Walls jumps himself in front at Buena

(Pub May 4)
Leaders: Glassboro won four events, the 4x800, the 4x100, the 4x110 shuttle hurdles and the triple jump, to lead Division 1. Absegami, Camden and Winslow Township each led Division 2 with two wins apiece.

Ford tough: The Absegami quartet of Kambui Little, Demetrius Rooks, Geoff Navarro
and Ford Palmer ran away with the Division 2 sprint medley, blazing to a meet-fast 3:33.76. Palmer also anchored the winning 4x800 to a meet-best 8:07.31.

On the Prowl: Camden's tandem of Wayne Walls and Ameer Waugh won the triple jump relay combining for 86-9 feet.
Quote: "We wanted to show up as a team today and together we'll try to get better for sectionals and then go into states," Waugh said.

BUENA – No matter what he tweaked or added to his triple-jump routine, Camden junior Wayne Walls knew he wasn't the same jumper as he was during the winter.
Turns out the right remedy to get the lead out of his legs, at least during the South Jersey Relays , involved five early hours of penciling in empty circles and not warming up for the event.
Even with the SAT excuse in his pocket, Walls managed to jump a season-best 44-0, Saturday's farthest jump, joining senior teammate Ameer Waugh to win the Division 2 triple jump relay with a combined total of 86-9.
Eager to give his all to the Buena meet, Walls thought about bumping his SAT test date to June 7 – until coach Greg Foster told him to think again.
"If you don't take the SATS, you're not jumping," the second-year coach told him. "I strong-armed him into taking it."
But Walls wasn't too giddy to jump anyway, not after landing a dud at Thursday's South Jersey Open. A multi-event athlete, Walls thought he had a better chance of placing in the 4x400 hurdles than in the triple jump.
"I didn't think I was going to do well at all because of the other day," Walls said. "I messed up a little bit there. I really didn't want to do it."
Given more than enough math problems to mull over in the morning, Walls was given another number to consider.
"I twisted his arm," Foster said," and said 'Listen, we got sectionals coming up in three weeks and you haven't been triple jumping. You could use the practice."
Walls jumped 43-0 feet in his first attempt raw and eventually warmed to the task, outleaping Timber Creek's Eric Smith (43-2.5) by ending it with the winning 44-0. Waugh -- who joined the other half of the winning Division 2 long-jump tandem, Syteek Farrington, to cover 41-11.25 -- placed third, hopping 42-9.
Walls had worked on slowing his steps, concentrating on each of the three phases and building leg muscle through a combination of leg exercise and workouts.
Foster knew it was just a matter of time before Walls put it all together.
"We have high expectations because he jumped 45 feet indoors," the coach said. "We're happy he's finding his rhythm back."
The Glassboro duo of Ryan Chance and PJ James won the Division 1 triple jump, combining for 85-5. Chance was also part of the 4x110 shuttle hurdles team, alongside teammates Derick Palme, Tom Jones and Chris Rennles, that outleaned Burlngton Township to win in 1:03.82.
Cherokee's foursome of Kevin Merrigan, Niraj Patel, Chris Steliga and Will Rapp won the meet's 4x100 relay for the first time in school history in a meet-best 42.81.
Traditionally a team built on distance, Cherokee has morphed with Merrigan. A senior, Merrigan has been the Chiefs' catalyst for change, dropping the baseball glove for spikes last year and recruiting Rapp, a junior, this year.
Coach Steve Shaklee said despite its inexperience, the relay team has gelled nicely under the guidance of assistant coach Chris Callihan.
"One of the things we do really well is handoffs and that's because Chris is very technically and gets them the technique they need to do it properly," Shaklee said. "That makes a big difference in a 4x100."
Two days after setting the current U.S. best in the 1,500, Ocean City junior Brett Johnson was back anchoring the Red Raiders' 4x1,600 team of Connor Martin, Miles Schoedler and Stephen Hoffman to a come-back 18:00.41 victory.
A personal-best 4:34 mile by Hoffman brought the Red Raiders from fourth to second. Then Johnson, hot on the trail of frontrunner Haddonfield sophomore Colin Baker for three laps, pulled away in a 60 second last lap for a 4:19 split.
Johnson knew he needed to run closer to the miracle mile of 4:00 to qualify his time for Nationals (the standard is 17:40), but opted to cruise instead, trailing frontrunner Haddonfield sophomore Colin Baker for three laps before pulling away with a fast 60 second final lap for a 4:19 split.
"I felt really good. I just opened it up," Johnson said. "During the last lap, I was probably being an idiot and looking back, but I didn't want to exert more than I had to do. "