Photo by Jeff Sides
Haven't heard the name Jaquez Torian? Remember it, because chances are you will see it many times throughout the remainder of the year. Edgewood's newest sprinter moved to Maryland from North Carolina, where he was a top athlete at Jack Britt High School.
Torian owns personal bests of 22.03 (200), 34.64 (300), 48.66 (400) and 1:06.48 (500). Last spring he finished eighth in the 400 at the North Carolina 4A state championships, with a time of 49.43 that would have been the sixth-fastest at the Maryland state championships.
So far this indoor season Torian has competed at two CCBC-Essex Meets, which is arguably the slowest track in the state. His 37.61 300 at CCBC-Essex #4 and 1:09.60 500 at CCBC-Essex #5 are the top times in the MileSplit MD database at the CCBC-Essex facility.
Torian could potentially join a 3A 500 field that already includes Oxon Hill standouts Gary Ross and Aaron Robinson. He will get his first chance on a (slightly) faster track at the 3A Central Regionals at the Baltimore Armory, but if he qualifies for states he will finally get his chance to shoot up the Maryland leaderboards.
