From San Jacinto to LA28? Kaahliyah Lacy's Historic Sophomore Spring Is Just the Beginning

By Tim Streets | HS Prep Sports

Meta description (150–160 chars): San Jacinto Valley Academy sophomore Kaahliyah Lacy is now #2 all-time in California 300H. Inside her record spring and the road to LA28.

The clock read 39.93. For a split second, the stands at Mt. San Antonio College didn't know what to do with it. Then the Walnut, California crowd did the math, looked at the Jumbotron, looked again — and absolutely erupted.A sophomore. Thirty-nine-point-nine-three.

That's the kind of time that doesn't just win races. It rewrites history books. And on Saturday night at the 66th Mt. SAC Relays, Kaahliyah Lacy of San Jacinto Valley Academy became the youngest name at the very top of California's 300-meter hurdles ledger — and she's not done. She's nowhere near done. The Run That Changed Everything Let's rewind the tape. Because this didn't come out of nowhere — and at the same time, it absolutely did. At the Mt. SAC Relays on April 18, Lacy clocked 39.93 in the 300H — a time that shattered the California sophomore class record and moved her to #2 all-time in state history, according to MileSplit California. The only sophomore-or-older Californian to ever run faster? Morgan Herbst, at 39.64, set at last year's state meet. Let me say that again slower, because it matters: The only person in California history to run faster than Kaahliyah Lacy in the 300 hurdles is the reigning state champion. Lacy is 15 years old. She has two more years of high school track. Morgan Herbst's 39.64 used to feel untouchable. Now? It looks like a to-do list item. Arcadia Set the Table. Mt. SAC Smashed the Plates. Here's the thing about Lacy's Mt. SAC performance — it wasn't a fluke. A week earlier, she was already serving notice at the biggest regular-season track meet in the country. At the 2026 Arcadia Invitational on April 10–11, Lacy lit the fuse:

13.81 in the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the day Then came back and dropped a 40.81 in the 300H, upsetting national favorite Natalie Dumas and tying for No. 8 all-time among American sophomores That 40.81 surged her to the top of the national rankings in the 300mH

Arcadia is where reputations are made. It's where Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Allyson Felix, and a long list of future Olympians first turned heads. Beating a nationally-ranked favorite at that meet — as a 10th grader — is the kind of line that goes on a bio page and never leaves it. Then she went to Mt. SAC and ran nearly a full second faster. Let that sink in. She dropped 0.88 seconds in one week. In the hurdles. At the elite level. That's not improvement. That's a leap. Who Is Kaahliyah Lacy? If your first reaction to all this is "San Jacinto Valley Academy — where?" — don't feel bad. You're not alone. SJVA isn't Long Beach Poly. It isn't Great Oak. It isn't Centennial Corona or any of the traditional Southern California track factories that fans check first when scanning state leaderboards. It's a smaller program in the San Jacinto Valley, about 85 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, where the school's athletic identity has been built quietly under the Wolf Pack banner. Until now. SJVA's own athletic page is calling her performance "world-class" — and for once, a school PR line might actually be underselling it. Because "world-class" is what you say when you want to be humble. The numbers say something bigger. The numbers say generational. Why That 39.93 Is Such a Big Deal Here's the context that makes this spring historic: She is the No. 2 all-time 300H runner in California — period. Not sophomore. Not underclass. All-time. She's ahead of every senior, every junior, every freshman who ever wore spikes in this state, except one. She's the US No. 1 in the 300H as of mid-April. That means right now, today, there is no high school girl in America running this race faster than the sophomore from San Jacinto. She doubles in the short hurdles too. That 13.81 in the 100H at Arcadia is elite. Most world-class 400H prospects come out of a 100H / 300H double, and Lacy is already showing that range. She's improving fast. Nearly a full second of improvement in seven days, against stronger competition, is not normal. That's a kid with an entirely different ceiling than the one we thought she had in March. And she's only a sophomore. Class of 2028. The LA28 Timeline: Why the Dates Just Work Here's where the story gets really interesting. Kaahliyah Lacy is in the Class of 2028. She graduates high school in May or June of 2028. The Los Angeles Olympic Games begin July 14, 2028. The US Olympic Track & Field Trials happen in late June. The math, for anyone keeping score at home: if Lacy continues on anything close to her current trajectory, she will be fresh out of high school and 18 years old when the home Olympics land in her backyard. Too young for the Olympics? Tell that to the record books. Sydney McLaughlin was 17 at Rio in 2016. Allyson Felix was 18 at Athens in 2004. Athing Mu was 19 in Tokyo. The women's hurdles and middle-distance events in the United States have a long, proud tradition of running teenagers onto Olympic rosters and watching them medal. The Olympics are in Los Angeles. Lacy lives 85 miles from the opening ceremony. If you were designing a storybook setup, you couldn't do better than this. The 400H Question Now, here's the honest part — because we owe readers the full picture, not the fairytale version: The 300-meter hurdles is a high school event. It doesn't exist at the Olympics. What Lacy will need to transition to is the 400-meter hurdles — the event Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone currently owns at the world-record level (50.37). The good news? That transition is the standard path for elite American 300H runners. The barrier height is the same (30 inches). The race rhythm is similar. You add 100 meters of endurance, refine your touchdown times, and if you've got the engine, you stay elite. And Lacy has the engine. Running 39.93 in the 300H suggests 400H potential in the 56–57-second range with proper training progression — a ballpark that would have her contending for NCAA and international finals before she's old enough to rent a car. What's Next: CIF, State, and Summer Nationals The high school season isn't over. Not even close. The Mt. SAC Relays performance kicks off the most important month of her year:

