Girls 400 Meter Dash
Dillard junior Christin Facey has top time this season in the girls 400 meter dash field coming off her 57.29 season best runner-up finish at the BCAA Championships last Friday in Fort Lauderdale. She is the same Christin Facey that ran 53.94 remarkably as a seventh grader back in 2019 and was a FLYRA middle school state champion.
While the same times have not been produced at the high school and previously at McArthur High School last year, Facey is now with one of the state's top programs in Dillard and the new training environment should get her working her times back down. She certainly is very capable of winning at Dunbar this weekend, which could be a big confidence boost for her down the final stretch of the season.
Top challengers to Facey should be Chaminade-Madonna sophomore Kashia Hoo and top 100 and 200 meter contender stepping up to the 400 meter dash in McKenzie Travis of Evangelical Christian.
Hoo has been focusing more on the 800 meter run this spring including a runner-up finish at the Louie Bing Invitational in 2:20 then running a new PR of 2:17 for third at the Ellis Elite 16 Invitational. However, Hoo did race 400 meters indoors several times this past winter including a 58.44 PR clocking in Gainesville. She is looking to get into the 57 second range though for the first time.
This will be the first 400 meter race of 2023 for McKenzie Travis, who certainly excels more at the 100 and 200 meter distances, but last year finished third in the 400 at the Guy Thomas Memorial Classic with a time of 58.61 and ended up finishing 9th in the event at the FHSAA 2A State Track Championships. Travis has a 57.76 personal best in the 400 from two years ago as a freshmen and seems due for another PR in the event this weekend, but will also need to manage her energy racing the rounds with the 100 and 200 meter dash as she potentially could be running in a total of 6 or more races if she ends up running a relay as well.
Other athletes favored to make it through the prelims on Friday for Saturday's finals in the 400 meter dash with sub 60 second credentials include Jayda Pinder of Holy Names, Torri Gary of Lehigh, and Liusmar Rivas Velasuez of Barron Collier.
Boys 400 Meter Dash
Kwame Smith, a senior at Chaminade-Madonna, leads the boys 400 meter dash field with his last race at the distance being a new personal best time of 47.97 in a third place finish at the Ellis Elite 16 Invitational.
Smith, fifth for All-State honors in last year's FHSAA 1A State Championships, is currently ranked first in the classification and #8 overall in the state of Florida regardless of class. He finished fourth at last year's Guy Thomas Memorial Classic in 50.31 before consistently running under 50 seconds for the rest of the 2022 season.
After Smith, the potential 400 finals field depending on how the prelims go on Friday should include a handful of other entrants who personal bests in the 49 second range including Dorian Mallary Jr. (49.24) of Lehigh, Ayden Henley (49.65) of IMG Academy, Mekhi Hoo (49.71) of American Heritage, Majet Bethely (49.78) of Boyd Anderson, and Caine Stanley (49.92) of IMG Academy.
Betheley is coming off a strong 1:56 personal best win in the 800 meter run at the BCAA Championships last Friday and his the strength and range to drop down to the 400.
IMG Academy's Stanley is seeded with his 400 meter best from outdoors, but actually ran 48.11 indoors to first third at the inaugural Florida Indoor Championships this past February. Similarly, his teammate Henley also went sub 49 indoors finishing fourth in the Florida Indoor Championships at 48.63.