Moorestown senior Brandon Outlaw ran 47.05 to lead six quarter-milers under 48 seconds and become the Quakers’ first boy to win a Meet of Champions title in 42 years.
Outlaw, seeded No. 1 with a 46.82, became the 11th-fastest 400 runner in Meet of Champions history and the first Moorestown boy to win at the M-of-C since Mike Coffey in the javelin in 1975.
He’s only the fifth South Jersey runner to win the M-of-C 400 in the last 23 years, following Rob Gary of Lenape in 1998, Reuben McCoy of Winslow Township in 2004, Antonio Abney of Willingboro in 2007 and Jamaad Muse of Timber Creek in 2014.
Carteret’s Taj Burgess placed second in 47.22, the second-fastest non-winning time in the meet’s 39-year history! The only faster non-winning time was turned in four years ago by Timber Creek’s Jamaad Muse, who ran 46.67 behind Zyaire Clemes of Trenton, who ran 46.50.
Here’s the all-time Meet of Champions 400-meter dash performance list!
The race was extremely fast, with six under 48 seconds — all seniors.
Outlaw and Burgess were followed by Matawan’s Thomas Kalieta Jr. — the defending champion — (47.69), Egg Harbor Township’s Amir Brock (47.57), Paterson Kennedy’s Alexander Moore (47.83) and South Brunswick’s Harmodio Cruz (47.78).
Outlaw is the fifth Burlington County runner to win the Meet of Champions 400, following Olympian Lamont Smith of Willingboro in 1990 and 1992, Barry Douglas of Willingboro in 1993, Robert Gary of Lenape in 1998 and Antonio Abney of Willingboro in 2007.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 