From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Chase Tolliver chased teammate David Benjamin to the finish line in the 110-meter hurdles final at the New Jersey Athletic Conference meet Sunday, and although he didn’t quite catch him, he ran a PR and teamed up with Benjamin on a 1-2 finish.

Benjamin, a graduate of Freehold Township, won the race in 14.40, but Tolliver was right there, running a personal-best 14.54 with a legal wind of 1.9 meters per second. Rowan freshman Jason Stefanski, the state Group 1 400 intermediates champ last year at Penns Grove, was fourth, giving Rowan 23 points in the one event on their way to their third straight title and 26th overall.

Tolliver, who ran high school track at Oakcrest, broke his PR of 14.65 set in the trials on Saturday. Before this weekend, his PR over the 42-inch barriers was 14.69 in the prelims of last years ECAC Division 3 championships in Westfield, Mass.

Benjamin is ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division 3 at 14.22 from a meet in March. Tolliver’s race earned him a No. 11 national ranking. Stefanski’s 14.88 made him the No. 4 freshman in Division 3.

Tolliver was second in the 55-meter highs at the 2013 indoor Meet of Champions and third in the 110 highs at the outdoor Meet of Champs for Oakcrest.

Shawnee graduate Connor Herr placed 29th overall Sunday in the Broad Street Run in 53:53, an average of 5:21 per mile for the 10-mile race down Broad Street in Philadelphia.

Herr, who ran collegiately at Cornell before a post-grad cross country season at Michigan, finished 16th among Americans and seventh in the 21-24 age group, where he was fourth among Americans.

Herr, an 8:53 steeplechaser in college, came through three miles in 14:43, five miles in 25:30 and seven miles in 36:43.

Another runner with Shawnee connections, former Shawnee runner and Shawnee coach Dana Palumbo, ran 1:05.02, placing 16th in the women’s 30-34 age division. That’s her fastest time ever in three tries at Broad Street.

One-time Lenape runner Brad Bisinger, who ran on Lenape’s Millrose-champion 4-by-4 team and was also a two-time Burlington County XC champ and a Northeast Conference XC champ at Monmouth, placed sixth in the men’s 35-39 age group in 57:20.

Bisinger, who had not run a race of any distance in seven years, placed 101st overall.

Former West Deptford High star Meghan McGlinchey was sixth in the 25-29 group in 59:39 and was the top overall South Jersey woman, placing 13th overall among all women.

Washington Township High School junior Sean Smithson placed fourth in the 16-and-under division in 1:02.29. One-time Woodbury High standout Geoffrey Shute ran 56:15 for fourth in the 40-44 age group. Joe Hegge of Delanco took seventh in the 45-49 division in 59:08.

The men’s 55-59 age group was loaded with South Jersey runners, with Jim Sery of Clarksboro, K.J, Laidig of Haddonfield and Mickey Rosati of Haddon Heights placing third through fifth in 1:03.15, 1:03.42 and 1:04.15.

Tom Fisher of Pennsauken ran 1:06.47 at 64 years old, second to Robert Reynolds of Flourtown in the 60-64 division. Seth Bergman of Glassboro placed fifth in the 65-69 division in 1:16.04.

Lou Dwyer of Cape May ran 1:25.57 at 73 years old, good for sixth in the 70-74 age group. Mike Salay of Mansfield Township won the 75-79 age group with a remarkable time of 1:31.03, more than two minutes ahead of second-place Jerry Gornish of Bala Cynwyd.

Other women’s results: Christina Fath of Sewell and Washington Township ran 1:11.53 for seventh in the 17-20 age group. Emelia Perry of Cherry Hill was ninth in the 21-24 division in 1:06.17. In 35-39 women, Rosemary Selby of Haddon Township and Shannon Oberg of Woodlynne placed seventh and eighth in 1:07.03 and 1:07.04, both in the top 100 women overall.

