From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Pennsville graduate Megan SaxvanderWeyden is off to a great start to her junior year at Baylor, with the three biggest meets of her career to open the outdoor season.

SaxvanderWeyden opened at the TCU Invitational in Forth Worth with a personal-best 158-7 and then followed that with a 152-10 at the Roadrunner Invitational in San Antonio and then this weekend threw 154-4 at the Texas Relays in Austin.

Coming into the season, SaxvanderWeyden’s PR was a 152-2 from last year’s Michael Johnson Invitational on her home track at Baylor in Waco, Texas.

So she has already surpassed her lifetime PR in all three meets this spring!

SaxvanderWeyden ranks 29th in NCAA Division 1, according to the Direct Athletics database, and 30th among all U.S. women, according to the IAAF database.

At Pennsville, SaxvanderWeyden had a PR of 138-4 from the 2015 Woodbury Relays and threw one inch short of that to win the Meet of Champions.

She has improved every year since her freshman year at Pennsville:

9th – 100-0

10th – 118-1

11th – 134-0

12th – 138-4

Fr – 145-1

So – 152-2

Jr. – 158-7

 

Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard broke her own Oklahoma school discus record Saturday with a 190-9 at the Home Depot Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus in Austin.

Woodard’s throw is No. 46 in the world this year and No. 6 among collegians. Her previous PR was 187-5 last weekend in San Diego. Coming into the year her PR was 185-9 at NCAA West Regionals last spring in Austin. Her mark is No. 3 among American women, according to the IAAF data base.

Woodard began her series with a 171-9 throw followed by a 179-9 before her first career 190-foot attempt. She finished with a foul, a 178-9 and a 172-10.

Woodard also won the shot put with a 56-6 1/2. She ranks No. 2 among collegians with her 57-9 from a meet last weekend in San Diego. Her PR is 60-2 3/4 from the Big 12 outdoor championships last year.

Woodard, a Marlton native and former Cherokee High School athlete, is a five-time All-America in the shot put but has never earned All-America status in the discus. Yet.

Pennsauken High graduate Antwan Dickerson, a senior at Houston, opened the season with a wind-aided 25-5 1/4 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. That’s No. 14 in NCAA Division 1 in the early going.

Dickerson’s wind-legal PR is a 24-7 3/4 indoors at the Charlie Thomas Invitational last month, and his outdoor wind-legal PR is a 24-6 1/2 back in 2014 as a freshman at the J. Fred Duckett Twilight Invitational at Rice University in Houston. He also had a wind-aided 25-9 1/2 last spring (2.9 meters per second).

Dickerson hit the 25-5 1/4 on his first jump Saturday with a wind of 2.4 meters per second. Anything over 2.0 meters per second is considered wind-aided.

He followed with a 24-7 3/4 (aided by a 3.0 mps wind) and then fouled three times before finishing with a 25-0 aided by a 3.2 mps wind. His only jump with a legal wind was his fifth, his final foul, which had a reading of 0.8 when he took off.

Dickerson had a PR of 23-6 at Pennsauken, ironically achieved at the 2013 Carl Lewis Invitational. Lewis is the school record holder in the long jump at Houston. His indoor PR was 22-11 1/2 at 2013 Easterns.

Dickerson was a state champ and Meet of Champions runner-up in the high jump at Pennsauken and a Meet of Champions and Easterns long jump champ indoors. He also won two sectional titles in the triple jump and a conference title in the high hurdles.

Nick Mirabelli opened his senior year at Rancocas Valley by booming the No. 4 javelin throw in state history Saturday, a 220-10 at the Rebel Relays at Howell High School.

Mirabelli surpassed his personal best of 213-5 from last year’s Burlington County Open and also surpassed older brother Chris’s high school PR of 216-6, set at the 2014 South Jersey Invitational. Chris Mirabelli is now a senior at Rutgers.

Nick Mirabelli opened with a 191-11 throw and then fouled before the huge PR on his third and final attempt.

The only South Jersey throwers ranked ahead of Mirabelli on the all-time list are state record holder Curtis Thompson of Florence, who threw 224-10 at the 2014 Meet of Champions, and Cade Antonucci of Holy Spirit, who threw 220-11 at last year’s Meet of Champions. Thompson is now an NCAA champion at Mississippi State, and Antonucci is a freshman at Auburn.

Mirabelli’s throw on Saturday also moved the Mirabelli brothers ahead of the Zuidema brothers of Midland Park for the New Jersey sibling lead.

Kaleb Zuidema threw 224-1 in 2010 and Seth Zuidema 207-7 in 2014 for a family total of 431-8.

Before Saturday, the Mirabelli brothers had combined for 429-11, but Nick’s PR now gives them a combined total of 437-4.

