Malachi James came within 3-100ths of a second of winning his first national title Sunday but earned All-America honors with a 2nd-place finish in the 60-meter dash at Armory Nationals in New York.
James ran 6.79 and finished just behind Cordial Vann of Heritage High in Frisco, Texas., who ran 6.76.
James, Cole Isaac Cramer of Southern Regional and Demare Dezeurn of Alemany High in Mission Hills, Calif., were all timed in 6.79, but James got 2nd on a comparison of times broken down to thousands of a second. James ran 6.781, Cramer 6.785 and Dezeurn 6.789.
James’ performance caps a brilliant season that saw him bounce back after missing nearly a year of action with injuries. He ran 6.71 for 60 meters at Ocean Breeze – No. 3 in state history – and 6.22 in the 55, a Meet of Champions record and No. 2 in state history. He also broke the M-of-C record in the 200 with his 21.28, No. 6 in state history.
James is up next in the 200-meter dash final at 2:53 p.m.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 