* Shawnti Jackson (left) set a new national 60m record on Saturday
Photo Credit: Kyle Brazeil/New York MileSplit
Shawnti Jackson's first high school national record was a big one.
The Raleigh Wakefield (NC) junior, 16, broke the all-time 60m mark on Saturday at the Millrose Games in New York City, finishing third in a women's professional field in a time of 7.18 seconds. The indoor mark is also now a new age group world record and a national junior class mark.
Previously, the former record had been set in 2004 by Liberty's (DC) Ashley Owens and then replicated in 2020 by a 16-year-old Tamari Davis, who later turned professional as a junior in high school.
Jackson's effort on Saturday was a clean break.
And she no doubt held her own, finishing ahead of Olympians Briana Williams (Jamaica) and Gabby Thomas (United States). She was just behind winner Aleia Hobbs, who won in 7.11 seconds, while Mikiah Brisco was second in 7.15.
In some respects, the performance was somewhat shocking, as Jackson improved her former previous best mark of 7.24, she accomplished in 2021, by 0.06 seconds. Jackson ran 7.25 seconds in January at The VA Showcase.
While Jackson had racked up class records in recent years, this effort consisted of her first overall national record.
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