Shakira Dancy came into the Camden County meet with PRs of 12.71 and 26.38. She left as one of New Jersey’s top sprinters.
Dancy, a Winslow Township sophomore, established herself as one of the sprinters to beat in Group 3 when she won the 100 in 12.43, the 200 in 24.37 and the 400 in 57.12 Saturday at the Camden County Championships at Haddon Township.
She now owns the top times in all three events among athletes in South Jersey Group 3.
Dancy also anchored Winslow’s first-place 1,600-meter relay team, so she had a hand in 40 of Winslow’s 129 points in a close 129-120 win over Timber Creek for the large-school title.
What a remarkable performance by a sprinter who doesn’t have any known results according to MileSplit before this spring season.
Dancy attended Eastern High last year but it doesn’t appear that she was a member of the school’s track team.
Let’s take a look at exactly how fast this precocious Winslow sophomore ran this weekend:
100-METER DASH: Dancy’s 12.43 is No. 3 in South Jersey this spring and No. 20 in the state. Her previous PR of 12.71 came in the prelims of the Rowan Invitational last weekend in Glassboro.
200-METER DASH: That 24.37 is No. 2 in the state this year, behind national Athlete of the Year candidate Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic, who ran 23.97 at this weekend’s Union County Championships in Berkeley Heights. It’s also No. 14 in South Jersey history and fastest by a South Jersey sophomore in eight years, since Eastern’s English Gardner ran 24.19 at the 2008 state Group 4 meet at South Plainfield. Incredibly, it’s also No. 2 in Winslow history, behind only Krystal Cantey, who ran 24.19 in 2005. And it’s No. 14 this year among U.S. sophomores.
400-METER DASH: Her 57.12 is No. 2 in South Jersey this year behind another sophomore, Pemberton’s Aliyah Taylor, who ran 56.27 at the BCSL Patriot Division championships Saturday at Northern Burlington in Mansfield Township.
1,600-METER RELAY: Dancy’s fourth win came in the 1,600-meter relay, where Winslow ran 3:55.43 with Brittany Preston, Flora Ahairakwe and Iyianna Williams on the first three legs. Winslow is already No. 1 in New Jersey with its 3:54.16 in the Philly-area 4-by-4 consolation race at Penn. Dancy ran leadoff on that team.
Danny’s 200 is her fastest race right now, and she’s already climbed pretty high on the all-time South Jersey list! Look at the company she is in just one big race into her career!
- 23.69 … Michele Glover [Willingboro], 1981
- 23.90 … Denise Liles [Kingsway], 1984
- 24.01 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2000
- 24.04 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2010
- 24.11 … Denise Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
- 24.12 … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
- 24.17 … Michelle Brown [Seneca], 2008
- 24.19 … Patti Dunlap [Camden], 1978
- 24.19 … Krystal Cantey [Winslow], 2005
- 24.21 … Audrey Wilson [Deptford], 2006
- 24.23 … Nichole Hill [Oakcrest], 1997
- 24.31 … Morgan Gordon [Rancocas Valley], 2009
- 24.32 … Kiara Lester [Deptford], 2015
- 24.37 … Shakira Dancy [Winslow Twp.], 2016
- 24.42 … Dana Burnett [Williamstown], 1996
- 24.46 … Faleesha Dowe [Penns Grove], 2014
- 24.47 … Nadia Davy [Bridgeton], 1999
- 24.48 … Avionne Sloan [Camden], 2003
- 24.49 … Annie Johnson [Shawnee], 2012
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 