Woodrow Wilson’s Dennisha Page eyes triple gold at Meet of Champions
The Tigers senior won the 100, 200 and 400 at the Group 3 state championships, running the second-fastest time in South Jersey history in her favorite event.
Dennisha Page likes the 200 meters because it’s longer than the 100 and shorter than the 400.
“It’s the perfect race for me,” Page said. “I don’t have to even think about it. I just run.”
Page, a Woodrow Wilson senior, ran the second-fastest 200 time in South Jersey history last weekend at the Group 3 state championships at Franklin High School.
But that was far from lone highlight of the best weekend of her burgeoning career.
Page also won the 100 and 400 and took fourth in the long jump with a personal-best leap. And she did it all even though she was “tired” after attending Woodrow Wilson’s prom the night before the first day of competition.
“I really didn’t expect to win all three,” Page said. “I told my coach I was tired because of the prom and all.”
Page keeps surprising herself, forcing changes to the locked screen — where she keeps her time goals for all three events — on her cell phone.
She has set her sights high for Saturday as she plans to compete in the three events at the Meet of Champions at Northern Burlington High School.
“I know it’s going to be hard especially because the 400 and 100 are back-to-back,” Page said. “But it’s all mental. I’ll tell myself I can do it.”
Page, a Syracuse University recruit, is riding high after winning the 200 at the state championships in a blazing time of 23.72 seconds. That’s the second-best time in South Jersey history, behind only the 23.69 by Willingboro’s legendary Michele Glover in 1981, per the South Jersey Track blog.
“She can go faster,” Woodrow Wilson girls’ coach Kareem Ali said. “Her ceiling is limitless.”
Ali said the 5-foot-10 Page has only begun to tap into her potential.
“She’s so green,” Ali said. “She’s just getting started.”
Page said she ran a little cross-country and participated in some middle-school track meets before high school. But she wasn’t serious about the sport.
She wasn’t even serious when she came out for track as a freshman.
“I didn’t like track,” Page said. “I was lazy. I didn’t like coming to practice.
“I only did it because my sister was on the team," she said, referring to Halimah Roberson, a sophomore track athlete at the University of Delaware. "She played basketball. I played basketball. She ran track. I ran track.”
Page credits Ali with forcing her to understand her ability as a runner.
“He pushed me every single day, telling me I should take practice serious because I could be good,” Page said. “At first, I was throwing up and stuff because I had never practiced hard before.
“I would slack off, and he pushed me. When you work hard, it pays off every single time.”
Page set meet records in the 100 (11.68) and 400 (54.41) at the South Jersey Group 3 championships. Her times in those events are the sixth and eighth fastest in South Jersey history, respectively.
“She keeps getting faster,” Ali said. “In the 100, [her best time] was 12.04. Then it was 11.99. Then it was 11.68.”
Many athletes tend to focus on one event at the Meet of Champions. Some compete in two.
It’s rare for a track athlete to try for a triple at the event that brings together the top finishers from the six group meets. But Ali said that’s typical of the approach he espouses for Page.
“We’re going for an exclamation point,” Ali said of Page’s final high school meet. “I believe in the saying, ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll end up with the stars.’ ”
Page loves the 200 because it’s in her “Goldilocks” zone — not too short, not too long. But she’s looking forward to the challenge of running all three races against the state’s best athletes.
“I know it’s going be hard, but I’m just going to have to push through and believe in myself,” Page said.
Track and field Meet of Champions
South Jersey athletes to watch
BOYS
Sincere Rhea, St. Augustine senior : He’s No. 2 seed in the high hurdles (13.93) and the 400 (48.06).
Deptford senior Naseem Smith: He’s the No. 3 seed in the high hurdles (13.98).
Cherokee senior Lucciano Pizarro: He’s the No. 1 seed in the shot put (59-9).
Delsea juniors Marco and Nico Morales: They are the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, respectively, in the pole vault (both 15-0).
Connor Melko, Bishop Eustace senior: He’s the No. 2 seed in the 3,200 (9:06.52).
Jake Nwosu, Delsea junior: He’s the No. 3 seed in the discus (173-3).
Thomas Hampton, Clayton senior: He’s the No. 4 seed in the 100 (10.69).
Floyd Whitaker, Highland sophomore: He’s the No. 4 seed in the triple jump (47-11 ¼).
GIRLS
Claudine Smith, Atlantic City senior: She’s the No. 1 seed in the high hurdles (13.80) and the triple jump (41-6).
Brielle Smith, Oakcrest senior: She’s the No. 1 seed in the javelin (151-5).
Tierra Hooker, Timber Creek junior: She’s the No. 1 seed in the long jump (19-0) and the high jump (5-10).
Cydney Thomas, Haddon Heights junior: She’s the No. 1 seed in the shot put (42-8) and No. 2 seed in the discus (129-0).
Aliya Garozzo, Paul VI junior: She’s the No. 2 seed in the 400 hurdles (1:00.95).
Tionna Tobias, Winslow Twp. senior: She’s the No. 3 seed in the high hurdles (13.99).
Lauren Princz, Egg Harbor sophomore: She’s the No. 1 seed in the 100 (11.95).