Heading into the meet, all eyes were on one athlete: Braden Pickett, a sophomore out of Pearl High School. Entering as the top seed in both the 100m and 200m, he was the clear favorite in two of the most stacked events of the day. That pressure didn't seem to affect him at all, as what he accomplished at the Woody Barnett Invitational was nothing short of historic.
Starting his day in the 100m, Pickett lined up in an elite heat packed with athletes ranked inside the state's top 15. But when you watch the race back, it looks like he's in a league of his own. He won by nearly half a second, running a wind-legal 10.21. The impact of that time is hard to overstate. It improved his state lead by 0.2 seconds, further separating him from the rest of Mississippi. Nationally, it moved him to U.S. #3 among wind-legal performances and U.S. #2 among sophomores. It also made him the second-fastest 100m runner in Mississippi history, trailing only Jordan Anthony, who recently won the 60m at the Indoor World Championships.
WATCH: Braden Pickett Runs 10.21 in the 100m
If that wasn't enough, his day only got more impressive. After the 100m, Pickett returned for the 400m, an event featuring six athletes seeded under 50 seconds. Once again, he proved untouchable. Through the first 300m, Pickett was in the back of the race and looked like he was out of contention. However, in the final straightaway, he found another gear and flew by his competitors. He pulled away from the field to win in 47.66, setting a new state lead by nearly a full second. That mark ranks him 10th all-time in Mississippi history and places him at U.S. #5 among sophomores.
WATCH: Braden Pickett Runs 47.66 in the 400m
Even after those two performances, Pickett still had one race left-and it may have been his best. In the 200m, he delivered what was arguably the most impressive race of the entire meet. From the moment he broke the stagger, the race felt over. He crossed the line in a wind-legal 20.66, improving his state lead once again and winning by nearly a full second. Nationally, he now sits at U.S. #4 among wind-legal times and is the fastest sophomore in the country. That performance also ranks him second all-time in Mississippi history, once again behind Jordan Anthony.
WATCH: Braden Pickett Runs 20.66 in the 200m
All in all, Pickett's performance at the Woody Barnett Invitational may go down as the most impressive single-day showing by any athlete in Mississippi history. MileSplit recently introduced a tool that compares athletes across up to three events, and when applying it to the 100m, 200m, and 400m, no one in state history comes particularly close to Pickett's marks. The only comparable athlete is Tavaris Tate, the state record holder in the 400m, who ran 10.48, 21.71, and 45.71 at the 2009 MHSAA 5A State Championships. The biggest difference between the two performances is the 400m, where Tate's mark still stands alone. Tavaris Tate's 2009 performance may still stand as the most complete sprint triple ever seen in Mississippi, but considering Braden Pickett is just 15 years old, his performance at Woody Barnett might be the most impressive when factoring in age, development, and long-term potential. He can't even drive yet, but he's already climbing national leaderboards and rewriting Mississippi history books.
