From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Austin Gabay, a junior at Butler, PR’d over 5,000 meters Thursday night in Raleigh with the 3rd-fastest time ever run by a South Jersey native.

Gabay ran 13:52.19 at the Raleigh Relays at Paul Derr Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., shaving about 6 ½ seconds off his PR of 13:58.84, set on the same track last year as a sophomore at Duke.

Gabay, in his 2025 outdoor season opener, closed in 4:24.08 for his final 1,600, 2:08.20 for his final 800 and 61.1 for his final 400.

Gabay moved from 4th to 3rd on the all-time South Jersey performance list and broke the Cinnaminson alumni record along the way. Jon Anderson ran 15:58.23 at the 2009 Penn Relays while racing for Army.

All-Time South Jersey 5,000 List
13:44.57 … Jack Shea [Cherokee], April 29, 2022, Palo Alto, Calif.
13:48.61 …Karl Savage [Eastern], April 17, 2003, Walnut, Calif.
13:52.19 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], March 28, 2024, Raleigh, N.C.
13:58.23 … Jon Anderson [Cinnaminson], April 23, 2009, Philadelphia
14:03.52 … Kevin McDonnell [Camden Catholic], April 5, 2013, Williamsburg
14:04.8h … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1989
14:06.23 … Sam Gerstenbacher [Schalick], April 29, 2022, Philadelphia
14:08.24 … Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], Feb. 22, 2024, Boston
14:09.10 … Andy Arnold [Bishop Eustace], April 4, 2014, San Francisco
14:09.37 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], March 30, 2012, Raleigh, N.C.

University of Delaware freshman Laurel Conway from Sterling popped a javelin PR Thursday afternoon at the Raleigh Relays at Paul Derr Track in Raleigh, N.C.

Conway threw 133-11 in her 2nd collegiate meet, moving into the No. 10 spot in Delaware history and the No. 3 spot on the all-time Delaware freshman list, behind Megan Albamonti [162-9 in 2021 in Harrisonburg, Va., before she transferred to Alabama] and Jillian Seamon [142-4 at Swarthmore in 2009].

At Sterling, Conway had a PR of 131-3 from the Camden County Champions at Haddon Township this past May. That was her only high school meet over 125 feet.

She opened this spring with a 129-9 last weekend at Richmond and after opening with a foul on Thursday, she threw 126-9 before her 133-11. So she’s already had three of the top four lifetime throws in just two college meets.

While I was researching this post I found a few interesting things that I had missed along the way:

1) Nico Morales cleared 17-8 1/2 in a meet at Basking Ridge in July. It never showed up on TFRRS because it wasn’t made during the college season, but it’s the best jump ever indoors or outdoors by a South Jersey high school graduate.

2) Floyd Whitaker of Highland hit 52-3 in January in the triple jump, his best jump as a collegian. That earned him a No. 17 U.S. ranking this past indoor season. Oklahoma is one of the few NCAA Division 1 programs that doesn’t have all-time top-10 lists on his web site, so can’t tell you where that ranks in school history, but it’s an indoor PR and just shy of Whitaker’s PR of 52-6 1/4 from World Juniors in Cali, Columbia, in August of 2022.

3) I had West Deptford’s Jacob Cobb of MIT listed as the fastest over 3,000 meters this indoor season with his 8:16.06 in Boston last month, but at the same meet Kevin Antczak of Mainland Regional ran 13:39.56 for 5,000 meters, and his official 3,000 split was 8:11.87, so he gets the spot!.

Mistakes or omissions, please let me know in the comment section!

