Wilson Lowers His Best With 44.59 In The Semifinals, Remains Confident That He Has More To Give In Monday's Final With Olympic Berths On The Line

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

John Nepolitan photo

EUGENE -- Quincy Hall ran the fastest time in the semifinal round of the men's 400 meters Sunday at Hayward Field, a season's best 44.42 seconds. 

But from the first row to the concourse to the rafters, the buzz is all about another Quincy in the same event. 

The 16-year old, with too much on his plate at the moment to sign up for Driver's Ed classes, has captivated the Hayward Field crowd and viewers across the country. 

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Quincy Wilson's Olympic Dream has been embraced by the crowd and it took another step forward when he ran a little bit faster than his historic first-round win, clocking 44.59 to lower his national high school and World U-18 records. 

"He's not Little Quincy, he's Big Quincy," Hall said. "I'm Little Quincy. They love him. I love him, too."

Fans have latched on to the prodigy from Bullis School of Maryland and they roared as Wilson gutted out a final 100 meters that saw him move from fifth to third and land a spot in Monday's finals. 

"I'm feeling great," Wilson said. "I've never been this happy a day in my life when it came to track. But I've been working for this moment. That (high school) record that I broke two days ago, that's 42 years of nobody being able to break that record, and I broke it twice in two days."

Wilson came onto the track wearing a custom designed New Balance kit emblazoned with the name of his high school but styled in purple and white to match the aesthetic of the movie "Black Panther."

Everything about Wilson's journey through the Trials so far has been fun, genuine and heartfelt. 

He claims to have no nerves and is feeding off the energy of the crowd, the race plan of his coach, the gospel music in his headphones, and the love of his family. 

"Tomorrow I have a lot of things I can do to improve myself," Wilson said. "The first thing when I came off the track my coach told me he was proud of me, but there's something we got to do to break down the race. He's not caught up in the race, and with that on my side, I think I have great things for tomorrow."

Wilson has proven his body can handle the rounds. 

In April at the Penn Relays he split two legendary 44-second legs on his team's 4x400 relay five hours apart. 

Vernon Norwood, who at 32 Wilson gleefully points out is "twice my age," is one of a handful of grown men who will be running for their own spots on the team. 

"There's a lot of excitement with Quincy Wilson," Norwood said. "It's a lot of fun and excitement for us. When you've got really good talent in this event, it makes everything exciting."

Michael Norman, the 2022 World champion, and veterans Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey, also have eyes on top-three finishes. 

Where does that leave Wilson, the kid chasing a dream with a stadium in his corner?

"I can't wait for tomorrow," he said. 

"If you look at me, I'm not as strong," he said. "But it's 100 percent heart inside."