Octavious Freeman chases the 100-meter record

When Octavious Freeman began running track at age 11, her coaches at the Greater Winter Haven (Fla.) Track Club put her in the 400- and 800-meter races.

"I figured it was probably too long, but I ran it," she told MaxPreps. "I always wanted to run events (the sprints) that everyone comes out to see."

Meanwhile – even though she never finished worse than third - she continually petitioned her father, Stanley Smith, an assistant coach at Lake Wales (Fla.), to let her switch to the shorter races.

"She was a long strider (early in her career). One of the coaches told her she'd never be a runner," Smith recalled. "She asked if she could run the 100 and 200. I said 'when you beat me.'"



As a seventh grader she finally out-ran her father in a 100-meter race. He was 42 years old at the time. Her wish was granted and her climb has been stratospheric, to say the least.

"Since she's been running the 100, she might have been beaten three or four times," Smith said proudly.

Now a senior at Lake Wales, the 5-foot-6 Freeman appears ready for a banner spring and summer. Track & Field News girls editor Mike Kennedy calls Freeman the "preseason favorite for Women's Athlete of the Year. She needs to get on the big stage. The USATF Juniors would be a good place to start."

Freeman will be chasing the national record in the 100, which is 11.11 seconds by Angela Williams of Chino, Calif., in 1998. She actually did run that time as a junior, but it was wind-aided. Her best non-wind clocking is 11.16, which is No. 5 all-time.

She turned in the 11.16 while defeating seven professionals during the National Training Center Sprint Stars meet in Clermont, Fla.

"She thought she was going to be last," Smith said of her first crack at much older, seasoned runners. "That took her over the top. If she gets out of the blocks, she can beat anybody in the world."



She has run the 200 in a best of 23.19. The national record is 22.11.

Even the 200 record is not completely out of her reach because she always is cautious getting out of the blocks and once she gets the lead she somewhat coasts to victory.

"I need to run the 200 full speed," she conceded. "I've never been pushed after coming off the curve."

Her father added, "I usually slow her down after she gets out front early, because I don't want her to get hurt."

Freeman began establishing her greatness as a freshman when she won the 100 and the 200 during Florida's Class 2A state finals. She also displayed great versatility by placing eighth in the long jump.

"I thought she was going to win the state, but not until her junior year," Smith said. "I was real surprised. I was really proud, basically in tears."



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}As a sophomore, she repeated her state titles in the 100 and 200. She also placed second in both events during the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

As a junior she made it three consecutive years as a double state sprint champion, winning the 100 in a record 11.39 seconds. She also surprised even herself by adding the long jump title with a career-best leap of 18 feet, 4 ½ inches.

"She never practiced the long jump," according to Lake Wales boys track coach Tavarias Johnson. "An inch of her toe was over the line when she jumped 21 feet on her first jump. You can put her in the hurdles and she would win. She has perfect form. You never know what she's capable of."

Last summer she also doubled at the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. the Golden South Classic in Orlando, Fla., and the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

Running in the high altitude in Albuquerque was a unique experience.

"The atmosphere got to me. It was hard to breathe," Freeman recalled. "I just wanted it more than anybody else."



Freeman explained why she has not traveled much so far during her career.

"When I start, I have a long track season. After the New Balance Nationals, that's my down time and I take a break," she related.

"Last year I turned down all the meets she didn't want to go to," Smith pointed out. "I try to let her make her own decisions."

Freeman is a well-rounded athlete. She played volleyball as a freshman and admits her first love still is basketball, which she played in seventh and eighth grade. Her dad made her quit because he saw a better future in track, but she still plays in pick-up games when the opportunity presents itself.

She carries a 3.0 GPA and belongs to the Young Leaders Club. Her favorite track performer is Allyson Felix.

Improving her start is the key to breaking national and state records this year.



"That's my weakness –my reaction time," Freeman admitted. "I have to work on drills. I am very afraid of false starting, but I have never false started."

Spurning offers from such powers as LSU and Florida, Freeman signed with the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where she plans to major in sports management.

"It's a very big deal and we're really excited," UCF coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert said. "She is going to help our program immensely. She is going to make a big impact immediately. I talked to her about schools where the past already has been set versus coming here to build a top-three program, so when she has children she can say ‘I helped start that.' We are No. 9 in the country now."

Smith-Gilbert already has seen some fruit from Freeman's decision.

"It's still new, but it's going to get a little easier (to land top recruits)," she believes. "It's brought our name out in lights. People now know what UCF is and where it is."

Smith is happy with his daughter's decision.



He says, "Once she goes there, other top athletes will start going there. They are on the right track and have got a great coach. I've taken her as far as I can go. Once she gets to a coach who knows more than me, she will take her to the next level.

"I think she will win the Olympics – I'm looking at 2012."