By John Spinelli
WEST LONG BRANCH – On June 22, some of the best athletes from around the world competed at Monmouth University at the 2025 New Jersey International Meet.
“We had a lot of great performances and qualifying marks last weekend,” said Highlands resident Joe Compagni, who directed the meet.
“In a special way, it was great to have Olympians like Ajee Wilson and Joetta Clark competing in the meet, while others like Allie Wilson, Barbara Friedrich Parcinski, Derrick Adkins and Elliott Denman (race founder) himself were there to support them,” he said. “We had over 700 entries aged 5 to 85, and ath- letes from all over the country who joined us this year.”
Joetta Clark finished second in the master’s 100-meter.
In the elite men’s 1,500-meter, professional Ben Allen with Empire Elite won the event, matching his seed time in 3:37. In the women’s event, unattached runner Abbe Goldstein dominated the race with no competition at the line, winning in 4:13.
The meet was also a highlight reel for some Two River athletes. Middletown brothers Brian and Troy Hill both fared well, running under four minutes in the elite 1,500-meter.
“Both heats of the 1,500 were paced and went out fast,” Brian said. “It was very hot, but that is what you are going to get on the track this time of year.”
“I have raced the 1,500 at this meet three years in a row, and every year the field gets deeper,” he noted. “Shore AC and the meet organizers deserve lots of credit for putting on a competitive meet like this. There are not many competitive track meets in the summer after the college season ends.”
Two records were broken during the meet: In the 4×800, the American record for women in the 35-39 age group was captured by the Central Park Track Club; one of the legs was run by Bella Courtney Decker from Toms River. In the 2,000-meter steeplechase, Katy Seary from Great Britain and Central Park Track Club ran in a time of 6:36.57, which also happened to break Wale’s national record.
In the men’s masters 2,000-meter steeple, Colts Neck-native Rick Lee ran a fast time of 7:31, with no competition at the line. During the 800-meter, Neptune-native and Olympian Ajee Wilson had a strong back to win the event in 1:58. In second place, just one second behind her, was Nike’s McKenna Keegan.
In the men’s Open 800-meter, Christian Brothers Academy and Georgetown alumnus Tim McInerny nearly lost first place to Empire Elite’s William Cuthbertson. McInerny ran a fast time of 1:48.07. In the longer distances, another CBA alum, Nolan Kus, earned bronze in the 5,000-meter, crossing the finish line in 17:20.
In the field events, recent Monmouth University graduate Dalton Yuest (’25) won the Pole Vault with a height of 4.65 meters.
“We also moved the youth events later in the meet this year, which gave them and their families the opportunity to be there to compete and then cheer for the pros in the 800 and 1500 right after their events,” Compagni said.
Central Park Track Club was the overall winner of the invitational for the women’s side; Shore A.C. won the men’s team division.
Up next, some athletes who competed in the New Jersey International Meet will continue their seasons at the U.S. Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from July 31 to Aug. 3.
The article originally appeared in the July 3 – July 9, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
