By Alicia Couch Payne
The women’s track team at Buford High School has been a force in the track and field world in Georgia for over three years. The sheer talent at Buford is undeniable. The overall high points winner at the 2019 GHSA State AAAAA Championships was Kimberly Harris. Harris, a rising senior at BHS, has been busy competing this summer at various track meets representing Jack Rabbit Track Club.
Harris has been making an even bigger legacy this summer as she qualified and was ultimately selected to represent Team USA at the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships. She was asked to be a part of the 4 x 400-meter relay team. The Pan Am Championships were held this past weekend in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The United States was well represented in track and field at the games. Both the men and women dominated many of the races, even broke a few records. The men’s 4 x 100-meter relay and 4 x 400-meter relay teams for the USA each broke the U20 World Record in their races. The USA’s women’s 4 x 400-meter relay team comprised of Alexis Holmes, Buford’s Kimberly Harris, Ziyah Holman, and Kayla Davis broke the U20 World Record by three seconds. The previous record of 3:27.60 held for 15 years until these four ladies ran a relay time of 3:24.04.
The win and World Record in the 4 x 400-meter is the crown jewel in Harris’s large collection of achievements. Harris will defend her GHSA State AAAAA title for the last time in the spring. Congratulations to Harris and her fellow U20 Pan Am 4 x 400-meter teammates!