Sylvia Smith of Haddon Township took seventh in the 50-54 women’s age division in 1:15.21. Patricia Jordan of Longport was fifth in 55-59 in 1:13.03. In the 60-64 age group, Linda Lehn of Ocean City ran fifth in 1:20.13. Jean Smith of Vineland and Nancy Horrigan of Ocean City both placed in the 65-69 division, Smith fifth in 1:32.55 and Horrigan 10th in 1:39.40. Joy Hampton of Clarksburg placed second in 70-74 in 1:31.29, and Lorraine Cephus of Cherry Hill — 87 years old — finished third in the 80-and-over group in 3:27.15.

Other South Jersey men in the overall top 100: David Armento (Medford, 56:46, 86th), Adin Mickle (Somerdale, 56:48, 88th) and Miles Devine (Haddonfield, 56:50, 90th).

Other South Jersey women in the women’s top 100: Meghan Coyle (Bellmawr, 1:05.49, 59th), Noelle Bisinger (Audubon, 1:06.50, 82nd), Jill Pomykacz (Laurel Springs, 1:06.59, 89th)

Shai Mumford won a conference title in the 200-meter dash Sunday and destroyed his PR along the way.

Mumford, a Rowan University junior, won his second consecutive NJAC 200 title Sunday, and he did it in style, running 21.42 – a half-second PR!

Mumford, a graduate of West Deptford, had run 21.92 twice twice, both times last month — at a meet in Glassboro and a meet in Baltimore.

Mumford also anchored Rowan’s winning 400-meter relay team, which ran 41.68, and placed third in the 100 in 10.97 as part of a 1-2-3 Rowan sweep with Dior Hightower (10.82) and Julian Pratt (10.91).

In the 200, Mumford and Steven Jones went 1-2, with Jones also PRing with a 21.65. His previous PR was 22.18.

School record of 21.18 was set in the prelims of the 2012 NCAA Division 3 meet by Ali Ejaz, a Glassboro High graduate.

The times were aided by a 2.5-meters-per-second wind.

Mumford, a multiple sectional winner and Meet of Champions runner-up at 55 meters at West Deptford High (and also a 46-foot shot putter!!!), earned All-America status last year as part of Rowan’s fourth-place 400-meter relay team,

Rowan nearly tripled second-place Ramapo, finishing with a 332-118 edge in team scoring on its home track in Glassboro.

 

Oakcrest sophomore Brielle Smith bombed her way into the all-time South Jersey top 10 in the javelin Saturday night with a 145-foot heave at the Rowan Invitational.

Smith’s previous PR was a 135-1 when she won the state Group 2 meet last year. Her best throw this year had been a 134-6 at the Woodbury Relays.

Her throw is best by a New Jersey sophomore since Haddonfield’s Katherine Johnston threw 152-2 at the Haddonfield Invitational in 2010.

It’s the No. 2 mark in Atlantic County history behind only a 152-4 by Egg Harbor’s Jill Shanner for third place at the 2009 Nike Outdoor Nationals.

Here’s the all-time South Jersey list, with the new implement (which went into use in 2002):

