Video: Interview with Ka'Myya Haywood
Ka'Myya Haywood, a senior at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, is one of the state's fastest and ranks among the nation's best at 400 and 800 meters with personal best times of 54.94 and 2:09.40 both run this past winter indoors.
She is coming off setting the Bishop Kenny outdoor school record in the event at the Bolles Bulldog Classic when she clocked a solo 2:10.98 performance in victory. She blasted out 60 seconds for her first 400 meter lap split and won the race by a decisive 9 second margin of victory.
She actually has a faster outdoor best from last May at the Golden South Series in the post-season when she ran for Top End Track Club with a 2:10.77 performance. That race in particular was a breakthrough performance for her as she went from being stuck running in the 2:15 to 2:18 for much of the 2022 outdoor season with a significant 5 second time drop.
Instead of 2:10 being a rare performance, it has become the norm for Haywood in her senior year as during the indoor season she traveled up to several indoor meets out-of-state including to the VA Showcase (2nd, 2:10.39) and a collegiate meet at the University of South Carolina (7th, 2:09.40). Haywood also set a Florida high school indoor state record for the rarely run 500 meters indoors with her 1:12.87 performance from the same trip to the VA Showcase.
Video: Florida Indoor Championships Girls 400m Finals
Racing for the first time at the new indoor track & field facility in Gainesville at the inaugural Florida Indoor Championships, Haywood picked up a pair of individual state titles with a 54.94 PR in the 400 for her first sub 55 second performance and doubling back to win the 800 in a wire to wire race leading in a time of 2:10.43.
This weekend, she will race indoors one more time before turning her attention completely back to the outdoor season as she travels up to Boston to compete at the New Balance Nationals in both the 400 and 800 meter run. She enters the indoor nationals weekend ranked among the top 10 in the country indoors in 3 events between the 400 at US #8, 500 at US #4, and 800 at #5.
She did not have much competition to press her at Bolles last weekend, but we saw at Golden South when she raced with the boys as well as sub 2:10 girls Layla Haynes and Mary Ellen Eudaly as well as against college competition at the University of South Florida how that Haywood definitely takes advantage of opportunity to be pulled along to breakthrough times with faster competitors. She will have plenty of great competition against many of the nation's best traveling to Boston to race this weekend as well.
The unsigned senior recently went on a recruiting trip to the University of Tennessee and still has a few more trips and weeks before she would like to make her decision on where she will sign. Coming up on her outdoor schedule too will be some important meets and should see great local in-state competition at the Bob Hayes Invitational in Jacksonville on March 18th as well as the FSU Relays in Tallahassee on March 24th and 25th.
The state is certainly loaded with a handful of returning girls in the 800 meter run who have either already broken 2:10 in the event or knocking on the door of doing it soon. Haywood would like to be the best among that bunch. If she keeps dropping her 400 meter time though, she might have to make a tough decision down the line on which event to focus on in the FHSAA state championship series since the 400 and 800 are almost back to back with only the 400 meter hurdles in between to provide a short recovery time window.
Though another top 2A returnee for the 800 in Montverde Academy's Michelle Smith has that same conundrum as one of the best 400 meter hurdlers in the country, while defending 2A state champion Elizabeth Williamson from Academy of Holy names will also likely be going hard in the 1600 meter run. Haywood could certainly flirt with the difficult 400/800 double but will likely pick one and withdraw from the other when it is time to specialize.
Either way, Haywood is definitely shooting to go out as a state champion this spring whether it be at 400 or 800 meters or both.
