Malachi James ran within 11-100ths of a second of the state record and easily advanced to the semifinals of the 60-meter dash Saturday morning at Armory Nationals in New York.
James, running with a Willingboro affiliation, ran 6.81 and was the 4th-fastest qualifier behind three juniores – Cordial Vann of Heritage high in Frisco, Texas [6.73], Jayden Finley of North Richland Hills, Texas [6.79] and Southern Regional’s Cole Isaac Cramer (6.81). Cramer technically was a faster qualifier than James when their times were compared down to a thousandth of a second – 6.805 to 6.809.
The 30-fastest runners advanced to the semifinals, scheduled for 10:43 a.m. Sunday. The final is scheduled for 12:39 p.m. Sunday.
James is already No. 3 in state history with his 6.71 at the Ocean Breeze Invitational in February. Timber Creek’s Damere Byrd and Franklin Township’s Mario Heslop share the state record of 6.70, Byrd in 2011 and Heslop in 2019.
Washington Township senior Ajani Dwyer, who ran all-time New Jersey No. 4 6.76 at the Millrose Games in February at the Armory, hasn’t raced since because of injuries. He was entered in the 60 at Boston Nationals but did not race in the qualifying heats on Saturday morning at the Reggie Lewis Center in Brighton, Mass.
Dwyer and James are No. 1 and 2 in state history in the 55, Dwyer with 6.18 in the Millrose Trials and James with 6.22 to win the Meet of Champions and break the meet record.
On Saturday, James came through 55 meters in 6.35.
6.70 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2011
6.70 … Mario Heslop [Franklin twp.], 2019
6.71 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024
6.75 … Fitzroy Ledgister [St. Peter’s Prep], 2022
6.76 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024
6.77 … Fabian France [Bergen Catholic], 2022
6.78 … Joe Dawkins [Hackensack], 1995
6.83 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.86 … Maxwell Booker [Essex Catholic], 2001
6.86 … Louis Akpadago [Nottingham], 2020
6.87 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.89 … Mike Fields [Roselle], 1995
6.89 … Mekhi Stafford [Ewing], 2023
6.91 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
6.93 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.95 … Bruce Black [Hamilton], 2006
6.99 … Brayshul Tuten [Paulsboro], 2021
6.99 … Jack Ahart [Kinnelon], 2023
6.99 … Chris Ross [Walkill Valley], 2023
6.99 … Cole Isaac Cramer [Southern Regional], 2023
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 