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Where are they now? The FASTEST HS Boys in the 110 Hurdles

If you have ever won a hurdle race in high school, you’ve dreamed about becoming an Olympian. Because the moment you first get a taste of winning, you get hooked on it. And the hurdles are a race that proves who is real and who is not, because only a real tack athlete can hurdle their way down the track. For those athletes who are really good, you’re much less concerned about any of the other hurdlers, and much more with whatever the clock has to say after you cross the line. But what really happens to the fastest 110 hurdlers runners in high school? Only 1  high school boy can run the fastest time in the nation., and the truth is, high school is really on the start of a young sprinters career.

To make this list as the best 110 hurdler in high school, you have to run the top recorded time in the nation on either MileSplit or Athletic.net that is both FAT and wind legal. I also have to point out that the high hurdles get even higher for boys when they get to the college level, so it is expected that their times will slow down at first, racing at that higher height. So here is a breakdown of what happened to the fastest high school boy in the 110 hurdles, every single year, for the past 10 years. Names that you might recognize, and some you likely have forgotten. Because it doesn’t really matter how good you start, as much as it does how you finish. 

Honorable Mentions

Before we get into this list I had to mention a few honorable mentions, men who did not make the cut as the fastest boys in high school, but made up for it the moment that they got to college.

Grant Holloway – Virginia (2016)

Grant Holloway was not the fastest hurdler in the year 2016. Which is only the truth because he was really good at practically any event he entered. He went 13.51 in the 110 hurdles, 21.27 in the 200 meter, 25 feet 11.5 inches in the long jump, and 6’10 in the high jump. So it is not surprising that when he got to college and focused on hurdling he dominated the event. At the University of Florida he became the collegiate record holder in the hurdles at 12.98, and turned pro after three full seasons running in college. He actually never lost, not even once in an NCAA hurdle championship indoors or outdoors for his entire career. Grant even won a 60 meter dash national championship without hurdles, just because he could. But now he is the second fastest hurdler even in the 110s, a world record holder in the 60 hurdles, and Olympic medalist and World Champion. So you could argue he is the greatest of all time already from here on out.

Trey Cunningham – Alabama (2017)

Trey Cunningham dominated high school track in 2017 from the state of Alabama. He actually ran 13.35 which was just barely off of the boy who was the fastest in the nation. But he made up for it when he got to college, beating him at the NCAA championships in 2022, and running the second fastest time ever in the NCAA history. He actually picked up the torch from Grant Holloway winning indoor and outdoor titles when he finally moved on from college. He only lost the ACC championship one time while he was in college, which was a fluke because he ran first in the prelims when he did. Today  he is a world championship silver medalist with great things still in store for his career.

Daniel Roberts – Georgia (2016)

Daniel Roberts was Grant Holloway’s rival, all throughout his time in the SEC, but before that he ran 13.40 in the 110 hurdles in high school which was dangerously close to the fastest time in the nation. If it weren’t for Grant he would have dominated the SEC championships in the hurdles for years, and he left college as the third fastest man in NCAA history, losing to Grant Holloway in the NCAA championship final by .02 seconds. His biggest accomplishment is winning the 2019 USA outdoor championship in the 110 hurdles, after losing to Grant at the NCAAs, and he is an Olympic semi finalist. He is still on the track in 2023 running very fast, proving that hard work pays off even when you’re running against an all time great.

The fastest high school hurdlers of the past decade

Jadyn Marshall – 2022

This list really gets started with Jadyn Marshall in 2022 out of the state of California. He ran 13.49 in the 110 hurdles to become the fastest hurdler in the entire nation. He actually ran that time at the Texas Relays, which is a long way from home. The truth is that he was actually a 2 sport athlete, as a four star football recruit and chose to continue his career at UCLA. Through his freshman year he played sparingly on the field, and had his fair share of challenges on the track. The Pac 12 doesn’t run an indoor track championship and he didn’t qualify for the NCAA meet indoors or outdoors in the 60 or 110 hurdles. His collegiate best time was 14.08 finishing third in UCLA’s dual meet with USC, but he false started at the Pac 12 championships, failing to record a time at all. The best is likely yet to to come for Jadyn Marshall, but so long as he splits his time on the football field and the track, we may never know how good he can be just yet.

