From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Moorestown senior pole vaulter Hannah Byrd-Leitner earned All-America honors for the 2^ndstraight year Saturday with a 6^th-place finish in the pole vault at West Philly Nationals.

Byrd-Leitner cleared 12-5 ½ on her 1^st attempt, which made the difference between 6^th place and an All-America designation and 7^th place. Vaulters who cleared 12-5 ½ on their 2^ndattempt did not make All-America.

Byrd-Leitner, a three-time Meet of Champions winner, was clean through 11-5 ¾, 12-1 ½ and 12-5 ½ before going out at 12-9 ½. Last year, Byrd-Leitner finished 4^th at 12-7 ½.

Alexander Osayemi finished his phenomenal senior year at Clayton with All-America honors in the 400-meter dash.

Osayemi placed 6^th at West Philly Nationals in 46.94 and finished the season undefeated vs. New Jersey competition.

Osayemi won the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month in 46.08, 3^rd-fastest in New Jersey history.

The race was won by Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson, a junior at Bullis School in Potomac, Md.

Osayemi this year won state Group 1 titles in the 200, 400 and 400-meter hurdles and finished in the top three in each event at the Meet of Champions.

Ocean City senior Maeve Smith moved into the all-time South Jersey 1,600 top 10 Saturday at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.

Smith ran 4:53.27 for the full mile, which converts to 4:51.57 for 1,600 meters. It’s 10^th-fastest in South Jersey history and 3^rd-fastest in Cape Atlantic Conference history, behind Ocean City’s Renee Tomlin [4:49.11 in 2005] and Mainland Regional’s Alyssa Aldridge [4:51.43 in 2017].

Smith negative-split the race, coming through the 880 in 2:27.70 and coming back in 2:25.58 and closing in 72.06.

Smith, whose 17:08.01 Thursday in the 5,000 is 12^th-fastest in state history, had a previous 1,600 PR of 4:58.68 from her win at South Jersey Group 3 sectionals last month at Delsea. So this is about a 5 ½-second PR.

Smith also ran 10:32.54 at the Meet of Champions. She’s one of only four New Jersey runners to go as fast as Smith for the 1,600, 3,200 and 5,000 and the only one from South Jersey.

The others are Alexa Westley of Warren Hills in 2019 [4:51.13, 10:15.82, 16:34.66], Ashley Higginson of Colts Neck in 2007 [4:47.71, 10:23.28, 16:38.51] and Grace Dwyer of Nottingham in 2016 [4:51.38, 10:21.46, 17:03.13].

All-Time South Jersey Sub-5 List
4:41.16 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2000
4:41.5y … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], 1982
4:45.91 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], 2024
4:45.97 … Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 2014
4:48.73y … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 2010
4:48.82y … 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
4:51.57y … Maeve Smith [Ocean City], 2025
4:51.84 … Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 2024
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
4:55.66 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
4:55.70 … Dina Iacone [Washington Twp.], 2012
4:55.90 … Sarah Naticchia [Haddonfield], 2019

Natalie Dumas took down four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin’s state 400-meter dash record Saturday in winning her 2^nd national title in two days and 4^th overall.

Dumas, a junior at Eastern, won the 400 at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field in 51.15, the 6^th-fastest time in U.S. history and fastest in 13 years.

Dumas and McLaughlin shared the state record at 51.87, which McLaughlin ran at the 2016 Meet of Champions in Berkeley Township, and Dumas ran last month at South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Pennsauken.

On Friday, Dumas won the 400-meter hurdles in 55.99, the 6^th-fastest time in U.S. history. She also anchored Eastern’s sprint medley team, which ran 3:53.15, the 12^th-fastest time in U.S. history. She’ll run the 800 on Sunday, going on with a PR of 2:02.75 – the 18^th-fastest time in U.S. history.

If there was ever any doubt before the 400 final that Dumas is one of the greatest in scholastic track history, there isn’t anymore.

