Three of Florida's brightest track stars, Symone Mason, Khalifa St. Fort, and Jamal Walton were recently invited to the Nike Elite Sprint Camp in at the company's headquarters in Portland, Oregon. There they had the opportunity to train with some of top professionals like Justin Gatlin, Kaylin Whitney, Allyson Felix, and others over the course of five days.
St. Fort, who owns the 2nd fastest time in the country this year of 11.19 which earned her a silver medal at the World Youth Championships had this to say of her time.
"It was great. I had a wonderful time and it was a good experience."
Mason, a rising junior, was one of the younger athletes at camp.She was the 4A runner-up in the 400m and followed that up with a fourth place showing at the Pre-Fontaine Classic elite 200m race at the University of Oregon. She also had rave reviews about her time in Portland.
"I love Oregon so I was excited to go back, but in general the camp was fun. My favorite parts were doing extra activities like the cook off, bowling, zip-lining, and the beach. I've learned many things, but the most helpful thing i learned was by Allyson Felix & Jeneba Tarmoh when they taught us how to do the toe drag coming out of our blocks.
Walton, who ran unattached this season, but clocked a 45.99 at the World Championships where he was fourth, says his favorite part of the trip was interacting with other elite preps.
"I enjoyed hanging out with Symone and the rest of the group. My favorite thing we did was going bowling with the other campers. It was fun hanging out with the fastest high schoolers in the USA."
For St. Fort and Walton, Portland was a pit stop before their final track meet of the season, Pan Am Juniors in Edmonton, Canada. Walton, who will run the 200 and 400 and hopes to be low 45s, says he learned a lot of tips from the pros he can carry on to this weekend and beyond including how to get out of the blocks quicker.
"We were able to workout with the professional runners and were able to get a bunch of tips. It helps a lot learning form the pro athletes so I feel comfortable listening to them."
St. Fort's coach and Trinidad and Tobago Olympian Ato Boldon accompanied her on the trip and snapped some awesome photos, which he graciously shared with us! Take a look inside the 2015 Nike Elite Sprint Camp!
