Deptford graduate Mar’Quel Davis, a senior at Bloomfield, won the 100 at the Temple Invitational Saturday with a wind-aided but very fast PR.
Davis ran 10.45 to lead seven runners under 11 seconds at Temple. The performance was assisted by a 3.2 meters-per-second tailwind, and anything over 2.0 meters per second is considered wind-aided and not eligible for records and all-time lists.
But it can serve as a qualifier for NCAA Division 2 Nationals, and right now Davis ranks 15th in the country and No. 1 in the East Region.
The provisional 100 qualifying standard is 10.57, with 10.28 the auto qualifier.
Davis also anchored Bloomfield’s 400-meter relay team at Temple, which ran 41.61 and placed second to Rowan’s 41.16, which is No. 1 in NCAA Division 3.
Davis has a wind-legal PR of 10.51 from his win at last year’s Central Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in Lakewood. That was actually the last open 100 he ran before Saturday.
Davis also has a 200 PR of 21.58 from a meet at Moravian College in Bethlehem last April. He won the CACC 200 in 21.72 and also had a 21.65 and 21.68 to his credit last spring. He hasn’t run an open 200 yet this spring. The NCAA D-2 200 provisional is 21.32.
This year’s CACC Championships are scheduled for May 7 back at Georgian Court in Lakewood. The Division 2 nationals are scheduled for May 26-28 at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.
Rowan junior Jah’mere Beasley from Sterling ran 10.82 in the same wind-aided section as Davis. The fastest wind-legal time of the day came from Highland’s Robert McKinney, a Rowan freshman, who won the second of three races in 10.85 with a 1.2 wind. Also in that race was Andrew Lodge of The College of New Jersey, who ran a PR 11.00. His high school PR was 11.46.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 