From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Cherokee senior Nicole Clifford ran the 13th-fastest 800 in South Jersey history Tuesday and became only the 6th girl in South Jersey history to run sub-2:12 for the 800 and sub-4:51 for the mile.

Clifford won the 800 at the Olympic Conference Championships at Washington Township in a meet-record 2:11.52, lowering her PR from 2:12.13 from earlier this month at the South Jersey Elite at Delsea and breaking the hallowed school record of 2:12.09 by two-time Meet of Champions winner Monica Olkowski at the 1990 M-of-C.

The previous meet record was 2:12.2 hand-timed set by legendary Michelle Rowen of Washington Township in 1982.

Clifford ran 4:50.50 for a full mile on Friday in New York. The only girls in South Jersey history to run sub-2:12 for 800 meters and sub-4:51 for a full mile (or metric equivalent) are Rowen [2:10.1, 4:41.5], Ocean City’s Renee Tomlin [2:09.50, 4:49.11], Haddonfield Olympians Marielle Hall [2:07.33, 4:48.78] and Erin Donohue [2:08.87, 4:41.16] and Haddonfield’s Briana Gess [2:11.80, 4:47.63].

Clifford’s time is No. 4 in New Jersey this year, including two girls from North Jersey who don’t run for their schools and compete for a club team.

It’s No. 2 in Burlington County history. Lenape’s Shelby Whetstone set the county mark of 2:10.55 at the 2019 state Group 4 meet at Franklin High.

Cherokee junior Kelsey Niglio placed second in 2:14.30, 2nd-fastest in South Jersey this year, No. 6 among all New Jersey underclassmen and No. 12 in Burlington County history.

Cherry Hill East junior Alexis Tepper PR’d with 2:19.68 for 3rd. Her previous PR was 2:19.69 earlier this month at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township.

All-Time South Jersey 800 List
2:07.33 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2009
2:08.87 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2001
2:09.2h … Katrina Sye [Buena], 1999
2:09.50 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
2:09.84 … Rachel Stremme [Ocean City], 2014
2:10.1h … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
2:10.55 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], 2019
2:10.57 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], 2009
2:10.79 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], 1991
2:10.9h … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
2:11.07 … Miya Johnson [Lenape], 2007
2:11.45 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], 2017
2:11.52 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
2:11.56 … Mary Bohi [Seneca], 2009
2:11.80 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2016
2:11.88 … Kayla Martin [Seneca], 2015
2:11.94 … Bridget Flynn [Ocean City], 2014

Rowan’s army of javelin throwers leads the Profs into the NCAA Division 3 Track and Field Championships starting Thursday in Northeastern Ohio.

Rowan, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division 3, is seeking its first national title in 38 years, since it won its fifth straight in 1984.

The meet runs Thursday through Saturday at SPIRE Institut in Geneva, Ohio.

Complete men’s entries: Click here.

Complete women’s entries: Click here.

Rowan’s chances to win its sixth  national championship depend largely on the success of its javelin group. The Profs have the No. 1, 2, 4, 7 and 17 seeds so a real opportunity to score huge points in one event.

Sophomore Greg Poloso, a Rider transfer from Wayne Valley, is the No. 1 seed at 230-11, grad student Dan McAleavey from Howell is No. 2 at 220-2, junior Edgar Rosa from Paulsboro is No. 4 at 212-11, freshman Lane Owens from Ocean City No. 7 with a season-best 209-7, and sophomore Julio LeBron from Memorial of West New York No. 17 at 190-11.

So with the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system, if the javelin goes by seed Rowan would score 25 points in one event. The highest winning score since 2015 has been 46 points. The javelin final is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Other top-10 seeds for the Profs are sophomore Nana Agyemang of Parsippany in the long jump [No. 4 at 24-9], sophomore Ahmir Johnson of Wissahickon in the triple jump [No. 6 at 49-2 ½] John Owens from West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the 400-meter hurdles [No. 8 at 52.86] and the 4-by-4 relay [No. 10 at 3:12.77], which will likely include Marquise Young of Sterling, Agyemang, Jah’mere Beasley of Sterling and Amara Conte from Ferris High in Jersey City.

