June 3, 2010
Thomas, Glass ready for showdown
Najee Glass has the 10th best 400-Meter Dash time in the nation this year.
Click Here for photos from St. Peter's Prep and Snyder practices.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – Whenever Najee Glass of St. Peter’s Prep or Snyder’s Zamir Thomas is in need of added motivation, all they have to do is take a quick glance at what the other one is doing on the other side of the Lincoln Park track.
The two will once again be on the same track today, this time on the state’s biggest stage for the NJSIAA Meet of Champions in South Plainfield.
“Sometimes you keep looking to see what he’s doing,” Thomas said. “What’s he going to do at this meet?
“When we go on the track, we know what time it is. He pushes you to run everything (better).”
“It’s very friendly,” said Glass about the relationship. “There’s no rivalry between us. It’s just a friendly competition.”
While the two rarely compete directly against each other, when they do, it’s hard to deny they bring out the best out of each other. When they squared off head-to-head in last month’s HCTCA Championships, both runners responded with their personal-best times in the 200-Meter Dash.
Running into a strong headwind, Glass took the duel with a time of 21.1 seconds, setting a new meet record and set the state mark for the fastest time by a sophomore. Thomas finished with a time of 21.2 seconds. Glass also emerged victorious in the 400-Meter Dash with a meet-record time of 47.8 seconds, two-tenths of a second better than Thomas.
“They respect one another,” St. Peter’s Prep coach Mike Burgess said. “When they come to the track, they feed off one another. They’re good for one another. When you put the two of them together on the track, they’re going to go out and they’re going to pull each other through.”
“Each of them makes each other a better runner,” Snyder coach Eben Myers said. “That’s a good thing. You don’t see that too often.”
Thomas and Glass have continued to light up the track since their last showdown. Both are coming off of dazzling performances in last weekend’s group championships.
Thomas, a junior, was first in the Group II 200-Meter Dash (21.49 seconds) and 400-Meter Dash (48.53 seconds). He also took home second place in the 100-Meter Dash with a time of 10.79 seconds. Glass, a sophomore, took gold in the Non-Public A 200-Meter Dash (21.88 seconds) and 400-Meter Dash (48.07).
He has also emerged as one of the nation’s premier runners. His 47.32 time in the 400 at the Bernards Invitational is the 10th-best in the country this year. In April, Glass won the 400-Meter Dash at the U.S. Area Youth Olympic Selection Trials. With the victory he will represent Team USA in the Youth Olympic Games this August in Singapore.
“That’s been my dream since I was little,” Glass said. “Since I first started running, I wanted to run for the U.S. Now I have my chance.”
“His body hasn’t matured yet and that’s the scary part,” Burgess said. “Once his body matures, the sky’s the limit.”
Thomas burst onto the national scene when he won the Nike Nationals Emerging Elite 200 last year with a time of 21.42 seconds. He also captured titles in 100 and 200 at the New York Relays in April.
On the track, Thomas has an ally in his cousin and teammate Rashawn Taylor. Both started running in sixth grade and are inseparable both on and off the track.
“We’re a team,” said Taylor, who described the relationship as one between brothers. “We do everything together.”
Both Thomas and Glass have reached these lofty standards despite significantly different running styles. At 6-foot-2, Glass uses long strides on the track. Glass, who occasionally runs in the 800 as well, has superior endurance strength that has proved successful in the 400, his best event.
“It’s more exciting to me because it’s a longer race,” Glass said. “It just shows who can keep their speed up the longest.”
The 5-foot-11 Thomas has shorter, more compact strides and is the stronger of the two. Thomas has also developed a knack for chasing opponents from behind to win races.
“I’m going to say right behind that person in front until near the end and then I’m going to shoot right past you,” he said. “I like to just slingshot right around somebody.”
Thomas and Glass are among five athletes who will represent Hudson County in the Meet of Champions. Taylor will compete in the 200-Meter Dash, St. Peter’s Prep freshman Tyrell Gibbs will run in the 400-Meter Intermediate Hurdles and North Bergen’s Daniel Rondon in the 1,600-Meter Run.
Thomas will compete in the 100-Meter Dash, but the main events will be in the 200 and 400 when he and Glass face off once again in what Myers described as the track equivalent of a heavyweight fight.
“This is what people wanted to see,” Burgess said. “Who’s the best in the 200 meters and who’s the best in the 400 meters? “They both are great kids. All I say as a coach is may the best man win.”
