From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

In her first 400 of the year, Pennsauken sophomore Sianni Wynn – the outdoor Meet of Champions winner last spring – ran the 6th-fastest time in South Jersey history and the No. 2 time in Camden County history.

Wynn won the 400 at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Winter Meet #4 at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island in 55.51, smashing her indoor PR of 56.10 from her win at Easterns at the Armory this past March. She ran 53.97 outdoors when she won the state Group 4 title at Franklin.

Her time is No. 19 in state history and fastest by a sophomore since Olympic gold medalist and U.S. 800 record holder Athing Mu of Trenton ran 54.98 as a 10th-grader in 2018.

Wynn has never lost a 400 racing against a New Jersey field.

The only faster time in camden County history is 55.16 by Winslow’s Krystal Cantey at the 2006 Hispanic Games at the Armory.

Wynn’s time is No. 2 nationally according to the MileSplit U.S. database, behind only Sharlyn Ramirez-Castillo of Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro, Md., who is listed with a 54.47 at the Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory last weekend – a nearly four-second PR if that’s an accurate time.

Wynn also won the 55-meter dash with a 7.04, leading six girls at 7.43 or faster. Wynn just missed her PR of 7.00, which she set at Ocean Breeze last March when she won the Meet of Champions. Her 7.04 is listed as No. 6 nationally by MileSplit.

All-Time New Jersey Indoor 400 List
51.84 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2016
52.55 … Athing Mu [Trenton], 2018
53.49 … Olivia Baker [Columbia], 2014
53.73 … Julia Jackson [Scotch Plains-Fanwood], 2022
54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.64 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 1998
54.70 … Janine Davis [Queen of Peace], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
54.98 … Tawana Watkins [Paterson Kennedy], 2002
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2010
55.19 … Brooke’lyn Drakeford [Piscataway], 2023
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.32 … Amber Allen [Passaic Vo Tech], 2009
55.34 … Symone O’Connor [Franklin Twp.], 2006
55.42 … Jennifer Edobi [Union], 2014
55.49 … Kristen Mahon [Notre Dame], 2006
55.49 … Victoria Vanriele [Governor Livingston], 2019
55.51 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.59 … Tiffany Grant [Ocean Twp.], 2006
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.6h … Emily Carrollo [Pope John], 2008
55.75 … Emilie Cowan [Columbia], 2014
55.79 … Kaira Brown [Kent Place], 2019
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
55.91 … Ajee Wilson [Neptune], 2011
55.94 … Sam Anderson [Matawan], 2014
55.95 … Natalie Englese [Cranford], 2010

All-Time South Jersey Indoor 400 List
54.24 … Okechi Ogbuokiri [Willingboro], 2003
54.91 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2008
55.16 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow Twp.], 2006
55.19 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
55.21 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
55.51 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2024
55.4h … English Gardner [Eastern], 2008
55.6h … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
55.83 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2016
56.19 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.21 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1997
56.23 … Amirah Sharpe [Paulsboro], 2021
56.34 … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1997
56.44 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2006
56.62 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
56.65 … Britney Kott [Millville], 2009
56.76 … Simone Thomas [Willingboro], 2003
56.78 … Ajae Alvarez-Tyler [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
56.85 … Emily Duffey [Lenape], 2012
56.85 … Nylah Perry [Winslow], 2020
56.88 … Marcene Jack [Mainland Reg.], 2004
56.90 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1999
56.98 … Jade Pope [Pennsauken], 2020

Woodbury junior Marquis Taylor, in his first lifetime indoor 400, ran the No. 11 time in Gloucester County history Saturday at Ocean Breeze.

Taylor won the 400 at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Winter Meet #4 in 50.26, leading five quarter-milers under 51 seconds.

That time is No. 1 in South Jersey this year and appears to be No. 4 in the state, although the MileSplit database has been wonky since the start of the season.

Taylor came up 4-100ths of a seconds shy of the all-time Gloucester County indoor top 10, he had neer run an indoor 400 before so 50.26 is quite a debut.

As a sophomore, Taylor focused on the 55 indoors – he ran 6.71 and was 6th in the state Group 1 meet. Outdoors, he ran 22.07 and was 2nd in Group 1 states and 50.42 and placed 4th at states.

