From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Mariah Stephens of Egg Harbor Township popped a long jump lifetime best 19-10 ¼ to win the MAAC title and smash the Rider school record Saturday at the Armory.

Stephens, a Rider senior, jumped 19-10 ¼ on her only legal jump of the competition to win her 11th MAAC individual title.

Her previous best was a 19-7 ½ earlier this month at Ocean Breeze. She broke the school record of 19-8 ¾ set by another Atlantic County jumper, Holy Spirit graduate Asia Young, at the 2018 MAAC championships at the Armory. The only superior jump in Rider history is Raisa Thunig’s outdoor school-record 20-1 ½ in a meet in Lawrenceville in 2023.

Stephens also leads all qualifiers into Sunday’s hurdles final with an 8.60, just off her lifetime-best 8.57 from the prelims at the 2023 MAAC Championships, also at the Armory. That 8.57 is No. 2 in school history behind Sara Gardner’s 8.41 at the 2019 MAAC meet at the Armory.

Stephens also found time to jump in the 60-meter dash trials and PR’d with a 7.60, which is also No. 2 in school history, behind only Tierra Taylor’s 7.57 at the 2017 MAAC meet at the Armory. She’s the No. 3 qualifier in the dash, just ahead of teammate Dylan Giloley, a freshman from Washington Township, who ran 7.67. She’s already No. 4 in school history with her 7.66 from December at the Ott Center. Giloley also advanced in the 200 with a 25.12.

Absegami’s Diamond McLaughlin, a senior at St. Peter’s, ran 57.37 in the 400 trials and is the No. 3 seed going into the final.

In the men’s meet, Rider freshman Damere Lassiter of Glassboro threw 53-9 to place 5th in the weight throw.

Willingboro’s remarkable Nester Wea won three more state titles this weekend, giving her eight so far in her high school track career.

Wea has etched her name alongside the Willingboro greats like Carol Lewis, Okechi Ogbuokiri and Shakirah Rutherford with her consistency and versatility over a number of years, and Saturday was no different.

Wea ran a lifetime-best 7.14 to win the 55-meter dash, an indoor-PR 56.32 to win the 400 and another PR 8.33 to win the 55-meter hurdles Saturday at the state Group 2 meet at the Bubble in Toms River.

Willingboro also won the 4-by-4 in 4:04.13 and as always the Bubble results don’t list relay legs, so we’re not sure who ran – blame the Bubble for that – but presumably Wea was on the anchor leg. If anybody reading this has Willingboro’s lineup please let us know in the comment section! Thanks!

Rumson Fair-Haven edged Willingboro 48-42 for the team title. Sophomore Maya Bolden also scored for the Chimeras, placing 5th in the 55 in a PR 7.26 after a PR 7.29 in the trials.

Haddonfield placed 3rd with 25 points, led by senior Rebecca Hoover, who after winning the pole vault title had the bar moved to 12-6 ½, which she cleared to break the meet record of 12-6 set in 2008 by Chrissy Finkel of Montville. Of course, no field series info on the terrible Bubble results platform. Welcome to 2006.

Hoover has a 12-8 outdoor clearance at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township in May, but the 12-6 ½ is an indoor PR. That’s No. 4 in South Jersey history, behind Shawnee’s Danielle O’Reilly, who set the then national record of 13-5 at the Armory in 2004, Moorestown’s Hannah Byrd-Leitner – who cleared 13 feet on Saturday to win the state Group 3 title – and Delsea’s Ashley Preston [12-7 in 2018]

Any decent results site should have relay names, full splits, full field series information and live updates in all events. The Bubble has none of these things. Among other things. Like the ability to actually watch a race. The day New Jersey moves its sectional and state meets out of that place will be a great day for New Jersey track and field.

Anyway. Junior Riley Austin ran an indoor-outdoor PR of 2:16.82 to place 3rd in a loaded 800, sophomore Nina Fisicaro was 3rd in the vault at 9-6, senior Tylin Regan ran 5:25.61 for 6th in the 1,.600 and senior Dylan Melcher 11:29.60 for 6th in the 3,200. Haddonfield’s 4-by-4 – sorry, no names available – was 6th in 4:12.99.

Amazing Pleasantville freshman Isabella Alvaraz single-handedly scored 22 points with a wild triple – she won the shot put at 36-8 ¾, placed 2nd in the hurdles in 8.47 and took 4th in the high jump at 5-4.

Lindenwold junior Egypt Bolan won her 1st state title with a 5-6 clearance in the high jump. She’s cleared at least 5-6 in her last five meets.