MEN
60-METER DASH: 6.64, Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp., Penn State], , Feb. 23, New York
200-METER DASH: 20.65, Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp., Penn State], Jan. 25, Philadelphia
400-METER DASH: 46.04, Gabriel Moronta [Pleasantville, South Florida], Feb. 8, Boston
800-METER DASH: 1:50.34, Ian Moore [Rancocas Valley, Monmouth], Feb. 14, Boston
MILE: 3:59.19, Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson, Butler], Feb. 14, Boston
3,000-METER RUN:  8:11.87 [en route], Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg., North Carolina], Feb. 14, Boston
5,000-METER RUN: 13:39.56, Kevin Antczak [Mainland Reg., North Carolina], Feb. 14, Boston
60-METER HURDLES: 7.64, Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine, Texas Tech], Feb. 1, Lubbock, Texas
HIGH JUMP: 7-1 ¼, Mawali Osunniyi [Mainland Reg., New Mexico Junior College], Lubbock, Texas
LONG JUMP: 25-7, Greg Foster [Lumberton, Princeton], Feb. 14, Fayetteville, Ark.
TRIPLE JUMP: 52-3, Floyd Whitaker [Highland, Oklahoma], Jan. 17, Norman, Okla.
POLE VAULT: 17-6 ½, Nico Morales [Delsea, Rutgers], Feb. 7, Cambridge,Mass.
SHOT PUT: 69-0 ¾, Josh Awotunde [Delsea, post-collegiate], Feb. 23, Staten Island, N.Y.

WOMEN
60-METER DASH: 7.29, Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], March 16, New York
200-METER DASH: 23.31, Sianni Wynn [Pennsauken], March 2, Staten Island, N.Y.
400-METER DASH: 53.47, Alilya Rae Garozzo [Paul VI, Duke], March 2, Louisville
800-METER DASH: 2:06.80, Shelby Whetstone [Lenape, Rugers], Feb. 14, Chicago
MILE: 4:52.27, Grace Wassell [Highland, Wake Forest], Feb. 15, Lynchburg, Va.
3,000-METER RUN: 9:39.04 [en route], Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], March 2, Staten Island
5,000-METER RUN: 16:30.14, Helene Usher [Haddonfield, La Salle], Feb. 15, Boston
60-METER HURDLES: 8.40, Jewel Ash [Eastern, Fresno State], Feb. 28, Albuquerque
HIGH JUMP: 5-10 ¾, Jenovia Logan [Sterling, Rutgers, March 1, Indianapolis
LONG JUMP: 20-8, Tionna Tobias [Winslow Twp., post-graduate], Jan. 25, New York
TRIPLE JUMP: 39-4, Ma’Syiah Brawner [Winslow Twp.], March 2, Staten Island
POLE VAULT: 14-1 ¼, Kaitlin Dermen [Millville, post-collegiate], Feb. 8, New York
SHOT PUT: Emma Peretti [Hammonton, Yale], March 2, Ithaca, N.Y.

Emma Crozier-Carole, a sophomore at North Carolina Wilmington from Mainland Regional, continues to be one of the top multi-event specialists in the Coastal Athletic Conference.

Crozier-Carole posted the top score in the conference in the season-opening Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, placing 2nd with 4,050 points.

Crozier-Carole ran the hurdles in 15.22, the 200 in 28.00, the 800 in 3:03.39, high jumped 5-0 ½, threw the javelin 89-2, long jumped 17-1 ¼ and threw the shot 34-7. She has PRs of 15.06, 27.22, 2:51.34, 5-3 ¾, 91-6, 18-0 ½ and 37-4 ½.

She PR’d with 4,329 points when she placed 5th in the conference meet last spring in Elon, N.C., and then scored 3,174 points when she placed 6th in the pentathlon at the conference meet indoors last month in Virginia Beach. That’s the 2nd-highest point total in school history.

When Crozier-Carole placed 5th in last year’s conference heptathlon, she finished 93 points behind another Atlantic County multi-eventer, Monmouth’s Anne Rutledge, who placed 4th. Rutledge, now a senior, has not yet competed outdoors this spring. She has PRs of 3,217 indoors and 4,536 outdoors. That 4,536 total is No. 4 in Monmouth history, just behind two other South Jersey multi-eventers: Bridgeton’s Mary Wilks [4,838 in 2010] and Lenape’s Lindsey Walsh [4,822 in 2012].

Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker, a Rutgers sophomore, opened his outdoor season with a 400 PR at a meet in Tampa.

Tucker ran 47.43 at the University of South Florida Invitational, lowering his PR from 47.53 last month at an indoor meet in Boston. His previous outdoor PR was 48.16 last April in Gainesville.

Tucker didn’t run his specialty, the 400-meter intermediates, in the season opener in Tampa, but he ranks 2^nd in Rutgers history with his 50.61 from his win at the Big Ten Championships this past May in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Over the weekend, we wrote about Pennsville’s Arianna Smith running 57.89 in her first 400-meter intermediate hurdles race since transferring from Rutgers to Howard. That’s No. 4 through the first weekend of the season in NCAA Division 1. You can read about that race here.

But later in the day, she recorded another PR, running 13.51 in the 100-meter hurdles. That’s No. 13 so far in NCAA Division 1. It was her first race over the 100-meter hurdles in almost two years – since May 6, 2023, when she ran her previous PR of 13.73 at Heps at Franklin Field. That is No. 2 in Princeton history.

Her history with the highs is sporadic. She won the Salem County Championships in 2019 in 14.44, then didn’t run another 100 hurdles race until the spring of 2023. She only ran three outdoor meets while she was at Rutgers and never ran the 100 highs.

Anyway, Smith’s 13.51 – with a legal 1.0 wind – is No. 5 in school history and it’s also 6th-fastest on the all-time South Jersey performance list (I’m pretty sure).

All-Time South Jersey 100-Meter Hurdles Alumni List
12.34 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], Oct. 6, 2019, Doha, Qatar
13.11 … Tionna Tobias [Winslow], May 25, 2023, Bloomington, Ind.
13.28 … Ste’yce McNeil [Winslow], May 15, 2015, Starkville, Miss.
13.29 … Jailya Ash [Eastern], March 30, 2024, Storrs, Conn.. [+0.2]
13.30 … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], May 28, 2005, New York
13.36 … Samantha Sharper [Wilson], May 12, 2013, Houston [+0.1]
13.51 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], March 22, 2025, Tampa [+1.0]
13.59 … Aliya Garozzo [Paul VI], May 5, 2024, Princeton [+0.3]
13.61 … Sherese Price [Pleasantville], May 4, 2002, Storrs, Ct. [+0.6]
13.64 … Magenta Taylor [Willingboro], March 24, 2001, Houston [+0.9]
13.68 … Jewel Ash [Eastern], May 8, 2024, High Point, N.C. [+0.5]
13.71 … Imani Gilliam [Pennsauken], May 17, 2008, Princeton [+0.9]
13.72 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], June 4, 1997, Raleigh, N.C. [0.0]
13.73 … Arianna Smith [Pennsville], May 7, 2023, Philadelphia [+1.5]
13.74 … Jasmine Staten [Lenape], April 23, 2022, Baltimore [-1.1]
13.77 … Dierra Poland [Deptford], April 6, 2006, Boulder, Co. [NWI]
13.84 … Evann Thompson [Lenape], May 4, 2013, Piscataway [+0.8]
13.88 … Carol Lewis [Willingboro], Aug. 31, 1984, Rome [NWI]
13.97 … Mariah Stephens [Egg Harbor Twp.], April 13, 2024, Durham, N.C. [+0.3]
13.98 … Cidae’a Woods [Winslow Twp.], June 4, 2014, South Plainfield [+0.8]

Kingsway graduate Tom Cooke finished 1st among nearly 5,000 runners Sunday in the 2025 Phillies Charities 5K in Philadelphia.

Cooke, 30, ran 15:04 and finished two seconds ahead of former Penn XC runner Patrick Hally, from Salesianum in Wilmington, Del.

