From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

It’s too often you get the opportunity to break a 55-year-old record. But that’s exactly what Millville senior Jamal Wallace did in Somerset on Saturday.

Wallace, who had a discus PR of 156-3 just three weeks ago, bombed a 182-5 to win the state Group 4 title and break a school record set in 1970.

At the 1970 Meet of Champions at Highland Park, Millville’s Jim Stites won the discus with a throw of 178-0, at the time a South Jersey record. That held up as Millville’s school record until Wallace smashed it on Saturday.

Wallace first took up the discus just 14 months ago and debuted last April at the Deptford Spartan Relays with a throw of 81-2. He threw 147-8 by the Cumberland County meet at Bridgeton last May and that remained his PR until a 156-3 at Delsea this past March. He improved to 159-3 at Woodbury and then surpassed 160 and 170 feet for the first time with a 176-3 to win the Cape-Atlantic Championships at Buena on May 10.

He won Group 4 sectionals at 171-9 and then on Saturday became Millville’s first state champion since Azim Smith won the Group 4 400-meter hurdles in 52.22 in 2001. The last Millville thrower to win states was Stites in Group 4 in 1970 with a 168-0. He also won the javelin that year with a 209-7.

Stites’ 182-5 makes him the No. 1 seed for Wednesday’s Meet of Champions at Pennsauken, and it’s the No. 2 throw all-time in Cumberland County, behind Braheme Days Jr.’s historic 216-11 to win the 1996 Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, Calif.

By the way, field series information is not available in the official results because the NJSIAA still thinks it’s 1987.

Wallace is the first South Jersey thrower to win the Group 4 discus since Egg Harbor Township’s James Plummer threw 188-4 in Group 2 in 2013.

His throw is No. 17 in South Jersey history and best by a South Jersey Group 4 thrower since 2013, when Days threw 199-6 when he won the Meet of Champions in South Plainfield and Plummer hit 197-0 when he won Greensboro Nationals.

All-Time South Jersey Discus list
216-11 … Ron Dayne [Overbrook], 1996
199-6 … Braheme Days Jr. [Bridgeton], 2013
197-0 … James Plummer [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
192-5 … Josh Awotunde [Delsea], 2013
191-11 … Franklin Simms [St. Augustine], 2022
189-7 … Ray Wilks [Bridgeton], 1995
185-11 … John Mooers [Middle Twp.], 2015
185-10 … Russ Willett [Penns Grove], 1985
185-7 … Matt Huckabee [Timber Creek], 2010
185-6 … Kamron Kobolak [Cinnaminson], 2018
185-5 … Ken Manahan [Deptford], 1976
184-8 … Damere Lassiter [Glassboro], 2023
184-4 … Adam Hunt [Collingswood], 2017
183-9 … Jason Nwosu [Delsea], 2022
183-4 … Janier Armstead [Penns Grove], 2023
183-2 … Anthony Liakhnovich [Hammonton], 2025
182-5 … Jamal Wallace [Millville], 2025
181-10 … Jason Winrow [Cumberland Reg.], 1989
181-10 … Shawn Brady [Bishop Eustace], 2024
180-3 … Howard Clark [Pennsauken], 1998

Aliya Garozzo is off to the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter hurdles after qualifying at the NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonille.

Garozzo, a Duke grad student from Paul VI via Penn, ran 56.46 in the quarterfinals at Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida to advance to the semifinals at Hayward Field in Eugene later this month.

Click to access 030-2.pdf

Garozzo ran two of her three-fastest times ever in Jacksonville, with a 56.16 in the first round and the 56.46 in the second round. She PR’d at 55.77 in April in Durham, N.C.

This is her first time getting out of regional prelims to the NCAA Championships.Garozzo is ranked 39^th in the world and 14^th among U.S. women.

Garozzo will race in the NCAA semifinals at 6:14 p.m. June 12. The final is scheduled for 7:27 p.m. on June 14.

Garozzo is ranked 11^th of the qualifiers heading for Eugene from both the East Prelims in Jacksonville and West Prelims in College Station, Texas.

Duke’s 1,600-meter relay team also qualified for NCAAs after running 3:27.87, the 2nd-fastest time in school history. Garozzo led off in 53.25.

