Watch Rutgers’ Izaiah Brown Break B1G Record On Way To 2nd Consecutive 400M Indoor Title

Rutgers track & field star Izaiah Brown, just a sophomore, continues to establish himself as one of the all-time greats in school history. He successfully defended his 400m title at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Saturday, finishing in 45.38 seconds, which broke both the school and conference records. It’s the second fastest time in the country this season.

He had just established a new school record with a 400M time of 45.62 earlier this season. This comes off a sterling freshman campaign when Brown won both the Indoor & Outdoor 400m titles, as well as being named Big Ten Indoor Freshman of the Year, Track Athlete of the Year, and Big Ten Tack Athlete of the Championships. He also anchored the 4X400 relay team that qualified for the NCAA Track Outdoor Championships, where they earned 2nd team All-American Honors. The success is nothing new for Brown, who was a scholastic All-American and won 5 state titles in track & field at Amsterdam high school in Amsterdam, New York.

Watch Brown run the fastest 400m in Big Ten indoor track history, making him three for three in conference finals in this event for his career.

Brown will now set his sights on the IC4A and NCAA Indoor Championships, with both events taking place in March. The outdoor season will jump into full swing soon after, when Brown will also look to repeat as the Big Ten champion in the 400m. Last year, after winning his first outdoor Big Ten title, he surprisingly failed to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing a disappointing 31st in East regional. The performance also likely cost him an invitation to the Olympic trials for the 400m, which was held last summer. It’s obvious that the rare setback has motivated Brown to improve and he is now breaking records on a regular basis.

As for other notable performances from Rutgers track and field athletes at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, senior Jermaine Griffith finished in 3rd place behind Brown in the 400m finals, running a time of 46.15 seconds. He is also a member of the 4X400 relay team holds both the school record and made 2nd team All-American at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. At that same meet, Griffith also ran in the preliminary round for the 400m outdoor title and finished just 0.14 seconds short of qualifying for the Final.

The men’s team finished in 12th place overall at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, which were held in Geneva, Ohio.

The next event for Rutgers track & field is the IC4A Championships in Boston on March 3rd & 4th. The NCAA Indoor Championships will follow soon after.