• 160-  8 … Maria Jimenez (Vineland), 2012
• 152-  9 … Katherine Johnston (Haddonfield), 2012
• 152-  4 … Jill Shaner (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2009
• 148-  8 … Caitlin Cielo (Eastern), 2002
• 146-  7 … Victoria Imbesi (Our Lady of Mercy), 2008
• 145-  0 … Brielle Smith (Oakcrest), 2017
• 141-  6 … Lindsay Minch (Pennsville), 2010
• 141-  5 … Kelly Yanucil (Bordentown), 2013
• 141-  1 … Tumelo Nwanma (Vineland), 2016
• 141-  0 … Jocelyn McRae (Millville), 2006
• 140-  1 … Caitlin Ciello (Eastern), 2002
• 140-  0 … Melissa Lake (Cherokee), 2011
• 139-  9 … Heather Juhring (Kingsway), 2011
• 138-  8 … Kaela Schrier (Cherokee), 2016
• 138-  4 … Megan Saxvanderweyden (Pennsville), 2015
• 137-  6 … Mercedes Glover (Burlington Twp.), 2010
• 137-  6 … Alyssa Whipkey (Pennsville), 2015
• 137-  4 … Danielle Steff (Rancocas Valley), 2016
• 137-  1 … Ayana Culhane (Absegami), 2016
• 136-  9 … Julianna Foering (Rancocas Valley), 2016
• 136-  0 … Shamire Rothmiller (Glassboro), 2008
• 135-10 … Mary Wilks (Bridgeton), 2007
• 135-  6 … Danielle Still (Bishop Eustace), 2002
• 135-  2 … Nicolette Burns (Kingsway), 2013
• 134-  3 … Alexa Gardner (Hammonton), 2016
• 134-  0 … Niyah Cosme (Vineland), 2016
• 133-  4 … Leah Braidi (Sacred Heart), 2010
• 133-  3 … Javona Ford (Millville), 2010
• 132-10 … Nicole Bayer (Delran), 2014
• 132-  4 … Kelse Reese (Paul VI), 2011
• 131-  9 … Jeanne Berry (Delsea), 2012
• 131-  7 … Emily HIgbee (Holy Spirit), 2013
• 130-  9 … Lynn Brown (Buena), 2015
• 130-  0 … Angela Garofalo (Mainland Reg.), 2006

On the all-time state list, Smith is now sitting at No. 22. According to the MileSplit database, she’s the No. 4 sophomore nationally.

 

Her name is Jewel Ash, and her profile on New Jersey Milesplit is empty.

Not anymore.

Ash, a freshman at Eastern, stunned a loaded field Saturday night by winning the 100-meter dash at the Rowan Invitational in 12.07.

It was the first invitational race of her high school career.

Ash has been running well in dual meets and ran as fast as 12.1 in a dual meet against Cherokee, 24.6 in the 200 against Washington Township and 56.4 in the 400 against Lenape. Impressive times. She’s also has had some very nice results in both hurdles races.

But we all know to take dual meet times with a grain of salt.

This was 12.07. Fully automatic. With legit timing. In a race with some very fast girls.

In the prelims, Ash ran 12.44, which made her fourth-fastest behind Iyanla Kollock of Our Lady of Mercy (12.19), Maya Drayton of Cherry Hill East (12.32) and Shakira Dancy of Winslow (12.39).

Pretty good field. Kollock ran 7.00 indoors when she placed second in the Meet of Champions 55. Dancy ran 11.94 last year and won the state Group 4 meet.

But in the final, Ash outraced everybody.

In the final of her first major meet, Ash ran 12.07 to edge Pollock (12.10), Dancy (12.13) and Cherry Hill East sophomore Maya Drayton (12.20). The times were all PRs except for Dancy’s.

The times rank No. 3, 4, 5 and 7 in the state this year.

Ash’s 12.07 made her New Jersey’s fastest freshman since Williamstown’s Bria Mack ran 12.00 at states in 2014. Before that you have to go back to Audrey Wilson of Deptford, who ran 12.00 in 2009 and Olympic gold medalist English Gardner, also of Eastern, who ran 11.62 in 2007.

 

Mainland Regional’s amazing Alyssa Aldridge moved into the No. 4 spot on the all-time South Jersey list late Saturday night when she won a meet in Glassboro in 10:27.44.

Aldridge’s previous PR was a 10:34.78, when she placed fourth in the Meet of Champions last spring.

The only girls in South Jersey history to run faster are legendary Michelle Rowen of Washington Township in the early 1980s , Chelsea Ley of Kingsway in 2009 and Cherokee’s Megan Lacy in 2012.

Aldridge, a junior, led three girls well under 11 minutes. Sterling junior Madison Coppolino ran 10:48.24, breaking her PR of 10:49.12 from when she was third in the indoor Meet of Champions this past winter, and senior Alyssa Condell of Timber Creek ran 10:52.61, a fraction off her PR of 10:52.00, set when she was fourth at Group 3 states last year.

