Out-of-Door eighth-grader could win three state championships

Saraiah Walkes can still relive the end of her 100-meter dash at last year’s Class 1A championship, and just off to the side of the track at Thunder Stadium on Wednesday, her enthusiasm was just as real as it was almost exactly 365 days earlier.

Last May, Walkes was a seventh-grader at Out-of-Door Academy with limited expectations who was excited just to reach the final weekend of her first high school track season. She had finished third in her region in the 100-meter dash but then finished third overall in the preliminaries at the state meet. The morning of the state final, she, her father and her coaches were looking at her opponents’ times and started thinking about more than just running in the final.

“I was going to have a panic attack,” Walkes said. “I’m not going to lie.”

Walkes matched strides with St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut Academy’s Jazmine Alderman in a battle for second and won silver by nine one-thousandths of a second.

Back at Out-of-Door Academy on Wednesday, Walkes can mime through the whole sequence of events — the deep breath she used to calm herself on the starting blocks, the frantic pumping of the arms that let her push past her opponent, and the chaotic leaping and flailing of limbs she couldn’t help doing when she realized she took second.

“I don’t know if there’s photos,” Walkes said. “Everybody was laughing.”

Expectations have changed now as Walkes is set to conclude her second season with the 1A championships Friday and Saturday at IMG Academy. The Bradenton native is the top seed in the 100, 200 and 400 despite still running against sprinters who are as much as four years her senior. And Walkes is running faster than ever. She’s set three ODA records during the postseason with times of 12.09 in the 100, 25.12 in the 200 and 56.22 in the 400.

“You don’t get here by accident,” Thunder head coach Jeff Taylor said. “To rank among where she’s at right now in all three events is really impressive.”

Walkes’ first steps on the track, though, were a matter of happenstance. When Walkes was 7, her father, Al Walkes, was working at CFI Manufacturing in Sarasota, and Saraiah, like almost any other child at that age, was overflowing with energy. Whenever Walkes accompanied her father at work, she’d wind up sprinting around the building.

Al had a coworker at the time who coached with Florida Express, a track and field club in Bradenton. They decided Saraiah should try the sport.

Success came quickly. Walkes qualified for the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships during her first season of running. She settled for a spot in the semifinals and watched her competitors return home with medals.

“Dad,” said Walkes, “I want a medal.”

“You’ve got to work hard,” Al responded.

A year later, she finished second in the 400 and third in both the 100 and 200. She was hooked, and even as she started playing basketball and volleyball for ODA, track remained her prime passion.

During the past year, Walkes began to take her athletic potential more seriously. That surprise runner-up finish at the Class 1A championship raised her level of urgency. She started eating healthier — salads at lunch — and focusing on hydration on the days between competition.

But her youth also presents the opportunity to put together a unique state-championship performance. Early this season, Taylor looked at times and realized Walkes could contend for state titles in all three of sprint events. While she may lock into fewer events once colleges come calling and she tries to maximize her potential, for now the ceiling is virtually limitless.

“The way she’s been running the last three weeks, she’s just been a real shine,” Taylor said. “As young as she is, she’s got the maturity and competitiveness of a junior or senior, so it’s exciting to watch right now.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Out-of-Door eighth-grader could win three state championships."