Pennsville graduate Arianni Smith, a senior at Howard, ran 57.20 and missed advancing to Eugene by 4-100ths of a second.

Junior Ma’Syiah Brawner, freshman Jasmine Jackson, sophomore Cinniya Robinson and junior Olivia Okaro combined for 91 points and the Winslow girls made a compelling case for themselves as the best team in South Jersey history and perhaps the best public school team ever assembled in New Jersey.

Winslow scored 129 points in the state Group 3 meet in Somerset Friday and Saturday, breaking the Group 3 meet record of 115, set by the 2013 Winslow team.The Eagles won their 10^th state title, tied for 3^rd-most in state history and most ever by a South Jersey team.

No other New Jersey public school has won 10 state titles.

Winslow also won state titles in Group 4 in 2004, Group 3 each year from 2013 through 2019 (tying with Northern Highlands in 2015) as well as 2024. There was no meet in 2020, so Winslow has won Group 3 nine times the last 12 years it was contested.

Only parochial schools Notre Dame and Pope John XXIII have won more state titles than Winslow. Union Catholic has also won 10. Next-most among public schools is Haddonfield’s nine.

Winslow more than tripled 2^nd-place Ocean City, who score 40 points. Ramapo was 3^rd, but Absegami [30], Moorestown [28], Northern Burlington [22] and Timber Creek [20] placed 4^th through 7^th.

The tireless Brawner won the triple jump with a season-best 40-3 and the high jump at 5-4 and placed 4^th in the long jump with a 17-6 ½ and the hurdles at 14.78. She’s now a five-time state champion, including indoor and outdoor meets.

Jackson piled up 26 points in her first outdoor state meet with a win in the hurdles with a wind-legal 13.94 and 2^nd-place finishes in the 400 hurdles [1:01.08] and 200 [25.07].

Robinson doubled the intermediates in 1:01.01 and the 400 in 56.98, and Okaro ran 2^nd in the 100 [12.18], 3^rd in the 400 [57.80] and tied for 4^th in the 200 [25.30].

Winslow also scored 28 points in the relays, winning the two sprint relays and taking 2^nd in the 4-by-8.

Freshman Amariah Arango, sophomore Skyhe Seamon, junior Chantina Walker and junior Leeya Joseph won the 400-meter relay in 47.89, with Ocean City taking 2^nd with a fast 48.81 with freshman Julianne Goodman, sophomore Ella Miller, sophomore Alana Clevenger and senior Naomi Nnewihe.

Arango, sophomore Tristan Hughes, Okaro and senior Ava Millner ran 3:53.16 to win the 4-by-4, and freshman Adaiah Arango, Amariah Arango, Hughes and Millner ran 9:19.84 to take 2^nd behind Ocean City in the 4-by-8.

Senior Brook-lynn Roberts threw the discus 134-5 for 2^nd place and junior Leeya Joseph long jumped 17-5 ½ for 5^th place.

Ocean City won the 4-by-8, with senior Chloe Care, senior Maeve Smith, freshman Riley Tolson and sophomore Carly Godfrey running 9:14.20, with Godfrey anchoring in 2:11.52. Moorestown ran 9:23.31 for a 1-2-3 South Jersey sweep with senior Sarah Brown, sophomore Sophia DeFiore and freshmen Payton Derer and Hope Edwards.

Godfrey was also 3^rd in the 800 in 2:11.25 – 4^th-fastest in South Jersey history – with Edwards 5^th in that rae in 2:13.65.

Timber Creek senior Ryan Jennings had another speedy double, winning the 100 in 11.45 and the 200 in 23.93. She broke the Group 3 meet record of 11.61 set by Lakewood’s Shavon Greaves at the 2007 meet at South Plainfield.

Northern Burlington senior Liliah Gordon won the 1,600 in 4:59.99 and the 3,200 in 10:35.67 to become the first Northern girl ever to double at states. Ocean City’s Smith [5:01.21] and Moorestown’s Derer [5:02.45] made the 1,600 a 1-2-3 South Jersey sweep.

Delsea junior Hannah Nuhfer PR’d with a 161-4 bomb to win the discus. That’s the No. 7 throw in state history and No. 3 in South Jersey history.