Haddon Heights senior Jayla Criss placed 4th in the dash with a PR 7.26, and Sterling senior Ashe DeWalt, a state medalist outdoors last spring in the discus, placed 4th in the shot put with a 35-1 ¼.

Ocean City’s Elaina Syyer turned into a fantastic performance on Day 1 of the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships at the Ott Center.

Styer, a sophomore at Stockton, won the one-day five-event pentathlon with a whopping 3,628 points. She won by over 700 points.

Styer had the top mark in all five events, which were contested over about 4 1/2 hours, and she PR’d in four of them, recording an indoor PR in the 5th.

Styer opened up with a personal-best 9.09 in the 60-meter hurdles, good for 891 points. She didn’t contest the open hurdles, but that 9.09 would have been the 2nd-fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s final. Her previous PR was a 9.14 in a meet in Rochester last month.

Up next was the high jump and Styer PR’d again with a 5-5 1/4 clearance on her 1st attempt. The high jump earned Styer 806 points.

Then it was off to the shot put, where she threw 31-10 1/4 and 31-5 1/4 on her first two attempts before a 33-8 PR on her final throw that was worth 546 points. Her previous PR was a 31-11 1/2 in a meet at Lehigh in December.

The long jump is one of Styer’s strongest events – she jumped 17-9 at Ocean City and was 4th at Group 3 states in the spring of 2023 – and on her 2nd of three attempts she hit 17-1 1/4, an indoor lifetime best. Her previous indoor PR was a 17-0 3/4 in a meet last week at the same facility. The 17-1 1/4 was worth 617 points.

In the concluding 800, Styer ran another PR with a 2:24.18, closing in 34.07 over her final 200. She picked up 768 points in the 800. Her previous 800 PR was 2:25.03 in a multi last February at Ithaca as a freshman at Cornell.

Styer is entered in the high jump on Sunday and is also listed in Stockton’s 4-by-4 lineup.

With an all-South Jersey lineup, Rowan shattered the NCAA Division 3 800-meter relay record Saturday afternoon at the Ott Center.

Sophomore Eli Hendricks of Penn Grove, junior Masai Byrd of Rancocas Valley, senior Robert McKinney of Highland and freshman Rajhan Dixon of Eastern ran 1:25.45, which shattered the NCAA Division 3 record of 1:25.86 set by Rowan at the Armory in March of 2023. Kingsway’s Evan Corcoran, Amara Conte, Nana Agyemang and Sterling’s Jah’mere Beasley set the previous record.

Rowan’s time is 6th-fastest in college track history, according to the USTFCCCA all-time list. It’s also No. 3 this year in the world and fastest by an American quartet.

The all-time collegiate top 10 looks like this:

1:24.70 … Penn State, 2013 [University Park, Pa.]
1:24.91 … Pitt, 2014 [University Park, Pa.]
1:25.05 … Rutgers , 2007 [University Park, Pa.]
1:25.18 … Arkansas, 1985 [?]
1:25.20 … Mississippi State, 2016 [New York]
1:25.24 …….. Pitt, 2014 [New York]
1:25.45 … Rowan, 2025 [Philadelphia]
1:25.47 … Charleston Southern, 2010 [?]
1:25.52 …….. Penn State, 2013 [University Park]
1:25.81 … South Carolina, 2013 [\New York]
1:25.86 … Rowan, 2023 [New York]
1:25.88 … Charleston Southern, 2008

(Interesting note about that 2007 Rutgers team. It was coached by Lenape graduate Lou Tomlinson and included Deptford graduate Bruce Owens in the lineup.)

Rowan broke the meet record of 1:26.43 set in 2023 by Agyemang, Beasley Corcoran and Conte.

The College of New Jersey placed 2nd in 1:26.24, which only Rowan has surpassed in NCAA Division 3 history. That’s now the No. 3 mark all-time in D-3.

Riverside’s Jamir Brown shattered the meet record in the trials with a 7.74. That’s the 2nd-fastest time in NCAA Division 3 history behind his own 7.72 in December at Ocean Breeze. The meet record was 7.92 set by teammate Kwaku Nkrumah in the previous semifinal race. Nkrumah broke his own meet record of 7.93 set last year at Ocean Breeze.

Rowan’s Marquise Young was the 3rd qualifier under 8 seconds with a 7.95, 1-100th of a second below his previous PR Brown, Nkrumah and Young are 1st, 11th and 15th in NCAA Division 3 history going into the final.

Rowan’s Jason Agyemang [8.00], Michael Lawrence [8.23] and Anaias Hughes of Willingboro [8.38] give Rowan the top six qualifiers going into Sunday’s hurdles final.

