Every week, we will bring you members of the freshman and/or the sophomore classes who are having good seasons who we believe might become leaders or stars in the sport
In this edition of California's Future Stars, meet the fastest 800m freshman girl in the nation from Claremont, California. Grace Smith came into high school with a lot of promise and proved herself by finishing 6th at the CIF Cross Country Championships.
This past weekend, she took it one step further to cement herself as a real threat in the 800m by winning the Arcadia Invitational seeded section in 2:08.55. Smith managed to win the race after being boxed in through a 63-second first lap, and then unleashing an incredible kick from the middle of the pack in about 10th place with 250m to go.
In the current California 800m rankings, she secured the third spot behind seniors Makenna Herbst (2:04 SB) and Anne Elise Packard (2:07 SB) who competed in the Arcadia Invitational Section.
This super freshman doesn't just have the times, but also the ability to win, which will become a big help ahead of CIF. So far this season, Smith has won two out of the three 800m races she's competed in, and the lowest position she finished in was second at the elite Adidas HS Meet of Champions.
Make sure to keep your eye out for Smith because she has the ability to compete for a CIF State Championship and to also win one as a Freshman.