Absegami had two individual winners, with Jaidah Garrett winning the long jump at 18-10 ½, which makes her the top seed at the Meet of Champions, and senior Josephine Buxton PR”ing at 138-8 in the javelin.

And Moorestown senior Hannah Byrd-Leitner joined Hannah Nuhfer as the second South Jersey Hannah to win a state title this weekend. She cleared 12-8, breaking her own Group 3 meet record of 12-7 set last year.

\Junior Jaiden Steele raced to three 1^st-place finishes and a 2^nd to lead Camden to its 11^th state championship but first in 20 years.

Camden edged Hasbrouck Heights 46-45 to win the state Group 1 meet in Somerset. It was the first Group 1 state meet decided by one or fewer points since 2007, when Metuchen edged Woodbury 45-44 at South Plainfield. Glassboro was 3^rd with 38 ½ points, with Woodstown 4^th with 38 and Clayton 6^th with 32.

This is the Panthers’ 11^th state championship but first since 2005, when they defeated Colts Neck 55-42 to win Group 3.

Camden also won state titles in Group 4 in 1975, 1995, 1996 and 1997 and Group 3 in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2004.

Only five schools have won more state titles: Christian Brothers [28], Montclair [21], Glen Ridge [15], Willingboro [14] and Woodbury [13]. Palmyra and Plainfield have also won 11.

Steele repeatd as state champ in the 100 in 10.86, leading a 1-2-3 South Jersey finish with Burlington City junior Donte Davis [10.91] and Glassboro sophomore Xavier Sabb [10.96]. Steele won Group 2 last year.

He also ran on Camden’s two 1^st-place relay teams. The Panthers won the 400-meter relay in 42.50 with junior Christian Braxton, Steele, junior Chase Robinson and junior Wasi Muhammad and the 4-by-4 in 3:21.59 with Robinson, Muhammad, junior Jeremiah Steeley and Steele.

This is the first time Camden has ever won two relays at the same state meet and the first time they’ve won the 4-by-4 at states since 2004, when Alonzo Brown, Sherron Bullock, *Carl Smith, *Devon Burroughs ran 3:19.75.

Robinson also placed 4^th in the intermediate hurdles in 55.06 and Muhammad was 3^rd in the long jump at 21-4 ¾.

Senior Alexander Osayemi swept the 200 [22.04], 400 [47.81] and intermediates [52.79] to become the first Clayton boy ever to triple at states.

Woodstown junior Josh Crawford won the 800 in 1:53.44, with senior teammate Cole Lucas 3^rd in 1:55.01. Woodstown won the 4-by-8 without either one, if the official results are accurate. Woodstown ran 7:59.15, the fastest South Jersey Group 1 time ever and fastest by any New Jersey Group 1 school since Shore Regional ran 7:57.80 in 2017. Junior Karson Chew, sophomore David Farrell, sophomore Pacey Hutton and junior Jacob Marino are listed as Woodstown’s runners. Woodstown was also 2^nd in the 4-by-4 in 3:23.43 with Chew, sophomore Kyle Reitz, junior Anthony Costello and Crawford.

Crawford is Woodstown’s 1^st state champion since Brandon Bedillion won the javelin in 2015 and first ever on the track.

Other South Jersey winners were Palmyra senior Jaleel Latimore, Salem senior Anthony Parker and Haddon Township senior Jacob George.

Latimore cleared 6-6 and became Palmyra’s 1^st state high jump champion in 31 years, since Marvin Bass cleared 6-9 at the 1994 meet. Parker jumped 22-5 and became Salem’s first state long jump champ since Anthony Gregory’s 21-10 in 2007, finishing six inches ahead of Glassboro freshman Alex Adeleye’s 21-11. And  Jacob George cleared 14-6 to become Haddon Township’s 1^st state pole vault champ since Jason Groff in 2013.

Junior Sianni Wynn won two events, anchored a winning relay and picked up a fast 2nd place, and the Dupree cousins scored nine huge points as the Pennsauken girls won the first state championship in school history.

Pennsauken and Wynn outscored Natalie Dumas and Eastern 47-42 to win the Group 4 state title at Somerset in a meet featuring two of the top girls in state history.

