From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Moorestown grad Brandon Outlaw dropped his 400 PR Friday in the trials of the ACC Championships.

Outlaw, a junior at Virginia, was the second-fastest qualifier, winning the fourth of four heats in 46.20 and qualifying automatically for Saturday’s final.

That’s No. 5 in Virginia history.

The Atlantic Coast Conference track championships are being held at Paul Derr Track and Field Facility on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh, N.C. – the one-time home of the National Scholastic Championships.

Virginia Tech’s Jacory Patterson, who won the first heat in 45.74, was the only faster qualifier. Patterson won the last two ACC 400s, the 2020 and 2021 meets.

Outlaw’s previous PR was 46.35 earlier this year in a meet in Raleigh, N.C. 

At Moorestown, Outlaw ran 46.82 at the 2017 Central Jersey Group 3 sectionals at Bernards – No. 6 in South Jersey – and went on to win the Meet of Champions.

Shakira Dancy didn’t wait for the finals of the Big Ten 200 to PR. She took care of that in the trials.

Dancy, a Winslow graduate and now a junior at Michigan State, ran a personal-best 23.69 in the 200 trials at the Big Ten Championships at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill.

With the fifth-fastest time in the trials, Dancy advanced to the final, scheduled for 3:42 p.m. Sunday.

Dancy’s previous 200 PR was a 23.73 in her last race – the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., two weeks ago.

At Winslow, Dancy’s 200 PR was 23.85.

What a double for Marquel Davis this afternoon! 

Davis, a Bloomfield junior from Deptford, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes Friday at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Championships at Georgian Court University in Lakewood.

5/14 & 5/16– CACC Championships

Davis won the 100 in a personal-best 10.51, finishing a whopping 29-100ths of second place, and won the 200 in 21.65, this time finishing 34-100ths of second.

Both marks were made with legal wind, the 100 at 1.2 and the 200 at 1.9.

Davis’s previous 100 PR was 10.68 just two weeks ago at a meet in Newark. His 200 PR remains 21.58 from a meet at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., in April of 2019.

Bloomfield does not list school records (or much of anything else) on its web site so can’t tell you if Davis broke or approached either school record or the last Bloomfield sprinter to win both dashes at the conference meet.

According to stats on DirectAthletics, it appears that Davis holds school records in both sprints, but those lists aren’t always complete. 

Davis also ran the third leg on Bloomfield’s 400-meter relay team, which placed second in 42.06.

Georgian Court, coached by former Holy Cross high jumper and multi-event athlete Mike Murawski, won the team title 262-112 over Bloomfield.

There were a ton more notable performances from South Jersey athletes at the CACC meet and we’ll get to them as soon as we can! 

 

Mississippi State freshman Gabriel Moronta, a Pleasantville graduate, ran sub-1:50 Thursday for the first time in his life.

Moronta ran 1:49.33 in the trials of the Southeastern Conference Championships at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. 

The winners of each of four heats and the next five-fastest half-milers advanced to the final. Moronta was third in the fourth and final heat and snagged the fourth of the five time qualifiers into the final.

Moronta was out in 52.95, which had him in fifth place with a lap to go. He closed in 56.39, passing two runners and getting into position to qualify for the final.

Moronta’s previous PR was a 1:50.36 two weeks ago at the Maroon and White Invitational on his home track in .

At Pleasantville, Moronta won the 2020 indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze – the last M-of-C that was held – with a scholastic PR of 1:52.46. 

His outdoor PR entering college was a 1:54.74 – that’s without a senior year of racing – and he lowered that to 1:52.00 in his first collegiate race last month in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and then to that 1:50.36 two weeks ago.

The nine-man final is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

 

Delsea senior Joe Metzger didn’t throw 59 feet once, he did it twice, and the Delsea senior moved into the No. 3 spot in New Jersey this spring in the shot put.

Metzger, who threw his previous PR of 57-5 indoors in March at the Bubble, threw 59-11 1/2 and 59-11 1/4 on back-to-back throws Thursday at the Delsea Crusader Field #1 event in Franklinville.

So he missed the 60-foot plateau by 1 1/4 inches on two throws. Metzer opened with a 55-6 3/4, so he averaged 58-5 3/4 on his three legal throws, higher than his previous personal best.

With his 59-11 1/2, Metzger takes over the No. 21 spot in South Jersey history. Here’s the all-time top-50: 

Metzger’s throw makes him No. 6 in Gloucester County history and is the best throw by a Gloucester County athlete in seven years, since Nick Pulli of West Deptford threw 62-10 1/4 at the 2014 state Group 2 meet at Egg Harbor.

