Anthony Schwartz has silenced any doubters over the past two years. He's the fastest high school athlete in the country at 100 meters. But is he the fastest teenager alive? That question might get answered if Schwartz qualifies for the U20 Championships and races in Finland this July.
He's made statement after statement in 2018.
He's the first athlete since 2014 to go under 10.10 with an allowable wind. He's racked up four 100 meter wind-legal times under 10.20 this year alone. No one on this list below has done that.
If you look at Schwartz's senior season compared to those on the chart, he's been consistently faster than any one of them. If we were to pit high school versions of each of these athletes against each other over the course of three days, who would win the first race, who would win the second and who would win the third?
Is it just a matter of fastest overall time? When we're considering high school athletes, we also have to consider who's the most proficient from start to finish, a true technician from the blocks to the finish line.
And even if you want to see more evidence beyond one season, let's go to each athlete's junior year.
While Noah Lyles had a comparable, if not better, season, Schwartz was limited by injury at his state championship race. He still managed to run 10.41, 10.27 and 10.40 in the weeks to follow after that injury.
Friday, Demps and Hill didn't run nearly as fast as juniors.
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| anthony schwartz (FL) | noah lyles (VA) | trentavis friday (NC) | jeffery demps (NC) | michael norman (CA) | tyreek hill (FL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2016 | 2014 | 2008 | 2016 | 2012 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 10.09 | 10.17 | 10 | 10.01 | 10.27 | 10.19 |
| 10.13 | 10.17 | 10.17 | 10.17 | 10.28 | 10.28 |
| 10.16 | 10.17 | 10.39 | 10.19 | NA | 10.29 |
| 10.18 | 10.22 | 10.5 | 10.34 | NA | 10.41 |
| 10.07 (2.5) | 10.08 (2.2) | 10.33 (AC) | 10.03 (2.2) | NA | 10.32 (AC) |
| 10.13 (2.1) | 10.20 (2.5) | 10.38 (AC) | 10.12 (AC) | NA | 10.47 (AC) |
| 2017 | 2015 | 2013 | 2007 | 2015 | 2011 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 10.15 | 10.14 | 10.37 | 10.37 | 10.36 | 10.74 (AC) |
| 10.21 | 10.18 | 10.48 | 10.4 | NA | 10.81 (AC) |
| 10.27 | 10.07 (4.3) | 10.49 | 10.45 | NA | NA |
| 10.28 | 10.29 (3.0) | 10.74 | 10.32 (3.5) | NA | NA |
| 10.32 | 10.21 | 10.43 (3.5) | 10.25 (AC) | NA | NA |
WINNER OF CONSISTENCY: SCHWARTZ
RUNNER-UPS: LYLES, DEMPS