The times are No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 in the state this year. At Holmdel, Kingsway’s Rachel Vick won the seeded 3,200 in a huge PR 10:47.60 for the No. 2 spot. Her previous PR was 11:03.78 and her outdoor PR was 11:11.54 back in 2014 at sectionals.

Here’s a look at the all-time South Jersey 3,200-meter performance list, including marks made both indoors and outdoors:

• 10:12.8 ….. Michelle Rowen (Washington Twp.), 1983
• 10:19.31 … Chelsea Ley (Kingsway), 2009
• 10:22.02 … Megan Lacy (Cherokee), 2012
• 10:27.44 … Alyssa Aldridge (Mainland Reg.), 2017
• 10:28.6 ….. Erin Donohue (Haddonfield), 2001
• 10:30.57 … Dina Iacone (Washington Twp.), 2012
• 10:32.4 ….. Mindy Rowand (Sterling), 1985
• 10:33.22 … Holly Bischof (Bishop Eustace), 2012
• 10:33.25 … Megan Venables (Highland), 2011
• 10:34.79 … Theresa Cattuna (Cherry Hill East), 2007
• 10:35.59 … Amanda Goetschius (Delsea), 2007
• 10:37.47 … Meghan McGlinchey (West Depford), 2009
• 10:37.53 … Vanessa Wright (Haddonfield), 2005
• 10:39.15 … Devon Grisbaum (Ocean City), 2015
• 10:40.24 … Katie Van Horn (Triton), 2005
• 10:40.80i … Brianna Gess (Haddonfield), 2014
• 10:40.95 … Erika Kemp (Rancocas Valley), 2013
• 10:42.22 … Jenn Rawls (Highland), 2009
• 10:43.3 ….. Deanna Germano (Shawnee), 1985
• 10:44.23 … Brittany Sedberry (Ocean City), 2004
• 10:45.40 … Julianna Catania (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2016

Aldridge won the race in a then-PR 10:41.57 last year, breaking the meet record of 10:52.9, set in 1980 by Paul VI’s Dawn Cody.

Monsignor Donovan senior Alyssa Wilson flat-out DESTROYED her own state discus record in Glassboro Saturday night with a 182-foot BOMB at the Rowan Open.

Wilson’s previous state record was 175-1 set at last year’s Ocean County Championships at Central Regional in Bayville.

Wilson is probably better known for her shot put prowess. She threw 57-5 1/2 in the shot put this past winter at the Armory, a national indoor record and also a national absolute record – best ever indoors or outdoors.

But she’s off the charts in the discus as well!

Her mark Saturday night at Rowan is tied for No. 11 in U.S. history and best in the country this year.

Wilson also won the shot put at Rowan Saturday night with a throw of 54-3 3/4. Her outdoor PR is 55-9 1/4 from nationals last year. Her season best this spring is 54-4 from a meet at Middletown North last weekend.

Junior Najeaya Singleton of Vineland was second in both throws.

In the discus, she took second with a throw of 142-7, a personal-best. She threw 139-8 at the West Deptford Relays last year.

Singleton moves into the No. 2 spot in Cumberland County history behind only Sylvia Galarza of Millville, who threw 153-2 in 2004.

In the shot, she threw 40-9 1/2, a season-best. She threw 43-10 1/2 last spring.

What a day for Faith Blamon!

On her first throw in the javelin at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships Saturday at Rider University in Lawrenceville, Blamon popped a monster personal-best 162-7 throw that stood as the meet winner — by more than 10 feet.

Blamon, a Cinnaminson High School graduate, came into the meet with a PR of 151-3 from the Bill Webb and Bob Davidson Spring Kick-Off back in mid-March in High Point, N.C.

Second-place was pretty far back. Stephanie Roones, Blamon’s Monmouth teammate, threw 148-3 on her first attempt of the finals for second.

Blamon’s throw is the second-best in Monmouth history. Three years ago, Kelsey Reese threw 164-4 at the MAAC championships. That was Reese’s only meet over 160 feet.

