When Rancocas Valley’s Thomas Howard Jr. ran 21.36 at Group 4 sectionals earlier this month, we wrote about whether that mark would be recognized as the state sophomore class record.
Howard did run faster than any sophomore in New Jersey history. The previous fastest time was a 21.41 by the late Mario Heslop of Franklin Township when he won the Group 4 state title at Egg Harbor.
The problem is there was no wind reading at either meet.
The fastest FAT 200 by a sophomore with a wind gauge turned out to be a 21.42 by Snyder’s Zamir Thomas when he won the emerging elite section at 2009 Greensboro Nationals. The results from that meet show a legal 0.3 tailwind.
All of which brings us to Saturday evening.
Howard was back on the track at Franklin Field for the first round of the Championship 200 at West Philly Nationals.
The bad news is that Howard recorded the 9th-fastest time, and only eight advance to the final Sunday afternoon.
The good news is that Howard ran 21.33.
And this time there was a wind gauge. The wind reading for the 7th heat was -0.5 meters-per-second, which means he was running into a slight headwind and obviously that’s a legal wind.
So Howard can now be recognized as fastest sophomore in state history.
The previous-fastest time by a South Jersey sophomore – with legal wind and FAT timing – was a 21.59 by Jamaad Muse of Timber Creek at the 2012 Meet of Champions at Old Bridge. Muse placed 2nd to Oakcrest’s Fabian Santiago in a race with a legal 1.7 tailwind. The previous Burlington County sophomore record? That would be Malachi James’ 21.68 with a 1.6 tailwind as a Willingboro soph at 2022 Group 2 sectionals at Delsea.
Howard’s time is 7th-fastest in South Jersey in any conditions and 3rd-fastest with a confirmed wind reading, behind Antonio Tarantino of Paul VI [21.07 in 2018] and James at the Meet of Champions [21.08].
I was able to find 14 confirmed faster FAT times in state history with confirmed legal wind, although there may be a couple more.
Overall, Howard placed 9th, missing the final by 6-100ths of a second. He was the 2nd-fastest sophomore in the race, behind only Jake Odey-Jordan of Archbishop Carroll in Radnor Township, Delaware County, who ran 21.05.
Howard finishes the 2024 season ranked 3rd in New Jersey on a legal performance list, behind only James’ 21.08 and a 21.30 last month by Meet of Champions runner-up Julio Tatis of Parsippany Hills at a meet in Boonton.
All-Time South Jersey 200-Meter Dash List
21.06 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1983
21.07 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
21.13 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024
21.14 … Reuben McCoy [Winslow Twp.], 2004
21.22 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024
21.30 … Jahmir Beasley [Sterling], 2019
21.33 … Thomas Howard Jr. [Rancocas Valley], 2024
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
21.41 … 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
21.47 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 