Race Is On for New 400 King

The 400-meter run is brutal and beautiful, exhilarating and exhausting. Any participant who makes it across the finish line deserves praise for courage because real pain kicks in, even among the fittest of athletes.

Quincy Watts, a Woodland Hills Taft graduate who won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, said, “One thing about the 400 is whether you run a slow time or a fast time, it hurts. It comes down to a lot of heart in the final 100.”

The requirement to sprint one lap around the track from start to finish without letting up is a grueling task. No teenager did it better than David Gettis of Los Angeles Dorsey, the state 400 champion for three consecutive years.

With Gettis having graduated, the search is on for a successor, and junior Bryshon Nellum of Long Beach Poly is the favorite.

Nellum chased Gettis last season, and the competition helped Nellum record the fastest time of any returning 400 runner, 46.81 seconds.

Last week at the Arcadia Invitational, he set a meet record of 46.20, charging down the final straightaway to edge J.T. Scheuerman of Littleton (Colo.).

“It was a struggle,” Nellum said. “He got out and I had to get him at the end. Coming down the stretch, I didn’t know if I could catch him.”

Nellum is trying to change his running style. Last year, he’d fall behind early and come on strong around the turn and into the straightaway.

“Last year I was known for my finish,” he said. “This year I want to be known for my whole race.”

But nobody is ready to wave a white flag and concede anything to Nellum.

“I look forward to racing him,” said Nevin Gutteriez of Riverside North, who has run 47.65 and finished seventh at last year’s state final. “Running with him will make my time better. Anything can happen. He has a strong kick, but I’m going to give him a run for the money.”

Besides Gutteriez, senior Zach Chandy of Newport Beach Sage Hill could provide competition. He was eighth in the state 400 and has run 47.29.

Chandy plans on running the 800 this season while hoping to improve his 400 time.

“We’re fighting to see who will come out on top at the end of the year,” Chandy said. “I have a feeling there will be some new kids who surprise us.”

De’Andre Hall of Compton Dominguez has run 47.51, and Ennis Jones of Riverside North, a transfer from Riverside La Sierra, has a best of 47.60.

What’s certain is that everyone understands the physical and mental challenge of running the 400.

“There’s no race like the 400 meters,” Nellum said. “It’s a long sprint that deals with endurance, strength and confidence. It really hurts.”

Added Gutteriez: “When I finish, I feel it. It’s like lactic acid in your legs.”

After crossing the finish line at Arcadia, Nellum moved to an area away from the track and just sat on his back, waiting for his body to recover.

“I got a headache,” he said. “Everything is hurting ... my legs, my hamstrings.”

Such is life for a 400 runner. No pain, no gain.

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Having watched Watts become the nation’s top sprinter at Taft in the 1980s, then a gold medalist in Barcelona in the 400, it seemed highly unlikely that anyone would be able to surpass Watts at his alma mater.

However, senior Jamere Holland is a freak of nature. As Taft football Coach Troy Starr puts it, “His talent is from another planet.”

How Holland was able to run a meet-record 10.36 100-meter time at Arcadia last week despite being out of shape and overweight is stunning. That makes him the fastest teenager in America.

“That speaks to the talent he has,” Watts said.

Don’t anyone feel sorry for USC football Coach Pete Carroll. Even though Reggie Bush is leaving town, Holland, a receiver, will arrive this fall and become a big-play weapon. But Holland had better not give up track because there’s no reason he can’t win a gold medal one day, just like Watts.