Metzger’s throw moves into up to No. 3 in Delsea history, behind Josh Awotunde [61-6 in 2013] and Ryan Knight [60-11 1/2 in 1996]. https://sjtrackblog.com/2021/05/09/delseas-josh-awotunde-joins-the-70-foot-shot-put-club-with-6-mark-in-the-world-this-year/.

Metzger’s previous outdoor PR was a 52-8 1/2 in his only other big-meet appearance this spring, at the Deptford Spartan Relays earlier this month.

In the most recent completed season – indoors 2020 – Metzger threw 52-10 1/4 to place second at the Group 2 states after winning the S.J.-3 sectional title.

The only New Jersey throwers who’ve thrown farther than Metzger this spring are Colts Neck senior Cole Tucker (63-6) and Tyler Konopka of Toms River South (61-8).

Here’s the all-time Gloucester County top-10:

64-10 ½ … Jon Kalnas [Paulsboro], 1997
62-10 ¼ … Nick Pulli [West Deptford], 2014
61-10 ½ … Harry Dilks [Pitman], 1971
61-6 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
60-11 ½ … Ryan Knight [Delsea], 1996
59-11 1/2 … Joe Metzger [Delsea], 2021
59-7 ¾ … Chris Pressley [Woodbury], 2003
59-3 … Kwabena Keene [Washington Twp.], 2008
58-8 ½ … Bob Baylor [Paulsboro], 1965
58-0 ½ … Bill Goldsborough [Delsea Reg.], 2018

For the complete all-time South Jersey top-50, click here.

In all, five shot putters surpassed 50 feet Thursday at Delsea, three from South Jersey and all three from Delsea.

Junior Jason Nwosu hit 50-4 1/2 and junior Josh Caudill threw 50-2 1/2. Nwosu has thrown 53-2 1/4 this spring and Caudill has thrown 50-11. They are the top three shot putters this spring in South Jersey. The only other 50-footer so far is Willingboro junior C.J. Johnson, who hit 50-3 1/2 at last month’s Metuchen Relays.

Austin Gabay lowered his 1,500 PR again but just missed advancing to the finals at his first ACC Championships.

Gabay, a Duke freshman from Cinnaminson, ran 3:46.10 Thursday evening in Raleigh, N.C., and placed 13th overall. The three fastest runners in each of three sections plus the next three-fastest times advanced to Friday’s final. Gabay placed seventh in the fastest of the three sections, missing the final by less than half a second.

Gabay got out in 44.31 for his first 300 meters and then split 61.35, 61.23 and 59.23 for his three full laps.

His time is equivalent of a 4:04.19 full mile or a 4:02.76 for the high school distance of 1,600.

Gabay’s previous 1,500 PR was 3:48.73 from earlier this month at a meet on his home track in Durham, N.C. He began the spring with a PR 3:50.13 last month.

At Cinnaminson, Gabay ran 4:16.02 for 1,600 meters and 9:00.27 indoors for 3,200 meters.

Millville junior Leah Ellis capped a quad win at the Cumberland County Championships by moving into the all-time South Jersey top-10 in the triple jump.

Ellis won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.45, the high jump at 5-0 and the long jump at 18-3.

But her triple jump was the highlight on an afternoon of highlights at Bridgeton.

Ellis PR’d by nearly two feet, jumping 38-8 on her third and final attempt, the No. 10 mark in South Jersey history. That’s No. 1 in the state this year.

Ellis tied the Cumberland County (and school) record of 38-8 that Javona Ford when she placed second to Adefunke Sonaike of Montgomery (39-4) at the 2010 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield.

Ellis opened Thursday with a 34-8 3/4 jump and then fouled on her second attempt before recording her 38-8. Her previous PR was 36-8 1/2 indoors at the 2019 Hispanic Games at the Armory. Her outdoor PR was 36-1 1/2 at the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational in April of 2019.

Here’s a look at all the 38-foot jumpers in South Jersey history. For the full all-time top-50, click here:

42-2 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2018
40-10 ¼ … Ashley Edwards [Northern Burlington], 2014
39-7 ½ … Zenee Gadson [Glassboro], 2012
39-7 ¼ … Shaya Wilkerson [Lenape], 2012
39-6 … Jessica Mills [Deptford], 2005
39-5 ½ … Elizabeth Montague [Cherokee], 2014
39-3 … Genevieve Okoro [Eastern Reg.], 2010
39-2 ¼ … Mariah Hubbard [Absegami Reg.], 2016
38-11 … Rachel Montague [Cherokee], 2008
38-8 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], 2001
38-8 … Javona Ford [Millville], 2010
38-8 … Leah Ellis [Millville], 2021
38-6 … Monet Gist [Atlantic City], 2013
38-1 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], 2014
38-0 ¼ … Janell Rowe [Sterling], 2017
38-0 ¼ … Nalah Abul-Qasim [Williamstown], 2019
38-0 ¼ … Caleah Allen [Williamstown], 2012

Ellis also PR’d in the 100-meter highs with her 15.45. Her previous PR was 16.40 the only other time she ran it in a high school meet – two years ago at the 2019 Cumberland County meet at Vineland. The 15.45 is No. 5 in Ne wJersey this year and tied for No. 2 in South Jersey.

