From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

It’s not the first time track officials have miscounted laps in a 3,200, and it won’t be the last. Seems to happen every year in some meet.

Unfortunately, the latest instance of officials miscounting laps came at a huge moment in the South Jersey Group 2 girls sectionals at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Seneca girls finished third and fifth in the 3,200 at sectionals, but because the lead pack was stopped by finish-line officials after 15 laps instead of 16, the results were nullified and a re-race was scheduled for three days later on the same track.

All nine finishers were invited back, with a team title was at stake.

With the nine other events in the books, Seneca led Delsea 56-54, with Haddonfield within range at 45. Haddonfield and Seneca each had three girls entered in the 3,200 and Delsea one, with the other two entries coming from Sterling (including top-seeded Madison Coppolino).

Coppolino won the re-run in 11:35.38, and Haddonfield runners Payton Weiner, Izzy Miller and Lilly Server went 2-3-6, and the 15 points gave Delsea 60 for the meet. Delsea’s runner didn’t place in the top six so the Crusaders finished with 54 points. Seneca’s Emma Klouchek and Carley Tool ran fourth and fifth for six points, giving Seneca 62 and a two-point win over Haddonfield at 62-60 that was four days in the making.

The sectional title was Seneca’s fourth indoors, following Group 3 championships in 2009 and 2010 and Group 2 in 2015. Only Haddonfield (seven), Delsea (seven) and Winslow Township (five) have won more among South Jersey schools. Seneca has also won two sectional titles outdoors, Group 3 in 2009 and 2010.

In the 3,200 re-run, Weiner ran 11:41, Miller 11:42, Klouchek 11:58, Tool 12:05 and Sirover 12:08. Coppolino won in 11:35.

Seneca scored 16 big points in the 800, with seniors Grayce Heinemann winning in 2:21.53, Sydny Warner (2:26.16) and Kayla Hay (2:26.45) placing first, fourth and fifth. Warner and Klouchek also ran 1-4 in the 1,600, with Warner clocking 5:16.

That’s a total of 36 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Seneca also got big points from Heinemann in the 400 (third in 61.34), senior Susann Foley, who won the high jump at 5-0, and the 1,600-meter relay team of Hay, Warner, junior Madison Melvin and Heinemann, who ran  a season-best 4:09.22.

Junior Samantha Hamrick won the 800 with a personal-best time and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay team and the Collingswood girls won the first sectional championship in school history Sunday.

Collingswood outscored Audubon, 71-60, to win the South Jersey Group 1 title at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

Collingswood had never won a sectional track title indoors or outdoors.

Hamrick won the 800 [2:29.77], sophomore Emily Wallace placed second in the 400 [1:00.32], freshman Sophie Steidle placed second in the 3,200 [12:33.98], junior Quinn Basewitz ran second in the 1,600 [5:49.68] and senior Precious Ayeni was third in the shot put [35-5 1/2].

In the relay, junior Dash Cruz, senior Taylor Perkowski, Wallace and Hamrick ran 4:19.42 for the win.

 

Northern Arizona freshman Jack Shea, a Cherokee graduate, ran a huge 5,000-meter PR Friday, clocking 14:14.33 at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.

That’s a 72-second PR for Shea, whose previous 5,000 PR was 15:26.77, which he ran when he placed second at the 2015 Olympic Conference championships at Gloucester County College, when he placed second to Cherry Hill East’s Aaron Groff [15:13.29].

Shea’s time is No. 5 in NCAA Division among freshmen, although he’s No. 1 among true freshmen (non-red shirts).

The race was run on an over-sized 300-meter track, so the 5,000 is 16 2/3 laps. Shea ran 34.72 for his first 200, then had 300-meter splits of 52.9, 52.2, 51.0, 51.8, 50.7, 52.0, 51.9, 52.1, 52.8, 53.6, 51.3, 50.6, 48.8 and 45.9. So his final 800 was about 2:08.

Shea’s time breaks the Cherokee alumni record of 14:17.77 set by Keith Krieger.

There are no horizontal jumps in the NJSIAA’s indoor state meets, so Delsea senior Khaliel Burnett focused on the Varsity Classic at the Armory, where he won the long jump and triple jump with indoor personal bests in both events. One day later, his teammates won the South Jersey Group 2 title.

