Kingsway grad Kyle Rakitis ran the 7th-fastest 1,500 in Rutgers history Friday afternoon at the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville.
Rakitis, a Scarlet Knight freshman, ran 3:47.35, the equivalent of a 4:05.54 full mile. His previous 1,500 PR was a 3:50.64 just last weekend at Princeton. Before that it was 3:52.82 from May of his junior year at Kingsway at a meet at Icahn Stadium in Manhattan. His mile PR is 4:10.09 from Eugene Nationals in the spring of 2021.
Rakitis was out in 43.63 for the first 300, came through 700 in 1:45.00 and then closed in 2:02.35 and 59.80.
Rakitis’s time is 5th-fastest by a Rutgers runner since 1983, with four-faster times all coming in the last two years. He’s the fastest Rutgers freshman since the TFRRS began tracking results in 2010, which means – if the Rutgers all-time performance list is correct – he’s Rutgers’ fastest freshman since at least 1980.
Rakitis was racing on his former home track in Charlottesville, where he began his career as a student at the University of Virginia before transferring to Rutgers. He did not race for the Cavaliers.
Rakitis’s high school teammate, Monmouth junior Stone Caraccio, ran 3:53.32 in the same race (different section), closing in 2:01.79 and 59.74. He’s coming off a lifetime-best 1:50.37 for 800 last month at Villanova.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 