Demus Selected Top Girls’ Track Athlete

Lashinda Demus, who set two national high school records in the 300-meter low hurdles for Long Beach Wilson last season, has been selected as Track & Field News’ girls’ athlete of the year.

Demus, a freshman at South Carolina, also won the award in 1999.

Demus ran 40.16 in the 300 hurdles at the Reedley Invitational on April 27 to cut .02 seconds off the national high school record set by Leslie Maxie of Millbrae Mills in 1984.

She lowered that mark to 39.98 in the Southern Section Division I final on May 19, but failed to finish that race in the Southern Section Masters Meet after running around the first hurdle.

In the 400 hurdles, Demus moved to second on the all-time high school list and finished fifth in that event in the USA Track & Field championships in June.

She also won the 100 high hurdles in the state championships and ran a leg on Wilson’s 1,600 relay team that set a national record of 3:35.72 in that meet.