Cooke, who now lives in West Deptford, ran 1:54.53 and 4:11.84 at Kingsway before running briefly for Felician University in Rutherford. He’s since run 4:01.08 and 14:20.39 on the track.

Former Shawnee runner Eric Reitinger of Mount Laurel, 41, placed 4th in 15:35 and won the men’s 40-to-49 age group.

Top woman was Erica Green of Collingswood, who was 11th overall in 17:50. Green, 35, has only been running since 2018. On the roads, Green has PRs of 1:22:30 for a half marathon and 58:26 for 10 miles. She ran 2:50.40 at the 2022 Boston Marathon. Green is listed in the results as a Canadian citizen.

Also in the top 25: Austin Milou of Sewell, 24, a former Washington Township and Rowan runner; ran 17:42 and was 10th overall; Jon Ratliffe of Washington Township, 29, rtan 18:06 and was 14th; John Meehan of Woolwich Township, 36, ran 18:41 and was 21st; and Sean Mimier from Estell Manor, 16, placed 25th in 18:59.

No. 3 woman was Delsea senior Juliana Sieminski, 18, who ran 19:12 and placed 31st overall, and 5th woman was Jessica Laporta of West Deptford, 39, who ran 20:15 and was 47th overall. Laporta ran for the University of Scranton.

Washington Township’s Kami Joi Hickson, a senior at Maryland, opened her outdoor season Saturday with a lifetime-best at 800 meters at the University of Central Florida Black and Gold Invite in Orlando.

Hickson ran 2:07.32, 5th-fastest in Maryland history and fastest in 12 years, since Julie Sinkovitz of Woodcliff Lake and Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, Bergen County, ran 2:07.15 in the prelims of the the 2013 ECAC Championships at Princeton. (Yes, both are from Washington Township … just different ones.)

Hickson’s previous outdoor PR was 2:08.15 last April in a meet in Azusa, Calif. Her former overall PR was 2:07.63 indoors at Penn State early last month.

Hickson ran 2:12.72 outdoors and 2:14.99 at Washington Township before finishing her high school career at Neumann Goretti in Philadelphia.

Here is my best attempt at an all-time South Jersey 800 list:

1:59.85 … Michelle DiMuro [Shawnee], June 17, 1996, Atlanta
1:59.99 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], July 13, 2010, Liège, Belgium
2:02.20 … Kimarra McDonald [Rancocas Valley], June 2, 2012, Nashville
2:02.49 … Krista Ferrara [Vineland], June 25, 2006, Indianapolis
2:03.34 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], June 15, 2013, Indianapolis
2:03.88 … Nijgia Snapp [Oakcrest], May 13, 2012, Baton Rouge, La.
2:05.06 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], May 31, 2013, West Chester, Pa.
2:05.14 … Shelby Whetstone [Lenape], May 23, 2024, Lexington, Ky.
2:06.15 … Sydney Coppolino [Sterling], May 13, 2022, Durham, N.C.
2:07.18 … Kristen Neidrach [Shawnee], July 10, 2021, Kortrijk, Belgium,
2:07.25 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], March 26, 2011, Houston
2:07.32 … Kami Joi Hickson [Washington Twp.], March 22, Orlando
2:07.68 … Natalie Dumas [Eastern], March 16, New York

When Mainland Regional’s Mawali Osunniyi disappeared from Uconn’s track roster this indoor season after an outstanding freshman year in Storrs, I figured he was either injured or red-shirting.

Osunniyi had a high school PR of 6-8 and then as a true freshman at Connecticut jumped 7-1 ½ last indoor season and won the Big East both indoors in Chicago [7-0 ¼] and outdoors [6-11] at Villanova.

And then nothing.

It turns out, Osunniyi was competing along. I just missed it. But he transferred to New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N. Mex., which is about 100 miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas.

Osunniyi capped his indoor season by winning the National Junior College Athletic Association Championships at Texas Tech’s Sports Performance Center – in Lubbock – with a 6-11 ½ clearance.