Beasley also qualified in the 200 [21.26], Young in the 110-meter high hurdles [14.37], Millville’s Treshan Stevenson in the intermediates [53.24], Kingsway’s Earnest Daniel in the high jump [6-8 ¼] and Johnson in the long jump as well as the triple [24-1 ¾].

The hammer throw will be of particular interest to South Jersey. Rutgers-Camden senior Jude Misko from Cherry Hill East, defending national champion with a 198-5, is the No. 2 seed at 204-1, and his longtime rival Stockton senior Darren Wan of Egg Harbor Township is the No. 7 seed at 190-8.

Stockton will also be represented by senior pole vaulter Keith Holland of Central Regional, who is the No. 12 seed in the pole vault at 16-0 ¾.

In the women’s meet, Rowan is sending freshman Nevaeh Lorjuste of Triton [56.77 in 400], freshman Molly Lodge of Woodstown [56.88 in 400], senior Nicole Notarianni from South Brunswick [No. 10 seed at 14.12 in 100 hurdles] and the 1,600-meter relay team of Lodge, Lorjuste, junior Kat Pedersen from Hillsborough and junior Amanthy Sosa Caceres [No. 9 seed at 3:50.11].

Shawnee graduate Amanda Demko, a sophomore at The College of New Jersey, is No. 10 seed in the 400 at 56.15 and is also on TCNJ’s 400-meter relay team, which is No. 9 seed.

In the NCAA Division 2 meet at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich., Kingsway graduate will race in the 10,000-meter run, which is scheduled for 8:50 p.m. on Thursday.

Rancocas Valley graduate Jasmine State of Bloomfield ranks No. 9 in NCAA Division 2 in the high hurdles at 13.74 but is not entered.

Sixteen South Jersey athletes are headed for the NCAA Track Championships this week.

Five men and five women will compete in the NCAA East Region preliminary meet at Robert C. Hughes Track and Field Complex at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, and three men and three women are on their way to the NCAA West Region preliminary meet at John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

A total of 48 athletes in each individual event (except multis) comprise the regional fields. The top 12 finishers in each event at each regional meet advance to the NCAA Championships June 8-11 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene.

Here’s a look at all 16 qualifiers (all times EST). Note that the rounds listed are the only rounds scheduled for this week. If there’s one round, the top 12 from there advance to nationals. If there are two rounds, the top 12 from the second round advance. The regionals are considered the same meet as NCAAs. So there are no finals in the preliminary round. A race listed as a quarterfinal is the national quarterfinal. If that makes sense.

Complete Entries:
East Regional Men: Click here.
East Regional Women: Click here.
West Regional Men: Click here.
West Regional Women: Click here.

Eastern Regional Preliminary Meet
Men
Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine, University of Miami], 110 Hurdles
In his first year at Miami after spending last year at Penn State, Rhea PR’d with a 13.89 at LSU last month. Rhea, the Big Ten winner indoors last year, is making his third consevutive trip to NCAAs but his first for the Hurricanes.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Wednesday, Quarterfinals 6:15 p.m. Friday

Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville, Mississsippi State], 400 Hurdles
Moronta, best known in high school as a half-miler, focused on the 400-meter hurdles this spring and got his time down to 51.38 last week at SECs in Oxford, Miss. – more than five seconds faster than he ran in high school. Moronta made it to the finals at NCAA East Regionals last year in the 800, when he ran 1:49.33, but he didn’t run any 800s this spring, and the payoff is a return to NCAA Regionals in a new event.
Schedule: First round 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, Quarterfinals 7:25 p.m. Friday

Mike Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson, Duke], 3,000 steeplechase
Ungvarsky, a Duke grad student, missed six weeks of training this spring with a stress fracture, but he must have done something to stay in shape because when he returned he ran the fastest steeplechase ever by a South Jersey native – 8:46.16 earlier this month at ACCs in Durham, N.C. (since broken by Samuel Gerstenbacher).
Schedule: Semifinals 5:40 p.m. Friday