She got a tremendous challenge from senior Sydney Sutton of the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., but held her off, diving across the line and winning by 9-100ths of a second. Sutton was 2^nd in 51.23, the 10^th-fastest time in U.S. scholastic history and the fastest non-winning time ever run by a U.S. high school girl.

Dumas’s 51.14 is fastest by any high school girl since Kadecia Baird of Bedgar Evers Prep in Brooklyn ran 51.04 in the semis of 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.

It’s fastest in a high school-only race in 25 years, since Monique Henderson of Morse High in San Diego ran 50.74 at the 2000 California State Championships in Sacramento.

Only five women from New Jersey have ever run faster, including Olympic gold medalists McLaughlin [48.74 in 2023] and Trenton’s Athing Mu [49.57 in 2021]. The others are Mikele [50.63] and Me’Lisa [50.87] Barber of Montclair and Bridgeton’s Nadia Davy [50.66 in 2003].

Her time is No. 50 in the world this year, according to the World Athletics database, and No. 17 among U.S. women.

It’s also No. 10 all-time on the world Under-20 list and #4 on the U.S. list, behind Mu [49.57 in Eugene in 2021], Sanya Richards-Ross [49.89 in Sacramento in 2004] and McLaughlin [50.07 in Gainesville in 2018].

It’s No. 1 on the world Under-20 list this year.

Her time would have placed her 5^th in the NCAA Championships in Eugene earlier this month.

South Jersey 11^th-grader girls have now won five national titles in the last two days – two by Dumas and one each by Lindenwold’s Egypt Bolan in the high jump, Pennsauken’s Sianni Wynn in the 100 and Delsea’s Hannah Nuhfer in the discus.

All-Time U.S. 400-Meter Run List
50.69 … Sanya Richards [St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.], 2002
50.74 … Monique Henderson [Morse, San Diego], 2000
50.87 … Denean Howard [Granada Hills, Calif.], 1982
50.90 … Sheila Ingram [Coolidge, Washington, D.C.], 1976
51.04 … Kadecia Baird [Medgar Evers Prep, Brooklyn], 2012
51.14 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], 2025
51.17 … Lauren Lewis [Prosper (Texas)], 2023
51.17 … Kayla Davis [William A. Hough, Cornelius, N.C.], 2019
51.21 … Alexis Holmes [Cheshire (Ct.) Academy], 2018
51.23 … Sydney Sutton [Bullis School, Potomac, Md.], 2025
51.39 … Lynna Irby [Pike, Indianapolis], 2016
51.44 … Tyra Cox [Northwestern, Miami], 2025
51.57 … Skyler Franklin [Monteverde (Fla.) Academy], 2024
51.57 … Jan’taijah Ford [Northeast, Oakland Park, Fla.], 2019
51.63 … Jessica Beard [Euclid, Ohio], 2007
51.09 … Sherri Howard [San Bernadino], 1979
51.45 … Ericka Harris [Gig Harbor, Wash.], 1981
51.63 … Jessica Beard [Euclid, Ohio], 2007
51.75 … Diane Dixon [Brooklyn], 1982
51.77 … Jameesia Ford [Jack Britt, Fayetteville, N.C.], 2023
51.87 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic, Scotch Plains], 2016
51.91 … Mabie Ferguson [Pomona, Calif.], 1972
51.92 … Arria Minor [East, Denver], 2018
51.94 … Jennie Gorham [Kansas City], 1979
51.95 … Elise Cooper [McDonough, Owings Mills, Md.], 2025
51.96 … Brandi Cross [Fort Bend, Texas], 2006
51.98 … Athing Mu [Trenton, N.J.], 2020
51.99 … Shae Anderson [Norco (Calilf.)], 2017

Winslow’s Jasmine Jackson smashed the South Jersey freshman class 100-meter hurdles record as well as the overall Camden County record with a 2^nd-place finish in the freshman race at West Philly Nationals.

