From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

With blazing sprint times of 10.64 and 21.55, Northern Burlington senior Samuel Thomas made a bit of history Saturday at the state Group 3 meet.

First of all, let’s take a look at Thomas’s times.

In the 100, he placed 2nd to Ewing senior Mekhi Stafford, just 2-100ths of a second back. The 10.64 lowered his PR from 10.73, which he ran at Central Jersey Group 3 sectionals a week earlier at Jackson Liberty.

In the 200, he was 2nd to Hamilton West senior Jaci Summers, who ran 21.38. Thomas’s 200 PR coming in was 21.74 from last year’s Lenape Day of Sprints and Hurdles and his season best was 21.92 from the same meet this year, back in April.

The 10.64 ranks Thomas 5th in Burlington County history and 23rd in South Jersey history. The 21.55 is also 5th all-time in Burlington County and No. 25 on the all-time South Jersey list.

But here’s where it gets really interesting.

Only nine other South Jersey sprinters (none from Burlington County) have run both 10.65 or faster AND 21.55 or faster. Here’s that list:

Bill “Peanut” Gaines [Clearview], 1967 [10.2h, 20.9h]
Flipper Anderson [Paulsboro], 1983 [10.4h, 21.1h]
Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983 [10.47, 21.06]
Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001 [10.53, 21.40]
Dorian Bryant [Kingsway], 2002 [10.65, 21.43]
Sabli Gonnet [Eastern], 2007 [10.63, 21.46]
Fabian Santiago [Oakrest], 2010 [10.54, 21.52]
Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017 [10.49, 21.53]
Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2023 [10.60, 21.55]
Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023 [10.64, 21.55]

But none of them ever ran that fast in both dashes in the same state meet. Until Saturday, when Thomas did it.

Now, Peanut Gaines probably would have at the 1967 state Group 3 meet at Highland Park. He won the 220 in a hand-timed 20.6, but back then they were still running 100 yards, and he won that in a hand-timed 9.3. That’s the equivalent of a hand-timed 10.2 for 100 meters, which converts to 10.44 for a fat 100. But, alas, that doesn’t count.

The closest any South Jersey sprinter has come to a 10.64 / 21.55 double in the same state meet came just last year, when Willingboro’s Malachi James won a 10.62 / 21.69 double in the state Group 2 meet at Franklin.

Other close calls: in 2002, Kingsway’s Dorian Bryant won the Group 2 100 in 10.68 and the 200 in 21.41 at Egg Harbor, and in 1997, Mainland Regional’s John Stone ran 10.63 and 21.79 at South Plainfield.

Thomas goes into the Meet of Champions Wednesday at Franklin as the No. 2 seed behind Stafford in the 100 and tied for No. 3 in the 200, behind Seton Hall Prep’s Xavier Donaldson [21.25] and Summers [21.38] and tied with Pennsauken’s Premier Wynn [21.55], the indoor Meet of Champions winner.

All-Time South Jersey 100 List
10.35 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2000
10.36 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2010
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003
10.47 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
10.47 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
10.49 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017
10.53 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
10.54 … Fabian Santiago [Oakrest], 2010
10.54 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
10.55 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], 2022
10.57 … Jamil Benjamin [Cumberland Regional], 2006
10.57 … Geoff Navaro [Absegami], 2008
10.58 … Anthony Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2003
10.58 … James Burrus [Moorestown], 2022
10.60 … Robert Page [Kingsway], 2008
10.60 … Marquis Bonds [Millville], 2007
10.60 … Shawney Kersey [Woodbury], 2009
10.60 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
10.60 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2023
10.62 … Kashif Moore [Burlington Twp.], 2007
10.63 … John Stone [Mainland Reg.], 1997
10.63 … Sabli Gonnet [Eastern], 2007
10.64 … Jeremy Cooper [Mainland Reg.], 1997
10.64 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
10.65 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
10.65 … Rocco Ordille [St. Joe’s-Hammonton], 2015
10.65 … Dorian Bryant [Kingsway], 2003
10.65 … Mar-quel Davis [Deptford], 2017
10.66 … Bobby Orro [Pemberton], 1993
10.67 … Antraye Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2003
10.67 … D.J. Germann [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2022
10.67 … T.J. Johnson [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2009
10.67 … Kashif Miller [Haddon Heights], 2014
10.67 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2017
10.68 … Marquis Bonds [Bridgeton], 2007
10.68 … Tim Athill [Pleasantville], 1998
10.68 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2017
10.69 … Robert Darby [Pennsauken], 2006
10.69 … Charles Fields [Wildwood Catholic], 2018
10.69 … Darnell Charles [Oakcrest], 2012