He PR’d at 55 meters in his indoor debut this winter with a 6.52 earlier this month at Ocean Breeze. That’s No. 5 in the state this year and No. 2 in South Jersey, behind Washington Township hurdler Yashahya Brown [6.44]. It’s also tied for 9th on the all-time Gloucester County list.

Timber Creek senior Nasir Ali [50.53], Clayton junior Alexander Osayemi [50.64] and two Union Catholic runners also broke 51 seconds. Pennsauken sophomore KaRon Ali ran exactly 51.00., and Egg Harbor senior Christopher Manzo ran 51.07.

Here are the all-time Gloucester County indoor 55 and 400 lists. As you can see, Taylor is the only sprinter on both lists:

All-Time Gloucester County Indoor 400 Top-10
48.96 … Lathan Brown [Deptford], 2023
49.11 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2012
49.13 … Eric Chekemian [Washington Twp.], 2001
49.26 … Tim Carey [Washington Twp,], 2010
49.65 … Aaron Younger [Delsea], 2007
49.97 … Kanye Mills [Washington Twp.], 2023
50.05 … Devon Carter [Washington Twp.], 2010
50.16 … Derrell Manhertz [Kingsway], 2012
50.18 … Shaikyi Hannah [Delsea], 2020
50.22 … Marcus Williams [Delsea], 2012
50.26 … Marquis Taylor [Woodbury], 2024

All-Time Gloucester County Indoor 55 Top-10
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.44 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Township], 2024
6.47 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.50 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2007
6.52 … Sean McPherson [Delsea], 2010
6.52 … Shai Mumford [West Deptford], 2014
6.52 … Marquis Taylor [Woodbury], 2024

Mainland Regional junior Sofia Day ran the 3rd-fastest 1,600 in Atlantic County history Saturday in Staten Island, and senior teammate Gillian Lovett wasn’t far behind.

Day won the 1,600 at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association Meet #4 at Ocean Breeze in 5:06.89.

In her first race since she placed 18th in the RunningLane Cross Country Championships in Huntsville, Ala., three weeks ago, Day was out in 2:36.03 and came back in 2:30.86. She finished eight meters ahead of junior Delana Einreinhofer of Walkill Valley, who was 2nd in 5:08.34.

Day’s previous indoor PR was a 5:09.66 at the Bubble in January. She has never run outdoor track.

Lovett took 3rd in 5:09.63, just off her indoor PR of 5:08.57 from Group 3 indoor states in February at the Bubble. She has a 5:05.82 outdoor PR from the South Jersey Elite at Delsea this past May.

Day and Lovett rank No. 1 and No. 2 in South Jersey three weeks into the indoor season.

Audubon sophomore Riley Fayer was 4th in 5:18.23, Egg Harbor senior Michaela Schlemo 5th in 5:1848 and Eastern freshman Theresa Albertson ran a big PR of 5:20.36 in her second high school track race.

Another Mainland runner, sophomore Emma Preissman, ran an indoor PR 5:23.97 to place 7th. She was a sectional medalist last spring as a freshman.

All-time Atlantic County sub-5:10 list
5:01.21 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor], 2016
5:04.13 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017
5:06.89 … Sofia Day [Mainland Reg.], 2024
5:06.90 … Olivia Shafer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
5:08.57 … Gillian Lovett [Mainland Reg.], 2024

In the second 55-meter dash of her life, Cedar Creek junior Daizhae’ Brown ran the 6th-fastest 55 in Atlantic County history.

Brown ran 7.25 in the Cape Atlantic League Meet #4 at the Atlantic City Armory of all places, finishing well clear of Hammonton freshman Corinne Egan, who ran 7.50 – the fastest time in New Jersey so far this year by a freshman.

Her 7.25 is No. 6 in the state this year, according to MileSplit, although it’s not yet listed in their database.

According to her MileSplit page, this is Brown’s first year of indoor track. She was a state medalist in the long jump last year with a PR of 16-8 ¾ and then a 16-10 ¾ in a summer track meet in Des Moines, Iowa.

In her only previous 55, she ran 7.59 in a meet at the Bubble two weeks ago.

Brown also has a 5-2 high jump clearance to her credit early this indoor season. She hit 5-2 – eight inches above her previous PR – at the Bubble in the same meet. That equals No. 5 in New Jersey this year and ties the Cedar Creek indoor record set in 2020 by Nina Casselberry and overall record shared by Casselberry and Brianna Mays, who cleared 5-2 outdoors in 2014.

