Casey Bogues produced the best performance of her life and delivered the greatest throw ever by a New Jersey athlete in the women's javelin when she unloaded a massive bomb to advance to the finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Friday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Bogues, a red shirt junior at Dayton University and a 2019 graduate of NJ's Middletown North High, launched an epic toss of 188-4 on her first and only attempt in the opening round to easily advance to the final, scheduled for Sunday at 7:10 p.m. The lefty-throwing Bogues finished with the fourth best throw of the competition and was the top collegian. The top 12 throwers advanced the final.
Bogues knew her monster throw would safely get her into the final, so she passed on her final two attempts.
The 188-4 by Bogues destroyed the school record and her previous personal best of 176-6 that she set at the 2023 Texas Relays, and shattered the New Jersey alumni record with the current javelin, which has been used since 2002. The previous NJ alumni record in the women's javelin was 179-1 by Jen Austin at the Arizona State Invitational in Tempe, Arizona on March 24, 2012. Austin graduated from Garfield High in 2000.
The berth by Bogues in the Olympic Trials final is obviously the biggest moment of her career so far, which has been filled with several huge highlights.
In 2021, Bogues was fourth at the NCAA Championships to earn All-American honors, and concluded her freshman year by placing 23rd in the opening round of the Olympic Trials. Last month, Bogues won her third A-10 Championship, and earlier this month she placed 20th at the NCAA Championships.
Bogues is the first athlete in Dayton history to compete at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials twice, and she is just the second athlete from Dayton to compete at the NCAA T&F Championships twice.
Shea Greene, a sophomore at Princeton University, also qualified for the women's javelin final. Greene, a 2-time Ivy League champ in the event, threw 172-5 in the first round, the 10th best throw of the competition.
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Nia Ali (Pleasantville High, Class of 2006), literally jogged through her opening round of the women's 100 hurdles to advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Saturday at 8:04 p.m.
Ali, the defending U.S. champ in the high hurdles, finished last in her heat in 20.38 (that's not a misprint), the slowest time of all the competitors and most likely the slowest qualifying time ever run in the 100 hurdles in the history of the Olympic Trials. But Ali knew prior to her race that because of all the scratches, all 27 competitors in the 100 hurdles were guaranteed a spot in the semifinals, so while everyone else raced all out, Ali simply ran just to finish, expending as little energy as possible. Now that's a savvy and veteran move!
In the semifinals of the men's 400 intermediate hurdles, UPenn freshman Ryan Matulonis (Seton Hall Prep, Class of 2023) and Jameson Woodell of Rutgers (Hunterdon Central, Class of 2018) didn't advance to the final. Matulonis finished 8th in his heat in 51.30 and Woodell was 8th in his heat in 52.77.
Chloe Timberg of Rutgers, who won the NCAA title in the women's pole vault earlier this month, advanced to the final by clearing 14-9 in the first round. The final is Sunday at 6:15 p.m.
Jessica Woodard (Cherokee High, Class of 2010) earned a spot in the women's shot put final with a mark of 59-11.75 in the first round. The final is Saturday at 8:50 p.m. Monique Riddick (St. Thomas Aquinas, Class of 2007) didn't advance in the shot put after throwing a 53-9 in the first round.