Jerry Philippe - 2021

In 2021 it was Jerry Philippe out of the state of Florida who ran 13.45 to become the fastest hurdler. He actually continued his career at the junior college level and ran only one season at New Mexico Junior College. But he was a success running for them, because in his one year there he made the NJCAA finals in the 60 hurdles indoor and the 110 hurdles outdoors. He went fifth and second overall respectively in the nation, with a 110 hurdle time of 13.85 wind legal. Since that season, he hasn’t run officially for any team in the 2023, which means that Jerry Philippe and the amazing talent that he has may never again be seen on the track.

Leonard Mustari – 2020

The year 2020 was a shortened track season for everybody, but that didn’t stop Leonard Mustari out of Florida from running the fastest hurdle race of the year. He ran 13.84 as a junior which was only a glimpse of his true potential. And he chose to compete at North Carolina A&T starting his college career with the 2022 indoor season. There he didn’t win the Big South conference championship in the 60 hurdles, but finished second overall at the NCAA championships as a freshman. Which is a very big deal because he disappeared from the track for an entire year after that. He followed his coach to the University of Tennessee, and didn’t run again until the 2023 indoor season. We can only speculate about why, but he ran one indoor meet before his outdoor campaign began. He actually finished 4th at the SEC championships in the 110 hurdles, and ninth overall at the NCAAs. Moreover he’s already lowered his wind legal PR to 13.71 but with years of eligibility remaining in college, he is likely a threat to win an NCAA championship really soon.

Jamar Marshall – 2019

In 2019 it was another Junior in Jamar Marshall who ran as fast as 13.22 to crown himself the fastest hurdler in high school. Which is a big deal not only because it is the second fastest high school hurdle time in history, but he is the older brother of Jadyn Marshall who is also on this list! They attended the same high school in California and Jamar chose Arizona State for his college career. He qualified for the NCAA championships indoors in the 60 meter hurdles as a freshman which is extremely hard to do. Then followed it up by winning the Pac 12 championship in the 110 hurdles outdoors and went fifth as a freshman at the NCAA meet. As a sophomore he kept it rolling finishing third overall at the NCAAs indoors and repeating as Pac 12 champion in the 110 hurdles outdoors running a collegiate best of 13.39. But he mysteriously didn’t run at the NCAAs outdoors, perhaps due to injury. Since that point he has disappeared from collegiate track and field, without running any races through all of 2023. Jamar Marshall is clearly one of the great talents in American hurdling and hopefully we get to see him again on the track, realizing his full potential.

Cameron Murray – 2018

However, the year 2018 belongs to Cameron Murray of the state of Georgia. He ran 13.52 before taking his talents to Tennessee in the SEC. He only ran his freshman season for the Volunteers and ironically never ran a hurdle race for them. But he transferred to NC State in the ACC where he became the hurdler we always knew he could. He worked his way up from the bottom of the pack, at first failing to qualify for ACC finals indoor and outdoors, and finally made it to the NCAA championship  in 2022 for the outdoor 110 hurdles. In 2023, his final year of eligibility he actually won the prelims of the ACC indoor 60 but did not finish his finals race. He actually finished tenth at the NCAA indoor meet. Later that season he did win the ACC championship outdoors and the NCAA East Regional, and ran a personal best at the NCAAs of 13.39 wind legal. However, in the NCAA championship final he recorded a DNF which is a disappointing end to his best stretch of hurdling ever. It is uncertain whether we will see more of Cameron Murray as a pro, but it is clear he has always had the talent to win and is getting close to putting it all together. 

Eric Edwards – 2017

The year 2017 stands out because Eric Edwards of Texas put the track world on notice by running 13.32 into a minus headwind for the fastest hurdle time in the nation. He did that as a high school junior and chose the Oregon Ducks to begin his college career. It was not a fluke because he won the Pac 12 title in the 110 hurdles as a freshman, and made the NCAA final only to be disqualified. He transferred to LSU after that one season and earned medals at almost every SEC championship indoors or outdoors in the hurdles from that point out in his career. He got fifth indoors in the 60 hurdles at the NCAAs in 2021 recording a pr of 7.58. But outdoor he saved his best race for his last one, running 13.15 wind legal in the 110 hurdles at the NCAA championships in 2022. He would have been the national champion almost any other year, because he is the fifth fastest hurdler of all time with that performance. But the man who was second to him back in high school was also in that race, and he lost to Trey Cunningham of Florida State.

