If you have ever won a 400 meter dash 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 there is nothing more satisfying than hawking someone down on the home stretch of any 400 meter race. But if you are really good, you’re much less concerned about any of the other runners, and much more with whatever the clock has to say after you cross the line. But what really happens to the fastest 400 runners in high school? Because only 1 sprinter every years runs 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 400 meter sprinter in high school, you had to have the number 1 recorded time on either MileSplit or Athletic.net that is FAT recorded. So here is a breakdown of what happened to the fastest high school boy in the 400 meter dash, 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 this list gets started here are 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.

Fred Kerley – Texas (2013)

Fred Kerley did not make this list because in high school he barely ran the 400 meter, but was first team national elite in the 200 meter dash. But he is now one of 3 men to ever break 10 seconds in the 100, 20 seconds in the 200, and 44 seconds in the 400. He is also not only an NCAA champion in the 400 meter dash but one of the 10 fastest men ever to run the event. By the way he is now the reigning world champion in the 100 meter dash proving he is on another level.

Randolph Ross – North Carolina (2019)

Randolph Ross also did not qualify for this list but ran 46.67 in high school. Today he is third fastest man to ever run the 400 meter dash in college at 43.85 and an Olympic medalist in the 4x400 meter relay.

Kahmari Montgomery – Illinois (2015)

Kahmari Montgomery was only the fifth fastest high schooler when he graduated but he became an NCAA champion in 2019 from the University of Houston, and he ran 2 seconds faster than his high school PR when he did it, running 44.23 when he did it. 

Arman Hall – Florida (2012)

And Arman Hall didn’t make this list on technicality, but graduated high school in 2012 as the fourth fastest runner in 2012. But he went on to become an NCAA champion running 44.82 and an Olympic medalist in the 4x400m relay. Now today he is already coaching at the collegiate level and won national assistance coach of the year for the NJCAA. 

The Fastest HS 400 meter runners for the past decade

Justin Braun (Ohio - 2022)

Starting off with the most recent addition to this list. Justin Braun who was a senior out of Ohio ran the fastest time in the nation in 2022 going 45.65 at his regional championship meet. After dominating the high school track scene breaking 10.5 in the 100 and 21 seconds in the 200 he chose to continue his career at USC. As a freshman in 2023 he ran 45.99 indoors in the 400. Which is basically a PR, not only because it was his first full indoor season, but because indoor 400s are often slower than ones run outdoors. But he just barely missed qualifying for the NCAA championships individually. But he did go on to win a bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor championships in the 4x400m relay. He ran only twice during his outdoor season perhaps due to an injury. But he broke 21 in the 200 meter dash once again, but without racing at all in the 400. So it seems that great things are still to come from Justin Braun in the future.

Terrence Muex (Michigan – 2021)

In 2021 it was Terrence Muex who was a senior out of Michigan who ran 46.13 at the Outdoor Nationals meet, and needless to say he won the event. He chose to continue his career at Michigan State in the Big Ten where he has still yet to run faster than his high school PR in the 400. He has not qualified for the NCAA championships in either the 400 or the 200 but he did make the NCAA East Regional meet as a freshman, which is still hard to do. As a freshman he actually made the Big Ten Conference championship final both indoors and outdoors in the 400. However he hasn’t made any finals as a sophomore. The best is likely yet to come from Terrence Muex because even if he just regains his high school form, he likely will become a medalist at the Big Ten championships in the future. 

Justin Robinson (Missouri – 2019/2020)

In 2019 and 2020 Justin Robinson out of Missouri lit up the track in the 400 meter dash. He ran 44.84 as a junior and 44.91 as a senior to make it very clear that he was not only the fastest 400 meter runner in high school, but the second fastest high schooler of all time. Since graduating high school he took his talents to Arizona State University in the Pac 12. But he only started competing for them in 2022 and finished 4th outdoors in both the 400 and 200 meter dashes as a freshman in the Pac 12. He went on to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor meet in the 400 but did not make the final, making him one of only 3 freshmen to do it. His sophomore campaign he cranked it up a notch finishing ninth at the NCAA indoor meet, winning the Mt. SAC relays in the 400, getting third in the Pac 12 400, and winning the NCAA west regional meet. He didn’t even break his high school PR until that west regional race which now makes him a legitimate threat to win an NCAA title in the 400 meter dash from here on out.

