When Shawnti Jackson and Terrell Robinson Jr. traveled north from North Carolina to The Armory in late January, they both ran attention-grabbing performances in the 60-meter dash at the 114th Millrose Games.

Jackson broke the national high school record with 7.18 seconds and almost beat a field of pros. It was a head-spinning performance that marked Jackson as one of the fastest high school girls of all-time.

Back home, things changed. At her next meet the junior from Wakefield High was the center of attention and signed three autographs.

"I went from being a nobody to breaking a national record, coming back to my hometown, running at a small little high school meet and everybody was like 'Oh my gosh Shawnti Jackson.' I had to sign three autographs and I haven't even practiced my autograph," Jackson said.

In her return to New Balance Nationals Indoor, March 11-13, Jackson might want to bring her own set of pens.

She's the headliner in a deep field of sprinters, girls and boys, that will compete in the 60 meters and 200 meters.

Robinson, a senior at Mount Tabor High, won the high school boys 60-meter dash at Millrose in his first visit to The Armory and broke the meet record with 6.72 seconds.

Robinson and Jackson, North Carolina's state sprint champions this winter, are close. He joins her for workouts twice a week so he can benefit from additional coaching by Shawnti's father, Bershawn, who was a six-time global medalist as a professional track athlete.

"Shawnti's my best friend," Robinson said. "When we were in virtual school, I went to work out with them a lot. It's great to stand next to someone who has the same ambitions, to be the best."

Jackson and Robinson are both entered in the 60 and the 200 at New Balance Nationals.

And while Jackson is a big favorite, she will face Kaila Jackson of Track Life University (Mich.), who has run 7.26, and Kaniya Johnson of Lowndes GA, who has run 7.29.

In the 200, Jackson could be in position to take down Bianca Knight's 2007 national high school record of 22.97 seconds. Jackson's best time, 23.23, came in 2021 as she hasn't run a 200 yet this winter. (She is, however, US#1 in the 300).

On the boys side, the competition for titles in both the straightaway dash and the 200 should be intense.

At the VA Showcase in mid-January, four of the top sprinters in the country -- Justin Braun from Westerville Central OH, Robinson, Jordan Anthony from XCEL Athletics/Tylertown MS and Nyckoles Harbor of Archbishop Carroll DD -- finished within .03 seconds in the most significant matchup so far this year.

At The Armory, Robinson and Anthony, who both finished in 6.77 that day in January, will go head to head. They'll be joined by Jonas Clarke of South Hadley MA, tied for US#1 with Robinson in the 55 meters, and Carter Cukerstein of Shenendehowa NY (US#4 in the 60m).

The bigger showdown on the boys side comes in the 200, where Braun, Robinson, Anthony and Harbor are all scheduled to compete.

"It's what you live for, the chance to race the best," Robinson said. "I think I run better when I have people around me. I love running with them."

Harbor owns the US#1 time with the 20.79 he ran at Texas Tech on Jan. 22. Anthony (21.06) and Braun (21.29) have put up fast times and Robinson, who doesn't get opportunities to run in the 200 in North Carolina, expects to be right with them.

Additional standouts in the 200 include New Jersey standouts Shamali Whittle of Hamilton North-Nottingham, who has run 21.05, and Fitzroy Ledgister of St. Peter's Prep, who won Tuesday's U.S. Army Eastern States title in US#4 21.26.