Adam Hunt [Collingswood, Rutgers], discus
Hunt, a senior, makes his second trip in a row to Eastern Prelims after throwing a discus PR 181-8 in March in Orlando.
Schedule: First round 1 p.m. Friday

Zach Manorowitz [Pennsville, Rider], long jump
Manorowitz just PR’d two weeks ago with a 25-0 3/4 to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in Lawrenceville.The Rider sophomore has increased his PR from 23-6 in the past year. At Pennsville, his best jump was a 21-6, so that’s a 3 1/2-foot PR in three years.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Wednesday
Women
Sydney Coppolino [Sterling, Virginia], 800
Coppolino makes her first trip to NCAAs after PR’ing in the trials of the ACC Championships in Durham at 2:06.15 and making the final, where she placed 8th.
Schedule: First round 7:50 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 7:05 p.m. Saturday

Jailya Ash [Eastern,  UConn], 100HH
Ash PR’d in the high hurdles with a 13.58 when she placed 2nd at the Big East Championships in Storrs. She’s the 5th-ranked freshman in the entire field at East Prelims, and she’ll be able to hang out with older sister Jewel, who will also be in Bloomington this week.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 6:151 p.m. Saturday

Jewel Ash [Eastern, Charleston Southern], 400IH
The highest seed from South Jersey, Ash is the No. 7 seed in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at 57.16 from the Big South Championships in High Point, N.C., earlier this month before winning the final in 57.92.
Schedule: First round 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 7:25 p.m. Saturday

Danielle Steff [Rancocas Valley, Monmouth], Javelin
This is Steff’s 4th straight trip to NCAA prelims. She placed 10th in 2019 and made it to nationals. Steff qualified by virtue of her season-best 160-8 in a meet last month at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. Her PR is 166-6 from a dual meet against Rider in Lawrenceville last April.
Schedule: First round 2 p.m. Thursday

Alexa Gardner [Hammonton, Rutgers], Javelin
The only event with two South Jersey competitors, Gardner PR’d with a 157-9 just last weekend at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, but she’s been over 155 feet in her last three meets.
Schedule: First round 2 p.m. Thursday

Western Regional Preliminary Meet
Men
Jack Shea [Cherokee, Northern Arizona], 5,000-meter run
Shea dropped a 13:44.57 PR three weeks ago at the Peyton Jordan Invitational at Stanford in Palo Alto. That was a 12-second PR for Shea, who hadn’t broken 14:08 as recently as February.
Schedule: First round 9:10 p.m., Friday

Floyd Whitaker [Highland, Minnesota], Triple Jump
Only a freshman, Whitaker qualified with a 51-2 1/4 at the Big Ten Championships. That’s his best official jump competing for Minnesota, although he did record a 51-5 1/2 competing unattached during the indoor season, when he red-shirted. Whitaker is the No. 3-ranked freshman in the field in Fayetteville.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Friday

Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley, Texas A&M], Javelin
Incredible comeback season for Mirabelli, who hadn’t competed since June of 2019. He only threw four times after coming back from a serious injury but his 228-1 not only got him into NCAAs it was only only eight feet off his pre-injury PR of 236-6 from the 2019 Clyde Littlefield Relays in Austin. He’s gotten better each meet this spring. He’s No. 11 seed in the West.
Schedule: First round 3 p.m. Wednesday

Women
Tionna Tobias [Winslow Township, Iowa], 100 Hurdles
Tobias focused on multi-events most of the spring, but the heptathlon field is only a total of 24 athletes, so she goes to NCAAs in the high hurdles, where she had a season best of 13.64 and has a PR of 13.59 as part of last year’s Big Ten heptathlon.
Schedule: First round 7 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 6:15 p.m. Saturday

Nylah Perry [Winslow Township, Iowa], 400 Hurdles
Tobias’s teammate both in high school and college, Perry PR’d with a 59.67 at Big Ten’s in Minneapolis, her first time under a minute.
Schedule: First round 9:20 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 8:25 p.m. Saturday

