In his 4th college intermediate hurdles race, Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker moved up to No. 8 in Rutgers history.
Tucker placed 3rd in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday at the USC Outdoor Open in Columbia, S.C., with a 51.46. He finished behind Tennessee seniors Rasheeme Griffin [49.58] and Jakwan Hale [49.95], who both raced at NCAAs last year.
Tucker’s previous college PR was a 52.28 in a meet at Princeton last month. His time is No. 4 in the Big Ten – just behind R.V.’s Micah Wood of Rutgers, who ran a lifetime-best 51.14 in March – and No. 1 among underclassmen.
On the TFRRS performance list, he’s the No. 5 freshman in NCAA Division 1. Pennsauken teammate Premier Wynn, now at Norfolk State, is the No. 16 freshman in D-1 with his 52.29 earlier this month in Norfolk.
Tucker is one of four South Jersey alums on the Rutgers all-time list. Delsea’s Aaron Younger is No. 2 [50.65 in 2010], Wood is No. 7 with that 51.14, Lenape’s Steve Swern is No. 7 [51.68 in 2010] and Tucker is No. 8. Tucker knocked Deptford’s Lathan Brown off the top-10. Brown ran 52.16 earlier this month. Also recently knocked off the list was Delran’s Harran Williams [52.19 in 2002]. But six of the top 12 in Rutgers history are from South Jersey.
Tucker’s PR is a 50.96 when he won his 3rd straight Meet of Champions in June in Somerset. That’s No. 5 in New Jersey high school history.
Tucker, Wood and Brown are all entered in the 400-meter hurdles at the 125th annual Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Wynn is in the field as well. The men’s college intermediates are scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Thursday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 