Winslow Township’s Jayden Poteat is off to a hot start as a freshman at Hampton.
Poteat is 2nd-fastest in the Colonial Athletic Association in the 400 with a lifetime-best 47.88 and 4th in the 200 with a PR 21.52. He also ran leadoff on Hampton’s 1,600-meter relay team, which is 2nd in the conference at 3:12.08.
Poteat ran the 21.52 in Lynchburg this past weekend and the 47.88 earlier this month in Louisville. Hampton ran 3:12.08 last month at the Ott Center. They were his first collegiate races at 200 or 400 meters.
Poteat ran a windy 21.48 at the 2024 state Group 3 meet at Delsea, but his previous wind-legal 200 was a 21.67 a week earlier at sectionals, also at Delsea. His previous 400 PR was a 48.23 when he won the 2024 state title.
Poteat hadn’t raced in nearly a year. After winning state Group 3 titles indoors at 55 and 400 meters at the Bubble in February, he did not compete last outdoor season. So that was his first 400 in 10 months and his first 200 since a 21.72 at the Ott Center in December of 2024.
Poteat is one of three South Jersey athletes at Hampton, located across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel from Norfolk.
Washington Township’s Yashahya Brown, the 2024 national high hurdles champ, is in his first year at Hampton after a year at Rutgers and ran 8.59 in Lynchburg this past weekend in his first race for Hampton. Brown ran 13.82 in Tampa last spring, 4th-fastest in Rutgers history.
Also at Hampton is Dominic Bassey, Poteat’s former Winslow teammate. Bassey, who ran 1:52.15 and 53.35 in the intermediates last spring, has yet to race this indoor season.
Hampton will be at the Ott Center Feb. 6-7 for the Penn Classic.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 