From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Egg Harbor Township graduate Ahmad Brock ran a 60-meter dash PR Friday afternoon and just missed the Monmouth school record.

Brock won the 60 at the Wagner Shootout at Ocean Breeze in 6.76. His previous PR was 6.80 this past February in the qualifying rounds of the CAA Championships at the Armory.

Brock finished 8-100ths of a second ahead of 2nd-place Goba Dan-Princewill of Howard in the 60, which was run as an 18-race final by time.

Monmouth’s school record is 6.71, set by Brian Sosoo at the 2016 Metro Atlantic Indoor Conference Championships, also at the Armory. Sosoo was a graduate of Reservoir High School in Fulton, Md.

Brock’s 6.76 is No. 2 in school history, and he’s also No. 6 in Monmouth history in the triple jump indoors with a 47-10 at a meet this past January at Ocean Breeze and also in the long jump with a 23-9 at the CAA meet this past indoor season at the Armory.

Outdoors, he’s No. 2 in the 100 (10.50), No. 4 in the long jump (24-7) and No. 5 in the triple jump (48-3 ½).

Brock is scheduled to long jump later Friday, but he’s not entered in the triple jump.

Millville graduate Kaitlyn Dermen popped the best indoor pole vault ever by a New Jersey woman in her 2024-25 season opener.

Dermen, a two-time NCAA Division 3 All-America at Stockton, cleared 14-1 at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze, equalling her 2nd-best vault ever and setting an indoor PR.

Dermen’s previous indoor PR was 13-9 ¾ this past January at the Virginia Tech Invitational at Rector Fieldhouse in Blacksburg, Va. That stood as the New Jersey indoor alumni record until this past weekend.

Outdoors, Dermen has a PR of 14-4 from the Vault Factory Independence Day Pole Vault Meet in Basking Ridge on July 6. That’s the overall New Jersey alumni best.

The only other 14-footers New Jersey has produced are Stephanie Maugham of Shawnee, who cleared 14-0 ¾ in Fresno in 2002 (and is still competing at the Masters level), and Notre Dame’s Hayley Horvath,who cleared 14-0 in Harrisonburg, Va., in May 2021.

Ocean City graduate Elaina Styer, broke the Stockton school record in the pentathlon in her first meet for the Ospreys.

Styer, competing at Fast Time Before Finals at Lehigh’s Rauch Fieldhouse, scored 3,383 points, breaking the school record of 3,369 points set by Eastern graduate Lisa Chatman at the 2006 ECAC Championships at Ursinus College in Collegeville.

Styer, a sophomore, had the top marks in the 60-meter hurdles [9.43] and 800 [2:25.38] and the 2nd-best marks in the high jump [5-2 ½], shot put [31-11 ½] and long jump [16-7].

All her marks are PRs other than the 800. She ran slightly faster [2:25.03] in a pentathlon in Ithaca this past February as a Cornell freshman.

Senior Kayla Robinson of Widener won the event by just 68 points with a score of 3,451 points.

Styer’s previous pentathlon best was a 3,150 this past March at the ECAC Championships in Boston. She placed 2nd.

Styer hadn’t competed in any meet since April 6, when she ran the hurdles and high jumped at the Penn Invitational at Franklin Field. That was her last meet for Cornell.

Through the first weekend of indoor track, Styer ranks 5th in NCAA Division 3, just behind Widener’s Robinson.

Haddonfield graduate Rachel Bonnet was Styer’s teammate at Cornell last year and placed 5th at Heps in the seven-event outdoor heptathlon with a score of 4,611.

Janeya Hammond, a senior at Charlotte from Winslow Township, ran a hurdles PR Saturday in her season opener.

Hammond won the 60-meter highs at the JDL Early Bird Invitational at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem in 8.59.

Her previous PR was 8.68 in the trials of the Conference USA Championships in Feb. 2023 in Birmingham, Ala. She nearly beat her PR in the trials Saturday, advancing with an 8.73.

Hammond’s time is No. 9 in Charlotte history but only 5-100ths of a second outside the No. 5 spot.

Hammong ranks 4th in school history in the 400-meter intermediaters at 1:00.35 from this past April at the Charlotte Invitational

Deptford’s Marcus Hood opened his senior season with an indoor pole vault PR and the No. 5 mark in Gloucester County history.

Hood cleared 14-1 at the Ridge Winter Invitational Monday at Ocean Breeze. His previous indoor PR was 13-0, which he cleared three times last year. Hood PR’d at 15-3 outdoors when he won the state Group 3 title last spring at Delsea. That’s No. 4 in South Jersey history.

On Monday, Hood cleared 12-0 and 12-6 on his first attempts and had the meet won at 12-6. He passed 13-0, cleared 13-6 on his 3rd attempt and 14-1 on his 2nd. He finished the day by taking three shots at 14-6.

