EUGENE, OR − Just nine days after the 110-meter hurdles world record fell at Hayward Field, the next generation of star U.S. hurdlers put the world on notice.
Zacchaeus Brocks, a high school senior who competes at Novi Detroit Catholic Central, smashed the high school 110 hurdles record with a personal-best time of 12.975 seconds to win the USATF U20 outdoor track and field championships Friday, June 19, at Hayward Field on the campus of Oregon. He is the first American high schooler ever to clock a sub-13 time, shattering the previous record of 13.08 by Wayne Davis in 2009.
“I’m just blessed, honestly,” Brocks said. “Last year, I was injured and wasn’t even able to come out here and compete. Being able to do this is a testament to God, man. Without Him, I don’t know where I would be.”
The feat is made more impressive by the fact that Brocks didn’t even clock the fastest 110 time of the day.
Le’Ezra Brown, a freshman at Georgia, ran 12.95 in prelims approximately 45 minutes before Brocks won the final. Although that time won’t count toward the high school record book, it is the fastest ever for a U.S. U20 athlete.
Brown went on to place second in the final, finishing narrowly behind Brocks in 12.977. In the process, he earned a spot on the U.S. team for the U20 World Championships.
“I just wanted to get top two, I didn’t really care about winning,” Brown said. “I ran 12.95 in the prelim after cramping up coming off that last hurdle. Once I saw I had at least second, I knew I was good.”
Brocks was watching closely earlier this month when Auburn junior Ja’Kobe Tharp clocked 12.75 at the NCAA championships, obliterating the previous world record of 12.80 set by Aries Merritt in 2012.
“It was very motivating for me,” Brocks said. “I saw that and went, ‘Hey, maybe I could do that someday.’ To see how easily he was able to do it, it just gave me even more confidence and motivation.”
Brocks in late May broke the all-time Michigan state record in the 110m hurdles during the preliminary rounds. He followed that with a time of 13.40 seconds in the finals to win his first individual state title. He then anchored CC’s 4×100 relay and pulled away late for his second state title contribution.
He finished his day with a third medal, posting the second-best time in Michigan history in the 300m hurdles, winning gold with a time of 36.33.
“God sat me down last year, humbled me a little bit and I was able to get good, get recovered and feel better,” Brocks said then. “This is just one of my goals. We had to come out here and leave a legacy in the state of Michigan.”
Free Press sports writer Jared Ramsey contributed.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Detroit Catholic Central’s Zacchaeus Brocks shatters high school hurdles record
Reporting by Jarrid Denney, Eugene Register-Guard / Register-Guard
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By Jarrid Denney, Eugene Register-Guard | USA TODAY Network
