With the NJ indoor track and field season already in the heart of the relay championship season with the state's baton-passing bonanza right around the corner, we figured now was a good time to hit the rewind button and take a look at what we've learned so far.
- Recent Results
- Boys State Leaderboard
- Girls State Leaderboard
- Recent Video Coverage
- Recent Photo Coverage
This kicks off a new series by NJ MileSplit where we periodically examine what we've learned around state.
So far, the biggest thing that jumps right out at you is that the Garden State is once absolutely loaded with talent! There's been several blazing hot performances and eye-popping results, including seven US No. 1 performances!!!!!
And there's been some big surprises, breakout stars have emerged, and newcomers have dazzled.
Let's dig in.
What We've Learned So Far...
Feature written the first week of January 2024.
We have to start out with Jaden Marchan!!
We've learned that this Georgetown-bound stud from Leonia has put himself on the national radar after his 1:17.66 state record in the 600, which is US No. 4 all-time. Marchan, who gave up basketball this season, outkicked 2023 national indoor 400 champ Quincy Wilson of Bullis to win that race.
Marchan also ran a PR and NJ No1/US No. 5 of 21.62 to place second in 200 at the Hispanic Games. He owns a 400m PR of 47.44 from last spring, which should come way down based off his results so far.
We've also learned that for the safety of all spectators and for the protection of every facility, it would be wise to have a fire extinguisher nearby whenever the Washington Township boys are running because those guys are simply burning up the track right now and leaving lots of smoke wherever they go.
Ajani Dwyer, another senior running indoors for the first time, has been lighting up the sprints with a pair of 6.33's in the 55 dash, which is tied for US No. 1 and is tied for No. 7 all-time in NJ history!!
And the Penn State-bound Dwyer anchored Washington's 4x200 that dropped a US No. 1 1:28.28, which is No. 7 in state history. In case you're wondering, the state record in the 55 dash is 6.26, shared by Damiere Byrd of Timber Creek in 2011 and the late Mario Heslop of Franklin in 2018, and the NJ record in the 4x200 is 1:26.90, set in 2004 by Camden. That could go down!!!
Boys 55m Hurdles Final, Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival
Another stud at Washington Township who is closed to taking down a state record is senior Yashahya Brown, who has blasted a 7.13 in the 55 hurdles.
That's the fastest in the nation this season ad NJ No. 3 all-time. Only Cory Poole of East Orange (7.08 in 2017) and Sincere Rhea of St. Augustine (7.10 in 2019) have run faster in NJ history than Brown. Brown also ran on Washington's 1:28.28 4x200 squad.
Something else we've learned is that Malachi James of Burlington City is all the way back!!!
James, who won the 100 and 200 at the 2022 Meet of Champions as a sophomore, missed the end of the indoor season last and the entire outdoor season last spring with a hamstring injury.
In his first race in10 months, James blasted a 6.36 when he was second to Dwyer at the Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival on Dec. 27. That places No. 11 on NJ's all-time list and tied for No. 4 in the nation this season.
Monmouth County Relays Shot Put Replay
In the boys field events, we've learned that Joshua Huisman of St. Rose has no equal in NJ in the circle, and that a great pole vault battle for state supremacy is brewing between senior Ryan Merlino of Oakcrest and Cade Zeolla of West Morris Central.
Huisman, who won the shot at the indoor and outdoor Meet of Champions as a junior last year, has already launched a US No. 2 63-2 this season and leads the state by seven feet!!!! I'd be shocked if he doesn't hit 65 and beyond this winter.
As for Merlino and Zeolla, Merlino took over the state lead this past week when he cleared a PR of 15-3. Zeolla is NJ No. 2 at 15-0, a PR that he's cleared twice. Interesting to note that Zeolla is chasing the Morris County record of 15-0.25 that was set by his brother, James in 2020.
A couple other things we've learned - Zack Mountain is arguably the best athlete in the state who more people need to talk about, and Elizabeth's Austin Holman is one of the best coaches in the state! He always gets the most out of his guys and always gets great results!
Mountain, a senior, recently broke the Sussex County record in the pentathlon with 3,387 points, tops in NJ this season.
Mountain owns PR's of 6.87 in the 55 dash, 8.54 in the 55 hurdles, 2:55.31 in the 1,000, 11.30 in the 100, 23.18 in the 200, 51.77 in the 400, 6-2 in the high jump, 41-9.50 in the shot, 10-0 in the pole vault, 153-11 in the javelin, and 99-5.25 in the discus. It's time that everyone puts respect on his name.
As for Holman, despite losing one of the best runners in Union County history to graduation (Lucas Reguinho-now at Louisville), Holman led Elizabeth to its second Union County Relay title in three years on Saturday. Elizabeth won the 4x200, 4x400, and SMR, and placed third in the 4x800 and fourth in the DMR!