He passed 6-4 ¼ and 6-6 ¼ and then cleared 6-8 ¼ on his second attempt. He got over the bar at 6-10 ¼ and 6-11 ½ on his first attempts and had the victory locked up when the two other jumpers who were still alive went out at 6-11 ½.

So Osunniyi had the bar moved up to 7-1 ¾, which would have been a PR, but he missed three tries there, settling for his first national title.

Osunniyi had set the New Mexico JC school record of 6-11 ¾ in February in another meet in Lubbock.

New Mexico lists Osunniyi as a sophomore on its outdoor track roster.

Osunniyi triple jumped 47-0 ½ at Mainland but has only triple jumped once in his college career.

Here’s a look at all the 7-foot jumpers from South Jersey [let me know if I missed anyone!]:

7-5 ¾ … Darren Burton [Delran], July 23, 1989, Ylivieska, Finland
7-5 ¼ … Mike Pascuzzo [Lenape], June 6, 1992, New York
7-4 ½ … Jim Pringle [Moorestown], March 21, 1982, Tallahassee, Fla.
7-4 ½ … Paul Klemic [Mainland Reg.], June 17, 2000, Raleigh, N.C.
7-4 ½ … Montez Blair [Timber Creek], June 23, 2013, Des Moines, Iowa
7-4 ½ … Robert Jordan [Millville], Jan. 22, 2000, Ames, Iowa
7-4 ¼ … Mike Morrison [Willingboro], March 16, 2003, Landover, Md.
7-4 … Terrance Ferguson [Cherry Hill West], May 5, 1991, Princeton
7-3 … Anthony Butler [Schalick], June 10, 2006, Colts Neck
7-2 ¼ … Jeffrey-Jon Tucker [Eastern], April 28, 2018, Ewing
7-1 ¾ … Drew Kanz [Seneca], Feb. 28, 2014, Birmingham, Ala.
7-1 ½ … Devin Bradham [Williamstown], May 3, 2019, University Park, Pa.
7-1 ½ … Mawali Osunniyi [Mainland Reg.], Feb. 2, 2024, Cambridge, Mass.
7-0 ½ … Todd Lowber [Delran], May 26, 2006, Lisle, Ala.

Junior Natalie Dumas moved Eastern into the lead on her anchor leg and the Vikings shattered the South Jersey sprint medley record Sunday with a triumph at Virginia “Nationals.”

Dumas, who set a South Jersey 800 record of 2:07.68 last weekend at Armory Nationals after racing the 400 at Boston Nationals, ran 2:07.78 and Eastern won the sprint medley at Virginia “Nationals” at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.

The team of senior Jasmine Davies, freshman Brynn Dumas, senior Samantha Osei-Kyei and Dumas ran 4:00.48, lowering the South Jersey record from 4:01.41, which Willingboro’s Halimah Bashir, Channel Hamilton, Rhea Mann and Okechi Ogbuokiri ran at 2003 Armory Nationals.

Osei-Kyei split 57.00 to set up Dumas, who got the stick in 3rd place – five meters behind Hermitage High of Virginia and Ursuline School of New Rochelle, N.Y. – but won by four meters over 2nd-place Ursuline, whih ran 4:01.04.

Eastern’s time is No. 5 in state history indoors and it’s No. 36 on the all-time U.S. performance list [which doesn’t exist, but I looked it up].

The previous Camden County record was Haddonfield’s 4:03.93 with Kristina Keegan, Bridget Barnes, Holly Cosnett and Olympian Erin Donohue at the 2001 Prince George’s Learning and Sports Complex Nationals in Landover, Md. Long Beach Wilson set a national record of 3:53.17 in the same race.

Eastern ran 4:01.78 with Johnay Stilley, Lomaria Tengbeh, Dumas and older sister Kadence Dumas in Virginia Beach and 4:03.75 with Johnna Gonter, Eva Sprewell, Natalie Dumas and Osei-Kyei at last year’s Armory Nationals. This is the 3rd straight year Eastern has had the fastest time in New jersey during the indoor season.