Wynn won the 100-meter dash in 11.53 – only 4-100ths of a second off English Gardner’s 17-year-old meet record – and traded 1-2 finishes with Dumas in the long sprints, topping Dumas in the 200 – 23.57 to 24.46 – with Dumas edging Wynn in the 400 – 53.17 to 54.06 in a battle of the current state record holder and former South Jersey record holder.

The 23.57 is a wind-legal PR for Wynn and No. 6 in state history with legal wind.

Wynn also anchored Pennsauken’s meet-record 400-meter relay, with junior Sanaya Dupree, junior Olivia Dupree, sophomore Abigayle John and Wynn running 47.24 and breaking the Group 4 meet record of 47.45 set in 2018 by Egg Harbor Township.

Wynn had a hand in 38 of Pennsauken’s 47 points, but that wasn’t enough to win the team title. Olivia Dupree placed 2nd in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.75 for eight huge points, and Sanaya Dupree took 6th in the 200 in 25.47 for another point.

Wynn has now won 13 state group titles and nine Meet of Champions titles, and she’s not even finished with her junior year.

As for Dumas, we already wrote about her historic 400IH/800 double on Friday – you can read about that here – and she finished her triple win Saturday with that 53.17 win in the 400.

She’s only the 3rd South Jersey girl ever to win three individual events at a state Group 4 meet. Krystal Cantey of Winslow had a quad win in 2005, with 1sts in the 200, 400, high hurdles and intermediate hurdles, and Pemberton’s Lillian Rivera swept the three throws at the 1984 meet.

Looking ahead to the Meet of Champions Wednesday at Pennsauken – and we’ll see who runs what – but Wynn is the No. 3 seed in the 100, No. 1 in the 200 and No. 3 in the 400, and Pennsauken is the No. 2 seed in the 4-by-1. Dumas is the No. 1 seed in the 400 and intermediates, No. 6 seed in the 200 and No. 7 in the 800.

It was Atlantic County Tech sophomore Brianna Growalt who edged Olivia Dupree to win the 100-meter hurdles as part of a hurdles-long jump double. Growalt ran 14.59 and long jumped 17-7.

She’s the first South Jersey girl to win the long jump and hurdles in the same state meet since Winslow’s Gabrielle Bennett in Group 3 in 2015. She ran 14.27 and jumped 19-1 and also won the high jump at 5-6. Growalt is the first South Jersey girl to record that hurdles-long jump double in Group 4 since Olympian Carol Lewis of Willingboro did it three years in a row from 1978 through 1980.

The Kingsway girls won the 1,600-meter relay with a school-record 3:54.95, with sophomore Norah Brown [59.86], senior Camryn Stanard [1:00.25], senior Jonnelle Lewis [58.71] and freshman Noemi Haller [56.14]. The previous school record was 3:55.34 from the 2013 Penn Relays with Loran Harris, Chrissy Pentz, Jacklyn Heineman and Thaila Cooper.

Senior Dominic Bassey and junior KaRon Ali combined to score 40 points and lead the Winslow Township boys to their first state title in 21 years.

Winslow won its three previous state titles consecutively in Group 4 in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Eagles finished 30 points ahead of Burlington Township and Colts Neck, who tied for 2^nd with 44 points.

Bassey won the 400-meter hurdles in 53.85 and was 3^rd in the 400 {49.69] and 800 [1:56.26], and Ali won the 400 in 48.48 and was 2^nd to Burlington Township junior Quayd Hendryx in the 200 [21.76].

Ali and Bassey also contributed legs to Winslow’s 1^st-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 3:19.53. Junior Prince Owusu-Twum and sophomore Jeremiah Neal also ran on the 4-by-4 for the Eagles, with Clearview 2^nd in 3:22.25.

Senior Kristopher Jackson and senior Artrill Evans both picked up 2^nd-places, Jackson in the javelin and Evans in the triple jump. Jackson threw 177-5 and took 2^nd to Burlington Township senior Dylan Fitzpatrick, who won with a 182-2, with Cumberland Regional junior Richard Pierce [172-9] making it a 1-2-3 South Jersey sweep. And Evans went 46-0 in the triple jump for his 2^nd place.

Winslow’s other individual scorer was junior Elijah Deanley, who placed 5^th in the 400-meter hurdles in 56.46.