Jamal Walton (Florida – 2017/2018)

In 2017 and 2018 we saw another dominant high school performer in Jamal Walton run away from everyone in the 400. Sprinting out of Miami, Florida he ran 44.99 as a junior and 45.42 as a senior to stake his claim as the fastest quarter miler in high school. He started his college career at Texas A&M and barely ran any races during his freshman year, but ran close to his high school PR when he did. As a sophomore in 2020 he only ran indoors for the Aggies but finished second at the SEC indoor championships when he did, making him a legitimate threat for the NCAA title. But he never again suited up for Texas A&M. He transferred to Western Texas College in the NJCAA, and the only logical reason for this appears to be academic eligibility. But he didn’t run well once he got there, only racing a few times and running more than 3 seconds slower than his high school PR whenever he did. Today he is listed on the roster for Florida State, which makes sense since he is a Florida native. But he hasn’t recorded any races in a Florida uniform, which means that nearly 5 years later he has never broken either of his high school national leading times, and we may have seen the last of Jamal Walton. 

Tyrese Cooper (Florida – 2016)

The year 2016 belongs to a young man who took the track and field world by storm. Tyrese Cooper once again out of Miami, Florida he ran 45.23 as a freshman in high school to become the fastest runner in the nation! He was less than a tenth of a second off of the World Youth record when he did it, and gave Americans high hopes that he would be next king of the 400 meter dash. But nothing really went according to plan from there on out. He didn’t break his 400 meter PR for the remainder of high school, and by 2018 he was arrested but the charges were dropped. He even was offered a football scholarship to Florida State, but didn’t pop up on the collegiate track and field scene until 2020, running indoors for Hinds community college. By this point in his career he was a short sprinter, and finished fourth and sixth in the NJCAA for the 60 and 200 meter dashes. But that was the last time he ever ran in college. Unfortunately it is also the last we will probably ever see of Tyrese Cooper on the track, because he was arrested again in 2021 and is now serving a seven year prison sentence for his role in that crime.

Michael Norman (California – 2015)

In 2015 we got to witness the birth of a track and field sensation that needs no introduction. Michael Norman as a junior in high school ran 45.19 to become the nation’s fastest runner out of California. But he was just getting started because he continued his career at USC and let the entire world know just how good he actually is. As a freshman he finished 4th outdoors in the NCAA 400 running a new PR of 44.88. Yet by his sophomore year he won the NCAA championship both indoors and outdoors in the 400 running as fast as 43.61 to become the collegiate record holder! He turned professional after that and today he is 1 of only 3 men to break 10 seconds in the 100, 20 seconds in the 200, and 44 seconds in the 400. He is a world champion in the 400 meter dash, and an Olympic gold medalist in the 4x400 meter relay. But the craziest thing is, that Michael Norman is only 25 years old, with a lot more races left for him to run. 

Devante Lacy (Texas – 2014)

2014 belongs to Devante Lacy of Texas who ran 46.10 at his state championship meet. But that was not a fluke because he went on to compete at the junior college level for South Plains College in his home state. He only finished fifth at the NJCAA meet as a freshman in the 400 but as a sophomore he won the NJCAA national championship running 46.37, which is slower than his high school PR. But he mysteriously disappeared from the track scene immediately thereafter, and hasn’t been heard from since.

Michael Cherry (Virginia – 2013)

Rounding out this list from 10 years ago it was Michael Cherry from the state of Virginia who became the fastest runner in the nation. He ran 46.02 in the 400 meter to do it and then started his college career at Florida State. He wasted no time on the track running a new PR of 45.37 as a freshman and finishing fifth at the NCAA East regional meet. As a sophomore he would finish 10th and 9th at the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships while also winning the ACC outdoor 400 meter. But he chose to transfer to LSU to finish his career and finished 3rd at the NCAA indoor and outdoor meets three out of four times for his final two years while representing the Tigers. That is because the only time he didn’t get a bronze medal, he got the silver instead. But since graduating college he lowered his PR all the way to 44.03 in the 400 and has become an Olympian and World Championship medalist running for both the men’s 4x400m relay and mixed relay teams. Yet his greatest individual accomplishment is a world indoor silver medal in the 400 meter. He is still on the track running today in 2023 so Michael Cherry’s resume is still ongoing. 

The Bottom Line

Becoming the fastest quarter miler 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. But one thing is for certain that in the United States of America, there is no shortage of talent in the 400 meter dash.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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