Elisia Lancaster [Delsea, Southern Illinois], Hammer Throw
Lancaster is a legit All-America candidate after PR’ing with a 220-4 when she won the Missouri Valley Conference meet in Des Moines earlier this month. Lancaster is the No. 9 seed in the Western Region. She’s thrown over 210 feet in her last five meets. Lancaster competed in the hammer last spring at NCAAs and placed 10th in the weight throw at NCAAs this past winter in Birmingham, Ala.
Schedule: First round 11 a.m. Thursday

Fourteen South Jersey athletes are headed for the NCAA Track Championships this week.

Four men and five women will compete in the NCAA East Region preliminary meet at Robert C. Hughes Track and Field Complex at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, and two men and three women are on their way to the NCAA West Region preliminary meet at John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

A total of 48 athletes in each individual event (except multis) comprise the regional fields. The top 12 finishers in each event at each regional meet advance to the NCAA Championships June 8-11 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene.

Here’s a look at all 14 qualifiers (all times EST). Note that the rounds listed are the only rounds scheduled for this week. If there’s one round, the top 12 from there advance to nationals. If there are two rounds, the top 12 from the second round advance. The regionals are considered the same meet as NCAAs. So there are no finals in the preliminary round. A race listed as a quarterfinal is the national quarterfinal. If that makes sense.

Eastern Regional Preliminary Meet
Men
Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine, University of Miami], 110 Hurdles
In his first year at Miami after spending last year at Penn State, Rhea PR’d with a 13.89 at LSU last month. Rhea, the Big Ten winner indoors last year, is making his third consevutive trip to NCAAs but his first for the Hurricanes.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Wednesday, Quarterfinals 6:15 p.m. Friday

Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville, Mississsippi State], 400 Hurdles
Moronta, best known in high school as a half-miler, focused on the 400-meter hurdles this spring and got his time down to 51.38 last week at SECs in Oxford, Miss. – more than five seconds faster than he ran in high school. Moronta made it to the finals at NCAA East Regionals last year in the 800, when he ran 1:49.33, but he didn’t run any 800s this spring, and the payoff is a return to NCAA Regionals in a new event.
Schedule: First round 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, Quarterfinals 7:25 p.m. Friday

Mike Ungvarsky [Cinnaminson, Duke], 3,000 steeplechase
Ungvarsky, a Duke grad student, missed six weeks of training this spring with a stress fracture, but he must have done something to stay in shape because when he returned he ran the fastest steeplechase ever by a South Jersey native – 8:46.16 earlier this month at ACCs in Durham, N.C. (since broken by Samuel Gerstenbacher).
Schedule: Semifinals 5:40 p.m. Friday

Adam Hunt [Collingswood, Rutgers], discus
Hunt, a senior, makes his second trip in a row to Eastern Prelims after throwing a discus PR 181-8 in March in Orlando.
Schedule: First round 1 p.m. Friday

Women
Sydney Coppolino [Sterling, Virginia], 800
Coppolino makes her first trip to NCAAs after PR’ing in the trials of the ACC Championships in Durham at 2:06.15 and making the final, where she placed 8th.
Schedule: First round 7:50 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 7:05 p.m. Saturday

Jailya Ash [Eastern,  UConn], 100HH
Ash PR’d in the high hurdles with a 13.58 when she placed 2nd at the Big East Championships in Storrs. She’s the 5th-ranked freshman in the entire field at East Prelims, and she’ll be able to hang out with older sister Jewel, who will also be in Bloomington this week.
Schedule: First round 6 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 6:151 p.m. Saturday

Jewel Ash [Eastern, Charleston Southern], 400IH
The highest seed from South Jersey, Ash is the No. 7 seed in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at 57.16 from the Big South Championships in High Point, N.C., earlier this month before winning the final in 57.92.
Schedule: First round 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 7:25 p.m. Saturday

