Bralon Taplin sets collegiate leading 400 at Sun Angel Classic

Published by Texas A&M SID on April 12, 2015

TEMPE, Arizona – Aggie senior Bralon Taplin posted a collegiate leading time of 44.89 seconds in the 400 meters as he challenged defending Olympic champion Kirani James in the premiere 400 meters on Saturday at the 36th Sun Angel Classic while A&M’s Deon Lendore finished third in 45.18.

As James established a world leading mark in his season debut, Taplin and Lendore posted the top two collegiate times so far in the 2015 season in the first outdoor 400 for either sprinter. The A&M pair rank third and fifth on the current world list. Taplin is now the No. 6 performer with the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list.

James started in lane five with Taplin on his inside in lane four and Lendore on the outside in lane six. At the 200m mark James had closed the stagger on Lendore. Completing the final curve, Taplin closed the gap to James to offer a challenge over the final 90m. James eased ahead by a couple of strides to the finish while Taplin held his edge over Lendore.