James Burrus didn’t break 11 seconds in the 100 until last month.
Now he’s one of the fastest sprinters in the state.
Burrus, a senior at Moorestown, won the 100-meter dash at the state Group 3 meet at Pennsauken this weekend in 10.58, which makes him the third South Jersey sprinter to run sub-10.60 fully automatic this year.
Before this year, only 11 had done it in South Jersey history.
Burrus first broke 11 seconds with a 10.87 in the prelims of the South Jersey Elite at Delsea on May 5. He lowered his PR to 10.83 in a fast race at the BCSL Liberty Division meet, where he took 3rd behind Northern Burlington Samuel Thomas [10.78] and Willingboro’s Malachi James [10.79].
He ran a wind-aided 10.79 and a legal 10.80 at sectionals last weekend, taking 2nd to Timber Creek junior Zyheem Coleman Frazier in the final, with both timed in 10.80.
He dropped his PR to 10.71 in the trials Friday and then blasted his 10.58 into a 2.5 wind in the final. That wind reading is surprising considering how fast the race was – the first five finishers all ran 10.76 or faster.
Burrus’ time was fastest at the state Group 3 meet in 11 years, since Damiere Byrd of Timber Creek – and currently with the Atlanta Falcons – ran 10.50 in 2011.
And he needed to fly considering North Hunterdon junior Kente Edwards ran 10.65 for 2nd place.
Burrus will be a part of the terrific Monmouth University program next year.
It appears the previous school record was 10.95 by Kamal Steward in the trials of the 2011 Burlington County Open at Maple Shade. Burrus is the first Moorestown sprinter ever to win a state title in the 100 or 200.
Corcoran has run 10.55 this year, James 10.56 and Burruss 10.58, and they’re ranked No. 3, 4 and 5 in the state and No. 10, 11 and 14 in South Jersey history.
Burrus is the No. 4 seed at Meet of Champs, James No. 5 and Corcoran No. 8, although Ledgister and Whittle have both said they’ll be running at New Balance Nationals at Franklin Field instead of the Meet of Champions, which should make for a wide-open Meet of Champions.
James and Burruss are now No. 2 and 3 in Burlington County history, behind only James Townsend, who ran that insane 10.45 to win the 2003 Meet of Champions at South Plainfield. Thomas is No. 10 on that all-time Burlco list.
Here’s a look at the nine runners who went 10.71 or faster at states:
10.39 … Fitzroy Ledgister [St. Peter’s Prep], Parochial A [1st]
10.49 … Shamali Whittle [Nottingham], Group 2 [1st]
10.50 … Fabian France [Bergen Catholic], Parochial A [2nd]
10.58 … James Burrus [Moorestown], Group 3 [1st]
10.62 … **Malachi James [Willingboro], Group 2 [2nd]
10.65 … *Kente Edwards [North Hunterdon], Group 3 [2nd]
10.70 … Clyde Liverpool [Boonton], Group 1 [1st]
10.71 … Evan Corcoran [Kingsway], Group 4 [1st]
10.71 … *Xavier Hayletts [Bergenfield], Group 3 [3rd]
10.71 … *Chris Ross [Walkill Valley], Group 1 [2nd]
10.72 … Souleymane Fall [Bergenfield], Group 3 [4th]
10.72 … Greg McQueen [Elizabeth], Group 4 [2nd]
And here’s the all-time Burlington County top-10:
10.45 … James Townsend [Holy Cross], 2003
10.56 … Malachi James [Willingboro], 2022
10.58 … James Burrus [Moorestown], 2022
10.62 … Kashif Moore [Burlington Twp.], 2007
10.66 … Bobby Orro [Pemberton], 1993
10.72 … Sterling Pierce [Rancocas Valley], 2015
10.73 … Miekel House [Delran], 2019
10.74 … Ken Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
10.75 … Jamaal Harris [Palmyra], 2002
10.78 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlington], 2022
10.78 … Sam Aviles [Palmyra], 2019
10.78 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2000
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 