Danielle Steff [Rancocas Valley, Monmouth], Javelin
This is Steff’s 4th straight trip to NCAA prelims. She placed 10th in 2019 and made it to nationals. Steff qualified by virtue of her season-best 160-8 in a meet last month at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. Her PR is 166-6 from a dual meet against Rider in Lawrenceville last April.
Schedule: First round 2 p.m. Thursday

Alexa Gardner [Hammonton, Rutgers], Javelin
The only event with two South Jersey competitors, Gardner PR’d with a 157-9 just last weekend at the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, but she’s been over 155 feet in her last three meets.
Schedule: First round 2 p.m. Thursday

Western Regional Preliminary Meet
Men
Jack Shea [Cherokee, Northern Arizona], 5,000-meter run
Shea dropped a 13:44.57 PR three weeks ago at the Peyton Jordan Invitational at Stanford in Palo Alto. That was a 12-second PR for Shea, who hadn’t broken 14:08 as recently as February.
Schedule: First round 9:10 p.m., Friday

Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley, Texas A&M], Javelin
Incredible comeback season for Mirabelli, who hadn’t competed since June of 2019. He only threw four times after coming back from a serious injury but his 228-1 not only got him into NCAAs it was only only eight feet off his pre-injury PR of 236-6 from the 2019 Clyde Littlefield Relays in Austin. He’s gotten better each meet this spring. He’s No. 11 seed in the West.
Schedule: First round 3 p.m. Wednesday

Women
Tionna Tobias [Winslow Township, Iowa], 100 Hurdles
Tobias focused on multi-events most of the spring, but the heptathlon field is only a total of 24 athletes, so she goes to NCAAs in the high hurdles, where she had a season best of 13.64 and has a PR of 13.59 as part of last year’s Big Ten heptathlon.
Schedule: First round 7 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 6:15 p.m. Saturday

Nylah Perry [Winslow Township, Iowa], 400 Hurdles
Tobias’s teammate both in high school and college, Perry PR’d with a 59.67 at Big Ten’s in Minneapolis, her first time under a minute.
Schedule: First round 9:20 p.m. Thursday, Quarterfinals 8:25 p.m. Saturday

Elisia Lancaster [Delsea, Southern Illinois], Hammer Throw
Lancaster is a legit All-America candidate after PR’ing with a 220-4 when she won the Missouri Valley Conference meet in Des Moines earlier this month. Lancaster is the No. 9 seed in the Western Region. She’s thrown over 210 feet in her last five meets. Lancaster competed in the hammer last spring at NCAAs and placed 10th in the weight throw at NCAAs this past winter in Birmingham, Ala.
Schedule: First round 11 a.m. Thursday

Curtis Thompson, Florence’s javelin Olympian, uncorked two of the eight-best throws of his life Saturday night.

Thompson opened his series at the USATF Throws Festival at Roy P. Drachman Stadium on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson with a throw of 266-5, No. 5 in his career. He followed that with a 264-8, his 8th-best throw ever.

Although he had thrown 260 feet or more in 10 meets before Saturday, this was the first time he had thrown 260 feet more than once in any meet. Four of his nine-best lifetime throws have now come since March 25.

U.S. all-time No. 5 Tim Glover threw 271-8 on his 5th attempt – his best throw in seven years and No. 16 in the world this year – to win the event. Glover’s PR is 275-10 from 2015.

Thompson followed his two big throws with a foul, a 251-5, another foul and a closing 254-4.

Thompson ranks No. 16 in U.S. history with his PR of 271-11 and has a season best of 268-1 from last month, No. 1 among U.S. men this year and No. 20 in the world.

Thompson’s next meets are the Music City Track Carnival in Nashville on June 5, two meets in Canada in June – Harry Jerome in Burnaby June 14 and then the Victoria Track Classic two days later in Victoria – and then the USATF National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., June 23-26.

Here’s a look at all the 260-foot throws of Thompson’s life:

271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 2022
267-2 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
266-5 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
265-10 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 17, 2021
265-10 … Florida State Relays, Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Fla., March 25, 2016
264-8 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
263-10 … 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, March 25, 2022
260-11 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 30, 2016
260-1 … NACAC Under-23, San Salvador, Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González, June 17, 2016

Two tremendous sprint battles between Northern Burlington junior Samuel Thomas and Willingboro sophomore Malachi James Saturday at the BCSL Championships.