Senior teammate Tiburcio Torres tied for 2nd with a 12-0 clearance. His previous indoor PR was 11-0 and his lifetime best was 11-6 last spring at sectionals.

16-0 … Marco Morales [Delsea], 2020
15-6 … Dan Batdorf [West Deptford], 2008
15-6 … Nico Morales [Delsea], 2019
15-1 … Dylan Altland [Kinsgway], 2014
15-0 ¼ … Devon Purves [Haddonfield], 2006
15-0 … Mark Murphy [Haddonfield], 1985
15-0 … Mike Davis [Haddonfield], 2004
15-0 … Mike Rivard [Haddonfield], 2009
14-11 ¼ … Tom Jeffers [Triton], 2011
14-7 … Brian Banks [Eastern], 2011
14-6 ¼ … Brandon Kurtz [Absegami], 1991
14-6 … Mike Maira [Seneca],
14-6 … Michael Oberg [Ocean City],
14-6 … Jarrod Brovero [Delsea], 2016
14-6 … Kyle Loveland [Moorestown], 2016
14-1 … Joshua Cohen [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2019
14-1 … Marcus Hood [Deptford], 2025
14-0 … Chris Matteo [Bishop Eustace], 1984
14-0 … Mike Yurcho [Shawnee], 1999
14-0 … David Murname [West Deptford], 2000
14-0 … Jason Yurchak [Delsea], 2004

Timber Creek senior Ryan Jennings got her season off to an early start with a hot sprint double in Boston over the weekend.

Jennings won the 60-meter dash in 7.57 and the 200 in 24.45 at the Early Bird Invite at the TRACK. Since the New Jersey high school season doesn’t officially begin until Friday, she competed for a club team.

The 24.45 is an indoor PR for Jennings, who ran 24.47 last year at Ocean Breeze. Her time is No. 6 in South Jersey indoor history, behind Sianni Wynn [24.00 last year], Timber Creek’s Naylah Jones [24.15 last year], Winslow’s Krystal Cantey [24.38 in 2006], Winslow’s Shakira Dancy [24.39 in 2017] and Wilson’s Dennisha Page [21.42 in 2019].

She’s run slightly faster in the 60 – a 7.53 at Boston Nationals in March on the same track. That’s No. 6 in state history and tied for No. 2 in South Jersey history behind former Timber Creek teammate Naylah Jones, who ran 7.47 in the same race. Winslow’s Torie Robinson also ran 7.53 at 2014 Armory Nationals.

Last weekend, Liliah Gordon placed 7th in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional to earn a spot at Foot Locker Nationals.

Incredibly, she won’t be the only competitor in San Diego next weekend who attended Northern Burlington Middle School.

Sadie Krueger, a freshman at Moanalua High School in Honolulu, placed 6th Saturday in the West Regional in Walnut, Calif., and will join Gordon at Nationals.

Krueger attended Northern Burlington Middle School through last spring and was the 2023 New Jersey middle school cross country champion last fall before her family moved to Hawaii.

One more year and Krueger and Gordon would have been teammates. But Gordon and Krueger are good friends and will be reunited at the 45th annual Foot Locker National race at Balboa Park on Saturday.

Gordon ran 18:01 at Franklin Park last Saturday to earn one of the 10 qualifying spots. Krueger ran 18:27 this Saturday at Mt. SAC. She came through the mile in 5:37 in 6th place and two miles in 11:41 in 7th place. There were 107 runners in the West Region race and Krueger was the only one from Hawaii.

Krueger ran 5:07.91 for 1,600 meters last spring in a middle school race at Cherokee and 5:09.53 for a full mile at West Philly Nationals. She also ran 10:27.79 for 3,000 meters at West Philly Nationals.

This fall she placed either 1st or 2nd in every XC race she entered, capped by a triumph in the Honolulu Championships at Keopuolani Regional Park in Kahului, where she ran a 5,000 PR of 18:04.22.

Krueger is one of only two freshmen who will be in the field of 40 runners at Nationals. Tatum Flach of Park City, Utah, who finished two seconds and one spot in front of Krueger in the West Regional, is also a freshman.

The girls national championship is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. PST – that’s 12:15 p.m. EST – Saturday at Balboa Park in downtown San Diego.

Dylan Giloley, a freshman from Washington Township, ran the 4th-fastest 60-meter dash in Rider history Saturday in her collegiate debut.

Giloley placed 3rd at the Penn Opener – the inaugural meet at Penn’s Ott Center – in 7.66, just 9-100ths off the school record of 7.57 set by Pemberton graduate Tierra Taylor in the prelims at the 2017 Metro Atlantic Championships at the Armory.

Giloley broke her previous PR of 7.67 set at Boston Nationals this past March. That was her only previous 60-meter dash.