Evans clearing 5-8 during Union County Relays, video courtesy of Rahway Track Nation
A new high jump star has emerged. Her name is Saniyah Evans, a senior at Rahway.
Evans, who had a PR of 5-3 coming into this season, took over the state lead when she soared over the bar at 5-8 to break her school record and lead Rahway to its second straight title in the high jump at Saturday's Union County Relays.
Evans broke the Rahway HJ record of 5-7 that was set by the great LaShonda Carter in 2006.
Evans now leads the state in two events. She's also soared a NJ No.1 19-0 in the long jump.
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We've also learned that the Union Catholic girls, who put together one of the best teams in state history last year, have the potential to be even better this season!!!
The Vikings have arguably (it really might not even be arguable) the best freshmen class ever assembled!!!
I know you all know about Paige Sheppard by now (17:54 for 2nd at the XC M of C and Nike NE XC champ), but she just one of several stud rookies on the Vikings roster.
They also have a young stable of sizzling sprinters led by Rhia Randolph and Sydney Chadwick, and rising distance stars Cayleigh Kaiser and Kayla Devine.
At the Union County Relays, Randolph (the state leader in the 300) and Chadwick teamed with Taylor Aska and Natalia Thompson to win the 4x200 with a sizzling NJ No. 1/US No. 2 time of 1:40.70, which shattered the meet record by more than two seconds and is the fastest time in NJ history on a flat track!
The former record of 1:43.10 was set by last year. This performance was especially impressive because it was run on a flat track! I haven't found a faster time yet in NJ history on a flat track.
Keep in mind that the state record in the 4x200 is 1:38.60, set by UC last year when the Vikings placed fourth at the New Balance Nationals. There's no doubt that UC has the potential to crush that record when it loads up on a banked track.
UC's also ran two other NJ No. 1 times at the county meet in the shuttle hurdles (31.84) and the sprint medley (4:16.88). The shuttle hurdle squad features the current US No. 1 hurdler, junior Taylor Cox, who has run 7.82!!!
There is a new philosophy among some coaches when it comes to how to handle the beginning of the indoor season for their distance runners that had extended XC seasons.
Many coaches like to give their XC runners that raced into late November and early December a long break before racing indoors, which makes a lot of sense to give their legs/body a chance to recover and recharge etc. But some coaches opted to capitalize on the high fitness levels of their athletes by putting them on the track as soon as possible, and the results were red hot.
Here are a few examples-
A week after she had an off race at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional at Franklin Park in Boston, Emma Zawatski, a senior at Freehold Township, dropped a 9:36.30, the second fastest time in New Jersey indoor history, at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University.
Zawatski, who won her second straight NJ Meet of Champions XC title two week, came into the race with a 3200m PR of 10:38.18. Her 9:36.30 converts to 10:18.77 for 3200m!
The only NJ runner to run faster than Zawatski for 3K is Angelina Perez of Lakeland, who ran 9:15.25 en route to a her third-place finish in the 2-mile in 9:56.96 at the 2022 New Balance National Championships at the New York Armory.
Zawatski followed that up with a NJ No. 1 4:52.91 in the 1600m on Saturday.
Paige Sheppard, a freshman at Union Catholic, also jumped right into a race after her XC season and ran a NJ No. 2 time of 4:56.41 in the 1600m.
And Jimmy Wischusen, a senior at UC, ripped a NJ No. 1 time of 4:11.40 a week after he earned All-American at Nike XC Nationals.
We've also learned about the status of one of the state's biggest stars- Jessica Oji of Livingston.
Oji, who won the shot put at the Meet of Champions last winter and was the top American at the Penn Relays, is working hard in physical therapy to regain her speed and strength after tearing her ACL while playing soccer last spring. Oji, who owns a PR of 47-2.25, is hoping to return to competition later this season, but that's up in the air right now.
With Oji sidelined, another Essex County thrower has taken center stage in the circle.
Madison Stevens of Columbia, who is headed to Rutgers, leads the state in the shot put with a 40-2.75.
Stevens won the Meet of Champions title in the shot indoor as a sophomore in 2022, has multiple second place finishes at MOCs between both winter and spring seasons, and has a PR of 43-8.25.
Junior Hannah Byrd-Leitner of Moorestown, who came into the season with a PR of 11-7 in the pole vault, has emerged as a big star in the pole vault.
Byrd-Leitner wasted no time soaring to a new PR and NJ No. 1 vault of 12-6 at the Philly Jumps Club Invit. on Dec. 30.
That moved Byrd-Leitner into a tie at No. 9 on NJ's all-time indoor list.
Only three vaulters in NJ indoor history have cleared 13-0.
Byrd-Leitner certainly has the talent to join that elite club. FYI-The state record of 13-5 has stood since Danielle O'Reilly of Shawnee cleared that height in 2004.