Although we still don’t have any team scorers, we can tell you that the Liberty Division 100 and 200 in the Burlington County Scholastic League meet at Pennsauken were incrediblle races.

Thomas won both races by 1-100th of a second over James. In the 100, Thomas ran 10.78 and James 10.79, and in the 200, Thomas ran 21.97 and James 21.98.

Incredible drama!

For Thomas, the 10.78 was a school record and a big PR from his 10.93 at the South Jersey Elite earlier this month at Delsea. His 200 PR is a school-record 21.74 from the Lenape Day of Sprints and Hurdles late last month.

James has PRs of 10.76 for 100 meters from the prelims at last year’s Meet of Champions and 21.82 from last year’s County Open. He was state Group 1 champ at 100 and 200 last spring and placed in both races at the Meet of Champions as a freshman

He didn’t run indoors and didn’t open his 2022 outdoor season until last weekend because of an injury.

Thomas is the first Northern Burlington sprinter ever to win either the 100 or 200 at the BCSL Championships. He’s the first to win both races in sub-11 and sub-22 since Sterling Pierce of Rancocas Valley in 2015 [10.87, 21.75] and only the third ever in any division.

His 10.78 is the fastest FAT time in meet history – Pierce’s 10.87 was the previous meet record. The hand-timed 100 record is 10.6 by RV’s Josh Raines in 2006, but 10.78fat is faster than 10.6 hand-timed, which converts to 10.84.

There have been only two other sub-11 and sub-22 doubles in meet history:

1989 [Liberty]: Mario Henry [Lenape]: 10.8, 21.9
1997 [Patriot]: Louis Smith [Burlington]: 10.7, 21.9

Samuel Gerstenbacher reclaimed the South Jersey steeplechase alumni record Friday night, seven days after losing it.

Gerstenbacher, a graduate of Schalick and Elizabethtown, ran 8:38.94 for the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday night at Track Night NYC at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in Manhattan.

That’s No. 29 among American men this year and only eight seconds off the qualifying standard for the USATF National Championships next month in Eugene.

Former Shawnee and Michigan runner Connor Herr set the South Jersey steeplechase alumni record of 8:53.66 at the 2015 Penn Relays.

It stood until last month, when Gerstenbacher ran 8:51.03 at Princeton. But Cinnaminson graduate and Duke grad student Mike Ungvarsky then shattered Gerstenbacher’s record when he ran 8:46.16 at the ACC Championships in Durham, N.C., a week ago.

Ungvarsky held the record for seven days, until Gerstenbacher ran 8:38.94 Friday night.

So the record has been held by three different runners and changed hands three times since April 15.

Gerstenbacher mixed it up with some some of the best steeplechasers in the world Friday night. Canadian Jean-Simon Desgagnes won the race in 8:22.95, the No. 9 time in the world this year; Old Bridge and Temple graduate Travis Mahoney was second with a near PR 8:24.89; U.S. No. 2 Isaac Updike was 3rd at 8:27.88; and U.S. No. 9 Brody Smith placed 4th in 8:28.60. Gerstenbacher placed 8th with the No. 29 time this year among U.S. men.

Gerstenbacher ran all seven of his full laps between 68.55 and 69.54, which is about as evenly paced a race as you can imagine. The fact that it’s over barriers and a water jump makes that sort of even pace even more impressive.

My project for today was a list of the 10-fastest steeplechasers in New Jersey history. Here’s what I came up with. Anybody missing?

