Still on top, Dunlap-Patoulas to enter Hall

The fastest girls in South Jersey have been chasing Patricia Dunlap-Patoulas for more than 30 years.

She thinks it's time they caught up.

"I'm ready to pass that baton," said Dunlap-Patoulas, who set still-standing South Jersey records in 1979. "It's time now."

When she was competing for Camden and known as Patti Dunlap, the sprinter was famous for her explosive starts and furious finishes. She ran faster than most boys. She ran as if her heart were ablaze.

"I ate it, drank it, slept it," Dunlap-Patoulas said of racing. "It was my whole life."

Dunlap-Patoulas will become a member of the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 27. Her induction will recall a career that started outside her childhood home on Magnolia Street in Camden and culminated with All-American honors at the University of Florida.

It also should remind folks of just how fast she was back at the start of modern scholastic track and field, when race distances were changing from yards to meters.

"It seems like yesterday," Dunlap-Patoulas said. "I remember the glory of running, how much I loved it, what it was like for me to cross that finish line."

In 1978, Dunlap-Patoulas set the state record for 100 yards with a time of 10.4 seconds. He also set the 220-yard record with a time of 23.6 seconds (which stands as the South Jersey 200-meter record, since those marks are merged because of the near-identical distance).

In 1979, race distances were changed from yards to meters. Dunlap-Patoulas won the Meet of Champions that season in the 100 meters and 200 meters with blazing times of 11.5 seconds (still the South Jersey record, although Eastern's English Gardner ran a wind-aided 11.49 in 2008) and 23.7 seconds.

Dunlap-Patoulas said she discovered her talent on the street in front of her childhood home.

"I was one of 10 [children]," Dunlap-Patoulas said. "We always had so many people over our house, and we would be outside, running up and down the street. I started beating my older brothers, and I knew I had a gift."

Like all top sprinters, Dunlap-Patoulas was competitive, too.

"I remember they had a little community event at a park around the corner when I was in third grade," Dunlap-Patoulas said. "I ran this race, and I know I won. But they gave [first place] to this other girl. It made me mad. I said to myself, 'I'm going to show everybody how fast I can run and make them all proud.' "