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The sounds you heard in the northern part of the state on Friday may very well have come from the explosions caused by several historic shot put bombs that detonated at the Bergen County Meet of Champions and the Essex County Championships.
In one of the greatest days in NJ history for the shot put, Livingston junior Jessica Oji, Old Tappan senior Layla Giordano and Bergen Catholic junior Benjamin Shue all moved way up near the top of the state's all-time list with monumental blasts from the circle.
Let's start out at the Bergen County Meet of Champions at Del Torre Stadium in Hackensack where Giordano smashed the Bergen County record and Shue just missed doing the same in the boys' competition.
Related Links:
Bergen County Meet of Champions meet page
The Princeton University-bound Giordano sent the 8.8-pound ball soaring 50-0 to shatter the Bergen County record of 48-10.50 that Amarys Berry of Hackensack threw to win the shot at the 2016 Group 4 Championships. Giordano's huge PR (her previous best of 45-6 came at the Bergen M of C last year) is No. 4 in state history and is ranked No. 9 in the nation this season. She also won the discus with a 167-4.
Giordano, who won the New Balance National title in the discus last June with a PR of 170-4, is just the second girl in NJ history to throw 50 feet in the shot and over 170 in the discus. The legendary Alyssa Wilson of Donovan Catholic threw a still-standing national record of 58-1 in the shot and a NJ record 182-0 in the discus as a senior in 2017.
SHUE BECOMES 2ND THROWER IN NJ HISTORY TO HIT 68 IN THE SHOT AND 200 IN DISCUS
Shue nearly joined Giordano in the Bergen County record book when he sent the 12-pounder 68-0 on his final attempt,. That's No. 7 in NJ history, No. 7 in the nation this season, No. 1 in the country among juniors, and No. 1 in NJ. Shue's 68-0 is just 3 inches short of the Bergen County all-time best throw of 68-3 set by Andy Papathanassiou of Emerson in 1985.
Shue, who also won the discus with a 201-9, crushed is PR of 63-11.50 that he threw earlier this month at the Big North Divisional Championships.
With his 68-0, Shue, who is also No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 n NJ in the discus this season with a 204-10, became just the second thrower in NJ high school history to top both 200 feet in the discus and 68-0 in the shot put. Shue joined the great Glenn DiGiorgio of Bayonne as the only throwers to accomplish that remarkable double. DiGiorgio finished his high school career in 200 with PR's 213-4 and 68-0.25.
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OJI'S SHOT HEARD AROUND NEWARK
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Now it's time to look deeper into the bomb that Oji sent flying at Schools Stadium in Newark at the Essex County Championships.
On her fifth throw of the competition, Oji unloaded a 51-10 to break her own county record and move her up to No. 3 spot on NJ's all-time list to No. 5 in the country this season.
Oji, who set the Essex County record last week with a 49-10.50 at the Super Essex Championships at Schools Stadium, also had throws of 47-7, 49-2 in the competition.
The only two throwers in state history who have thrown further in the shot put than Oji and Giordano are Wilson (the national record holder at 58-1), and Nickolette Dunbar of Whippany Park, who threw 53-10.25 in 2016.