There was no question as to whether Quincy Wilson won Sunday’s 400-meter national title; the Bullis sophomore was all alone when he crossed the finish line. But he had a larger goal in mind.
When he did, Wilson started running again. He was no longer aiming for a finish line and definitely not moving at record pace. He was traveling to the crowd to hand out high-fives in elation — an emotion that has become common for him. His time of 45.76 seconds shattered Elzie Coleman’s 20-year-old 400-meter indoor high school record by more than a tenth of a second.
“I took everything very slowly, executed the race pretty good, focusing on little things on my form,” Wilson said. “I turned around for a second and realized that I’d seen 45 on the clock. … I was super excited.”
Wilson shone the brightest of many standout local athletes at last weekend’s New Balance Nationals Indoor held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center and at the Track at New Balance world headquarters. His 400 triumph wasn’t his last national championship — or high school record — Sunday either.
Wilson anchored the Bulldogs’ 4x400 relay team that broke its own national record with a time of 3 minutes 11.87 seconds. He embraced teammates Julian Roberson, Alexander Lambert and Colin Abrams after crossing the finish line.
Wilson has become a star for a Bullis team that has continued to thrive on the national stage.
The Bulldogs boast seven indoor national records, all of which have been earned in the past six years. Wilson has been a part of three of those, cementing himself as one of the country’s premier talents at age 16.
“We knew [the 400 record] would be within shot, and in typical Quincy fashion, he stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park,” Bullis Coach Joe Lee said.
Bullis also took home the 4x200 relay girls’ title with a time of 1:35.84 and the girls’ 4x55 shuttle hurdle championship in 32.95 seconds. The Bulldogs came in second in the girls’ 4x400 relay. Junior Sydney Sutton was third in the 400 final. Abrams finished second in the 800 boys’ championship.
Elsewhere, Archbishop Carroll took home a pair of national titles in Boston. The Lions won the 4x200 Saturday with a time of 1:26.47, and sophomore Jake Odey-Jordan, who ran the second leg of the relay, won the 200 meters in 20.66 seconds Sunday.
“[Odey-Jordan] is a sponge. He learns everything and is able to take that information and in real time utilize it,” Carroll Coach Rafiu Bakare said. “... You can see him adapting to the necessary input, and there is no push back. It is an athlete who has just wanted to get better and better.”
Reigning All-Met boys’ indoor track athlete of the year Drew Dillard took part in Carroll’s relay victory and finished fourth in the high jump.
Potomac (Va.) senior Ty’Heak Buie won the boys’ triple jump championship with a meet-record leap of 49 feet 11 inches on Sunday. Severna Park senior Kian Williams came fourth in the same event. Georgetown Visitation’s Abigail Anstett won the freshman mile race Friday with a time of 5:01.74.
Other notable performances in Boston include a second-place finish for St. John’s in the boys’ 4x800 relay, Independence senior Hannah Riolo’s top-five mark in the girls’ high jump and Archbishop Spalding senior Athena Stith’s fourth-place finish in the girls’ long jump. Lake Braddock junior Kai Bolme was fifth in the boys’ shot put with a throw of 18.46 meters (60 feet 6¾ inches).
Some local athletes also traveled to New York for the Nike Indoor Nationals.
Old Mill junior Tsedeke Jakovics finished third in the 800 with a time of 1:52.44. Northern senior Gabby Cope finished sixth in the girls’ shot put with a throw of 13.04 meters (42 feet 9¼ inches). South Lakes’ relay teams earned three top-three finishes in the boys’ 4x200, girls’ 4x800 and girls’ distance medley.