CIF Southern Section League Championships — the sprint to the postseason starts now CIF Masters Meet — where SoCal's best punch their ticket CIF State Championship — where Morgan Herbst's 39.64 is now squarely in range Summer nationals and Team USA U20 consideration — the next tier of exposure

If Lacy breaks 39.64 at the CIF State Meet in May, she'll be the fastest Californian in history at this event before she can legally vote. That's not a hot take. That's just the math of where her times are trending. Don't Sleep on the Wolf Pack There's something undeniably satisfying about the fact that this story — a California all-time great in the making — is coming out of SJVA and not one of the usual powerhouses. High school sports fans in this state have watched the track and field conversation get dominated for years by the same cluster of programs. Great Oak. Long Beach Poly. Vista Murrieta. JSerra. Mater Dei. All incredible, all deserving of the hype. But the best stories in prep sports have always been the ones you didn't see coming. Kaahliyah Lacy is that story right now. She's a sophomore at a school most California track fans couldn't find on a map three weeks ago. She just ran the second-fastest 300H time in state history. She has two more years of high school. The home Olympics land in her region in 27 months. You do not want to blink. You do not want to miss her next race. And if you're a college recruiter who hasn't already called SJVA's athletic office, you are, at minimum, a week late. Mark This Date Don't forget the name. Write it down. Screenshot this article. Set a reminder for the 2028 US Olympic Trials. Kaahliyah Lacy. San Jacinto Valley Academy. Wolf Pack. History is already being made. The only question left is how much bigger it gets.

Who do YOU think has the best shot at making the Team USA 400H roster from the current high school class? Drop your picks in the comments — and tag a friend who still hasn't heard of Kaahliyah Lacy. 👇 Follow HS Prep Sports for daily coverage of California's rising track stars, CIF playoff action, and the road to LA28.

Sources

MileSplit California — Kaahliyah Lacy's All-Time Mark Leads 66th Mt. SAC Relays MileSplit California — 10 Most Shocking Moments from the 2026 Arcadia Invitational Avanda Times — 2026 Arcadia Invitational: National Records Shattered San Jacinto Valley Academy — Official