The Lyles Brothers Make It A Family Sweep
After winning the 100 meters a day earlier, Noah Lyles completed a sweep of the short sprints on Sunday by adding the 200m title to his weekend’s work.
In the longer race, the T.C. Williams (VA) junior had to fend off a tight challenge from Banneker (GA) senior Ryan Clark to win with a meet-record time of 20.54. Clark was right on the Virginia sprinter’s heels, securing the runner-up spot in 20.58 (US #3), the second fastest in meet history.
“The 100 was a blessing, the 200 I had to fight hard for,” Lyles admitted. “I have been coming to this thing for three years. I came to win. The third time is the charm and I needed this. I had to fight all the way to get that.”
As Lyles crossed the finish line, the first one to greet him was his brother, Josephus Lyles.
“It’s always good to have my brother,” he said. “To know that he’s right there, and we can celebrate together, it’s like, ‘Yeah!’”
Speaking of Josephus, he made it three-for-three for the Lyles’ family by winning the 400m dash with a PB of 45.99 (US #4), beating his previous best of 46.60, set a week earlier with his victory at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational. His time also puts him No. 6 all-time at NBN.
Finishing second was William Allen of Dunbar (KY) with a time of 46.38. Florida’s eighth-grade phenom Tyrese Cooper was third in 46.44. Cooper just missed All-American status in the 200m, finishing seventh overall in 21.69.
“Coach has always told me to be great and I’m just trying to be the greatest,” Cooper said. “The 400, I was nervous. I just ran.”