Largo High School sprinter Laiana McClinton makes history at 4A state track meet
LARGO, Fla. - While competing at a high school track meet may seem intense, Largo High School track star Laiana McClinton hears nothing.
"It gives me a sense of calmness when you are running," McClinton said. "It's just everything goes quiet. Running, I enjoy running."
She doesn't just enjoy it; McClinton is good at it too.
"I am just grateful that I am blessed with such speed," McClinton said.
Her speed certainly is an x-factor.
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"She is just determined to succeed," Largo High School track coach Jamar Parker said.
Big picture view:
The success has already happened on the biggest stage at the Florida high school 4A state track meet.
"You get in this zone where you are like nothing else matters except this race," McClinton said. "Finish. Finish. Finish."
McClinton finished well ahead of the competition, coming in first in both the 100- and 200-meter sprint in 2025. She ran the 100-meter dash in 11.75 seconds, 0.21 seconds ahead of second place. She finished the 200-meter dash in 23.67 seconds, a 0.32-second victory.
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With those times, McClinton is the first Largo High School student to win both events in the same meet since 1992.
What they're saying:
"It was so amazing," McClinton said. "It was absolutely the best feeling I ever had."
It even caused her coach to show some emotions.
"Personally, I am very excited," Parker said. "I just don't really show it a lot. They may see a little tear here and there that is showing that I am proud of them.""
Dig deeper:
While winning it all is certainly a great feeling, she's most proud of being the first Polynesian in the history of the state to win both of the events.
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"I take so much pride in being Polynesian," McClinton said.
No Polynesian has won both the 100 and 200-meter sprint in the same year. With her strong bloodlines to Tonga and Samona, thanks to her mother, Janesia Tautalatasi, she was able to make history.
"Me being the first Polynesian definitely opened a lot of doors for younger Polynesians if they ever wanted to try track, but they thought maybe they don't see a lot of people like them doing it," McClinton said.
The junior has received tons of support from Polynesian pages online. One Instagram post about her feat by Polyensian Music has almost 30,000 likes.
"I am so glad I am able to inspire people who are just like me or little girls everywhere that know, you can do it," McClinton said.
What's next:
However, McClinton has her eyes on a bigger prize.
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"This is not nowhere near her ceiling," Parker said. "There's a lot more that we don't do that she could be doing."
While running D1 and going to the Olympics are certainly goals, she hopes to run in the Polynesian Pacific Games.
"I am definitely hoping I can represent either Samoa or Tonga," McClinton said.
However, McClinton knows competing at that level is never a given.
"I've got to come and compete," McClinton said. "Execute. Executing is a big thing with me and my team and my coaches. It's just really a lot of hard training."
Local perspective:
Thankfully, she might have the best track coach in Pinellas County helping her out. Parker has now trained the past three winners in the girls 100- and 200-meter 4A dash, McClinton and Rachael Uvieghara out of Palm Harbor University, who won both events in 2023 and 2024.
"We have been pretty successful with everybody coming through doing pretty good so we just stick with the same formula," Parker said.
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While the formula may seem like brutal practices, it mostly has to do with preparing his runners for real life.
"It isn't really so much about track with me as it is with developing people skills," Parker said. "Developing individual skills so that people can be successful once they leave here."
That approach has earned McClinton's respect.
"We've built that relationship and that trust," McClinton said. "It's all about trusting your coach and not questioning why we are always doing certain workouts. It's just to trust. A lot of these workouts, sometimes it's like, 'Why are we doing this?' It's just about trusting the process, really. After seeing how much he has helped, it's like, I need to keep coming and keep training. The results don't lie. Times don't lie. Numbers don't lie."
And if McClinton continues to trust the process, she believes the sky is the limit for her potential.
"You may not be seeing the times that you want to see but just know that your time is coming," McClinton said. "Your time may not always be now but it is going to come."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13 Sports' Mark Skol Jr.
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