High school track and field is in full swing, and the performances early on are hotter than fish grease at a family reunion.
Here are the top sprint, distance, relay and field performances that stood out to me in the month of March.
DISCLAIMER: Some incredible performances will be left out.
SPRINTS
Zyaire Nuriddin set the track on fire at the FSU Relays in the 400m dash. The junior who attends Montverde Academy in Florida dropped a time of 46.19, which is a new lifetime best and a U.S. No. 1 in the high school rankings. He later went on to run 21.20 in the 200 at the meet, which is also a lifetime best. So far this season, he’s run 1:59 in the 800m, 21.20 in the 200m and 46.19 in the 400m.
Yahnari Lyons showed up and showed out at the Christian Coleman Invitational early on in the month. The junior from Jonesboro High School in Georgia ran a new personal best of 22.99 in the 200m and a U.S. No. 1 in the high school ranks. She also ran 11.40 at the same meet, which is also a new personal best, and No. 2 on the U.S. high school ranking list for this season, right behind Autumn Wilson (11.37).
DISTANCE/MID-DISTANCE
Colin Sahlman of Newbury Park High School was a man on a mission at the APU Meet of Champions Distance Classic. The Northern Arizona commit ran new lifetime bests and U.S. No 1’s in the 800m (1:48.84) and the 3200m (8:33.32), which is also the national record in the event. The previous record was held by German Hernandez.
Caroline Wells continues to light up the track, and her performance at the FSU Relays was proof of that. In a battle of the elites in the state of Florida, the Stanford commit, who currently attends Winter Springs High School, won the 3200m with a time of 10:10.81. The race included Notre Dame commit Caroline Lehman, who also ran an impressive time of 10:18.16. Wells’ time gives her the No. 3 time nationally and the No. 1 time in Florida.
FIELD EVENTS
Maddox Hamm vaulted his way to a U.S. high school No. 1 at the Husky March Classic. The junior from Scottsboro High School in Alabama recorded a vault of 18-1 feet, which is also a new personal best and a foot better than his vault as a sophomore.
Emma Sralla launched an incredible discus throw at the Texas Relays – so much so that you’d have thought that she was tossing a frisbee. The junior out of Marcus High School in Texas recorded a throw of 170-7 feet. That throw puts her at the top of the national leaderboard, and is her second farthest throw in her career.
RELAYS
This was difficult – I won’t lie. But the Summer Creek High School boys 4×400 squad scorched the track at the Texas Relays with their time of 3:09.92. The talented team from Texas defeated a talented St. Thomas Aquinas squad, who had the fastest time in the country prior to the Texas Relays. The splits from that race were incredible, including a 45.89 split by USC commit Darius Rainey. The group also won the Sprint Medley Relay with a time of 3:19.87.
Westlake High School’s girls 4×100 was a force to be reckoned with at the Christian Coleman Invitational. They ran a U.S. No.1 time for 45.17 to win the event. They dominated the field, with second place finishing two seconds behind the Westlake Girls team. The squad from Georgia is a team to look out for going forward.
Times/Results taken from MileSplit, as well as the official meet websites.
