We haven't seen the best in the girls 400 just yet.
At least, that's what the numbers indicate over the last seven seasons. Over the past four years, times have been trending faster and faster, including last year's 51.87 second effort by Sydney McLaughlin of Union Catholic at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions.
McLaughlin's effort rang the best effort in the nation over that span, but no one has quite approached the national record of 50.69 seconds, which was accomplished by Fort Lauderdale St. Aquinas' Sanya Richards-Ross in 2002.
However, our best efforts have come in May and June. That's been true since 2010.
Here's a list of the nation's top times over that span:
- 2016: Sydney McLaughlin, Union Catholic (NJ), 51.87, NJSIAA Meet of Champions
- 2015: Sharrika Barnett, Oak Ridge (Fl.), 52.25, New Balance Nationals Outdoor
- 2014: Kaelin Roberts, Long Beach Poly (Ca.), 52.52, CIF Championships
- 2013: Kendall Baisden, Detroit Country Day (MI), 52.03, USATF Junior National Championships
- 2012: Kadecia B...