Jackson ran a wind-legal 13.73 (0.8 tailwind) and took 2^nd to Nia Armstrong of Sickles High in Tampa, who won the race in 13.53.

The only faster freshman in state history is four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, who ran 13.34 at 2014 Greensboro Nationals.

Jackson broke her own South Jersey freshman record of 13.94 that she ran at the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month.

Her time is 3^rd-fastest in South Jersey history with legal wind and tied for 13^th in state history.

Jackson broke the Camden County record of 13.84 set by Camden’s Lenaami Morton when she won the 2017 Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington.

She’s South Jersey’s fastest hurdler with legal wind in 19 years, since future Olympic silver medalist Pleasantville’s Nia Ali ran 13.65 at 2006 Greensboro Nationals.

13.65 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
13.72 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], 1997
13.73 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp,], 2025
13.80 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
13.84 … Lenaami Morton [Camden], 2017
13.85 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], 1980
13.85 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], 1998
13.88 … Zonya Cross [Edgewood], 1983
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow], 2014
13.99 … Imani Gilliam [Pennsauken], 2004
13.99 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018

13.18 … Taylor Cox [Union Catholic], 2025
13.20 … Dawn Bowles (Neptune), 1985
13.34 … Sydney McLaughlin (Union Catholic), 2014
13.35 … Charmaine Walker (Plainfield), 1997
13.50 … Porscha Dobson (Kent Plaeace), 2003
13.60 … Sofia Swindell [Lawrenceville School], 2025
13.65 … Nia Ali (Pleasantville), 2006
13.67 … Patricia Dziekonska (West Windsor-Plains. North), 2014
13.67 … Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
13.69 … Grace O’Shea [Ramapo], 2019
13.71 … Lanyka Brown (Metuchen), 1996
13.72 … Nichole Hill (Oakcrest), 1997
13.73 … Kim Turko (North Edison), 1997
13.73 … Jasmine Jackson [Winslow Twp,], 2025
13.77 … Amber Williams (Roxbury), 2001
13.78 … Lakeema Lewis (Plainfield), 1998
13.82 … Trier Young (Neptune), 2005
13.84 … Lenaami Morton (Camden), 2017
13.85 … Carol Lewis (Willingboro), 1980
13.85 … Danielle Delgado (Franklin Twp.), 2013
13.85 … Sherese Price (Pleasantville), 1998
13.86 … Amaya Chadwick (Union Catholic), 2017
13.88 … Zonya Cross (Edgewood), 1983
13.88 … Amber Williams (Roxbury), 2001
13.89 … Dashona Ransome (Irvington), 2012
13.90 … Kim Henry (Old Bridge), 2003
13.91 … Kayann Richards (Columbia), 2010
13.91 … Samantha Jensen (Central Regional), 2012
13.91 … Ajanae Thompson [Union Catholic], 2022
13.95 … Selena Lewis (Elizabeth), 1998
13.95 … Morgan Harvey (North Hunterdon), 2013
13.96 … Ashley Adams (Plainfield), 2006
13.98 … Tramaine Shaw (Piscataway), 2004
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods (Winslow Twp.), 2014
13.99 … Imani Gilliam (Pennsauken), 2004
13.99 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp.], 2018

Willingboro senior Nester Wea, sophomore Maya Bolden, junior Kaila Speight and sophomore Jade Pinder advanced to the 400-Meter Relay final at West Philly Nationals Saturday at Franklin Field.

The Chimeras ran 46.87, not far off their 46.71 from the Meet of Champions, 10^th-fastest in state history and 3^rd-fastest in South Jersey history.

The 400-meter relay is only two rounds, so only the eight-fastest teams out of 70 entrants advanced.

