Cyrus Ways, a senior at Nease High School, is one of the featured athletes competing this weekend at the FSU Relays.
He's the top seed in the boys 300mH.
After last weekend's sweep of the hurdles at the Bob Hayes Invitational in Jacksonville, Ways is Florida's state leader in both the 110mH and 300mH.
He ran season-best times of 13.99 seconds in the 110mH (a U.S. No. 2 mark) and a time of 37.71 in the 300mH (U.S. No. 7).
Ways is one of the state's top returning athletes from a year ago when he was a state runner-up in the 110mH and then finished third overall in the 300mH.
This season, Ways has a bigger goal: He wants to go out as a state champion.
Combined with Rheinhardt Harrison, a teammate and another national caliber-athlete, there is potential for the Nease boys also to be among the top contending teams in the FHSAA Class 4A classification.
If Ways can sweep the hurdles and Harrison can repeat as the 1,600m and 3,200m state champ, those points will certainly put them high in the team standings.
The Penn State recruit's most recent race in the 110mH was his second time dipping under 14 seconds. The first time he achieved that feat? He went under 14 seconds in a magnificent performance at The Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene last summer with a 13.73 wind-legal showing, earning a national runner-up placement.
A FLYRA middle school state champion in the 100mH and 200mH, as well as the high jump, in 2018, Ways entered high school with plenty of promise and talent.
He delivered, qualifying for the state meet as a freshman in Florida's largest classification in the 110mH and 300mH.
After a reset year in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ways quickly asserted himself last spring as one of Florida's premier hurdlers.
He went undefeated in the 300mH -- with the exception of being bested by time from a slower heat at the state meet.
He took second-place at the regional and state meet in the 110mH, only to graduated Timber Creek standout Ethan Exilhomme.
He will be completely fresh for his 300mH race this Saturday at Florida State University compared to the Bob Hayes Invitational racing in a total of four hurdles race after prelims and finals rounds. With that in mind, Ways is looking to see if he can flash a 36 second performance on the scoreboard to put himself in rare and elite territory of past Florida high school greats.
He will have the competition to push him in the race as the current state leader will be part of a fast section including the top four fastest hurdlers this season in Tristan Simmons of Miramar, James Turner of Winter Park, and Nicolas West of Spanish River along with another sub 38 second performer in Ivan Donaldson of Rickards.
MileSplit will be on-site with archived race video coverage uploading on-site as well as photos.