Burnett jumped 22-2 1/2 to win the long jump and 47-10 to win the triple jump. Both are the No. 1 marks in South Jersey this winter, and the triple jump is No. 1 in the state and No. 12 nationally, according to the Milesplit database.

Burnett’s outdoor PRs are 22-4 1/2 in the long jump, from when he won Group 3 sectionals as a sophomore, and 48-9 1/2 in the triple from last spring, when he won the Meet of Champions.

Burnett broke the Gloucester County indoor triple jump record of 47-1 that he set in December at the Len Pietrewicz Invitational at the Armory.

Even without Burnett scoring, Delsea one day earlier easily won the South Jersey Group 2 title, 89-59, over Deptford at the Bennett Center.

Senior Michael Szwed set indoor PRs of 51.09 and 1:59.73 in sweeping the 400 and 800, seniors Bill Goldsborough [56-11] and Will Sneathen [50-0] went 1-2 in the shot put, sophomore Nico Morales cleared 13-6 to win the pole vault and junior Colin Kane took second in 1,600 [4:28.24] and fifth in the 3,200 [9:49.67].

Also for the Crusaders, senior Tymir Kizee ran third in the high hurdles [7.79] and senior Keon Grady, who like Burnett is a 22-foot long jumper, placed second in the high jump [6-0].

The team title was Delsea’s fifth in the 11-year history of indoor sectionals but first since 2012.

Cinnaminson senior Kamron Kobolak became the fifth South Jersey thrower to reach 60 feet in the shot put indoors Monday night when he bombed a 61-3 at the Cherokee Throwdown No. 3 meet in Marlton.

Kobolak threw 61-3 in the prelims and 59-11 in the final. His previous indoor PR was a 58-9 in one of the South Jersey Track Coaches Association meets at the Bennett Center in Toms River in January. His outdoor PR is 58-1 to win the state Group 2 meet last spring.

Kobolak’s throw is No. 5 in South Jersey history indoors and No. 12 on the all-time South Jersey list indoors or out. It’s No. 2 in the state this year, behind Gill St. Bernard senior C.J. Licata, who threw 64-5 1/2 at the Armory last month, and No. 11 nationally.

It’s also a Burlington County record, breaking the 14-year-old 60-0 1/2 set by Ell Ash of Willingboro in 2004.

Here’s my best attempt at a couple all-time South Jersey shot put lists. The first list is the all-time South Jersey indoor 60-foot list and the second is the all-time South Jersey combined list, including the best marks by each thrower indoors or out.

As always, if you find a mark missing or incorrect, please let me know in the comments section. Include all known details – mark, date, name of meet – and I will correct it and update my all-time lists. Thank you!

All-Time South Jersey Indoor 60-Foot List

70-8 … Braheme Days Jr., Bridgeton [2012]
63-11 … Ray Wilks, Bridgeton [1995]
63-1 3/4 … Nick Pulli, West Deptford [2014]
61-9 … Lou Gordon, Bridgeton [1995]
61-3 … Kamron Kobolak, Cinnaminson [2018]
60-3 … Harry Dilts, Pitman [1971]
60-0 1/2 … Ell Ash, Willingboro [2004]

All-Time South Jersey Combined 60-Foot List

70-8 … Braheme Days Jr., Bridgeton [2012] [i]
64-10 1/2 … Jon Kalnas, Paulsboro [1997] [o]
64-6 1/4 … Ron Dayne, Overbook [1996] [o]
64-5 … Ray Wilks, Bridgeton [1995] [o]
64-4 1/4 … Chris Robinson, Penns Grove [1990] [o]
63-1 3/4 … Nick Pulli, West Deptford [2014] [i]
63-0 … Lou Gordon, Bridgeton [1995] [o]
61-10 1/2 … Harry Dilts Pitman [1971] [o]
61-6 … Josh Awotunde, Delsea [2013] [o]
61-4 1/2 … Bubba Green, Millville [1976] [o]
61-4 … Kofi Yamoah, Egg Harbor Twp. [2013] [o]
61-3 … Kamron Kobolak, Cinsaminson [2018] [i]
61-2 1/4 … Matthew Huckabee, Timber Creek [2010] [o]
60-3 … Donate Rivera, Pleasantville [2012] [o]
60-0 1/2 … Ell Ash, Willingboro [2004] [i]

Seneca graduate Brittney Raffo won the pole vault this weekend at the Metropolitan Track Championships at the Ocean Breeze complex on Staten Island.

