Scotlandville's Makeriah Harris is no stranger to close races. She is also no stranger to winning. This past week, Harris found herself in a tight race for MileSplit's Performer of the Week against Baton Rouge High's distance runner Natalie Venkataraman, and then Dutchtown sprinter Ariane Linton.
Harris won the poll garnering 15,717 votes. Linton was second with 13,174 votes. Venkataraman rounded out the top three with 8,285 votes.
After winning Track MVP honors at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier, Harris is deserving of the Performer of the Week accolades.
To win Track MVP honors, she came out on top in a 400 meter dash which featured three of the top 25 high school 400 meter runners in the country. It wasn't easy, though. She passed Ruston's Bryanna Craig in the last five meters and finished with a 56.88. Craig ended up finishing third (57.21), while Craig's teammate, Jada Williams, finished second (57.03).
It will make for a race to watch at Saturday's LHSAA State Indoor Meet.
In the 60 meter hurdles, Harris held off Huntington sophomore Demetria Harris, who was running in an outside lane. Harris came across in 8.94, winning by .05.
LSU LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER GIRLS 60 HURDLE FINALS!
As public address announcer Lynn Roberts informed the crowd about her day, he didn't mention how Harris got the day started.
Harris joined Sade Gray, Fatima Banks, and Whitney Harris to lower their own fieldhouse and composite record in the girls 800 meter relay to 1:41.89. The Lady Hornets were five seconds faster than the second place team.
SCOTLANDVILLE'S MAKERIAH HARRIS
Even at her young age, Harris is wise enough to know that she has not been alone on the journey. Her teammates have been there to push her every day in practice.
"It's nice to have teammates who are on the same level," Harris said. "They really push me every day in practice to be the best I can be."