Marcus Krah – 2016

In 2016 Marcus Krah of North Carolina shocked the track world running 13.25 at the junior national meet to become the nation’s fastest hurdler. That time ranks him as one of the fastest high school hurdlers ever, and he chose to stay home attending UNC in the ACC. However, once he became a Tar heel he struggled greatly. He only made one ACC championship final in the 110 hurdles as a freshman, finishing sixth. And all of his PRs were recorded during his freshman season in both hurdle races. He ran 14.21 outdoors in the 110s which isn’t bad for D1, but it is not close to NCAA championship level, and he seems to have ended his career prematurely after only 2 ½ seasons of running in college. Marcus is proof that high school success is just the beginning of your track career and what most people will notice, is everything that happened after that. 

Kendall Sheffield - 2015

2015 belongs to Kendall Sheffield from the state of Texas. He ran 13.42 wind legal but he stands out because he was also a football player. He was so good that he became a five star recruit at defensive back and chose Alabama to begin his college career. He didn’t run track for them, and actually transferred to Blinn Community College after one season. Only after coming back to D1 in the Big Ten did he run track and field while playing football for Ohio State. He never ran the hurdles, not even once in college, but he was pretty fast without them. In his only indoor season at the college level, he finished second in the 60 meter dash at the Big Ten championships in 2018 and ran a PR of 6.63. Although he disappeared from the track, his football career panned out well and now he is an NFL player for the Houston Texans, after becoming a fourth round pick in 2019. So we’ll never know what he could have done on the track, but in all likelihood he’s got way more potential than he ever showed in a race.

Isaiah Moore – 2014

In 2014 it was Isaiah Moore from North Carolina who ran 13.40 at the Outdoor National meet to crown himself the king of the hurdles. He chose South Carolina in the SEC after that to continue his career and became an SEC championship finalist every single year that he competed from 2015 to 2019, taking the year 2018 off. He broke through as an NCAA championship finalist in the 110 hurdles by 2017 and made the finals both indoors and outdoors in 2019. But he literally saved the best for last, running 13.37 his collegiate best in the hurdles at the NCAA championship final to get third in the event. He was last seen on the track at the Olympic trials in 2021 as a semifinalist, but Isaiah Moore is what never giving up on your career looks like, and he has a bunch of collegiate medals to show for it.

Tony Brown – 2013 

The final name on this list is Tony Brown from the state of Texas. In 2013 one full decade ago he ran 13.38 to win the Texas Relays at the high school level. He was a fast sprinter in the 100 in addition to being a hurdler and an amazingly talented football player who competed his entire college career at Alabama in the SEC. He competed in both sports in college and actually ran his PR in the 60 hurdles as a freshman but never made a final in that event in college. However, his 110 hurdle performances improved through to his junior year where he broke through as an SEC championship finalist and NCAA championship finalist in the same season. He finished sixth in the meet and that was also when he recorded his PR of 13.71. Surprisingly as a senior he shifted away from the hurdles entirely and ran only the open 100. But he found success at that distance and shocked everyone by failing to make the SEC championship final but going 11th overall at the NCAA championships in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.12 wind legal. He even ran at the USATF outdoor championships later in 2017 but unfortunately false started at the meet, which is the last time he was officially seen on the track. But today he is playing in the NFL so football clearly worked out for him.

The Bottom Line 

Becoming the fastest 110 hurdler in high school is a great accomplishment. But all it really means is that you have great talent and great potential. Which does not mean a whole lot if that potential is never realized. The honorable mentions who did not make this list are proof that high school success, is not the end of your career but rather the beginning of it. Yet one thing is for certain that in the United States of America, there is no shortage of talent in the 110 hurdles.

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