Raffo, a freshman at Columbia, cleared 11 feet on her second attempt to break a tie with Elaina DiSalvo of Southern Connecticut State, who was the only other vaulter to clear 10-6. Raffo passed until 10-6. She and DiSalvo had both cleared 10-6 on their third attempt.

Raffo, a native of Tabernacle, had an indoor best of 11-6 at Seneca  and an outdoor best of 12-0, which won the 2016 Meet of Champions at Central Regional in Bayville.

She cleared a college-PR 11-6 last month in another meet at Ocean Breeze. That’s the No. 6 indoor mark in Columbia indoor track history.

With an all-underclass quartet, Deptford became the first South Jersey school to break 1:30 in the 800-meter relay this season racing at the Ocean Breeze Invitational on Staten Island.

Deptford ran 1:29.92 in the prelims of the 4-by-2 and didn’t run in the final. It’s the No. 2 time in New Jersey this year, behind only East Orange’s 1:28.76 at the AT&T Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational at the Armory back in December.

Oddly, Deptford ran the exact same time on the exact same track in the exact same meet last year before a 1:30.21 to win the final.

That was a Gloucester County record when Deptford ran it last year, so the Spartans just tied their own county record.

Sophomore Khi’on Smith and juniors Tyriq Bundy and Javon Sanders and Tyrece Brown ran for Deptford.

Here’s the updated all-time South Jersey indoor 800-meter relay list:

1:26.90 … Camden, 2004
1:27.60 … Vineland, 2004
1:28.0h … Edgewood, 2001
1:28.45 … Camden, 2002
1:28.46 … Lenape, 2000
1:28.48 … Camden, 2007
1:28.91 … Camden, 2000
1:29.06 … Oakcrest, 2012
1:29.17 … Camden, 2001
1:29.29 … Rancocas Valley, 2017
1:29.52 … Vineland, 2003
1:29.57 … Camden, 1997
1:29.61 … Camden, 1999
1:29.72 … Timber Creek, 2013
1:29.74 … Pennsauken, 2016
1:29.87 … Timber Creek, 2016
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2017
1:29.92 … Deptford, 2018
1:29.97 … Pleasantville, 2008

Interesting that from 2005 through 2015, the only sub-1:30 times by South Jersey quartets were turned in by Camden in 2007, Pleasantville in 2008 and Timber Creek in 2013. But over the last three seasons, there have been six such performances by five different schools.

There are PRs and then there are PRs.

Cherokee sophomore Ethan Wechsler demolished his two-mile PR this weekend, running 9:39.60 for the full two miles at the Ocean Breeze High School Invitational on Staten Island.

That’s the equivalent of a 9:36.24 for 3,200 meters.

Wechsler had never run an indoor 3,200, and his outdoor PR is 10:50.74 from one of the Holmdel Twilight Series meets last spring. His fastest actual 3,200 before this weekend came at the Cherokee Challenge, where he ran 10:34.14 to place 19th in the sophomore race on his home XC course.

Wechsler placed fourth in the two-mile “white” race Saturday, finishing six seconds behind winner Noah Farrelly of Binghamton High in upstate New York.

There are three South Jersey runners under 9:40 so far this winter for either the 3,200 or the equivalent and all three are from Cherokee. Senior Justin Kelly has a 9:39.76 and sophomore Chris Spisak ran 9:39.90, both for 3,200 meters. So if you include converted two-mile times, Wechsler is at the top of that list. Wechsler and Spisak are also No. 1 and No. 4 among all New Jersey sophomores so far this year.

Wechsler’s time is fastest by a South Jersey sophomore indoors since Aaron Groff of Cherry Hill East ran 9:34.66 in 2014.

Delsea graduate Josh Awotunde set an indoor shot put PR and moved into the No. 2 spot in South Carolina history Saturday with a 65-0 3/4 bomb at the Columbia Challenge at the historic 168th Street Armory.

