When most people look back at their four years in high school, the more they are removed from it, the more they marvel at just how fast it went by, in the figurative sense, of course.
Springfield senior sprinter Maira Scott may very well say the same one day, but there is no arguing she took that speed from the figurative to the literal sense, finishing her high school track career as a three-time state champion at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University.
Scott was gunning for the repeat crown in both the 100--and 200-meter dash on June 1, but came up three-tenths of a second behind Westerville Central senior Olivia Pace in the final, settling as the runner-up, in the first of her two events. That failed to deter her in the 200.
She overtook Pace with ease in the longer leg, blazing a time of 23.66 seconds that bested her next closest competitor by over threequarters of a second to capture her third and final track championship. Her two-year dominance in the event is unparalleled to say the least, given the 1.77 seconds of separation between her and the second-place finishers combined across her two title runs.
It was a fitting end to a career that posted some of the best times in Lady Devil history. This past year alone, she recorded personal bests of 11.34 seconds in the 100, 23.11 seconds in the 200 and 54.37 seconds in the 400, all of which would have easily won her state championships. She also took home first in the state indoor meet in the 200 earlier this year.
She will go down as a three-time All-Ohio and All-American as she continues on to University of Southern California to continue her track career. She enters as a top-10 recruit nationally according to MileSplit’s rankings.
Adding to her accolades are two state runner-up finishes, six regional titles, 10 district championships and 12 Northern Lakes League first-place crowns.
And, speaking of crowns, she added one final piece of hardware in her senior season, though not on the track.
Scott was elected as Springfield’s 2023 Homecoming Queen in the fall, just one more touch to her resume as one of the best studentathletes in Springfield High School history.
She received a hero’s welcome upon her return to campus after the state track meet.