Here’s what I found for the top Atlantic County 55-meter dash times:

6.98 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
7.07 … Angela Clyburn [Egg Harbor Twp.], 1991
7.18 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1997
7.20 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
7.22 … Ajae Alvarez-Tyler [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2018
7.25 … Daizhae’ Brown [Cedar Creek], 2024

Haddonfield junior Rebecca Hoover moved into the all-time South Jersey pole vault top 10 Monday with an 11-6 clearance at the Armory.

Hoover won the Spiked Shoe Holiday Festival by a foot and became Haddonfield’s top vaulter ever.

She broke the indoor school record of 11-0 ¼ set at the Bubble in 2019 by Jennifer Scott when she won the South Jersey Group 2 sectional title and Scott’s overall Haddonfield record of 11-3 set that sprint at the Haddonfield Invitational.

Hoover is the second South Jersey junior to re-write the all-time South Jersey indoor and overall pole ault top-10 in the last week and a half. Moorestown’s Hannah Byrd-Leitner cleared 12-0 earlier this month, also at the Bubble. Byrd-Leitner and Hoover are No. 1 and No. 2 in the state so far.

Scott was also a sectional hurdles medalist for Haddonfield. She jumped for Bucknell and PR’d at 12-1 ½ for 4th place at the 2022 Patriot League Championships in Lewisburg, Pa.

Hoover is a 2nd-year vaulter in her first year jumping indoors. She cleared 10-6 twice last spring and placed 3rd in the state Group 2 meet at Delsea.

She now ranks tied for tied for 8th on the all-time South Jersey all-conditions list and

All-Time South Jersey All-Conditions Pole Vault List
13-5 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 2004 [i]
12-7 ½ … Ashley Preston [Delsea], 2018 [o]
12-0 … Jessica Kloss [Moorestown], 2005 [i, o]
12-0 … Brittney Raffo [Seneca], 2017 [o]
12-0 … Fiona Basewitz [Collingswood], 2021 [o]
12-0 … Hannah Byrd-Leitner [Moorestown], 2024 [i]
11-10 … Kaitlin Dermen [Millville], 2014 [o]
11-6 … Lauren Tauscher [Moorestown], 2007 [o]
11-6 … Jessica Hoover [Haddonfield], 2024 [i]
11-6 … Melissa Gale [Millville], 2005 [i, o]
11-6 … Lindsey Michie [Northern Burlington], 2019 [i, o]

All-Time South Jersey Indoor Pole Vault List
13-5 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 2004
12-7 … Ashley Preston [Delsea], 2018
12-0 … Jessica Kloss [Moorestown], 2004
12-0 … Hannah Byrd-Leitner [Moorestown], 2024
11-6 … Melissa Gale [Millville], 2005
11-6 … Brittney Raffo [Seneca], 2017
11-6 … Lindsey Michie [Northern Burlington], 2019
11-2 … Sarah Parr [Audubon], 2020
11-1 … Kaitlyn Derman [Millville], 2014
11-0 ¼ … Jennifer Scott [Haddonfield], 2019

On a day when five South Jersey shot putters – three from Delsea – surpassed 50 feet at the Bubble, senior and Brock Schenck became Bordentown’s first 50-footer in 16 years.

Schenck – in his second meet ever throwing the shot put – threw 51-6 ½ at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association meet on Monday.

As far as I can tell, that’s the best indoor throw by a Bordentown athlete since James Coleman hit 57-1 ¼ in the winter of 1990 and the best overall throw by a Bordentown thrower since Donnell Hayden hit 53-8 ½ in 2007. Hayden did not compete indoors.

According to MileSplit, Schenck competed in three meets last year but only in the javelin (153-0 PR) and discus (138-2 PR to win Central Jersey Group 2). So his first shot put competition ever was the SJTCA meet at the Bubble a week ago Tuesday, where he threw 47-1 ¾.

On Monday, he surpassed 50 feet along with senior Greg Masso, junior Jonathan Harris and senior Taylor Habersham-Agbemenu of Delsea and senior Mike Simeon of Egg Harbor Township.

