In that section, Taylor Sykes (DeMatha Catholic, Md) fell short of his attempt to break the longstanding freshman record, running 49.18. The record is 48.76 by William Reed of Philadelphia 22 years ago.

GIRLS

The two imposing Long Beach Poly sophomores, Turquoise Thompson and Jasmine Joseph, were in control of the race at the halfway mark, with Symone O’Connor of New Jersey in pursuit.

But on the backstretch, Dalilah Muhammad (Cardozo, Queens), the anchor of the winning sprint medley two days earlier, began a long stretch drive, and she caught Thompson 25 minutes from the finish, avenging a loss to her at the Simplot Games in Idaho in February.

Muhammad ran 54.23 to 54.42 for Thompson, with Thompson 3^rd in 54.94. Akawkaw Ndipagbor, the 13-year-old 8^th-grader from Los Angeles, finished last in that seeded section but with a personal best, 55.69.

Joanna Atkins, of Lithonia, Ga., won Heat I in 55.57.

William Wynne (Marietta, Ga) had the fastest boys’ qualifying time, 48.26. Twelve runners qualified to a 2-section final. It took 49.67 to make the final.

The girls’ qualifying was led by Dalilah Muhammad (Cardozo, Queens), who ran 55.87. Muhammad was anchor on the winning sprint medley team on Friday. Just behind her was surprising Akawkaw Ndipagbor, an 8^th-grade middle-school student in Los Angeles, who ran 55.91. Ndipagbor, who is 13 years old, was a placewinner last summer in several age-group championship meets. She has an outdoor personal best of 55.98.

The other competitors in the seeded section will be Symone O’Connor (Somerset, NJ); two Long Beach Poly teammates, Turquoise Thompson and Jasmine Joseph, and an unattached competitor, Natalie Geiger. All ran 56.50 or faster. It took 57.03 to make the second section.