Blamon had a PR of 135-6 at Cinnaminson from the 2012 Hall of Fame Relays at Maple Shade.

Depending what happens elsewhere around the country, it looks like Blamon’s mark is somewhere in the top-30 in NCAA Division 1 this spring.

Blamon is the fifth Monmouth woman to win a conference javelin title … and the fourth with South Jersey connections.

The previous conference winners were Lynn Murray (1997), Tiffany Masuhr (2002) and Mary Wilks (2010, 2011) in the NEC and Reese (2014) in the MAAC.

Murray’s hometown and high school are unknown. But Masuhr, a Monsignor Donovan High graduate, eventually transferred to Stockton, where she was an NCAA Division 3 champion. Wilks was a star at Bridgeton, and Reese was a native of Deptford who threw for Paul VI.

 

 

In the shot put, PRs are generally recorded in inches. For Penns Grove senior Avery Ransome, his PR on Thursday night was recorded in feet. Lots of feet.

Ransome added more than FOUR FEET to his outdoor shot put PR when he won the event at the 26th annual South Jersey Invitational.

Ransome, who had just PR’d at 51-1 1/4 at the Woodbury Relays, bombed the 12-inch orb 55-2 1/2 Thursday night to win by 11 1/2 inches over Cinnaminson junior Kamron Kobolak, who threw a PR of his own with his 54-3.

Ransome does have a 53-4 1/4 to his credit from an indoor meet back in January at the Bubble, but his winning throw Thursday night is No. 2 by a South Jersey thrower this year, behind only Holy Spirit’s three-way thrower Cade Antonucci, who PR’d with a 59-5 1/4 at Bridgeton.

The only Group 2 thrower in the state ranked ahead of Ransome is Saddle Brook’s Giovanni Gutierrez, who threw a ridiculous PR bomb of 62-8 3/4 for fourth place at the Penn Relays.

Here’s the updated SJI shot put performance list:

• 62-10 ¾ Ron Dayne (Overbrook), 1996
• 61- 7 ¼ Braheme Days Jr. (Bridgeton), 2011
• 61- 4 Kofi Yamoah (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2013
• 61- 1 ¾ Ray Wilks (Bridgeton), 1995
• 61- 1 ….. Dayne, 1995
• 59-10 ¾ Jon Kalnas (Paulsboro), 1998
• 59- 3 ¼ Matthew Huckabee (Timber Creek), 2010
• 58-10 ….. Wilks, 1994
• 58- 2 Josh Awotunde (Delsea), 2013
• 57- 3 ½ Dontaye Rivera (Pleasantville), 2012
• 57- 1 ¼ Ell Ash (Willingboro), 2004
• 56-11 Cade Antonucci (Holy Spirit), 2016
• 56-10 Nick Pulli (Delsea), 2012
• 56- 7 ¼ Ryan Addlesberger (Cinnaminson), 2015
• 56- 6 Kofi Yamoah (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2012
• 55- 9 ¾ John Johnson (Vineland), 1998
• 55- 9 ½ Lou Gordon (Bridgeton), 1994
• 55- 9 ½ Dennis Norman (Cherokee), 1997
• 55- 9 Jaehlan Joyner (Burlington Twp.), 2016
• 55- 8 ¼ ….. Ash, 2003
• 55- 4 ….. Pulli, 2014
• 55-2 1/2 … Avery Ransome (Penns Grove), 2017
• 55- 2 Klaus (Haddon Township), 1995 

   

  Ransome is the first Penns Grove thrower to win the shot in the S.J. Invite’s 26-year history.

  The only previous Penns Grove winners in meet history are Jaymes Dennison in the 400 (49.00 in 2013) and Tarik Robinson in the triple jump (43-10 in 2015, 45-11 in 2016).

  Ransome’s throw is the best by a Salem County thrower in 10 years, since John Clark of Pennsville 58-1 1/4 in 2007.