Also for Rowan:

—> Senior Matt Conway of Haddon Township dipped under 15 minutes for the first time, winning the 5,000 in 14:58.93, 3rd-fastest in meet history.

—> Junior Masai Byrd tied his PR and school record with a 6.84 in the 60 trials.

For Stockton:
—> Egg Harbor graduate Ahmad Fogg, a sophomore, won the long jump with a 23-4 on his first jump.

—> Bordentown graduate Carson Latham ran a lifetime-best 6.90 to advance to Sunday’s 60-meter dash final.

For TCNJ:

Salem graduate Jayden Wright, a junior, threw 50-1 3/4 for 2nd place in the shot put.

Senior Jayden Poteat won the 400 and placed 2nd in the 8900, senior Dominic Bassey was 2nd in the 800 and 5th in the 400 and both ran on the winning relay team as the Winslow boys won their first indoor state title in 21 years Saturday.

Winslow coasted to a 44-28 win over Colts Neck in the state Group 3 meet at the Bubble in Toms River. Winslow previous won Group 4 in 2003 and Group 3 in 2004.

Poteat won the 400 in 50.09, with senior KaRon Ali 4th in 50.87 and Bassey 5th in 51.00. And Bassey took 2nd – by 8-1,000ths of a second – in the 800 in 1:56.96 and ran 51.00 in the 400.

Junior Prince Owusu-Twum joined Ali, Bassey and Poteat on the winning 4-by-4, which ran 3:25.46.

Senior Kristopher Jackson placed 6th in the hurdles in 7.91, and senior David Duran ran 2:00.75 for 6th in the 800.

Depford senior Ryan Sanchez matched his lifetime-best 7.42 to win the hurdles, with junior teammate Larry Norman 5th in 7.87. Senior Neo Clark-Tabb, junior Kareem Brown, sophomore Xavion Holmes and Sanchez ran 3:31.78 for 4th in the relay.

Highland senior Jayden DeLeon cleared 6-8 to win the high jump.

Delsea junior Matt Littlehales ran 4:15.50 for 2nd in the 1,600. That’s No. 13 in South Jersey history and 4th-fastest on the all-time Gloucester County list. Senior Jonathan Harris threw 59-5 for 2nd in the shot put.

Hammonton shot putters Anthony Liakhnovich and Christian Medina placed 3rd and 5th, Liakhnovich with a 58-9 ¾ and Medina 52-4 ¼.

Timber Creek senior Jayson Ross took 4th in the shot put at 54-0, Mainland junior Chris Keena was 5th in the 55 in 6.55 and Shawnee ran 5th in the relay with seniors Brody Dillich, Nicholas Micklewright, Justin Robinson and Jake Howley running 3:33.35.

Junior Aaron Keith won the 800, junior Luke Andresen won the 1,600, junior Peter Simpson led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 3,200 and Haddonfield’s distance team led the Bulldogs to their 12th indoor state championship but 1st in six years Saturday at the Bubble in Toms River.

Haddonfield scored 50 of its meet-record 56 points in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. The highest previous point total in Group 2 was Haddonfield’s 55 in 2016.

Haddonfield previously won Group 1 in 1987, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2016 and Group 2 in 2017 and 2019.

Keith dropped his PR to 1:56.54 winning the 800, Andresen ran a huge PR of 4:17.56 to win the 1,600 and Simpson, senior Bennett Wright and junior Benjamin Andrus all ran indoor PRs in the 3,200 – Simpson winning in 9:29.65, Wright 2nd in 9:33.25 and Andrus 3rd in 9:35.73. Wright also placed 4th in the 1,600 in 4:21.36 and Andrus was 5th in 4:21.61.

Haddonfield’s outscored Demarest 56-41, with Bernards 3rd with 34 points.

The Bulldogs’ non-distance points came from senior Brant Nichols, who cleared 13-0 in the pole vault for 3rd place.

Sterling senior Bright John, who had never before even reached a state meet in any sprinting event, won the 55 in 6.55, matching his PR from last month at Ocean Breeze. He’s Sterling’s first indoor state champion in 12 years, since Jimmy Daniels won the 2013 Group 2 3,200 in 9:14.31.

Cinnaminson senior Ed Frey cleared 14-6 and placed 2nd in the pole vault. He matched his indoor PR, which is No. 10 in South Jersey history and tied for the Burlington County indoor record with Seneca’s Mike Maira in 2009, Moorestown’s Kyle Loveland in 2016 and Moorestown’s Ethan Plut this year.

Oakcrest junior Davon Hannah ran a PR 6.57 and placed 2nd in the 55. His previous PR was 6.61 last weekend at sectionals on the same track.

