BEGINS AIRING FROM JULY 30-AUG. 6
A star is emerging out of Virginia, and her name is Shakayla Lavender.
The 14-year-old from Chesapeake is already displaying signs of elite potential following her state No. 1 time of 13.60 (-1.5) seconds in the 100mH from adidas Outdoor Nationals.
As an eighth-grader.
And that wasn't all. Lavender also ran 13.65 seconds in another heat, which meant she recorded the two fastest (wind-legal) times in the state over the 2022 season.
On a historical level, she also ran Virginia's seventh-fastest time ever. It was also the second-fastest eighth-grade performance ever logged at the distance.
To put the cherry on top, it was a U.S. 11 time over the spring season.
Which is all to say, Lavender is certainly an athlete we will have our eyes on at the AAU Junior Olympic Games this August in Greensboro, North Carolina.
So what does that mean?
Lavender is on a path toward more history in a few weeks. The current 14-year-old girls AAU national record is 13.82 seconds, which was last set in 2009 by Kendell Williams, an Olympian in 2021 in the Heptathlon.