Winslow also scored in the 400- and 3,200-meter relays. Ali, freshman Sa’hid Chambers, sophomore Jibril Hammond and junior Nyqir Helton ran 42.25 for 4^th in the 4-by-1, and junior Vincent Perri, Owusu-Twum and seniors Eric Brown and David Duran ran 8:05.92 for 5^th in the 4-by-8.

Burlington Township also won the 400-meter relay in 41.30, smashing the meet record and Burlington County record. I wrote about that on Friday here.

Junior Quayd Hendryx not only anchored that record-setting 4-by-1, he doubled the 100 and 200 with legal wind, running 10.71 [-0.2] and 21.52 [0.0].

Fitzpatrick became Burlington Township’s first state champion ever in the javelin or any throwing event. And Hendryx is Township’s first double winner since Louis Smith won the Group 1 100 and 200 in 1998.

Hammonton senior Anthony Liakhnovich won the shot put at 61-8 ¾, with seniors Jonathan Harris of Delsea [58-2 ¼], Jayson Ross of Timber Creek [57-11] and Christina Medina of Hammonton [55-0 ¾] scoring in a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey sweep.

And Deptford senior Marcus Hood cleared 15-0 on his 1^st attempt to win his first state pole vault title.

Seniors Leila Ortiz, Miyana Johnson and Rainelle Blocker combined for 62 of 73 points, and the Clayton girls roared to their 3^rd state Group 1 title in the last five years.

Ortiz won the 200-meter dash in 25.57 and the 400 in 57.42 and placed 2^nd to Riverside’s Sydney Greenidge in the 100 in 12.40, ohnson was 2^nd in the 200 in 25.94, 3^rd in the 100 in 12.50 and 3^rd in the high jump at 5-0 and Blocker won the javelin at 111-0 and was 4^th in the shot at 35-10 ¾.

Ortiz and Johnson also ran on the Clippers’ winning 1,600-meter relay team as Clayton outscored 2^nd-place Metuchen 73-56.

Clayton also won state Group 1 titles in 2001 and 2002. They’re the 1^st to win three Group 1 titles in a five-year span since Glen Rock won four straight from 2000 through 2003.

Woodbury [29 points], Glassboro [28], Haddon Township [27], Audubon [22], Maple Shade [18], Riverside [16], Schalick [16] and Pennsville [16] made it nine South Jersey schools among the 12 highest-scoring teams.

Sophomore Gabrielle Pernell-Lipsey and junior Deondria Simon joined Johnson and Ortiz on the 4-by-4, which won with a 4:05.03.

Girls from Clayton, Burlington, Pennsville, Glassboro, Maple Shade, Schalick and Woodbury all scored wins in Somerset.

Glassboro junior Sunsarai Moore swept the two weights, winning the discus at 142-6 and the shot put at 39-9. Burlington sophomore Nyima Burley won the triple jump with a 35-9. Pennsville senior Megan Morris won the pole vault with a 10-6 clearance. Maple Shade sophomore Ciani Floyd edged Florence junior Zoe Saunders to win the 100 hurdles in 15.69. Schalick senior Jordan Hadfield won the 1,600 in 5:01.16, edging Audubon junior Riley Fayer [5:03.61]. And Woodbury senior Denirah Jones won the long jump at 17-0, leading a 1-2-3 sweep with Burley [16-10] and Haddon Township senior Jessica McGray [16-3].

Glassboro’s Moore led a 1-2-3-4 South Jersey sweep in the shot put, with Woodbury senior Antonia Federici 2^ndat 37-0, Pennsville junior Tatiyonna Crawford 3^rd at 36-9 and Clayton’s Blocker 4^th.

Bridgeton senior Zamir Chance, who PR’d at 48-3 in the triple jump at sectionals, smashed that with a 48-9 win at the stat Group 4 meet Saturday in Somerset.

That’s No. 5 in South Jersey history and No. 19 on the all-time state performance list and best since Lumberton’s Greg Foster from Lawrenceville School jumped 51-0 ¾ at 2022 West Philly Nationals. It’s the best jump by a South Jersey high school athlete since Highland’s Floyd Whitaker jumped 50-2 ½ to win the 2019 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

Chance is Bridgeton’s first state champion in nine years, since current Dallas Cowboy Markquese Bell won the Group 3 high jump at 6-10 in 2016. He broke his own Cumberland County record of 48-3 from sectionals.

