Penn Relays: Can Rutgers track win the marquee event, thanks to a rookie from Carteret?

There are 813 events at the Penn Relays, and the most prestigious one comes last: The college men’s 4x400 championship race.

Rutgers University is a contender Saturday, in part because of a freshman who never trained on a track before his arrival in Piscataway.

This is all new to Taj Burgess, who will make his debut on Franklin Field in Philadelphia this week — the latest “wow” moment for a Carteret High School grad who has exceeded all expectations.

“At Carteret, there is really no track to run on," Burgess said. “The street is concrete, so I couldn’t practice with my spikes.”

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Despite that disadvantage, Burgess placed second in last spring’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions in both the 400 meters (47.22 seconds) and 200 dash (21.75). Upon arriving at Rutgers he competed indoors for the first time and flourished, placing fifth in February’s Big Ten championship meet in the 400 (46.96).

So far this outdoor campaign, Burgess has clocked 46.31 in 400 and 21.32 in the 200. He’s posted a blazing split of 45.4 in the 4x400. It will be interesting to see what he can do pushed by the unparalleled roar of a Penn Relays crowd.

“I hear Penn Relays is the best track meet — everyone on their feet, everything to the max," he said. "I’m so excited that we’re going.”

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A word about the Penn Relays, for those unfamiliar: It’s the second-most prestigious event in collegiate track, after the NCAA Championships. This is the 124th edition, and the three-day event will draw huge crowds. Friday afternoon, when Rutgers runs in the 4x400 trials, there could be more than 25,000 in the stands. On Saturday, as many as 50,000 could witness the nine-team Championship of America final.

The last New Jersey college to earn a championship wheel — a huge circular plaque for first-place relays — was Princeton in 2012 (the men’s 4xmile). The last Jersey squads to win the 4x400 were Seton Hall’s women (1994) and men (1981). Rutgers never has won a wheel; the Scarlet Knights placed second in the women’s 4x200 in 2013.

“If everyone is healthy, no setbacks, we should be running a really hot time,” Burgess said.

Rutgers is seeded seventh out of 95 entrants, but that’s deceiving. The Scarlet Knights’ seed time of 3:10 came without reigning Big Ten champion Izaiah Brown and 2017 All-American Jermaine Griffith. Both ran on the relay this past weekend, but Burgess did not, and Rutgers placed second at the Virginia Challenge in 3:08.36.

Clemson (3:05) and Mississippi State (3:07) own the top times in the field. The event traditionally is dominated by southern powers.

“I want us to make a name for Jersey,” Burgess said. “Not everybody from Jersey has (success) as much as people down south because we’re training in the cold. But I have a phrase I’ve been using, ‘Quick feet don’t need the heat.’”

If there is one thing Burgess learned from his unconventional journey, it’s to disregard amenities.

“Anything is possible,” he said, “no matter what you have.”

College Corner appears regularly in the Gannett New Jersey newspapers. Send tips to Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.