Horton-Mims Makes Most Of West Coast Trip, Runs 20.76 To Win 200; Dana Wilson Takes Girls 200 In 22.71

By Lori Shontz for DyeStat

Becky Holbrook photos

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

EUGENE - Jayden Horton-Mims completed a sprint double Sunday at Nike Outdoor Nationals, dominating the 200 meters in the sunshine a day after winning the 400 in a steady rain.

Horton-Mims ran a 20.76 Sunday, finishing comfortably ahead of Nicholas Altheimer, a Washington state champion, who was runner-up in 21.10.

“It felt good,” Horton-Mims said. “I got out strong. I just ran.”

He was equally dominant Saturday in the 400, running 45.58, well ahead of runner-up Keayari Thompson of Westlake GA, who ran 46.42.

“It was nicer today,” Horton-Mims said. “It wasn’t really that hard (yesterday) – I’m used to the rain. Where I come from (Philadelphia), it rains all the time.”

Horton-Mims owns PRs of 20.36 seconds in the 200 and 45.24 in the 400. He's signed with Florida, where he'll begin in the fall.  

Dana Wilson  won the girls 200 in 22.71 over runner-up Tyra Cox (Miami Southwestern), who finished in 23.08. Wilson had been scheduled to run the 100 on Saturday evening, but she decided to not compete because of the cold and rainy weather.

She said she had hoped to approach her PR – “everybody kinda wants a PR,” she said – which is 22.21, but she wasn’t quite up to that today.

“It’s not as good as I wanted it to be, but I really can’t complain because I came out healthy and with the win,” she said. “I’m so proud of myself – a good way to end this season.”

Wilson said she surprised herself with her success in the 200 in this season. Last season, her best in the event was 23.11, but after doing more volume training, she has found herself stronger at the end of races. She’s been running broken 250s for several months, and the work is paying off.

Wilson also won the USATF U20 100-meter title, running 11.14 on Thursday, and combined with Sunday’s victory and having her jersey retired by her high school, Greensboro (N.C.) Day School, she’s had a strong end to her season. In the fall, she’ll be off to Tennessee.

Cox returned to the track with her Miami Southwestern teammates and ran the second leg of the 4x400 relay, which the Bulls won in 3:43.73.

“This season’s been great,” she said. “I feel like I’ve surprised myself in some areas. Everything’s been going pretty well, and I’ve been able to stay healthy.”