Willingboro senior Justin Banks threw 49-10 for 5th in the shot put, senior Jamere Brooks ran 7.92 for 6th in the hurdles and senior Christopher Scott ran 6.66 for 6th in the 55.

Pleasantville senior Melvin Lewis ran 2:00.40 and placed 6th in the 800, and Cedar Creek senior Ryan Hassa tied for 6th in the pole vault at 12-6.

Freshman Jasmine Jackson won the hurdles, placed 2nd in the 400 and took third in the 55 to lead Winslow to a dominating triumph at the state Group 3 championships Saturday at the Bubble in Toms River.

Jackson won the hurdles in 8.14, ran 57.54 for 2nd to Pennsauken junior Sianni Wynn in the 400 and ran a PR 7.16 for 3rd in the 55.

The title is Winslow’s 10th but 1st since 2020, when the Eagles won their 7th in nine years. Winslow is now tied with Columbia for most indoor state titles since the inception of the girls state meet in 1981.

Winslow scored 74 points, leading three South Jersey schools at the top of the Group 3 scoring list. Moorestown placed 2nd with 31 points and Pennsauken 3rd with 24. Northern Burlington tied for 4th, with Liliah Gordon scoring all 20 of its points.

The 74 points are the most ever in Group 3. Willingboro held the previous high point total with 67 points in 2003. They’re the 2nd-most in any public school group, behind only Haddonfield’s 78 in Group 1 in 2001.

Senior Brook-lynn Roberts won the shot put with a big 43-5 throw. For more on her performance, click here. https://sjtrackblog.com/2025/02/22/brook-lynn-roberts-pops-best-south-jersey-shot-put-throw-in-6-years-as-winslow-piles-up-points-at-states/

Junior Ma’Syiah Brawner won the high jump at 5-5 and placed 3rd in the hurdles in 8.40, dropping her PR from an 8.42 earlier this month at Ocean Breeze.

Freshman Amariah Arango ran a 2 ½-second PR of 2:18.08 for 3rd in the 800 and ran 58.01 for 4th in the 400. Junior Olivia Okaro ran 7.17 for 4th in the 55.

Winslow finishing things by winning the 4-by-4 with a listed lineup of Okaro, Amariah Arango, freshman Adaiah Arango and sophomore Cinniya Robinson.

Wynn broke meet records in both the 55 and 400. She won the 55 in 6.84, not far off her PR of 6.81 from last year’s Meet of Champions on the faster Ocean Breeze track. That’s No. 3 in state history. She did break the meet record, and the inept NJSIAA lists a hand time as the meet record, but since her 6.84 is faster than hand time – 6.9 by Rahway’s Claire Connor in 1984 – Wynn has the record either way. I’ll look up the actual previous FAT meet record as soon as I can. Wynn also ran 56.06 to break the meet record of 56.38 that she set last year. Also for Pennsauken, junior Olivia Dupree placed 4th in the hurdles in 8.45.

Northern Burlington senior Liliah Gordon turned in a typically dominating distance double, winning the 1,600 in 4:53.69 And the 3,200 in 10:37.86. Her 1,600 time broke the meet record of 4:54.96 set in 2014 by Kylene Cochrane of West Morris Central.

In that 55, Timber Creek senior Ryan Jennings lowered her PR from 6.99 to 6.90 for 2nd place. That’s No. 7 in state history and No. 4 all-time South Jersey.

Moorestown freshman Hope Edwards lowered her PR from 2:17.92 to 2:16.11 and won the 800. That’s No. 7 in Burlington County history indoors. Edwards is the first non-pole vaulter to win a state title for Moorestown since 2000, when Danielle Lyons won the 400 at Jadwin Gym in Princeton. It’s also fastest by a South Jersey freshman since Kami Joi Hickson of Washington Township ran 2:14.99 at 2017 Group 4 states at the Bubble.

Edwards also anchored Moorestown’s 2nd-place 1,600-meter relay team, which ran 4:02.88 for 2nd to Winslow. Senior Sarah Brown, freshman Payton Derer and junior Lilliana Stack Maya ran the 1st three legs.

Also for Moorestown, senior I’Mara Ford cleared 5-0 for 6th in the high jump, Brown ran 59.46 for 6th in the 400 and Stack Maya placed 6th in the 800 in 2:20.24.

Moorestown senior Hannah Byrd-Leitner became the 4th indoor 13-foot vaulter in state history Saturday when she cleared 13-0 on her 2nd attempt to win the state Group 3 title at the Bubble in Toms River.

Byrd-Leitner had cleared 12-6 indoors six times. She joined Shawnee’s Danielle O’Reilly [13-5 at the Armory in 2004], Sydney Woods of Demarest [13-0 ¾ at the Armory in 2019] and Governor Livingston’s Leah Saifi [13-0 ½ at the Armory in 2017] as New Jersey 13-footers.

