Byrd’s best falls short of Meet of Champions title

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. - The time was terrific.

The place was something else for Damiere Byrd.

The Timber Creek junior ran the fastest 100 meters of his life at Thursday night's Meet of Champions. He blazed to a time of 10.42 seconds.

But Byrd was determined to win the race and earn the title as the fastest boy in New Jersey. He finished second to Long Branch junior Miles Shuler-Foster, whose blistering time of 10.39 seconds was the fastest in the event since Camden's Jamar Ervin ran 10.35 in 2000.

"It's disappointing," Byrd said after the race at South Plainfield High School.

Washington Township senior Devon Carter won the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 53.16 seconds and took third in the 110 high hurdles in 14.18.

Camden senior Syteek Farrington took second in the 110 high hurdles in 14.17 seconds, and Timber Creek senior Matt Huckabee finished second in the shot put with a throw of 61 feet, 21/2 inches and third in the discus with a throw of 169-6.

In the shot put, Huckabee finished behind Morristown junior Nick Vena, who set a state record with a throw of 69-101/2.

Florence senior Keith Griffith was second in the 400 meters in 47.81 seconds. Delsea senior Sean McPherson was third in the long jump (22-91/2) and fifth in the 100 (10.73) and anchored the Crusaders to victory in the 4x100 relay.

Haddonfield senior Jon Vitez was fourth in the 3,200 in 9:06.47 in a race in which Livingston junior Jeramy Elkaim shattered the meet record with a winning time of 8:46.08 - the fastest time in the country this season.

Ocean City junior Miles Schroedler was fourth in the 1,600 in 4:11.46 in a race that was won by West Windsor North junior Jim Rosa in a meet-record time of 4:07.89.

Byrd, who won the 100, 200 and 400 at the Group 3 state meet May 29, was the top seed entering the 100 meters. He had won the event at the state meet in 10.68 seconds.

Byrd, who was leaving Thursday night for a football recruiting trip to South Carolina, said his left hip started to feel tight when he settled into the starting blocks.

"I had to get up three times," Byrd said. "I didn't feel too good. I was cramping up in my hip."

Byrd started strong but was unable to hold off Shuler-Foster's surge over the final 30 meters.

"When I tried to transition, I couldn't do what I needed to do," Byrd said.

Cherry Hill East's team of Mike Oliver, Marcus Phillips, Terrence Owens and Alex Reber finished fourth in the 4x400 relay in 3:17.32.

Delsea won the 4x100 relay, a new event at the Meet of Champions. The Crusaders' team of Marcus Williams, Tyler Coulbourn, Kyle Webb and McPherson ran 42.22 seconds, edging Moorestown's Danny Sullivan, Jo Jo White, Kamal Stewart and Anthony Bonnet (42.36).

"We had no doubt we were going to win," McPherson said. "We just had to run our race. We worked for it."