All-Time Rider 60-Meter Dash List
7.57 … Tierra Taylor [Pemberton], 2017
7.65 … La’tazah Coleman [Appoquinimin (Del.)], 2013
7.62 … Mariah Stephens [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2024
7.66 … Dylan Giloley [Washington Twp.], 2025
7.67 … Cleopatra Morrison [Long Branch], 2015

Another race, another historic performance for Penn State freshman Ajani Dwyer, who popped a 6.55 in the final of the Bison Opener Saturday at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

That’s just 1-100th of a second off the school record of 6.54 set last year by Olympian Cheickna Traore and 3rd-fastest ever by a U.S. junior (an athlete who doesn’t turn 20 in the year a performance was made).

https://x.com/TrackGazette/status/1865533235876290750

Dwyer ran [https://sjtrackblog.com/2024/12/07/in-first-collegiate-race-ajani-dwyer-runs-2nd-fastest-60-time-in-penn-state-history/] and topped that with a time that would have placed 2nd at the NCAA Division 1 Championships last year (1-100th of a second out of 1st).

The only faster times on record by U.S. juniors are a 6.52 by D’Angelo Cherry in Boston in March 2009 and a 6.54 by Jordan Anthony in Albuqurque in March of 2023.

The only faster times ever recorded by New Jersey sprinters were both run by Olympians. In 1994, Dennis Mitchell of Edgewood ran 6.53 in Stuttgart, Germany, and last year Cheickna Traore of Ramapo ran 6.54 at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

Dwyer’s time puts him at No. 79 on the all-time U.S. list but only 5-100ths of a second out of the top 30.

In high school, Dwyer ran one 60 and ran 6.79 at the Millrose Games at the Armory last February.

Dwyer missed the college freshman record of 6.49 by 6-100ths of a second. It was set by Micah Williams of Oregon at a meet at the Air Force Cadet Field House in Colorado Springs, Colo., in February 2021, and matched by Williams when he won the NCAA title in Fayetteville a few weeks later.

Dwyer won the race by nearly 3-10ths of a second over Julian Sanders of St. Francis, who was 2nd in 6.84.

Penn State isn’t scheduled to race again until the Nittany Lion Challenge at Penn State on Jan. 18.

Dwyer’s time qualifies him for the USATF U.S. Indoor Championships in February at Ocean Breeze, although it’s the weekend before Big Ten’s in Indianapolis, so it’s unlikely he’d compete.

Ajani Dwyer, in his first collegiate race, ran the 2nd-fastest 60-meter dash time in Penn State history.

Dwyer, a freshman from Washington Township, ran 6.60 in the qualifying heats at the Bison Opener at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.

His time equals the 9th-fastest in U.S. history in the Under-20 category, which means an athlete can’t turn 20 in the year that he records the mark.

It’s also tied for 4th-fastest ever by a New Jersey native and fastest by a South Jersey sprinter since Olympic gold medalist Dennis Mitchell from Edgewood High ran 6.53 in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1994.

The only faster time in Penn State history is the school-record 6.54 by Olympian Cheickna Traore when he won the Big Ten Championships this past February at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Traore, who ran for Snyder High in Jersey City and spent his first three years at Ramapo, went on to win the NCAA title at 200 meters outdoors in 19.95 and ranked 12th in the world last year at 19.93. He ran the 200 at the Olympics, representing his native Ivory Coast.

Dwyer’s previous PR was 6.76 at the Millrose Games at the Armory in February. That was his only high school 60.

Dwyer also broke the facility record of 6.67 set by Toby Makoyawo of Boston University in both the trials and final at the 2022 Patriot League Championships.

The final is coming up later Saturday.

Here’s the all-time New Jersey 60-meter dash alumni list:

6.53 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], Feb. 6, 1994, Stuttgart, Germany
6.54 … Cheickna Traore [Snyder], Feb. X, 2024, Geneva, Ohio
6.59 … Michael Garvin [Englewood], Feb. 28, 2009, Blacksburg, Va.
6.60 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], Dec. 7, 2024, Lewisburg, Pa.
6.60 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], Feb. 10, 1989, San Sebastián, Spain
6.66 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], Jan. 25, 2013, Blacksburg, Va.
6.71 … Malachi James [Burlington City], Feb. 24, 2024, Staten Island, N.Y.
6.72 … Anwar Moore [Camden], Dec. 7, 2003, Newport, England
6.72 … Nadale Buntin [J.P. Stevens], Feb. 2,3 2023, Geneva, Ohio
6.74 … A’nan Bridgett [West Windsor-Plainsboro South], Jan. 6, 2023, Staten Island
6.75 … Jamil Benjamin [Cumberland Reg.], Dec. 5, 2008, Ames, Iowa
6.75 … Jeff Porter [Franklin], Jan. 25, 2014, Glasgow, Scotland
6.75 … Fitzroy Ledgister [St. Peter’s Prep], March 11, 2022, New York