 by Kathy Darling from 2001. And according to an article in the May 22, 2001, Darling did throw 153-2 at the Seamus McElligot Invitational at Haverford, so maybe that’s actually correct.

Darling, who was from Milford, Del., competed for Rowan and later Johns Hopkins. At Johns Hopkins she threw 159-3 in 2002 and that remains No. 6 in NCAA Division 3 history. Darling threw the discus 167-6 in 2003 for Hopkins, which is No. 11 in D-3 history. Darling was also on the U.S. national handball team.

Deal’s javelin PR is 155-0 from last May at the AARTFC Championships in Selinsgrove, Pa. That’s No. 17 in NCAA Division 3 history. She didn’t throw the javelin at Emory on Friday.

Deal on Friday tied her outdoor PR of 43-4 ½ that she set at last year’s Centennial Conference Championships in Collegeville.

Deal is not listed on Rowan’s roster, which hasn’t been updated in a year, but TFRRS lists her as a junior.

Not a bad way to start your college career.

Kevin Burr, a Tennessee true freshman from Rancocas Valley, bombed a huge lifetime-best 225-0 in the javelin Friday afternoon and placed 2nd in the Black and Gold Invitational at the University of Central Florida Track and Soccer Complex in Orlando.

That’s No. 9 in Tennessee history and the biggest throw by a Volunteer in 10 years, since Kyle Quinn threw 256-10 on his final attempt at the 2014 Tennessee Relays in Knoxville.

Burr fouled on his first attempt, then PR’d at 214-6 on his 2nd throw. After a 205-1 and 198-2, he hit 225-0 on his 5th attempt to move from 5th place into 2nd. He fouled on his final attempt.

So he recorded the three biggest throws of his life in his college debut.

Last spring, in his first year throwing the javelin, Burr won the state Group 4 title with a 190-7 throw at Franklin High School. He PR’d with a 204-4 at the Meet of Champions, and that was his only meet over 200 feet until Friday.

Burr threw within eight feet of the Tennessee freshman record of 232-10, set by Leigh Smith at the 2001 Southeastern Conference Championships in Columbia, S.C.

Burr finished second to Raritan Steve Coponi of Rutgers, who won the meet with a 229-8 on his first attempt.

Only six other South Jersey athletes have hit 225 feet in the javelin, including Olympian and all-time U.S. No. 3 Curtis Thompson of Florence. Six of the top eight javelin throwers in South Jersey history are from South Jersey.

Here’s a look at the top 10 (I think) South Jersey javelin alumni (with the new javelin):

287-9 … Curtis Thompson [Florence], July 4, 2016, Eugene, Ore.
261-2… Vince Labosky [Holy Cross], June 15, 1990, Norwalk, Calif.
261-2 … Tim VanLiew [Deptford], May 21, 2016, Tucson, Ariz.
251-6 … Chris Mirabelli [Holy Cross], April 29, 2017, Philadelphia
249-9 … Cade Antonucci [Holy Spirit], June 9, 2021, Eugene, Ore.
236-5 … Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley], March 27-30, 2019, Austin, Texas
225-0 … Kevin Burr [Rancocas Valley], March 15, 2024, Orlando, Fla.
214-6 … Sean Biehn [Burlington City], May 8, 2010, Ewing, N.J.
213-2 … Edgar Rosa [Paulsboro], April 8, 2023, Glassboro, N.J.
212-2 … Alexander Georgiou [Timber Creek], 2017

Incredible performance by Oakcrest senior Ryan Merlino in the pole vault at Armory Nationals Saturday in New York with a 16-0 clearance, 5th place in the country, a share of the South Jersey record and All-America honors.

Merlino tied the South Jersey indoor record of 16-0 set by Delsea’s Marco Morales in a meet at Ocean Breeze in February 2020, and he tied the South Jersey absolute record shared by Morales and Haddon Heights’ Bob Green, who cleared 16-0 outdoors at the inaugural South Jersey Invitational at Eastern in 1992.

Merlino’s 16-0 clearance is No. 7 in state history indoors and No. 13 in state history including all indoor and outdoor meets.

Merlino, who’s from Mays Landing, had an official high school PR of 14-9 coming into the season from last year’s Boston Nationals, although he had cleared 15-0 in a summer meet on the beach in Atlantic City. He cleared 15-6 for the first time when he won the Meet of Champions last weekend at Ocean Breeze. So he improved a foot in seven days.

On Saturday, Merlino passed opening heights of 13-6 ½ and 14-0 ½ and then got over the bar at 14-6 ¼, 15-0 ¼ and a PR 15-6 ¼ each on his second attempt.

With the bar going up to 16 feet, Merlino was in uncharted waters. But after two misses – and on his 9th jump of the day – he cleared 16-0.

Because only four other jumpers cleared 16 feet, Merlino had 5th place locked up and with the bar going up to 16-4 he called it a day and finished on a high note.

