He’s only eight years old, but you are going to want to remember the name Masiah McGee.
Why? Because the Kissimmee youngster is one of the fastest athletes in the country, and he proved it this past weekend by taking silver medals in his age group in the 100, 200, and 400 meter runs at the AAU Junior Olympic Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
Running in the eight-and-under division, McGee capped off his summer track competitions by finishing second to Andrew Akinkoulee of Fortney, Texas in both the 100 and 200 meter finals. Akinkoulee won with times of 13.07 and 28.56 with McGee hot on his heels in 13.89 and 28.97. McGee completed his competition on Saturday, being just edged out by just 11/100th of a second for the gold by Bentley Slayden of Boca Raton (1:04.10) in the 400.
“I am really proud of MJ’s achievements this past week,” said his father Oscar McGee, a former Osceola track and football standout. “He never seems to let a moment get too big for him and he loves to compete.” The performance marked a whirlwind summer for the young star.
Last month, he competed in the 2022 AAU Primary Nationals and won national championships in 100 meter (14.15 seconds) and 200 meter (28.30, a time that broke the eight-year-old meet record) events in the eight-year old category.
In additional to being ranked in the top two in the nation in three different events, McGee has also started practicing the long jump and has posted unofficial numbers that would rank in his in the top three in his age group in that event. Most remarkably, he has been competing in track and field for less than a year.
'“He loves football and always seemed to be the fastest kid on the field,” his father said. “Some of his teammates ran track on the Charger Elite team and he said he wanted to give it a try. The main thing is he loves doing it and loves competing, so we will see where it takes him in that sport.”
Getting on the podium has not been difficult in any of his meets today. Prior to the Junior Olympics and Primary Nationals, Masiah ran in the AAU State Championship meet in Jacksonville — recording another triple by winning the 100, 200, and 400-meters.
His success has already caught the attention of Osceola head football and track coach Eric Pinellas, who helped coach the Charger Elite team.
“Masiah is the real deal, I just hope he still likes football when he gets a little older,” Pinellas joked. “But seriously, he is a tremendous young talent and it is hard to believe that been running track for less than a year. For him to reach the level of achievement he has on the national scene this quickly is really remarkable.”
