Luis Peralta of Passaic made history on Saturday when he became the first runner in state history to run under 1:51 in the 800-meter run at the Sectional Championships when he blasted a sectional record 1:50.89 to win the North Jersey, Section 1 Group 4 800 in Clifton.
Peralta, the Indoor Meet of Champions winner in the 800, broke the all-time Sectional record (all sections and groups combined) of 1:51.21 set in 2004 by Mike Carmody of Governor Livingston.
Peralta's 1:50.89 is just off his NJ #1 and US #4 time of 1:50.62 that he ran last month to win the Domincan Republic National title.
Peralta, a junior, is seeking to become the 15th runner in state history to go sub 1:50 outdoors. The state record in the 800 is held by John Marshall of Plainfield, who ran his state record of 1:48.44 when he placed second at the Pan American Junior Championships in 1980. Marshall was going into his senior year of high school when he ran that time.
HERE'S NJ'S SUB 1:50 OUTDOOR CLUB
1:48.44-John Marshall, Plainfield, 1980
1:48.52-Ishmael Muhammad, Oakcrest, 2014
1:48.66-Robby Andrews, Manalapan 2009
1:48.75-Joe White, DePaul, 2014
1:49.27-Isaac Clark, Pleasantville, 2013
1:49.5-Joe Savage, Roselle Catholic, 197
1:49.56-Rey Rivera, Old Bridge, 2017
1:49.7-Frank Davis Montclair, 1968
1:49.7-Rich Caton, Woodbury, 1979
1:49.74-Fred Sharpe, Paulsboro, 1997
1:49.80-Rich Kenah, Montclair Immaculate, 1988
1:49.84-Rob Novak, Bordentown, 2005
1:49.87-Mike Carmody, Gov. Livingston, 2004
1:49.98-Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict's Prep, 2013