Chance had another jump over 48 feet, but as of early afternoon the results have disappeared from the web site. Go NJSIAA! Maybe they’ll come back at some point. They should be here.

ALL-TIME SOUTH JERSEY TRIPLE JUMP LIST
50-9 ¼ … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
50-6 ¾ …. Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
50-2 ½  … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 2019
48-10 ½ … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2015
48-9 … Zamir Chance [Bridgeton], 2025
48-4 ½ … Rece Englehardt [Moorestown], 2024
48-3 ¼ … Ryan Chance [Glassboro], 2009
48-1 ½ … Mubeen Momodu [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
48-1 ¼ ……Orion Joyner [Kingsway], 2019
48-0 ………. Josh Butler [Delsea], 2006
47-9 ¼ … Marcus Edghilll [Pemberton], 1981
47-7 ½ … Mikhail Micheaux [Eastern], 2014
47-7 ½ … Jaden Johnson [Timber Creek], 2022
47-6 ½ … Chris Roundtree [Haddon Hts.], 2009
47-5 ½ … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2017
47-5 ¼ … Kevin Kevelier [Collingswood], 2019
47-5 ……… Steven Brown [Penns Grove], 2009
47-4 ¾ … Cheo King [Woodbury], 2017
47-4 ½ … Zakiyy Williams [Rancocas Valley], 2017
47-4 ……… Tristan Wilson [Delsea], 2014
47-3 ¼ … Antwan Dickerson [Pennsauken], 2013
47-3 ……… Mike Baker [Cherry Hill West], 1976
47-2 ¼ … Josiah Williams [Mainland Reg.], 2025
47-0 ½ … Mawali Osunniyi [Mainland Reg.], 2023
47-0 ¼  … Earnest Daniel [Kingsway], 2017

ALL-TIME N.J TRIPLE JUMP LIST
51-0 ¾ … Greg Foster [Lawrenceville School], 2022
50-9 1/4 … Khaliel Burnett [Delsea], 2018
50-6 3/4 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
50-5 … Chris Phipps [Lodi], 2008
50-3 1/4 … Dodley Thermitus [Elizabeth], 2016
50-2 1/2 … Eric Bethea [Piscataway], 2015
50-2 ½ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], 2019
50-1 1/2 … Myles Hartsfield [Sayreville], 2014
50-0 1/4 … Devon Bond [Trenton], 2007
49-11 1/2 … Devin Jones [Boonton], 2010
49-5 … Jon Pitt [South Brunswick], 2013
49-4 3/4 … Tiquan Underwood [Notre Dame], 2005
49-1 1/4 … Rolston Braithwaite [Trenton], 2008
49-0 1/2 … Anthony DiCosmo [Paramus Catholic], 1995
49-0 … Nadale Buntin [J.P. Stevens], 2018
48-10 1/2 … Larry Russell [Timber Creek], 2015
48-10 … Adam Bergo [Westfield], 2008
48-9 1/4 … Richmond Shasha [Hamilton West], 2019
48-9 … Jayhlen Washington [North Brunswick], 2017
48-9 … Zamir Chance [Bridgeton], 2025
48-7 … A.J. McKay [Mount Olive], 2021
48-7 … Malik Mohammad [West Side], 2025
48-6 … Joseph Oduro [South Plainfield], 2022
48-4 ¾ … Daniel Arana [Franklin Twp.], 2024
48-4 ½ … Rece Englehart [Moorestown], 2024
48-4 ½ … Bobby Mays [Don Bosco], 2024
48-3 ½ … Stephon Kelley-Gordon [Carteret], 2018
48-3 1/4 … Ryan Chance [Glassboro], 2009
48-3 … Barden Adams [West Orange], 2014
48-2 1/2 … Kyle Lindsey [Paterson], 2006
48-2 1/2 … Tyrell Judson [Piscataway], 2013
48-2 1/4 … Bernard Hoover [Hasbrouck Heights], 2004
48-2 … Craig Halyard [Ridgewood], 1989
48-2 … Emeke Eze [Sayreville], 2012
48-1 1/2 … Sean Wimbush [Teaneck], 2011
48-1 1/2 … Malik Snead [Hamilton West], 2015
48-1 ½ … Mubeen Momodu [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
48-1 ¼ … Orion Joyner [Kingsway], 2019
48-1 1/4 … Aaron King [Morris Hills], 2007
48-0 1/4 … Gerald Spears [Teaneck], 1989
48-0 1/4 … Darius Pemberton [Hackensack], 1992
48-0 … Josh Butler [Delsea], 2006
48-0 … Kevin Bostick [Bergen Catholic], 2008
48-0 … Dean Uduh [Columbia], 2015

