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15-year-old U.S. high schooler runs blazing 46-second 400m

Quincy Wilson beat runners three years older to win his first U.S. national title

sprinters on track

Racing against athletes three years older at the New Balance Nationals in Boston on Saturday, 15-year-old freshman Quincy Wilson took the win in the boys’ 400m in an amazing time of 46.67 seconds. Wilson’s time is a world U16 indoor best and the 13th-fastest 400m time by a U.S. high schooler.

Although Wilson laid down a fantastic time, he was in the back of the field for more than half of the race. Senior runners Zyaire Nuriddin and Jake Andrews led the way for much of the two-lap event, jumping into first and second early on. After the opening lap, there was a decent gap between Nuriddin and Andrews at the front of the race and Wilson back in third. 

Wilson never panicked, though, and he refused to let the seniors get too far away as they powered through the second lap of the 400m. He clawed his way back to even with the two leaders, and with under 100m to go, he pulled ahead, flying to the line and his first national title. 

This is not the first Grade 9 record of the year for Wilson, who amassed multiple huge PBs during the indoor season. In January, he ran a 300m PB of 34.11 seconds and a 500m best of 1:02.63 on the same day, and he ran his 600m PB of 1:17.80 at the Millrose Games in New York City. Each of those times are the current Grade 9 bests in the U.S. Wilson also boasts a 200m best of 21.90, a time he ran in February, and he almost cracked the two-minute barrier in the 800m with his 2:00.45 PB from December. 

Wilson is undoubtedly a star in the making, and he still has three more years of high school to grow as an athlete. It is sure to be a fun next few years for the young sprinter, and it will be pretty entertaining for track fans, too, as we all get to watch him improve. 

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