Rowan senior Masai Byrd from Rancocas Valley ran within 6-100ths of a second of his own school record in the 60 Saturday in the season-opening Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze.
Byrd ran 6.88 in the prelims before a 6.92 in the final. The 6.88 is just off his school record of the 6.82 he ran at the AARTFC Championships at Ithaca last March. His time is currently No. 13 on the TFRRS Division 3 list.
Rowan’s school record in the 60 has changed hands several times in recent years.
Justyce Pollitt from Sicklerville and St. Augustine was the first to break 7.00, which he did with a 6.98 in the trials of the Malloy Lions Invitational in South Huntington, N.Y., in February of 2015.
Dave Benjamin from Freehold lowered the record to 6.95 in the finals of the 2017 NJAC Championships at Ocean Breeze and then Camden’s Julian Pratt ran 6.93 at the 2020 NJAC Championships at Ocean Breeze.
Nana Agyemang from Parsippany lowered the mark to 6.87 in the prelims of the 2022 NJAC meet, also at Ocean Breeze, and then Bridgeton’s Shamar Love dropped it to 6.85 in the trials of the 2023 AARTFC meet at the Armory.
The record remained at 6.85 until Byrd ran 6.84 in the 2024 Fastrack Invite at Ocean Breeze. He ran 6.84 again in the trials of last year’s NJAC meet at the Ott Center, then dropped it to 6.83 in the final.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 