Rancocas Valley’s Micah Wood ran the 3rd-fastest 600 in Rutgers history Friday at the Jim Green Invitational at Nutter Fieldhouse on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky.
Wood, a sophomore transfer from Monmouth, placed third in 1:20.66, finishing behind two Butler seniors – Tom Pitkin ran 1:18.88 and Jacob Uhl ran 1:20.38.
This was Wood’s first race in a Rutgers uniform.
Wood’s time trails only Jermaine Griffith [1:16.12 at the 2016 Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio] and Boaz Madeus [1:17.99 at the 2018 Big Ten meet in Geneva] on the all-time Rutgers list.
He’s now the third South Jersey runner on that list. Lenape graduate Steve Swern ran 1:21.63 in 2009 and Eric Barnes of Egg Harbor ran 1:23.94 in 2017. Wood, Swern and Barnes now rank 3rd, 5th and 10th in Rutgers history in the three-lapper.
Wood never ran a 600 at Monmouth. He ran 1:05.91 for 500 yards and 1:53.46 for 800 meters in 2020, this last indoor season.
This was Wood’s first race since May, when he ran a PR 52.91 and won the 400 intermediates for Monmouth at the Metro Atlantic Outdoor Championships in Lawrenceville.
Wood did run a fast 600 in high school. In his last 600 – three years ago at the 2019 Ocean Breeze Freedom Games – he ran 1:23.85, which is No. 10 in South Jersey history.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 