Masso won with a 53-8 ½, Harris threw 53-7 ½, Simeon 52-5 and Habersham-Agbemenu 51-1. Masso has thrown 55-4 ¾ and his indoor PR is 54-8. Harris has thrown 58-4 ½ outdoors but the 53-7 ½ broke his indoor PR of 52-0. Habersham-Agbemenu threw 52-7 ¾ outdoors last year and has an indoor PR of 51-6.

Egg Harbor’s Simeon threw 55-3 ½ last spring but blew away his indoor PR of 49-5 from this past March.

Masso, Harris and Absegami senior Gabriel Wilkins [53-1 last week] now rank No. 3, 4 and 5 in the state. South Jersey already has a remarkable nine 50-footers this winter:

53-8 ½ … Greg Masso [Delsea]
53-7 ½ … *Jonathan Harris [Delsea]
53-1 … Gabriel Wilkins [Absegami]
52-5 … Mike Simeon [Egg Harbor Township]
51-11 ½ … Mike Brady [Bishop Eustace]
51-6 ½ … Brock Schenk [Bordentown]
51-1 … Tyler Habersham-Agbemenu [Delsea]
51-0 ¾ … Damere Lassiter [Glassboro]
50-4 … Julian Williams [Willingboro]

Timber Creek junior Ryan Jennings moved into the all-time Camden County top-10 in the 55-meter dash Saturday with a huge PR at the Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory in Manhattan.

Jennings came into the meet with a PR of 7.25 from last year’s Ocean Breeze Freedom Games. She lowered it to 7.16 in the trials Saturday and then popped the 7.04 in the final, placing 2nd to Elise Cooper of McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md. Cooper – 2nd at 200 meters and 4th at 100 meters at the USATF Under-20 Championships in Eugene this past July – won the race in a U.S. No. 1 6.95.

Jennings’ 7.04 is No. 1 in New Jersey so far this year and No. 6 nationally, according to the MileSplit database.

It’s No. 12 in South Jersey history and No. 6 on the all-time Camden County list. She’s just 4-100ths of a second off the all-time South Jersey top-10.

South Jersey girls placed 2-3-4 in the race, with Jennings’ teammate, senior Naylah Jones – the Meet of Champions 100 champ this past spring – taking 3rd in 7.15.

Jennings and Jones teamed up with two other Timber Creek sprinters – the results don’t say who – to place 2nd in the 800-meter relay in 1:43.22, fastest so far this winter by a New Jersey school. Woodlawn of Gwynn Oak, Md., won the race in 1:43.10.

All-Time South Jersey 55-Meter Dash List
6.73y … Michelle Glover [Willingboro], 1981
6.88y … Patti Dunlap [Camden], 1979
6.91 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2010
6.95 … Bria Mack [Williamstown], 2017
6.95 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2014
6.95 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
6.98 … Lauren Princz [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
7.00 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
7.00 … Iyanli Kollock [Our Lady of Mercy], 2017
7.00 … Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], 2023
7.01 … Aliyah Taylor [Rancocas Valley], 2017
7.04 … Ryan Jennings [Timber Creek], 2024
7.05 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
7.06 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], 2019
7.07 … Aliya Harrison [Sterling], 2018
7.07 … Dennisha Page [Woodrow Wilson], 2019
7.07 … Annie Johnson [Shawnee], 2012
7.07 … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2009
7.07 … Magenta Taylor [Willingboro], 1999
7.07 … Angela Clyburn [Egg Harbor Twp.], 1991
7.08 … Naylah Jones [Timber Creek], 2023
7.09 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow Twp.], 2012
7.09 … Emily Carson [Haddonfield], 2013

Washington Township senior Yashahya Brown, the indoor Meet of Champions winner last year, opened his 2023-24 season with a monster race and U.S. No. 1 at the Armory Saturday in New York.

Brown won the 55-meter hurdles at the Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational in 7.13, the 3rd-fastest time in state history and only 6-100ths of a second off the state record.

Brown ran 7.21 in the trials, which eclipsed his PR of 7.22 from the finals of the Meet of Champions in March at Ocean Breeze.

Then he ran away from the field in the final, finishing two meters ahead of Anthony Waterman of DeMatha Catholic of Hyattsville, Md., who ran 7.37. Brown and Waterman placed 4th and 7th in the 110-meter hurdles in June at West Philly Nationals.

The only faster times in New Jersey history are the state-record 7.07 by Cory Poole of East Orange at 2017 Armory Nationals and the South Jersey-record 7.10 by St. Augustine’s Sincere Rhea at 2019 Armory Nationals.