Willingboro won the 8^th of nine semifinal races and finished with the 6^th-fastest qualifying time. The cutoff was 47.00. Willingboro is the only New Jersey school that advanced. Pennsauken, with juniors Sanaya Dupree, Olivia Dupree, sophomore Abigayle John and junior Sianni Wynn, who won the 100 on Friday, ran 47.28 and finished 11^th overall.

Rancocas Valley ran 48.61 with junior Angelina Brown, junior Rhyann Roseboro, senior Jordyn Hickson and junior Autumn Austin.

The final is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. on Sunday.

Burlington Township junior Solomon Wesley-Passewe, junior Gemaus Sackie, senior Yeator Tappia and junior Quayd Hendryx ran 41.36 and advanced to the 400-Meter Relay Championship final Sunday at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.

Only the eight-fastest of 94 teams that competed in 14 heats advanced to the final, but the Falcons won the 3^rd heat running unpressed and then hung on for 11 more races to watch their time hold up as a qualifier.

All teams running 41.48 or faster advanced. Township’s 41.36 was 6^th-fastest but only 13-100ths of a second out of the top three.

Township set a state record of 40.75 at the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month.

Bergen Catholic of Oradell also qualified for the final with the 2^nd-fastest overall qualifying time, a 40.92 in in the 4^th heat. That’s tied for 2^nd-fastest in state history with 2003 Winslow Township.

The final is scheduled for 1:28 p.m. Sunday

Lindenwold junior Egypt Bolan finished the greatest high jump season in South Jersey history Saturday with a South Jersey record, a national championship and an undefeated record against U.S. competition.

Bolan cleared 5-10 ¾ to win the high jump at West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field and break the South Jersey record of 5-10 ½ set by West Deptford’s Megan Kirschling at the 2012 Group Group 2 meet at South Plainfield.

Bolan joins Eastern’s Natalie Dumas, Delsea’s Hannah Nuhfer and Pennsauken’s Sianni Wynn as the 4^th South Jersey underclass girl to win a national title this week.

Bolan’s only loss this year came at the Penn Relays, also at Franklin Field, where she finished 3^rdbehind two Jamaican jumpers but PR’d at 5-8 ¾. She improved to 5-9 when she won the Meet of Champions at Pennsauken earlier this month.

On Saturday, Bolan cleared 5-3, 5-4 ½, 5-6, 5-7 ¼ and 5-8 ½ on her 1^st attempts, and she was the only jumper who was clean through 5-6 so she put the rest of the field on notice that she was the one to beat.

By the time she cleared a lifetime-best 5-9 ¾ – also on her 1^st attempt – there was only one other jumper left, sophomore Paige Fessler from Valley Stream North High in Hempstead, Nassau County, N.Y.  But although that 5-9 ¾ was a PR for her, she also had misses at four earlier heights, so she had to not just clear the same height as Bolan to beat her, she had to do it on fewer misses.

Bolan and Fessler were the only jumpers at 5-10 ¾, which Bolan cleared on her 2^nd attempt. Fessler, who just set her PR of 5-9 when she won the New York state title at Middletown High, missed all three attempts, and the national title belonged to Bolan.

Bolan took three tries at 5-11 ½ before the celebration began along the White Horse Pike.

The only New Jersey jumpers to go higher are Jenna Rogers of Ridgewood, who cleared 6-0 ¾ at 2017 Greensboro Nationals, and Randolph’s Tatiana Smolin, who cleared 5-11 in 1983 at the TAC Junior Championships at Penn State.

Bolan broke the Camden County record of 5-10 set by Tierra Hooker of Timber Creek several times in 2019 and 2020.

Five high jumpers from South Jersey have jumped higher: Priscilla Frederick of Paul VI cleared 6-3 in 2015 in Toronto; MaryBeth Labosky from Holy Cross cleared 6-1 ½ in 1992 in Lawrence, Kan.; Olympic hurdler Nia Ali cleared 6-1 ¼ during a heptathlon in Tucson in 2011; Willingboro’s Kenady Wilson cleared 6-0 ¾ in Greensboro, N.C., in 2022; and Sterling’s Jenovia Logan cleared 5-11 ¼ in Tampa in March.

