Going into NCAAs, Bryce Tucker had the 26th-fastest qualifying time in the East Regional and 56th-fastest qualifying time including the East and West prelims.
He had a season-best 50.79 from his 3rd-place finish at the Big Ten Conference meet in Eugene, and it was going to take a series of huge races for him to get back to Eugene for the NCAA final.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Tucker, a 2023 Pennsauken graduate, went from the 56th-fastest qualifier to an NCAA Division 1 All-America to finish his sophomore year at Rutgers.
His journey back to Eugene began in Jacksonville, where he ran a PR of 50.52, the 10th-fastest time in the first round of the East Prelims. Then came his breakthrough 50.00 in the quarterfinals in Jacksonville, the 8th-fastest time in the East. That earned him a ticket to Hayward Field and the NCAA semifinals.
On Wednesday, he put together another fantastic race, running 50.14 to advance to the final after not even ranking among the top 50 intermediate hurdlers in the country a few weeks earlier.
Tucker locked up 1st-team All-America honors with an 8th-place finish in the final on Saturday in 50.83. Five of the seven who finished ahead of him are seniors.
Rutgers’ track web site doen’t get updated very often, and they haven’t updated their list of Rutgers track All-Americas since 2019, which is why it took me so long to get this posted. I had to update the last six years off their list once I even found it buried in a 2020 “Fact Book” hidden in the “archive” section of their web site..
But it looks like Tucker is Rutgers’ first All-America in the 400-meter hurdles in 56 years, since John Hanley of Edison placed 6thin the 1969 meet in Knoxville with a hand-timed 51.1.
Aaron Younger of Delsea was an honorable mention All-America in the 400 hurdles when he placed 23rd in the 2011 meet in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tucker’s 50.00 is well under the B standard of 50.75 for the USATF Championships back in Eugene in late July and early August. He’s only 25-100ths of a second off the A standard of 49.75, and he would have until July 20 to improve his seed time if he chooses to compete.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 