We’re pretty sure there aren’t any more so-called national meets coming up.

All-Time New Jersey Indoor Sprint Medley List
3:54.62 … Union Catholic, 2024
3:57.19 … Columbia, 2014
3:58.46 … Union Catholic, 2019
4:00.33 … Neptune, 2011
4:00.48 … Eastern, 2025
4:01.41 … Willingboro, 2003
4:01.78 … Eastern, 2023
4:03.13 … Sparta, 2010
4:03.14 … Westwood, 2014
4:03.18 … Columbia, 2010
4:03.22 … Columbia, 2013
4:03.57 … Piscataway, 2006
4:03.69 … Pope John, 2007
4:03.75 … Eastern, 2024
4:03.85 … Hopewell Valley, 2005
4:03.93 … Haddonfield, 2001
4:04.27 … Cherokee, 2022
4:04.36 … Columbia, 1983
4:04.38 … Washington Twp., 2010
4:04.47 … Neptune, 2009
4:04.49 … Hunterdon Central, 2015
4:04.63 … Rumson-Fair Haven, 2025
4:04.81 … Union Catholic, 2017

All-Time U.S. Indoor Sprint Medley List
3:52.68 … Rush Sperry [Henrietta, N.Y.], 2015
3:53.17 … Wilson Long Beach, CA 2001
3:54.31 … Randolph Campus, NYC, NY 2002
3:54.48 … Suffern [N.Y.], 2015
3:54.62 … Union Catholic, 2024
3:54.78 … Cardozo [Queens, N.Y.]
3:55.40 … Mount De Sales Academy [Catonsville, Md.], 2020
3:55.48 … Rush Sperry [Henrietta, N.Y.], 2016
3:55.92 … Randolph Campus, NYC, NY 2004
3:56.46 … Easton [Pa.] Area, 2007
3:56.47 … West Catholic, Philly, PA 2005
3:56.67 … Penn Charter, Philly, PA 1997
3:56.80 … Oak Park [Mich.], 2015
3:56.97 … Oak Park [Mich.], 2025
3:57.02 … Wilson Long Beach, CA 2003
3:57.19 … Columbia, 2014
3:57.20 … Boys & Girls, NY 2002
3:57.53 … Poly Long Beach, CA 1997
3:57.66 … Oak Park [Mich.], 2024
3:57.78 … Bellport, Brookhaven, NY 2004
3:57.83 … West Catholic, Philly, PA 2006
3:58.46 … Union Catholic, 2019
3:59.16 … Western Branch [Chesapeake, Va.], 2018
3:59.31 … Assumption [Davenport, Iowa], 2017
3:59.42 … Randolph Campus, NYC, NY 2001
3:59.62 … Wilson Long Beach, CA 2002
3:59.81 … West Catholic, Philly, PA 2004
3:59.81 … Bullis School [Potomac, Md.], 2023
3:59.96 … Oak Park [Mich.], 2023
3:59.98 … Oak Park [Mich.], 2021
4:00.05 … Washington, NYC, NY 1995
4:00.11 … Bullis School [Potomac, Md.], 2024
4:00.33 … Neptune, 2011
4:00.36 … Hempstead [N.Y.], 2009
4:00.43 … Magnet, Baton Rouge, LA 2005
4:00.48 … Eastern, 2025
4:00.54 … Cardozo, NY 2005
4:00.58 … Hillhouse [New Haven, Ct.], 2012
4:00.72 … Gratz, Philly, PA 1998
4:00.77 … Southridge [Miami, Fla.], 2017
4:00.77 … Hillhouse [New Haven, Ct.], 2013
4:00.82 … James Logan, CA 2006
4:00.84 … Westerly, RI 2005
4:00.86 … Poly Long Beach, CA 1995
4:00.94 … Roosevelt, Greenbelt, MD 2002