Her jump makes her the No. 41 U.S. woman and No. 4 on the 2025 U.S. Under-20 performance list.

All-TIme New Jersey High Jump List
6-0 ¾ … Jenna Rogers [Ridgewood], 2017
5-11 ………. Tatiana Smolin [Randolph], 1983
5-10 ¾ … Egypt Bolan [Lindenwold], 2025
5-10 ½ ……. Megan Kirschling [West Deptford], 2012
5-10 ½ …… Deb Vento [Freehold Borough], 2003
5-10 ………. Tish Edwards [Mater Dei], 1982
5-10 ………. Shelley Mitchell [Lakewood], 1988
5-10 ………. Cheryl Burdick [Ramsey], 1998
5-10 ………. Maura Burk [Freehold Twp.], 2002
5-10 ………. Lisa Schenk [Jackson], 2002
5-10 ………. Maura Burk [Freehold Borough], 2003
5-10 ………. Fiona Paladino [Montgomery], 2010
5-10 ………. Adrianna Barrett [Montgomery], 2017
5-10 ………. Abrianna Barrett [Montgomery], 2017
5-10 ………. Tierra Hooker [Timber Creek], 2017
5-10 ………. Tiffany Bautista [Paramus Catholic], 2018

Some impressive results Friday from Glassboro’s terrific freshman class at West Philly Nationals.

Alexander Adeleye placed 2^nd in the freshman long jump with a lifetime wind-legal best of 22-6 ½ with a 1.6 tailwind. He also had legal jumps of 21-0, 20-11 ¾, 20-7 ¼ and 20-5 ¼ in an outstanding series.

Adeleye had a 22-9 ½ at the Meet of Champions, where he placed 6^th, but his previous-best legal jump was a 21-11 at the state Group 1 meet at Somerset.

That 22-6 ½ appears to be a South Jersey freshman record, although it’s possible someone could have jumped farther as a freshman in the 1970s or early 1980s. The best previous jump I have listed is 22-2 ¾ by Bordentown’s Matt Rose in 1982. Carl Lewis and Gerard Reynolds didn’t jump 22-6 as freshmen and if they didn’t I don’t know who could have.

Adeleye also PR’d in the 100 with an 11.27. His previous best was 11.33 at the South Jersey Invitational at Delsea.

Another Glassboro freshman, Mehki Parker, ran 56.33, not a PR but good enough for 2^ndplace in the freshman 400-meter hurdles. He finished less than half a second behind winner Chanon Palmer, who has apparently never competed for a high school but attends high school somewhere in Michigan. Parker’s 400IH PR is 55.47 from sectionals, fastest by a South Jersey freshman behind Alex Reber’s 54.38 for Cherry Hill East in 2010.

And another Glassboro 9^th-grader, Moses Robles, took 5^th in the freshman high jump at 6-2 ¼, a lifetime best. His previous PR was a 6-2 last month at the Tri-County Conference meet at Delsea.

He also placed 14^th in the long jump with a 20-5 with a legal 2.0 tailwind on his 1^st jump.

Adeleye, Parker and Robles are each the No. 1 freshman in New Jersey this year.

Parker is also the top high hurdler and triple jumper in New Jersey this year. He’ll compete in the freshman division of both Saturday. Robles is also in the triple jump, and Adeleye will run the freshman 200.

Largely on the strength of their tremendous freshman class, which also includes distance runner Joe Saicic, Glassboro won the South Jersey Group 1 title and placed 3rd at states.

It’ll be hard for South Jersey to top Friday’s spectacular performances, but there will be plenty of opportunities for South Jersey to flex its muscle on Day 3 of West Philly Nationals at Franklin Field.

Here’s the complete set of heat sheets for Saturday. Click here to check out the *.pdf!