Five days after running an eye-popping 10.73 in his first high school 100, Washington Township junior Ajani Dwyer blew that PR out of the water as part of an explosive sprint double Thursday at the Gloucester County Championships at Deptford.
Dwyer, a 1st-year runner, won the 100 in 10.60 – No. 14 in South Jersey history – breaking the meet record of 10.62 set in 2009 by Shawney Kersey at Delsea.
Dwyer also won the 200 in a meet-record 21.59. He ran slightly faster – 21.55 – at South Jersey Elite. But he raced unpressed, winning by over half a second. The previous meet record was 21.97, also set by Kersey in 2009.
Dwyer bumped Ewing’s Mekhi Stafford out of the top spot on the 2023 MileSplit New Jersey performance list. Stafford ran 10.62 at a meet in Landover, Md., Dwyer’s 21.55 from Delsea Saturday is No. 3 in New Jersey this year.
The last South Jersey sprinter to run as fast as Dwyer for both the 100 and 200 was Salem’s Jonathan Taylor, now an all-pro running back with the Colts. Dwyer is only the 5th to run 10.60 and 21.55.
10.47, 21.06 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
10.49, 21.53 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017
10.53, 21.40 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
10.54, 21.52 … Fabian Santiago [Oakrest], 2010, 2012
10.60, 21.55 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2023
Dywer now ranks tied for 4th in the 100 in Gloucester County history and 5th in the 200. He’s the fastest South Jersey junior at 100 meters since Taylor ran 10.55 at South Jersey Group 1 sectionals at Egg Harbor in 2016 and fastest in the 200 since Antonio Tarantino of Paul VI ran 21.21 at 2017 Parochial A, also at EHT.
He’s the fastest underclassman in New Jersey in both sprints this year.
In the 100, Washington Township sophomore John Santos made it a 1-2 Minuteman sweep. Santos PR’d at 10.94, making him the fastest sophomore in South Jersey and the 3rd-fastest in the state this year. He’s Gloucester County’s fastest 10th-grader since Deptford’s Jean-Paul Roane ran 10.92 at the 2015 Tri-County Conference meet at Delsea. This appears to be Santos’ first open race this year. His previous PR was 11.11 from Group 4 sectionals last year at Buena.
All-Time Gloucester County 100-Meter Dash List
10.47 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
10.53 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
10.55 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], 2022
10.60 … Robert Page [Kingsway], 2008
10.60 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2009
10.60 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
10.60 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2022
10.65 … Dorian Bryant [Kingsway], 2003
10.65 … Mar-quel Davis [Deptford], 2017
10.66 … Bruce Owens [Deptford], 2004
10.70 … R.J. Page [Kingsway], 2008
10.70 … Jared Nicholson [Williamstown], 2016
10.73 … Sean McPherson [Delsea], 2010
10.73 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2023
All-Time Gloucester County 200-Meter Dash List
21.40 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
21.41 … Dorian Bryant [Kingsway], 2002
21.53 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
21.54 … Derek Ward [Kingsway], 1992
21.55 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2023
21.56 … Bruce Owens [Deptford], 2005
21.56 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2011
21.57 … Mar-Quel Davis [Deptford], 2017
21.60 … Juwan Johnson [Glassboro], 2013
21.62 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], 2022
21.69 … Robert Page [Kingsway], 2007
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 