Byrd-Leitner cleared a lifetime-best 13-2 to win the outdoor Meet of Champions at Pennsauken in June.

Her 13-0 is 10th nationally according to the MileSplit national database. The state Group 3 title is Byrd-Leitner’s 3rd.

Byrd-Leitner and Morris Hills senior Shreya Sathiyan were both clearn through 11-6, but Sathiyan had a miss at 12-0 and two more at 12-6 before going out at 13-0. Byrd-Leitner didn’t have a miss until her 1st attempt at 13-0. The official results indicate that she did not continue after 13-0.

Byrd-Leitner broke the meet record of 12-0 3/4 set in 2020 by Old Tappan’s Marisa DiGia.

Winslow senior Brook-lynn Roberts just popped the best shot put by a South Jersey girl in six years on her final throw to win the state Group 3 title at the Bubble in Toms River by half an inch.

More on Winslow later today, but amazing performance along the way by Roberts, who came into the meet with a PR of 41-11 from sectionals last weekend, also at the Bubble.

Going into her final throw, she was sitting in 3rd place with a 40-3 ¼, but she passed Toms River South senior Julia Santos [43-4 ½] as well as Delsea junior Hannah Nuhfer [40-10 ¾] to win her 1st state title. She was 3rd in the discus, 4th in the shot and 5th in the javelin last spring.

Roberts’ throw is No. 10 in South Jersey history indoors and No. 3 in Camden County history. It’s the best throw by a South Jersey girl since Cydney Thomas of Haddon Heights threw 46-1 at 2019 sectionals at the Bubble.

With five events to go, Winslow led 2nd place Ramapo, 44-16.

All-Time South Jersey Indoor Shot Put List
47-5 ¾ … Zyra Thomas [Schalick], 2018

46-1 ½ … Najeaya Singleton [Vineland], 2017

46-1 … Cydney Thomas [Haddon Heights], 2019

45-3 … Nacole Moore [Bridgeton], 2000

44-6 ½ … Sylvia Galarza [Millville], 2004

44-3 ½ … Jocelyn White [Delsea], 2004

44-0 ½ … Melinda Boykin [Bridgeton], 1996

43-11 ¾ … Stephanie Scaramella [Bishop Eustace], 2007

43-10 ¼ … Mercedes Hicks [Atlantic City], 2006

43-5 … Brook-lynn Roberts [Winslow Twp.], 2025
43-4 ¾ … Jessica Woodard [Cherokee], 2012

43-4 ½ … Victoria Imbesi [Our Lady of Mercy], 2009

43-3 … Janice Rose [Delsea], 2011

St. Augustine junior Marc Maccario and Paul VI senior Christan Napoli picked up state titles Friday night at the state Parochial A boys meet at the Bubble in Toms River. PVI junior Gianna Cianfrani picked up a win in the girls meet.

Maccario ran 51.35 to win the 400 and edged Paul VI senior Austin Bailey by two meters. Bailey was 2nd in 51.62.

Maccario is St. Augustine’s first indoor state champion since hurdler Sincere Rhea won his 3rd straight hurdles state title in 2019.

Maccario had just PR’d at 50.26 on the much-faster Ott Center track last month. That broke the school record of 51.11 set by A.J. Murphy at the 2010 Parchial A meet, also at the Bubble.

Bailey had only run one previous 400 this season, a 51.41 at the Ott Center back in December. He would have been the No. 3 seed in the 200 at 21.97 – also from the Ott Center – if the state meet had a 200. Bailey is less than a 5th-of-a-second off the Paul VI indoor school record of 21.82 set by Antonio Tarantino at 2018 Armory Nationals. He will get to run a 200 at the Meet of Champions.

Napoli PR’d by more than a second with his 1:57.25. He edged Oratory Prep junior James Nolan by four meters. Napoli had just PR’d with a 1:58.38 at the Ott Center last month.

For the Paul VI girls, junior Gianna Cianfrani cleared a lifetime-best 10-6 on her first attempt to win the pole vault. Nobody else cleared higher than 9-0.

Junior Claire Magee placed 4th in the 400 in 58.71, junior Macy Huber and sophomore Grace Gutowski ran 4th and 5th in the 1,600, Huber PR’ing in 5:05.15 and Gutowski running 5:07.41. Huber was also 3rd in the 3,200 in 11:08.44. Magee, junior Daniela Vogel, senior Madison Eli and senior Devin Phillips ran 4:09.19 for 4th in the 4-by-400 relay.