Merlino is only the 6th vaulter from South Jersey to clear 16 feet at any point. Here’s my best attempt at an all-time South Jersey alumni list:

All-Time South Jersey Alumni List
16-10i … Mike Maira [Seneca], March 1, 2014, College Station, Texas
16-9 ½ … Nico Morales [Delsea], April 28, 2023, Philadephia
16-7 ¼ … Noah Kreisman [Cherry Hill East], Feb. 9, 2024, Chicago
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], Feb. 11, 2020, Staten Island, N.Y.
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], May 1, 1992, Voorhees, N.J.
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], March 9, 2024, New York
15-9 … Nick Gilanelli [], April 15, 2006
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], May 25, 1991, Bridgeton, N.J.
15-7 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2023
15-6 … Matt Mancini [Cinnaminson], April 10, 2020, Princeton, N.J.
15-6i … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], Feb. 23, 2008, Toms River, N.J.

Victor Olesen of St. Christopher’s High in Richmond, Va., and Kenneth Byrd of East Burk High in Connelly Springs, N.C., both cleared 16-8 Saturday, with Olesen getting the win based on fewer misses at 16-8. Both missed three tries at 17-0.

Interesting to note the meet record is 19-1 by Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Armand Duplantis of Lafayette, La. (and Sweden) from 2017.

Also interesting to note that Seneca’s Mike Maira, who cleared 14-6 in 2009, currently coaches several vaulters on these all-time lists at Rutgers, including Marco Morales, Kevin and Brian O’Sullivan and Noah Kriesman.

All-Time New Jersey Indoor List
17-0 … Bill Lange [Bridgewater-Raritan], 1980
16-10 … Bradley Jelmert [Watchung Hills], 2020
16-6 ¼ … Brian O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], 2023
16-3 ¼ … Adam Sarafian [Ocean Township], 2004
16-2 ¼ … Don Heyburn [Cranford], 1980
16-1 ¼ … Craig Hunter [Robbinsville], 2013
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024
15-10 … Bill Hartley [Southern Regional], 1976
15-9 … Liam Landau [Pascack Hills], 15-9
15-7 ½ … Cade Zeolla [West Morris Central], 2024
15-6 … Vince Reilly [St. Joe’s-Metuchen], 1977
15-6 … Eric Richard [Bridgewater East], 1981
15-6 … Casey DiCesare [Irvington], 2005
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-6 … Luke Annicharico [Old Tappan], 2014
15-6 … Simon Schenk [Princeton], 2018
15-6 … Brian McSweeney [East Brunswick], 2019
15-6 … Nico Morales [Delsea], 2020
15-6 … Conor Reilly [Union Catholic], 2020
15-6 … Max Zuckerman [Pascack Hills], 2022
15-6 … Connor Munson [Westwood], 2022

All-Time New Jersey Combined List
17-4 ½ … Adam Sarafian [Ocean Township], 2004 [o]
17-0 … Bill Lange [Bridgewater-Raritan], 1980 [i]
16-10 … Bradley Jelmert [Watchung Hills], 2020 [i]
16-6 ½ … Brian O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], 2023 [o]
16-6 … Craig Hunter [Robbinsville], 2013 [o]
16-4 ¾ … Brian McSweeney [East Brunswick], 2021 [o]
16-4 … Will Nesbitt [Millburn], 1980 [o]
16-2 ¼ … Don Heyburn [Cranford], 1980 [i]
16-1 ¼ … Bill Hartley [Southern Regional], 1976 [o]
16-1 … Eric Richard [Bridgewater East], 1981 [o]
16-1 … Jordan Pacheco [Morris Hills], 2013 [o]
16-0 ¼ … Peter Fagan [Westfield], 2013 [o]
16-0 … Andrew Ghizzone [Union Catholic], 2014 [o]
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020 [i]
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024 [i]
16-0 … Kevin O’Sullivan [Hillsborough], 2022 [o]
16-0 … Max Zuckerman [Pascack Hills], 2022 [o]

All-time S.J. combined indoor/outdoor PV list
16-0 … Bob Green [Haddon Heights], 1992 [o]
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020 [i]
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024 [i]
15-7 … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991 [o]
15-7 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019 [o]
15-6 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014 [o]
15-5 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004 [o]
15-5 … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006 [o]
15-4 … Jason King [Lenape], 1993 [o]
15-3 ¼ … Dan Lamp [Willingboro], 1977 [o]
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008 [i]
15-0 ¼ … Mike Hulme [Eastern], 2003 [o]

All-Time South Jersey Indoor List
16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020
16-0 … Ryan Merlino [Oakcrest], 2024
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-6 … Nico Morales [Delsea Reg.], 2019
15-1 … Dylan Altland [Kingsway], 2014
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2009
15-0 … Noah Kriesman [Cherry Hill East], 2021
14-11 ¼ … Tom Jeffers [Triton], 2011
14-7 … Brian Banks [Eastern], 2011
14-6 … Michael Oberg [Ocean City], 2011
14-6 … Jarrod Brovero [Delsea], 2016
14-6 … Kyle Loveland [Moorestown], 2016
14-6 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
14-6 … Mike Maira [Seneca], 2009