8:15.69 … Steve Slattery [Mt. Olive], Sept. 14, 2007 [Van Damme Memorial,
Boudewijnstadion, Brussels, Belgium]
8;24.05 … Travis Mahoney [Old Bridge], June 21, 2021 [U.S. Olympic Trials [trials], Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore.]
8:24.09 … Craig Forys [Colts Neck], July 15, 2014 [Spitzen Leichtathletik, Stadion Allmend, Lucern, Switzerland]
8:38.53 … Ray Puglsey [Mendham, Dartmouth], April 23, 1992 [Penn Relays, Franklin Field, Philadelphia]
8:38.94 … Samuel Gerstenbacher [Schalick], May 20, 2022 [Track Night NYC, Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island, New York]
8:42.64 … Colin Daly [River Dell, Penn], May 14, 2021 [ACC Championships, Paul Derr Track and Field Facility, Raleigh, N.C.]
8:43.09 … William Daly [River Dell, Penn], May 14, 2021 [ACC Championships, Paul Derr Track and Field Facility, Raleigh, N.C.]
8:46.16 … Mike Ungbarsky [Cinnaminson, Duke], May 13, 2022 [ACC Championships, Morris Williams Track and Field Stadium, Durham, N.C.]
8:47.93 … Matt Forys [Howell], June 6, 2007 [NCAA Championships, Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif.]
8:49.63 … Mike Soroko [Kinnelon, Rider], May 14, 2011 [IC4A, Weaver Stadium, Princeton]

Massive breakthrough race Friday night for Haddon Township graduate Luke Petela, now racing for Moody Park Track Club.

Petela placed 3rd in the 1,500 “B race” at Track Night NYC at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in Manhattan in 3:46.51.

That’s a drop of nearly 10 seconds from his 1,500 PR of 3:56.30 from 2015 New Balance Nationals at the Armory. It’s the equivalent of a 4:04.63 full mile, which is also well below his PR of 4:08.63 from a meet at the Tatnal School in Wilmington, Del., last month.

Petela finished behind only Benjamin Ross [3:44.87] and former Princeton runner Sebastian Fisher [3:46.38].

Petela came through 300 meters in 46.45 and then ripped off his quarters in 60.08, 60.24 and 59.76, so he was very close to sub-4 pace over the last 1,200 [4:00.11 to be precise].

Petela was the Meet of Champions 3,200 champion in the spring of 2015 with an 8:58.32 at South Plainfield and then ran for Vermont up through the 2020 indoor season.

Ryan Merlino moved into the No. 1 spot among New Jersey sophomore pole vaulters Friday with a huge breakthrough performance at the Atlantic County Championships.

Merlino, a sophomore at Oakcrest, cleared 13-6 at Buena, which at least according to his MileSplit bio page is a two-foot PR.

Merlino is listed with an 11-6 clearance at a SJTCA indoor meet at the Bubble in February and an outdoor PR of 11-0 before Friday from the Jim Camburn Relays, also at Buena. He appears to be a first-year varsity track competitor.

A two-foot PR in the pole vault, where PRs are often measured in fractions of an inch, is virtually unheard of.

But Merlino vaulted into the No. 11 spot in the state this year and No. 3 in South Jersey, behind Cherry Hill East senior Noah Kressman, who hit 14-6 at the Woodbury Relays, and Deptford senior Gursharan Singh, who cleared 13-6 at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford.

The top sophomore before Merlino cleared 13-6 was Willingboro’s Jackson Murry, who has cleared 13-0 three times this spring, most recently when he won the Burlington County Open last weekend.

Over the last 15 years, the only South Jersey sophomore to clear a higher height was Delsea’s Nico Morales, who went 14-10 at the 2018 Tri-County Championships at Delsea.

Merlino’s 13-6 is tied for No. 2 in Oakcrest history, behind only Tony Defeo, who cleared 14-6 as a senior at the state Group 3 meet at Egg Harbor. Simon Vuong also cleared 13-6 in 2011.

Merlino jumps next at the Cape Atlantic Conference Championships on Wednesday at Bridgeton.

Cherokee senior Nicole Clifford ran the 5th-fastest mile in South Jersey history Friday night at Icahn Stadium in Manhattan.

Clifford placed 4th in the mile at the Track Night NYC 2022 on Randall’s Island in 4:50.50.

