Lathan Brown of Deptford and Bobby Poplau from Cherokee, both sophomores from Rutgers, ran the 5th- and 8th-fastest 600s in Rutgers history Friday afternoon at the Armory.
Racing at the Scaret Knight Open, Brown placed 2nd in 1:18.73 and Poplau was 4th in 1:19.83. Modou Sanneh of Monroe University won the race in 1:17.56 and Rutgers junior Gabriel Rodriguez was 3rd in 1:19.23.
Brown’s previous PR was 1:19.50 from last year’s Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis. Poplau had never run a 600.
Brown was out in 24.01 and 50.1, closing in 28.64. Poplau came through 200 in 25.14 and 400 in 51.74, running his third lap in 28.01.
Five of the eight fastst 600 times in Rutgers history are from South Jersey runners. Rancocas Valley’s Micah Wood ran No. 2 1:17.65 in Geneva, Ohio, in 2024, Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker – a current Rutgers junior – is No. 4 1:18.24 last year in Chicago and Delsea’s Aaron Younger is No. 6 at 1:18.91 from 2011.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 