Mirabelli’s 220-10 is the No. 2 throw nationally in the very early going, according to the MileSplit USA data base, behind a 234-11 thrown this weekend by Tzuriel Pedigo of Parkview Baptist of Baton Rouge, La., at the Texas Relays.

Here’s the all-time state list with the current javelin implement, which went into use in 2002:

224-10 … Curtis Thompson [Florence], 2014

224- 1 … Kaleb Zuidema [Midland Park], 2010

220-11 … Cade Antonucci [Holy Spirit], 2017

220-10 … Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley], 2017

217- 9 … Dean Sullivan [Delbarton], 2011

216- 6 … Chris Mirabelli [Holy Cross], 2014

212-2 … Alexander Georgiou [Timber Creek], 2017

209-11 … Stephen Burk [Parsippany], 2012

209- 5 … Kevin Steimle [Mahwah], 2009

209-4 … Steven Jernee [Ocean City], 2017

209- 0 … Josh Suttmeier [North Hunterdon], 2010

208-11 … Kevin Seery [Hanover Park], 2011

207- 7 … Seth Zuidema [Midland Park], 2014

206- 1 … Mike Brazil [North Arlington], 2014

205-11 … Robert Scales [Middletown South], 2002

204- 3 … Marion Easley [Somerville], 2005

203- 7 … James Malizia [St. Joe’s-Montvale], 2002

203- 6 … Stephen Benigno [Cherry Hill East], 2014

202-10 … Chandler Balter [Livingston], 2014

202- 9 … Brian Florek [Old Bridge], 2007

202- 6 … Jim Tully [Christian Brothers Academy], 2010

202- 0 … Steven Pierce [Ridgewood], 2006

201- 8 … Dajon Chappell [Morris Hills], 2017

201- 5 … Zachary Torrell [Lacey Twp.], 2011

201- 4 … Will Gonzalez [Cedar Grove], 2010

201- 0 … Sean Biehn [Burlington City], 2006

200- 3 … Cody Unger [Jefferson Twp.], 2008

Penn sophomore Julianna Catania from Egg Harbor Township High ran a 3,000-meter PR in her first race of the spring, placing third at the Penn Challenge at Franklin Field in 9:57.22.

Catania finished only four seconds behind winner Katie Wasserman, a Columbia sophomore, who ran 9:53.18.

Catania’s previous college 3,000 PR was an 10:11.39 at the Villanova Invitational at the Ocean Breeze track in Staten Island in February. In high school, she ran 10:03.60 on the same track at the Penn Relays.

A 9:57 converts to roughly a 10:41 for the high school distance of 3,200 meters, and that would also be a PR for Catania by about four seconds.

Catania’s main event is the 3,000 steeplechase, and she ranks sixth in Penn history in the event with a 10:54.51 at Penn last year.

 

Auburn freshman Cade Antonucci opened his collegiate career at Auburn with a near-PR 218-8 throw in the javelin this weekend at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee.

Antonucci had one superior meet in high school, when he threw 220-11 to win his second consecutive Meet of Champions title last spring at Northern Burlington Regional High School in Mansfield Township.

Antonucci’s throw is No. 3 in NCAA Division 1 among freshmen so far this year according to the Direct Athletics database.

At the FSU Relays, Antonucci placed second to Thomas Peters of Southern Mississippi, who won with a 222-3 throw.

Antonucci, a Mays Landing native, also had a 214-4 throw that also would have been good enough for second place.

 

Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard, who finished the indoor season winning All-America honors in the shot put for the fifth time, opened her 2018 outdoor season by throwing 187-5 in the discus, an Oklahoma school record.

Woodard placed second Aztec Invitational at the Aztrack Sports Deck on the San Diego State campus.

She broke the Sooners school record of 186-1 set in 2010 by Brittany Borman at the North Texas Classic in Denton, Texas.

Although Woodard was a Meet of Champions winner in both the shot and discus while at Cherokee, she’s enjoyed more success in the shot put in college. However, the 187-5 now puts her among the elite in NCAA Division 1 in a second event.

Her previous discus PR was a 185-9 last spring at the NCAA Western Regionals in Austin.

On Saturday, she finished one inch behind Tarasue Barnett of Grand Canyon University of Phoenix, who threw 187-6.

Woodard fouled on her first two attempts before hitting the PR on her third. She threw 175-10 and 168-10 on her only other two legal throws.

Woodard has a shot put PR of 60-2 3/4 from the Big 12 outdoor championships last year. She followed her discus performance with a 57-7 to win the shot put.

“Obviously a school record mark with Jess Woodard in the women’s discus is a great thing,” Oklahoma coach Jim VanHootegem said.

“When you think of OU track and field, it’s pretty special to throw the farthest anyone has ever thrown. I might’ve been more impressed with her efforts to come back and win the shot put. I think she was pretty tired and struggling but she found a way in the end. That’s what leaders do and good athletes do.”

