Issam Asinga Matches No. 2 All-Time 60 Meters With 6.59 Seconds

By Todd Grasley of DyeStat

The Alachua County Sports Center and Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track opened less than a month ago to rave reviews and some of the state's best athletes are already droppying nationally ranked performances.

When it comes to getting out of the blocks in 2023, nobody has been faster than the sprinters at Montverde Academy and that includes Issam Asinga, who became the third high schooler to break 6.60 seconds in the 60 meters Sunday with his US#2 all-time 6.59.

The national record of 6.57 was set by Casey Combest nearly 24 years ago. Since then, only fellow Floridian Anthony Schwartz has run under 6.60, when he won the New Balance Nationals Indoor title in 2018. 

Asinga, a Texas A&M signee and the reigning Great Southwest 100- and 200-meter champion as well as Missouri Class 1 state champion in those same events, transferred to Montverde for his senior season, and joined a star-studded lineup. 

Senior Micayah Holland and junior Adaejah Hodge aren't shy about their goals of breaking the national record in the 60-meter dash. The pair finished just shy of their personal bests from the Virginia Showcase in 7.25  and 7.29, respectively. Holland also ran a US#4 time of 23.59 in the 200-meter dash.

"I think Issam and Micayah are doing very well," head coach Gerald Phiri said. "There are some technical and mechanical flaws we are trying to correct but we are headed in the right direction. I’m excited about what they can possibly achieve in the next six weeks."

Hodge improved her 400-meter best on Saturday with a US#4 run of 54.95, with teammate and University of Tennessee signee Zyaire Nurridin dropping a US#3 47.59 in his 400-meter season opener, a vast improvement over his 49.7 opener from last year.

"I’m happy with where he is right now, like the others we are working through some flaws that will hopefully get him to that national record," Phiri added. "He was very close last year but we need to be excellent if 45.9 is the target, especially indoors."

Another US#1 came from IMG Academy senior Layla Haynes, who added her name to the exclusive list with a 1:31.37 600-meter run. Haynes was runner-up in the 800 meters at the CARIFTA Games and fifth at Nike  Outdoor Nationals with a sub-2:10 performance of 2:09.74, just shy of her PR of 2:09.21.

Other notable performances included Lake Minneola senior Valentino Rudolph's US#4 21.20 200-meter dash and Riley Novack of Montverde Academy cruising through the 1,000 meters in US#4 2:29.40. Novack is one of the top unsigned distance recruits in the country and is coming off of a visit to N.C. State.

On Sunday, it was the 60-meter hurdles that also produced nationally ranked times.

Chelsi Williams, one of the top sophomores in the country set a new personal best against some of Florida's top hurdlers to win in a US#6 mark of 8.46 seconds. The race produced three of the top 15 times nationally.

In addition, Williams also was victorious in the long jump with a mark of 18-9.50. Lake Mary senior Markel Jones edged out Montverde's Kai Graves-Blanks to win the boys 60 hurdles in a US#8 time of 7.80.