By Steve Underwood

No event on Saturday’s Dream slate will be younger than the girls’ 100.  Just four of the nine who will toe the line Saturday are seniors and, for the first time, there will be a freshman in the field – Florida sensation Kaylin Whitney.  And, speaking of which, three of the girls in the field are from the Sunshine State, while no other state has more than one entrant.  Added to the boys’ total, seven of the 18 sprinters are from Florida.

Just like on the boys’ side, both previous winners of the event have been from Florida, with Octavious Freeman and Shayla Sanders claiming the 2011 and 2012 titles.  Sanders’ teammate, Kali Davis-White could be the next, or it could be 2012 runner-up and top returnee Aaliyah Brown from Illinois.  Could it be someone else?  Read on for a bio of each girl (alphabetical order):


Aaliyah Brown (Lincoln-Way East H.S., IL)

Few preps have accumulated more big-meet experience over four years than Brown.  She was scoring in meets like Nike Indoor and USATF Juniors in 2010 as a freshman.  A big highlight in 2011 was sweeping the Arcadia 100 and 200, then she did it again as a junior in 2012 – as well as winning both at USATF JOs (YW), winning the Great Southwest 100 and placing second behind Shayla Sanders here in New York.  Senior year has seen her touring the country with Texas Relays and Kansas Relays 100 triumphs (and outstanding relay efforts with her teammates), but also absorbing tough runner-up finishes during indoor 60 showdowns to Davis-White (Brooks PR) and Canadian Clemence Paiement (NBNI).  So now it comes to this: Can she top Davis-White and the rest of the field in the biggest race of her senior year?  Stay tuned.

College: Texas A&M University


Mikiah Brisco (Baton Rouge H.S., LA)

Brisco has had a fine career down in the Bayou the past three years, following three-years-older sister Dominique, an elite hurdler now at University of Houston.  Mikiah hurdles too, but has combined that with outstanding sprinting and long jumping.  As a junior, the younger Brisco has improved her strength significantly – and the times have come down: A US#7 11.55 100/23.85w 200/US#16 13.87 100H triple at 5A state has represented the career high point to date and no doubt the 11.55 helped her earn a ticket to the Big Apple.  This will be Brisco’s biggest stage yet and she still has another year.

College: NA


Kali Davis-White (Boyd Anderson H.S., FL)

A year ago, Davis-White was part of girls’ prep sprinting’s best 1-2 punch.  Then-senior Shayla Sanders was the top 60, 100, and 200 runner in the country most of the year, and they combined for the US#2 4x100 and took 1st (Sanders) and 3rd (Davis-White) here at the Dream 100.  Now the question is whether Davis-White can keep the Dream Mile crown at Boyd Anderson and, equally a source of pride, in Florida for the third straight year.  Her senior year so far has been almost all you could ask for, including a US#2 7.31 60 win at Brooks PR, US#1 23.48 200 win at NBNI, and a 4A state double that included a US#1 23.05 200.  At Arcadia, though, her seasonal best of 11.51 was .01 behind Ky Westbrook (also in this field) and she lost the 200 to Ariana Washington.  She’s one of four prime contenders to win here.

College: Florida State University


Deanna Hill (Lake Highland H.S., FL)

There’s no question Hill was one of the happiest athletes on the track at Golden South last weekend.  With her wind-legal US#13 1100 PR of 11.63, she earned one of the final spots into the Dream 100.  That’s been the highlight of a fine junior year so far for the Florida 2A 100 champ and 200 runner-up (to Diamond Spaulding).  Hill’s Golden South performance last year also represented a high point, with an 11.59w in 4th.  This won’t be her first time on a really big stage, though, as she made the final in the NBNO 100 in Greensboro last spring and was 5th, and she also competed in the Brooks PR 60 this past winter.

College: NA


Akeyla Mitchell (West Oso H.S., TX)

As many rising elites have learned during the three years of the Dream series, you don’t necessarily have to win one of the qualifying races; instead, it can be coming up with those big PRs at just the right time.  Mitchell wasn’t really one of the leading contenders to earn a Dream 100 spot this year, coming into 2013 with a wind-legal best of just 12.01 – though she had run 11.45 with a big tailwind and a legal 23.84.  But after getting 2nd in the Texas Relays 100, she broke out with an US#9 11.57(+1.3w) at 3A state and completed the double with a 23.34w 200.  It was not hard to look at that and say, this girl belongs in New York.

College: NA


Javianne Oliver (Monroe Area H.S., GA)

Then there’s cases where what a runner has done the previous year winds up playing a big role in a Dream 100 or mile berth.  Take Oliver, who has a legal PR of just 11.61, US#12 this year.  But in Greensboro last spring, she ran an 11.67 that was good for second behind more established star Ky Westbrook (again, also in this field).  Thus, a consistent year in Georgia, highlighted by her AAA state meet double sufficed to get Oliver to New York.  That double included the 11.61, plus a US#11 23.75 200.  Oliver also ran 11.52 nwi in her sectional qualifier.

College: University of North Carolina


Marybeth Sant (Valor Christian H.S., CO)

With a legal 11.65 best in the 100 coming into 2013, Sant had three years of becoming a dominant sprinter in Colorado 4A and a chance to get to the next level.  Well, with a 7.30 60 meter dash in January indoors, which held up for US#1 all winter, she got to that level.  She won the Carl Lewis and Simplot 60s, but then was a disappointing 5th in the Brooks PR race and then bypassed indoor nationals.  Through the spring, she continued to get her 100 and 200 times down, reaching a then-US#1 11.38 at St. Vrain in the former (still US#2) and #8 23.61 in the latter.  Last weekend, she swept the 4A dashes again and hopes that weekend will be a successful foray back on to the big stage.

College: University of Oregon


Ky Westbrook (Chandler H.S., AZ)

What you need to do to realize what kind of an amazing athlete Westbrook is, is to scroll down her TFX results list beyond the sprints to ... a 47-9 shot put.  Yes, not a parsing error.  The junior can dash a legal US#3 11.45 AND throw the shot a US#13 47-9.  No one combines speed and strength like Westbrook.  A star her entire career, she keeps getting a little better each season.  Highlights in 2012 included 100/200 sweeps at Golden West and NBNO.  At Arcadia this spring, she nipped Davis-White in the 100, then was third in the 200 behind the Floridian and Ariana Washington.  Add in consistency this spring of several meets at 11.55 or better, Westbrook basically has as good a chance to win as anyone, clearly one of the key contenders.

College: NA


Kaylin Whitney (East Ridge H.S., FL)

Whitney will be the first freshman girl to toe the line in the three seasons of the girls’ Dream 100 – and for good reason.  She’s had an incredible season for a 9th-grader.  The biggest early indicator of her talent at this level this year came when she hit 23.54w (+2.6) at the Disney Showcase in mid-March.  Then at the Florida Relays in April, she really showed what she had with a legal 11.54, which still holds up for US#6.  She would add nwi times of 11.57 and 23.30 at region, then capture a 3A state double with 11.79w and US#5 23.40.  She’s had little competition all year and now she’ll really get her first really big test.

College: NA