It’s the longest throw by a South Carolina athlete in 20 years!

Awotunde, a senior, had a 61-11 on his third throw but then a 55-2 1/4 and a foul before popping the 65-0 3/4 on his final attempt of the meet to PR and move pass Ohio State’s Nicholas Demaline, who had thrown 62-5 1/4 on his final throw.

Awotunde’s previous indoor PR was a 64-6 when he finished fifth at NCAA’s last year at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. His overall college PR is a 65-6 at last year’s Penn Relays at Franklin Field in West Philly. He also PR’d in the discus at Penn last year with a 191-11.

Awotunde’s throw is tied for No. 3 in the country this yea, behind only freshman Jordan Geist of Arizona [70-4 1/2 this weekend at a meet in Seattle] and Georgia junior Denzel Comenentia [65-11 at a meet last weekend at Clemson].

Awotunde was already No. 2 in school history but moved closer to school record holder Brad Snyder, a three-time Canadian Olympian who threw 66-8 back in 1998.

Junior Jayaire King anchored two second-place relay teams and a third-place team and also ran on the winning shuttle hurdles team, and the Willingboro boys won their second straight state Group 1 relays title Saturday at the Bennett Center in Toms River.

The team title is Willingboro’s 16th at the state relays and fourth in the last seven years. Overall, the Willingboro boys have won 40 state titles indoors and outdoors. Including 19 girls titles, the program has produced 59 state titles. The full chart is below.

In the 800-meter relay, Willingboro ran 1:33.95 with the team of seniors Onaje Howell and Albert Nah and juniors Elijah Valme and King. In the 4-by-4, sophomore Reginald Jones and junior Cristian Coto set up Howell and King, who ran 3:36.12. And in the shuttles, Willingboro ran 32.30 with the team of senior Rayshawn Johnson, King and seniors Zane Hamilton and Donovan Ingram.

This is the fourth straight year Willingboro has won the shuttle hurdles at the state relays. They won in Group 1 in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and in Group 2 in 2016. In 2014 they were third in Group 2.

The Boro took third in the sprint medley in 3:49.26, with seniors Jeremy Thomas and Christian Cisse running the 200s, Valme the 400 and King the 800.

Willingboro also won the high jump relay with sophomores Kameron Smith, who cleared 6-2, and Zaire Clement, who cleared 6-0 combining for a 12-2 clearance.

The Chimeras scored in all three field events. Seniors Isaiah Gibson (42-2 1/4) and Magdiel Cordero (38-7 1/2) teamed up to take fifth in the shot put relay, and sophomores Dontavis Wilson (10-6) and Jason Dingle (9-6) took sixth in the pole vault relay.

Willingboro outscored second-place Glen Rock 48-31,

Here’s a look at all of Willingboro’s state titles over the years!

BOYS
State Relays (16)
1982 [Group 4]
1983 [Group 4]
1985 [Group 3]
1986 [Group 3]
1987 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1996 [Group 4]
2000 [Group 3]
2001 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2005 [Group 3]
2012 [Group 3]
2015 [Group 1]
2017 [Group 1]
2018 [Group 1]

Indoor States (12)
1983 [Group 4]
1986 [Group 3]
1987 [Group 3]
1988 [Group 3]
1989 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1995 [Group 4]
1997 [Group 4]
2000 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2012 [Group 2]

Outdoor States (12)
1979 [Group 4]
1981 [Group 4]
1982 [Group 4]
1986 [Group 3]
1988 [Group 3]
1989 [Group 3]
1990 [Group 4]
1991 [Group 4]
1993 [Group 4]
1994 [Group 4]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]

GIRLS
State Relays (9)
1992 [Group 4]
1993 [Group 4]
1995 [Group 4]
1997 [Group 4]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2004 [Group 3]
2005 [Group 3]
2010 [Group 2]

Indoor States (6)
1980 [All-Groups]
1981 [Group 4]
1998 [Goup 3]
2002 [Group 3]
2003 [Group 3]
2004 [Group 3]

Outdoor States (4)
1980 [Group 4]
1981 [Group 4]
1999 [Group 3]
2002 [Group 3]