Heading into Saturday's LSU High School Classic, John Curtis' Justin Horne looked over the MileSplit LA poll of athletes listed to post impressive performances at the opening meet of the 2023 indoor season. When he didn't see his name listed, he jokingly sent the poll's creator a message over social media.
"None of the above."
It was all in good fun. The two-sport star, who had a busy month in December--helping John Curtis' football team to an LHSAA Division I State Championship and signing a national letter of intent with Texas Tech University, knew through his preparation he was due for a special performance.
First, he qualified for the finals with a 7.99-the only hurdler in the field to break the eight second mark. Then, Horne pulled off a near-flawless execution in the finals, which included a Supermanan lean at the line which gave Horne a time of 7.90, breaking the fieldhouse composite record (7.92, Deanthony Coleman - 2019) a US #3 ranking.
"I just had to make sure I was the first one to the first hurdle," Horne said. "I didn't succeed with that but I was able to move between hurdles and do what I was supposed to do."
How fast can he go?
"Only God knows," Horne replied. "I'm not going to try to put a limit on that. Last year, I put a limit on it and that was as fast a I ran. But, I know I can do better. So let's just see how fast I can get."