Moorestown senior Hannah Byrd-Leitner won her 4^th consecutive state pole vault title Friday and broke her own meet record at the Group 3 championships at South Plainfield.

Byrd-Leitner cleared 12-8 – sorry, no field series info available, thanks NJSIAA! – and broke the meet record of 12-7 that she set at last year’s meet at Delsea.

Byrd-Leitner has won state titles indoors [12-0] and outdoors [12-7] in 2024 and indoors [13-0] and outdoors [12-8] this year.

Because the NJSIAA doesn’t care at all about track and hires timing companies for state championship meets that don’t bother with splits or field series information, we don’t know where Byrd-Leitner entered the competition or where she had the bar raised after clearing 12-8. Unbelievable.

Anyway, Byrd-Leitner is the first Moorestown girl to repeat as a state champion in any event since Amandi Rhett won the 100 three straight years from 1998 through 2000 and the 200 in 1999 and 2000 (in Group 2 in 1998 and 1999 and Group 3 in 2000).

Byrd-Leitner’s 12-8 is the best clearance at states in any public school group. She shared the overall public school record of 12-7 with Emma Keating of Pompton Lakes, who won Group 2 in 2023.

Hayley Horvath of Notre Dame set the overall state meet record of 13-0 when she won the 2018 Parochial A meet in Somerset.

Highland’s Floyd Whitaker advanced to the NCAA Championships with a clutch final-jump PR in the triple jump Friday.

Whitaker, a senior at Oklahoma, jumped 53-4 ½ on his 3^rd and final attempt at the NCAA West Prelims at Bryan Stadium in College Station, Texas.

That ranks him 13^th among U.S. men this year, according to the World Athletics database.

Whitaker needed to jump 52-1 ½ to make his way into the top 12 who advanced to next month’s NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene. His first two jumps were 51-0 ¼ and 51-5. But he increased his PR from 53-1 ½ from two weeks ago in Lexington, Ky., to 53-4 ½ and finished as the 5^th qualifier out of the West Regional.

Only one jumper in the East Regional in Jacksonville on Friday surpassed Whitaker’s 53-4 ½, which means he goes into Eugene as the No. 6 seed. That jumper was Theophilus Mudzengere of South Carolina, who jumped 53-9.

Whitaker will compete in the NCAA triple jump final at Hayward Field at 5:10 p.m., Friday, June 13. He’s now within two inches of the South Jersey alumni record of 53-6 ½ set by Shawnee graduate Greg Foster in Flagstaff, Ariz., on May 14, 1988. Foster’s son Greg, a junior at Princeton, will also be in Eugene competing in the long jump after placing 4^th in East Regionals on Wednesday.

Whitaker is now 5^th on the all-time New Jersey alumni list. The record is 54-9 ½ by East Orange’s Norm Tate in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1970. Tate, an Olympian and three-time U.S. champion, is now an assistant coach at Rowan.

Whitaker, who began his college career at Minnesota, placed 9^th in the indoor triple jump in March in Virginia Beach with a 52-2.

54-9 ½ … Norm Tate [East Orange], July 16, 1970, Stuttgart, Germany

54-7 ½ … Eric Bethea [Piscataway], June 7, 2019, Austin, Texas

53-7 ¼ … Devon Bond [Trenton], May 5, 2012, Lubbock, Texas [+1.5]

53-6 ½ … Greg Foster [Shawnee], May 14, 1988, Flagstaff, Ariz.
53-4 ½ … Floyd Whitaker [Highland], May 17, 2025, Lexington, Ky. [+0.9]