The Deuce was loose in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the Adidas Indoor Nationals where South Baton Rouge Jaguars' Michael Mckenzie II broke the middle school 60m hurdle record. He first broke the meet record in the prelims with a time of 8.65. In the finals, he went even lower blazing down track to a time of 8.48.
"I knew it was going to be my last race indoor as a middle schooler so I wanted to have fun and give it my best," Mckenzie said of his performance.
"I knew I was going to run around 8.5 to 8.4 because I broke the record yesterday," Mckenzie said. "So I was really just trying to lower it. I did have confidence going into the race because I didn't really run through the line and I just took it easy so I knew today was going to be better."
RACE VIDEO: Michael McKenzie II's Meet Record 8.48!
While he knew his performance would be better, his body language showed that he was a bit surprised at just how fast his team was when he looked at the scoreboard after the race. He bounced around before doing a little dance at the top of the stairs before exiting the track.
There was a specific reason that Mckenzie chose to end his indoor season at the Adidas Indoor Nationals.
"It was a good meet overall," Mckenzie said. "Between Nike and New Balance, they don't really have middle school hurdles so I figured this was going to be a good meet for me to run in."
Mckenzie was familiar with his competition, which included Blake Rankin, who runs for True Runners. Rankins time of 8.77 was almost better than the meet record time of 7.86 set by Ann Arbor Track Club's Chanon Palmer a year ago.
"We've been racing since like the fifth grade, so yeah, I knew most of them," Mckenzie said.
MICHAEL MCKENZIE II ON HIS MEET RECORD PERFORMANCE!
Mckenzie's time is the fastest time in the nation this year and ranks No. 1 all-time on the National list.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Look for a Zoom Interview with McKenzie coming in the next day or two!
The Deuce was loose in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the Adidas Indoor Nationals where South Baton Rouge Jaguars' Michael Mckenzie II broke the middle school 60m hurdle record. He first broke the meet record in the prelims with a time of 8.65. In the finals, he went even lower blazing down track to a time of 8.48.
"I knew it was going to be my last race indoor as a middle schooler so I wanted to have fun and give it my best," Mckenzie said of his performance.
"I knew I was going to run around 8.5 to 8.4 because I broke the record yesterday," Mckenzie said. "So I was really just trying to lower it. I did have confidence going into the race because I didn't really run through the line and I just took it easy so I knew today was going to be better."
