Washington Township’s Ajani Dwyer ran the 2nd-fastest 200 in NCAA Division 1 this year Saturday at the Ott Center.
Dwyer, a sophomore at Penn State, won the 200 at the Penn Elite with an indoor PR 20.52, leading Princeton junior Jackson Clarke of Danville (Pa.) to a 20.63, the 3rd-fastest time in the country.
Dwyer is already No. 3 nationally with his 6.55 in the 60 in a meet last weekend in State College.
The 20.52 is just 1-100th of a second off Dwyer’s PR 20.51 from the Big Ten Championsips at Hayward Field in Eugene this past May. His previous indoor PR was 20.65 on the same track last January.
Dwyer’s 200 time is No. 2 in Penn State indoor track history, behind only Olympian Cheickna Traore from Snyder High in Jersey City, who ran 20.30 when he placed 2nd at 2024 NCAA Championships in Boston.
The only South Jersey sprinters who’ve run faster than Dwyer are Olympic gold medalists Carl Lewis [19.75] and Dennis Mitchell [20.09]. Among New Jersey sprinters, only Traore has run faster indoors.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 