A Look Back at the 2016 Girls Louie Bing 800m

The 2016 Louie Bing Classic saw many top athletes race to top times across the State.

Tyrese ‘Smoke’ Cooper lived up to the hype, sweeping the three sprint races in record-breaking fashion.

The Boys 4x100m broke 41 seconds, 2 girls teams went under 3:50 in the 4x400m, a 5:09 Girls 1600m, 1:55 in Boys 800m run and great throws and jumps were the norm in the Field events.

We also saw a great 800m Girls race with State leading times from Kayla Johnson, Daesha Rogers, and Daishon Spann. 

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Southridge's Kayla Johnson had an outstanding freshman year 2 seasons ago, going 2:14.23 and placing herself as one to watch for the upcoming 2015 season.  But after lingering injuries she was not able replicate her stellar freshman season.  Kayla showed she had some speed, Dropping down in distance to the 400m where she placed 5th in 56.38 at the 2015 FHSAA State Championships.

During this offseason Kayla put in some work and competed in the Texas A&M Indoor High School Meet where she dopped a sub 56 400m indoors, showing once again she had the strength and speed to compete at an elite national level.

We also saw North Miami's Daesha Rogers continue to shine much like she has since she was as an 8 year old on the summer AAU Circuit, seemingly breaking national records at will.


Entering High School, Daesha's PR in the 800m was already 2:07.65. Her freshman and sophomore seasons were not to everyone’s expectations.  Towards the end of last season, Daesha went into a serious round of training and returned to victory as a State Champion in the 800m running 2:11.84.


Two weeks later at the Golden South Classic, Daesha clocked 2:10.68.  Not knowing where she would land for the 2015-16 High School season, it was evident her focus was back and her junior year would be a return to dominance in the Open 800m race.


Boyd Anderson's Daishon Spann had a break out summer in the 800m but is also a very versatile athlete.  Daishon finished 3rd in the 13-14 Multi Events, 4th in the 100m Hurdles and 1st in the 800m at the USATF Junior Olympics.

Daishon did a superb job on the AAU side as well claiming her 4th AAU National Club Championship in the 800m for 14 year olds. Daishon barely missed breaking the record held by Daesha Rogers by less than a second, running an outstanding 2:11.8.  She also captured a record held by Rogers at the FLYRA Middle School State Championships earlier in the year.  Now in High School, this was Daishon's first ‘BIG’ meet of her freshman campaign.

So the stage was set for the 2016 Louie Bing Classic 800m Final.

A stacked field with young talent that included Johnson, Rogers, Spann, Mikens-Malik and Folston amongst others.

From the crack of the gun,  it was a blistering fast pace pace coming through the first 400m. Daesha was in the lead with Kayla close behind as they ripped through the first 400 in 56.5, an insane 1:54 pace !


It was obvious as these two separated from the chase pack it was going to be a superb battle.


We spoke spoke to the top three finishers, Kayla, Daesha and Daishon to get an idea what was going through their minds as they were competing in the Louie Bing 800m Final:

DSFL:  This race was insanely fast from the start, did you know or plan on running at this pace?

Kayla:  "Yes, I wanted to get out but Daesha [Rogers] did speed up the pace immensely."

Daesha: "When I ran I came in with a strategy but once the gun went off I just planned as the race went along."

Daishon: "I planned on a fast pace, but unfortunately for about a quarter of the race I was not able to."

DSFL: Coming down the final 100m what were you thinking and were you aware how fast your times were?

Kayla: "The last 100, I was thinking of just finishing strong. I was not aware of the time but I did feel like I did my personal best."

Daesha: "Coming down the last 100m, I actually wasn’t thinking about anything but finishing the race.  I couldn’t just let go because I’m at the end, I had to hold on."

Daishon:  "I was just thinking I had to be the first one to get there.  Even though I wasn’t that is what I was pushing for. And no I was not aware, I initially thought that the time I ran was dirt slow, but it wasn’t. That only shows me I could go faster."

DSFL:  Daishon, you were sitting in almost 9th place coming off the final stretch. How did you muster up a finish to grab 3rd place?

Daishon: "At practice the week before we did a 1000m workout and the last 200m had to be in 32 seconds. I think, that helped me, and my first lap not being as fast as I thought it would be. I had more energy than I thought."

DSFL: After the race when you found out your time, did you meet your expectations?

Kayla: "I don't ever think I will meet my personal expectations. I always strive to do better than before and I go over what I could've done differently to make the race a better one."

Daesha: "I was not aware of the time I was running but when I finished I was satisfied with what I ran because I was expecting something totally different.  I was satisfied either way it went."

Daishon: "I exceeded my expectations. I thought I was going to go around, maybe 2:17 for my first true high school meet. With me going 2:14, it shows me that I am around where I was last year when I ended my season, which is a good sign. There is room for improvement and I am willing to work."

DSFL: What are your goals for this season?

Kayla:  "My goals for this season is to possibly win States and go to the Junior World Championships."

Daesha: "Hopefully, by the end of the season I just finish with my best.  You can’t go wrong by doing your best."

Daishon: "This season I want to go sub 2:10 in the 800, :54 in the 400m, 14 low in the 100m Hurdles and 5’5” in the High Jump. Trusting my coaches and staying healthy will be the key.  Being better than the meet before will be my mentality."

All we can say is the 2016 High School Track and Field season is upon us and it is going to be great to see unfold.  Elite performances from Floridian's will make definitely make it "#FloridaFast".

We want to thank each of these young ladies for participating in this write up and wish them all the best this outdoor season.