She broke the Burlington County record of 4:52.95, set at the 2009 Meet of Champions in South Plainfield by Lenape’s Caitlin Orr by nearly 2 ½ seconds, and she lowered the Cherokee school record of 4:55.66, set by Megan Lacy at the 2012 South Jersey Group 4 meet at Egg Harbor.

Clifford’s previous PR was 4:53.85 for 1,600 meters when she won the indoor state Group 4 title at the Bubble in February. That’s the equivalent of a 4:55.55 full mile, so this was just over a five-second PR.

https://ny.milesplit.com/meets/484443-tom-track-night-nyc-2022/results#.YohhhC-B1hA

Unfortunately – and this is purely my fault – my all-time list is in meters, so until I can convert all the 1,600 times to full miles it’s going to have to do. And Clifford’s time converts to 4:48.82, which trails only four girls in South Jersey history: Olympian Erin Donohue ran 4:41.16 in 2000, Michelle Rowen of Washington Township ran 4:41.5 in 1982, Briana Gess of Haddonfield ran 4:45.97 in 2014 and another Olympian, Haddonfield’s Marielle Hall, ran 4:48.73 in 2010.

Mia Cochrane of Moon Area High School in Moon Township, Pa., won the race in 4:42.43, a nearly five-second PR from her 4:47.17 at the Penn Relays. Zariel Macchia, a freshman at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, N.Y., was second in 4:47.47, about a second faster than her PR from Armory Nationals this past winter. Union Catholic sophomore Peyton Hollis ran 4:49.88 and finished just in front of Clifford. Her previous PR was 4:55.26 indoors back in December at the Armory.

Hollis and Clifford rank No. 1 and No. 2 in New Jersey this year. Cate DeSousa of Red Bank Catholic ran 4:49.06 for 1,600 meters on Thursday at Holmdel, and Molly Malague of Metuchen ran 4:49.98 earlier this month at Ridge. So that’s four girls under 4:50 for 1,600 or its equivalent so far this spring. Four more are under 4:53.

Clifford went out in 70.79, 2:22.63 and 3:37.05 and moved up from 6th to 4th with a 73.45 final lap.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey sub-5 list!

4:41.16 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:48.73 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:48.82 … Nicole Clifford [Cherokee], 2022
4:49.11 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], 2005
4:49.26 … Rachel Vick [Kingsway], 2017
4:51.43 … Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 2017
4:52.95 … Caitlin Orr [Lenape], 2009
4:54.25 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2021
4:54.71 … Megan Hartman [Ocean City], 1994
4:54.76 … Allison Colflesh [Haddonfield], 2021
4:54.88 … Bridget Flynn [Holy Spirit], 2012
4:55.41 … Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2004
4:55.45 … Julianna Catania [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2016
4:55.66 … Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 2012
4:55.70 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
4:55.90 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2019
4:55.9h … Dawn Cody [Paul VI], 1982
4:56.01 … Natalia Ocasio [Lenape], 2012
4:56.08 … Megan Quimby [Lenape], 2016
4:56.43 … Liz Locke [Kingsway], 2010
4:56.55 … Maria Ruiz [Williamstown], 2009
4:56.68 … Claudine Evangelista [Triton], 2000
4:56.81 … Julia DeSpirito [Shawnee], 2014
4:56.84 … Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 2011
4:56.23 … Celine Mazzi [Delsea], 2014
4:57.39 … Alyssa Condell [Timber Creek], 2016
4:57.48 … Felicia O’Donnell [Delsea], 2011
4:57.63 … Nicole Lipieta [Kingsway], 2021
4:57.96 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], 2013
4:58.86 … Madison Coppolino [Sterling], 2017
4:59.38 … Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 2009
4:59.27 … Theresa Cattuna [Cherry Hill East], 2005
4:59.54 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], 2007
4:59.60 … Brittnee Bynoe [Willingboro], 2004
4:59.72 … Katie Van Horn [Triton], 2005
4:59.6h … Ruth Lockbaum [Glassboro], 1985
4:59.80 … Sydny Warner [Seneca], 2018
4:59.89 … Destiny Stanford [Kingsway], 2017