A few minutes after Washington Township senior Ajani Dwyer ran the fastest 100-meter dash in state history in the qualifying rounds of the South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Pennsauken, Burlington City senior Malachi James ran even faster.
Dwyer ran 10.24, the fastest time under any conditions in state history, and James topped him with a 10.18 in the Group 1 final – tragically without a wind gauge.
Without a wind gauge at Pennsauken, the performance is not eligible to be recognized as a state record, but it’s the fastest time under any conditions ever. According to all track bodies, any race 200 meters or shorter that’s contested without a wind guage is automatically considered wind-aided.
So even though Dwyer and James both ran faster, the official state record remains 10.35 set by Jamar Ervin of Camden at the 2000 Meet of Champions at South Brunswick with a 2.0 wind reading – the maximum allowable for a race to be considered legal.
James’ time is 4th-fastest in the U.S. this year under any conditions and would have made him the No. 37 American man this year if a wind gauge had been present. It would have been No. 2 among American men in the Under 20 category and No. 8 in the world.
It also would have been a provisional qualifying mark for this summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials. But wind-aided marks are not eligible for consideration.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 