Southeast Raleigh senior Sean McLean shocked the high school track and field nation Saturday when he ran the fastest time of his career to win the New Balance Nationals 100 meters championship.
At N.C. A&T in Greensboro, McLean posted a time of 10.41 seconds to outrun the nation's top high school sprinters at the unofficial national high school title meet.
The Southeast Raleigh senior led qualifying with a career-best 10.48 and nipped runner-up Darrell Wesh of Virginia Beach, Va., 10.41 to 10.42.
McLean said he concentrated on his start and stayed focused all the way to the finish line.
"I knew it was a very competitive race, anyone in the field could have won. I could see someone really close in Lane 3," McLean said. "I concentrated on getting my knee lifts and following through. I tried to keep my body relaxed."
The victory was redemption after McLean failed to make the 100 finals in the national Junior Olympics and finishing eighth in the 200 a year ago in Greensboro.
He set modest goals for this meet.
"I wanted to get to the finals and run a personal best," McLean said. "Winning was incredible."
He immediately called older brother Jay, who usually goes to every meet but had to work on Saturday. Jay McLean, a 2005 Southeast graduate, had a career-best 10.5 in the 100 meters, so Saturday was the first time Sean had ever been faster than his big brother.
"I got him on the telephone immediately," Sean McLean said. "We celebrated together. He was really excited for me."
McLean ran track at Southeast Raleigh as a freshman but has worked with private coach Kesrick Fraser the past two springs.
"I'm not surprised he ran that fast," said former Southeast coach Eddie Hardin, who coached McLean during his freshman year. "He had tremendous technique even as a freshman. And he is strong. I wasn't surprised a bit by his winning."
McLean said he hadn't run in many meets this spring, but Fraser told him last week that he was capable of running a 10.4.
McLean added another gold medal in the nationals by anchoring the winning 4x100 relay. Matt Winstead, Steven Bell and Ryan Robinson, all Southeast runners, ran the first three legs, and McLean brought them home for the title.
Hollis Watkins, the Southeast boys track coach, said McLean has really quick feet and is physically mature. McLean played on the Southeast football team last fall and rushed for 400 yards.
"He has a great physique," Watkins said. "He's a great kid.
"The coaches who worked with him in football knew he was capable of doing great things this spring."
