Woodbury senior Marquis Taylor ran away from a fast field to win the 55-meter dash Wednesday in the South Jersey Elite meet at the Ott Center in West Philly.
Taylor lowered his PR from 6.43 to 6.41, tied for 11th-fastest in South Jersey history and 4th-fastest on the all-time Gloucester County list. He’s only 3-100ths of a second outside the all-time South Jersey top 10.
Taylor had been tied for the school record with his 6.43 from last year’s Meet of Champions at Ocean Breeze. Woodbury’s Anthony Averett ran 6.43 at the 2013 Meet of Champs at the Bubble.
His time is 3rd-fastest in New Jersey this year, behind East Orange’s Jordaine Johnson and West Orange’s Terrance Mahomes, who ran 6.38 and 6.40 at the Millrose Games Trials earlier this month at the Armory.
The race produced three of the four-fastest times in South Jersey this year, and seven boys ran 6.64 or faster.
Senior M.J. Lincoln broke his own Lenape school record, taking 2nd place in 6.51, with St. Augustine senior Julian Onesti 3rd in 6.52 after a PR and school-record 6.51 in the trials. He broke the school record of 6.52 set by national scholastic hurdles champ Sincere Rhea at the 2019 Meet of Champions.
Sterling senior Bright John placed 4th in 6.57, Washington Township senior John Santos 5th in 6.62, Burlington Township junior Solomon Wesley PR’d at 6.63 for 6th, Ranccoas Valley senior David Smith ran 6.64 for 7th and Washington Township senior Jack Schuck 8th in 6.69.
Taylor also won the 200 in 21.89, with Paul VI senior Austin Bailey 2nd in 21.97 and Wesley 3rd out of an unseeded heat with a PR 21.97 (21.967 for Bailey, 21.970 for Wesley).
All-Time South Jersey 55-Meter Dash List
6.18 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2024
6.22 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024
6.26 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2011
6.30 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.31 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.36 … Kenny Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
6.36 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2024
6.37 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.41 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.41 … Marquis Taylor [Woodbury], 2025
6.42 … Thomas Walls [Wilson], 2006
6.42 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
6.42 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2023
6.43 … George McKey [Willingboro], 1982
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.44 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
6.44 … Brysheen Ferguson [Glassboro], 2024
6.45 … Paul Wheeler [Kennedy], 1983
6.45 … Miekel House [Rancocas Valley], 2020
6.45 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
6.45 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
6.45 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 