Sports
Run It Back: Phillips Exeter Academy Sophomore #1 Nationally in 400m
Duplicating his freshman year success, Jaylen Bennett posts the best time in the 400 meters for 10th graders across the United States
A Phillips Exeter Academy student last Friday posted the fastest time among all high school sophomores nationally this season, dashing the 400 meters in 48.62 seconds at the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University.
Competing against mostly collegiate athletes, Jaylen Bennett’s effort also ranked 16th among all runners.
On the same day, he also set a new Phillips Exeter Academy indoor record in the 200 meters (22.05 seconds), second-swiftest among all sophomores nationally this season. To round out his strong day, Bennett recorded a personal best in the 60-meter dash (7.12 seconds).
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The next day, he was the second leg of a Phillips Exeter team that recorded the fastest distance medley relay (10 minutes, 5.35 seconds) for high schoolers nationally this season. His teammates are senior Oliver Brandes (1200 meters), junior Max Lacombe (800 meters) and junior Byron Grevious (1600 meters).
Bennett is no stranger to success on the track, having medaled nearly every year since 2014 at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics and other events.
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Last year, at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championship in New York City, Bennett finished fourth among all high school freshmen in the 400 meters. Earlier in the season, he posted a time of 50.31 seconds, the fastest time among freshmen nationally in 2022.
Bennett has been an athlete with Team Accelerate Maryland (TAM) since he was 6. In addition to his faith, strong work ethic and competitive nature, Bennett attributes his success to a formidable coaching team that consists of Exeter Academy head coach Hilary Coder-Hall, TAM head coach Alonzo Ruffin, Craig Conner of Radikals Track Club, and his father, Marvin Bennett Sr., who is also his club and high school coach.
In addition to being among the fastest in the nation, from 55 meters up to the 600-meter dash, Bennett enjoys playing soccer. As a freshman and sophomore, he was a starting winger/striker and among the leading scorers on the Phillips Exeter Academy varsity soccer team. This past season, the team advanced to the playoffs.
The third child of Marvin and Coretta Bennett grew up valuing the role of athletics in his life. Marvin Bennett Sr. represented St. Kitts-Nevis track and field nationally at the junior and senior levels before competing at Morgan State University in Baltimore. During college, he met Coretta, also a sprinter at the university.
Jaylen’s brother, Marvin Jr., holds multiple sprinting records at Carnegie Mellon University and his sister, Kaylee, is a talented sprinter and soccer player. In 2019, Kaylee began competing with the Saint Kitts Nevis Women’s and U-20 National Football Association teams and was a key member in the World Cup and Olympic qualifiers.
To learn more about Jaylen Bennett, visit https://nh.milesplit.com/athletes/11463374-jaylen-bennett