Renaldo Nehemiah of Scotch Plains-Fanwood ran a national-record-tying 6.9 hand-timed several times in 1977, including at the Meet of Champions and Easterns, both at Jadwin Gym. That 6.9 converts to 7.14 using the standard Track and Field News conversion factor of .24 seconds for races less than 300 meters. Nehemiah went on to set the world record several times, including his PR of 12.93 in Zurich in 1981.

Brown also ran a PR 6.44 in the 55-meter dash and placed 2nd Donte London of Coatesville, Pa., who ran the same time. His previous PR at 55 meters was 6.66 from the trials at Easterns at the Armory in March.

That 6.44 places Brown tied for 4th on the all-time Gloucester County list and only 1-10th of a second off the county record of 6.34 set by West Deptford’s A.J. Bunton at the 2006 Malloy Stanner Games at the Armory. Brown broke the school record of 6.48, set by Clayton Crosse at a 2016 meet at the Bubble in Toms River.

Here’s a look at the all-time Gloucester County 55-meter dash top-10:

ALL-TIME GLOUCESTER COUNTY 55-METER DASH TOP-10
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.44 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Township], 2024
6.47 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.50 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2007
6.52 … Sean McPherson [Delsea], 2010
6.52 … Shai Mumford [West Deptford], 2014

And here’s the all-time New Jersey 55-meter hurdles list and the all-time South Jersey list:

ALL-TIME N.J. 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.07 … Cory Poole [East Orange Campus], 2017
7.10 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.13 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
6.9h … Renaldo Nehemiah [Scotch Plains], 1985
7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.19 … Jermaine Collier [Trenton], 2012
7.22 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.27 … Dwight Henry [Irvington], 2020
7.29 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
7.29 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.29 … Chris Serrao [East Brunswick], 2022

ALL-TIME S.J. 55-METER HURDLES LIST
7.10 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
7.13 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2023
7.18 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], 1996
7.22 … Dwight Ruff [Camden], 2001
7.22 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], 2012
7.29 … Nate Harley [Pleasantville], 1996
7.29 … Danyne Brown [Camden], 1999
7.29 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], 2001
7.29 … Will Brown [Palmyra], 2006
7.31 … Anthony Vasquez [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
7.32 … Jon Dickey [Penns Grove], 1985
7.34 … Chais Hill [Highland], 2015
7.35 … Gerard Reynolds [Willingboro], 1990
7.36 … Bryce Tucker [Pennsauken], 2023
7.39 … Rashad Baker [Wilson], 2000
7.39 … Isaiah Lewis [Winslow Twp.], 2020

Moorestown junior Hannah Byrd-Leitner moved into the No. 3 spot in the pole vault in South Jersey history Friday with a 12-foot clearance at the Olympic Conference meet at the Bubble in Toms River.

Results do not show series info, but Byrd-Leitner’s 12-0 clearance is the No. 1 mark in New Jersey so far this winter and No. 15 nationally, according to the MileSplit natkional database.

Byrd-Leitner’s winning clearance was two feet higher than the winning height in the boys pole vault.

Coming into Friday, Byrd-Leitner had a PR of 11-7 from the Father Judge Relays in Philadelphia in April and an indoor PR of 11-6 from a meet Tuesday at the Bubble.

The versatile Byrd-Leitnr was also a sectional medalist in both the high and intermediate hurdles last year. She’s the first South Jersey underclassman to clear 12 feet since Brittany Raffo of Seneca outdoors in 2016 when she won the Meet of Champions.

Here’s a look at the four indoor 12-footers in South Jersey history:

13-5 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 2004
12-7 … Ashley Preston [Delsea], 2018
12-0 … Jessica Kloss [Moorestown], 2004
12-0 … Hannah Byrd-Leitner [Moorestown], 2024

And the combined South Jersey all-condition 12-foot list:

13-5 … Danielle O’Reilly [Shawnee], 2004 [i]
12-7 ½ … Ashley Preston [Delsea], 2018 [o]
12-0 … Brittany Raffo [Seneca], 2016 [o]
12-0 … Jessica Kloss [Moorestown], 2004 [i, o]
12-0 … Fiona Basewitz [Collingswood], 2021 [o]
12-0 … Hannah Byrd-Leitner [Moorestown], 2024 [i]