In his second lifetime race over the 110-meter 42-inch hurdles, Rutgers freshman Yashahya Brown from Washington Township matched the fastest time by a Rutgers hurdler in 41 years Friday.
Brown placed 4th in the 110-meter highs in 13.82 with a (barely) legal 2.0 meters-per-second tailwind at the South Florida Invitational at the USF Soccer and Track Stadium in Tampa.
His time is 3rd-fastest in Rutgers history and fastest since May of 1984, when Rutgers Hall of Famer Boris Prendergrass from Kennedy High in the Bronx, the 1982 U.S. junior national champion, ran 13.75 in a meet at Villanova. The only other hurdler in school history faster than Brown is Eugene Norman, who ran 13.64 in a meet in Tilsonburg, Ontario, in July of 1983.
Brown’s time is also tied for 9th-fastest ever by a South Jersey high school alum over the 42-inch barriers.
He’s now 6th-fastest in the Big Ten Conference and fastest among Big Ten freshmen.
In his only previous college race Brown ran 14.13 last weekend in Coral Gables, Fla. His time is 34th currently in NCAA Division 1 and 3rd-fastest among freshmen, behind only Francisco Marques of Grand Canyon [13.69 in Long Beach last weekend] and Jayden Keys of Georgia [13.73 in Gainesville last weekend].
All-Time South Jersey Alumni List
12.94 … Jack Pierce [Woodbury], June 22, 1996, Atlanta
13.12 … Anwar Moore [Camden], May 5, 2007, Modesto, Calif.
13.43 … Isaac Williams [Willingboro], April 16, 2016, Walnut, Calif.
13.48 … Sincere Rhea [St. Augustine], May 12, 2023, Raleigh, N.C.
13.51 … Martin Booker [Camden], June 7, 1986, Indianapolis
13.54 … Sultan Tucker [Delsea], May 22, 2004, St-Martin, France
13.77 … Jeffrey Young [Camden], May 11, 2022, Bloomington, Ind.
13.81 … Anthony Acklin [Triton], May 13, 2005, Cedar Falls, Iowa
13.82 … John Sease [Willingboro], March 26, 1982, El Paso, Texas
13.82 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], April 11, 2025, Tampa
13.84 … Jusson Boyd [Willingboro], April 15, 2011, Greensboro, N.C.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 