  It appears to be the best throw by a Penns Grove shot putter since Chris Robinson threw 63-11 1/4 in 1990, a mark that stood as the South Jersey record for 22 years.

  Ransome also PR’d in the discus Thursday night at Delsea with a 146-1. That’s seven inches farther than he threw last spring at sectionals.

What a 1-2 punch from Egg Harbor in the 400 Thursday night at the 26th annual South Jersey Invitational!

Alex Dessoye won the 400 in 48.44 and teammate Amir Brock was second in 48.76, leading three under 49 seconds and five under 50 seconds.

The race produced 18 of the 19-fastest times by South Jersey quarter-milers so far this spring. Third-place finisher Martin Booker Jr. of Pennsauken, who ran 48.78, already has a 48.68 to his credit from a meet last month in Pennsylvania.

Ben Liles (47.8) and Curtis McIntyre (47.9) both broke 48 seconds in the meet’s inaugural running at Eastern in 1992. Since then, only three runners have gone faster at this meet than Dessoye — Woodbury’s Darrell Bush (47.89 in 2011), Camden’s Jade Smith in 2001 (47.9) and Lenape’s Rob Gary in 1998 (48.1).

Dessoye’s time breaks his PR of 49.62, set indoors at the Armory in February when he was seventh at Easterns. His outdoor PR was 49.68 from sectionals last year on his home track.

Brock has run slightly faster. He ran 48.49 at outdoor states last year, although his absolute PR is 48.48, set also at Easterns, where he was second.

Dessoye’s time is No. 6 in meet history. The two EHT quarter-milers are now ranked No. 4 and No. 7 in New Jersey this year.

Here’s the updated all-time South Jersey Invitational 400-meter dash performance list:

47.89 … Darrell Bush (Woodbury), 2011
47.8h … Ben Liles (Kingsway), 1992
47.9h … Jade Smith (Camden), 2001
47.9h … Curtis McIntyre (Bridgeton), 1992
48.1h … Rob Gary (Lenape), 1998
48.44 … Alex Dessoye (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2017
48.50 … Nick Brown (Bridgeton), 1999
48.53 … Phil Reid (Rancocas Valley), 2006
48.3h … Steve Harper (Atlantic City), 1994
48.55 … Mohamed Kanu (Lenape), 2000
48.57 … Akmed Muhammad (Oakcrest), 2012
48.4h … Royce Reed (Bridgeton), 1995
48.4h … Mike Morrison (Willingboro), 2003
48.4h … John Morris (Camden), 2001
48.5h … Brondon Jenkins (Delran), 1994
48.5h … Ian Moore (Lenape), 2001
48.76 … Amir Brock (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2017
48.78 … Martin Booker Jr. (Pennsauken), 2017
48.84 … Geoff Valentine (Williamstown), 1997
48.6h … Greg Arnett (Wilson), 1996
48.92 … Antonio Abney (Willingboro), 2007
48.96 … Geoff Navaro (Absegami), 2008
48.98 … Alvin Abraham (Egg Harbor Twp.) 2014
49.00 … Jaymes Dennison (Penns Grove), 2013
49.01 … Todd Dutch (Washington Twp.), 2000
49.11 … Matt Kordos (Buena), 2000
49.12 … Alex Reber (Cherry Hill East), 2010

And here’s a look at the fastest second-place times:

47.9h … Curtis McIntyre (Bridgeton), 1992
48.5h … Brondon Jenkins (Delran), 1994
49.01 … Todd Dutch (Washington Twp.), 2000
48.4h … John Morris (Camden), 2001
48.76 … Amir Brock (Egg Harbor Twp.), 2017

And finally the fastest third-place times in meet history:

49.11 … Matt Kordos (Buena), 2000
48.5h … Ian Moore (Lenape), 2001
48.78 … Martin Booker Jr. (Pennsauken), 2017

This is only the second time in meet history two quarter-milers from the same school have run sub-49 in the same race.

In a hand-timed 2001 race, Jade Smith won in 47.9 and Camden teammate John Morris was second in 48.4.