All-Time Burlington County 100 List
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003
10.54 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
10.58 … James Burrus [Moorestown], 2022
10.62 … Kashif Moore [Burlington Twp.], 2007
10.64 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
10.66 … Bobby Orro [Pemberton], 1993
10.72 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
10.73 … Miekel House [Delran], 2019
10.74 … Ken Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
10.75 … Jamaal Harris (Palmyra), 2002
10.78 … Michael Bolling (Willingboro), 2000
10.78 … Sam Aviles [Palmyra], 2019

All-Time South Jersey 200 list
20.8h… Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
21.06 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
21.07 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
21.14 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
21.30 … Jah’mir Beasley [Sterling], 2019
21.39 … Martin Booker Jr. [Pennsauken], 2017
21.40 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
21.40 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
21.40 … Todd Dutch [Washington Twp.], 2001
21.40 … Jamaad Muse [Timber Creek], 2012
21.40 … Rajahn Dixon [Eastern], 2023
21.41 … Dorian Bryant [Kingsway], 2002
21.41 … T.J. Johnson [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2010
21.43 … Barry Cephas [Winslow Twp.], 2008
21.46 … Brondon Jenkins [Delran], 1994
21.46 … Sabli Gonnet [Eastern], 2007
21.47 … Curtis McIntyre [Bridgeton], 1992
21.52 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
21.53 … Robert Hargrove [Vineland], 1996
21.53 … Dennis Davis [Edgewood], 2000
21.53 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
21.53 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2017
21.54 … Derek Ward [Kingsway], 1992
21.55 … Ajani Dywer [Washington Twp.], 2023
21.55 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
21.55 … Premier Wynn [Pennsauken], 2023
21.56 … Ron Hillian [Eastern], 2002
21.56 … Bruce Owens [Deptford], 2005
21.56 … Darrell Bush [Woodbury], 2011
21.56 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], 2019
21.56 … Amir Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2017
21.57 … Mar-Quel Davis [Deptford], 2017
21.58 … Antraye Miles [Winslow Twp.], 2003
21.59 … John Stone [Mainland Reg.], 1997
21.60 … Juwan Johnson [Glassboro], 2013

All-time Burlington County 200 list
20.8h… Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
21.40 … Lamont Smith [Willingboro], 1991
21.40 … Rob Gary [Lenape], 1998
21.46 … Brondon Jenkins [Delran], 1994
21.55 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
21.66 … Darrin Scott [Willingboro], 2001
21.66 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
21.67 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2000
21.68 … Daequan Kim [Bordentown], 2009
21.68 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
21.70 … Keith Griffith [Florence], 2010
21.75 … Antonio Abney [Willingboro], 2007
Additional hand times
20.8 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
21.3y … Kevin Holloway [Palmyra], 1975
21.3y … Dave Wheeler [Kennedy], 1981
21.3 … Barry Douglas [Willingboro], 1993

(You may be wondering about Carl Lewis. As you can see, he did run a hand-timed 20.8 at Willingboro in 1979, but he never really ran a fast 100 in high school – just a 10.5 hand time. Pretty slow for an eight-time Olympic gold medalist!)

(Another note. Washington Township junior Ajani Dwyer ran 10.60 at the Gloucester County meet and 21.55  at the South Jersey Open but did not compete after the Gloucester County meet on May 11 so did not race at sectionals.)