Ellis’s 18-3 long jump matched her outdoor PR set at the Deptford Spartan Games earlier this month. She jumped 19-3 to win indoor Eastern’s at the Armory in February of 2019. The 18-3 is No. 3 in the state this year and No. 1 in South Jersey.

Her high jump PR is 5-2, also set indoors in the winter of 2019 at the Bennett Center. Her outdoor PR is 5-0 from the 2019 Cumberland County Championships at Vineland.

Millville won the team title 172-51 over 2nd-place Cumberland Regional.

Jewel Ash broke the one-minute barrier in the intermediate hurdles for the first time this weekend.

And became a conference champion along the way.

Ash, a South Charleston freshman from Eastern Regional High school, ran 59.50 at the Big South Championships at Vert Stadium on Saturday on the campus of High Point (N.C.) University.

She won the conference title by nearly a second over High Point sophomore Nyile Facey, who was second in 1:01.37.

That time gives Ash a No. 59 ranking on the IAAF’s 2021 U.S. women’s performance list.

Ash’s previous PR was 1:00.01 on April 16 Georgia Tech Invitational and before that 1:01.46, which she ran at the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington and then matched in March in a meet in Columbia, S.C.

Ash’s time is No. 2 in school history, behind only Dotrine’ Jacobs, who ran 59.52 at the 2014 Florida Relays.

Ash also ran 14.56 in the high hurdles trials but missed advancing to the finals by 6-100ths of a second, despite the 5th-fastest time in the trials.

She also ran legs on the winning 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams, which ran 45.93 and 3:47.34.

It’s been more than 14 months since Egg Harbor’s Lauren Princz competed in a major race, but don’t forget about her.

She’s still fast!

When last we saw Princz, it was March of 2020 and she won the Meet of Champions 55-meter dash at Ocean Breeze in 6.98, the 9th-fastest time in meet history.

Then the spring season got wiped out, Princz didn’t race at all this past winter and she still hasn’t competed in a major weekend meet this spring.

But she’s raced in two dual meets, and on Tuesday ran 12.1 and 25.2 unpressed.

Second place in the 100 was teammate Jayda Green, who ran 12.7, and second in the 200 was Hammonton’s Emily Dustman, who ran 26.0.

Those are decent times, so Princz had to work to win those races but safe to say she still hasn’t been really pushed or gone all out this spring or really since the 2020 indoor Meet of Champions.

Princz, who has signed with Penn State, has PRs of 11.81 from the spring of 2018, when she won the 100 at the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, and 23.90, from her win at the 2018 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

She’s No. 11 in South Jersey history in the 100 and No. 5 in the 200.

When will we finally see Princz race on a Saturday? It might not be until the Atlantic County Championships on May 27 at Buena.

But with a talent like hers, it’s worth waiting for!

Burlington Township graduate Donovan Wright is off to a fine start to his college career at U. Conn and races this weekend in the Big East Championships.

Wright, a U. Conn freshman, is ranked No. 5 in the Big East in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.50 (with a legal 1.4 wind), which he just ran a week and a half ago at the Torrin Lawrence Memorial Invitational at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.

His PR before that was a wind-aided 14.65 with a wind-legal 14.99.

Wright has lowered his time every time he’s raced this spring over the 42-inch barriers —> 15.27 to 15.04 to 14.99 to 14.81 to 14.65 to 14.50.

Wright graduated from Burlington Township in the spring of 2020. His final race for the Falcons was the indoor Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze, where he ran 7.49 over the 39-inch 55-meter hurdles and placed fourth. He was second at the state Group 3 meet.

Wright’s high school PR over the 39-inch barriers was 14.49, when he placed second in the Burlington County Open at Rancocas Valley to Jayaire King of Willingboro, who also ran 14.49. King is now at St. Peter’s and placed third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 400-meter intermediates on Sunday.

So he’s now run within 1-100th of a second over the 42-inch hurdles as he ran in high school over the 39-inch hurdles.

The Big East Championships are scheduled for Friday and Saturday at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Wright runs in the hurdles trials at 1 p.m. Friday and then the finals at 12:55 p.m. on Saturday.

The most recent U. Conn on-line “media guide” is from 2016. What do these SIDs do all day? They can’t update a media guide for five years? But it doesn’t have any top-10 lists anyway so it’s useless.