Wilson graduate Dennisha Page ran 60 meters in 7.18 seconds Saturday, the No. 19 time in the world this year.
Page came into the season with a 60 PR of 7.26 from the Tyson Randall Invitational last February in Fayetteville, Ark., as a Rutgers junior. She’s now a senior at Tennessee, and she PR’d two weeks ago with a 7.23 at a meet in College Station, Texas, and lowered it Saturday at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C.
World No. 7 Jacious Sears, Page’s teammate, won the race in 7.13. She ran 7.07 earlier this month and 7.04 last year. Florida State’s Dajaz Defrand and Page both ran 7.18, with Defrand credited for 2nd place with a 7.171 to Page’s 7.174.
Page is now tied for 19th in the world and tied for 8th among U.S. women. Her time is 4th-fastest ever by a New Jersey sprinter, behind Montclair’s Me’Lisa Barber [7.01 in Moscow, Russia, in 2006] Eastern’s English Gardner [7.10 in New York in 2019] and Montclair’s Mikele Barber [7.14 in Albuqurque in 2010].
She’s also tied for 4th-fastest in NCAA Division 1, although it looks like some performances from this weekend haven’t been added to the TFRRS database yet.
Page’s time is No. 4 in Tennessee history behind Searas last year [7.04], Courtney Champion in 2007 [7.15] amd Joella Lloyd [in 2021 [7.15].
Here’s my best attempt at an all-time New Jersey 60-meter dash top-10:
7.01 … Me’Lisa Barber [Montclair], 2006, Moscow, Russia
7.10 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2019, New York
7.14 … Mikele Barber [Montclair], 2010, Albuquerque
7.18 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2024, Clemson, S.C.
7.24 … Shavon Greaves [Lakewood], 2010, State College, Pa.
7.24 … Dominique Booker [Montclair Immaculate], 2011, Fayetteville, Ark.
7.24 … Myasia Jacobs [Paramus Catholic], 2016, Boston
7.27 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2017, Clemson, S.C.
7.33 … Aleah Williams [Montclair], 2003, Fayetteville, Ark.
7.33 … Sydney McLaughlin [Union Catholic], 2023, Boston
And here are all the South Jersey sprinters I found at 7.40 or faster. Michelle Glover would be on this list, but she never ran a 60. She did run 6.74 for 55 meters, which would have put her at 7.35 at the same pace for another five meters.
7.10 … English Gardner [Eastern], 2019, New York
7.18 … Dennisha Page [Wilson], 2024, Clemson, S.C.
7.27 … Torie Robinson [Winslow Twp.], 2017, Clemson, S.C.
7.34 … Gabrielle Farquharson [Williamstown], 2016, Geneva, Ohio
7.37 … Amandi Rhett [Moorestown], 2005, Boston
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 