Woodard actually now ranks No. 1 in NCAA Division 1 in the shot put and No. 4 in the discus two weeks into the outdoor season.

The third-place finisher in the discus was UCLA freshman Alyssa Wilson, who threw 176-10. Wilson set the national high school shot put record of 57-1 1/4 last spring for Donovan Catholic of Toms River at the Ocean County championships in Jackson, then broke that record by throwing 58-1 at the  Pan Am Juniors in Trujillo, Peru.

Wilson didn’t throw the shot Saturday, although she did place second in the hammer at 198-9. She was the U.S. junior national champion in the hammer last year.

Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard, who finished the indoor season winning All-America honors in the shot put for the fifth time, opened her 2018 outdoor season by throwing 187-5 in the discus, an Oklahoma school record.

Woodard placed second Aztec Invitational at the Aztrack Sports Deck on the San Diego State campus.

She broke the Sooners school record of 186-1 set in 2010 by Brittany Borman at the North Texas Classic in Denton, Texas.

Although Woodard was a Meet of Champions winner in both the shot and discus while at Cherokee, she’s enjoyed more success in the shot put in college. However, the 187-5 now puts her among the elite in NCAA Division 1 in a second event.

Her previous discus PR was a 185-9 last spring at the NCAA Western Regionals in Austin.

On Saturday, she finished one inch behind Tarasue Barnett of Grand Canyon University of Phoenix, who threw 187-6.

Woodard fouled on her first two attempts before hitting the PR on her third. She threw 175-10 and 168-10 on her only other two legal throws.

Woodard has a shot put PR of 60-2 3/4 from the Big 12 outdoor championships last year. She followed her discus performance with a 57-7 to win the shot put.

“Obviously a school record mark with Jess Woodard in the women’s discus is a great thing,” Oklahoma coach Jim VanHootegem said.

“When you think of OU track and field, it’s pretty special to throw the farthest anyone has ever thrown. I might’ve been more impressed with her efforts to come back and win the shot put. I think she was pretty tired and struggling but she found a way in the end. That’s what leaders do and good athletes do.”

Woodard actually now ranks No. 1 in NCAA Division 1 in the shot put and No. 4 in the discus two weeks into the outdoor season.

The third-place finisher in the discus was UCLA freshman Alyssa Wilson, who threw 176-10. Wilson set the national high school shot put record of 57-1 1/4 last spring for Donovan Catholic of Toms River at the Ocean County championships in Jackson, then broke that record by throwing 58-1 at the  Pan Am Juniors in Trujillo, Peru.

Wilson didn’t throw the shot Saturday, although she did place second in the hammer at 198-9. She was the U.S. junior national champion in the hammer last year.

Austin Horner, an East Stroudsburg sophomore out of New Egypt High, soared 23-0 3/4 in his season-opening meet this weekend.

Horner placed sixth in the long jump at the 49er Classic at the Irwin Belk Track and Field Center on the campus of UNC-Charlotte.

Horner surpassed 22 feet on all five of his legal jumps. After opening with a foul, he followed with jumps of 22-6 1/4, 23-0 3/4, 22-7, 22-10 and 22-1 1/2.

At New Egypt, Horner was a Burlington County Scholastic League Freedom Division long jump champ in 2014 and 2015 with a scholastic best of 21-9 1/2, when he was sixth at the state Group 1 meet in 2016 at Egg Harbor.

This was only Horner’s second career meet over 23 feet. He jumped 23-2 last spring to place third at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships at his home track in East Stroudsburg.

Horner is the East Stroudsburg school record holder in the heptathlon with 4,926 points from his second-place finish at the PSAC indoor championships last month in Edinboro, Pa.

Technically, New Egypt isn’t in South Jersey so officially it’s outside the domain of this blog. However, New Egypt does compete in the Burlington County Scholastic League, and the high school sits about 500 feet east of the Crosswicks Creek, which forms the border between North Hanover Township in Burlington County and Plumsted Township in Ocean County.

So we’ll count it.

Millville’s Raffael Craig ran 8.57 seconds to win the 60-meter high hurdles in the 35-39 age group Saturday at the 2018 USATF National Masters Indoor Championships at the Prince George’s Sportplex in Landover, Md.

Craig, who grew up in Woodbine and now teaches social studies and coaches track at Millville, was second to teammate Robert Jordan in the 1999 Meet of Champions high jump as a Millville senior with a 7-0 clearance. Jordan cleared 7-2 in the 1-2 Millville finish.

The multi-talented Craig was also fifth in the high hurdles in 14.35 and sixth in the discus in that meet.

At U. Conn, he was 2000 Big East champ in the pentathlon.

Craig is scheduled to compete in the high jump on Sunday.