LARGO, Fla. — Track and field isn’t, admittedly, Kylen Monk’s first sport.
But it turns out, he’s really good at it. This Largo High freshman is so good at it that he won a state championship.
“It felt like a dream coming true,” Kylen said. “Even though track is not my No. 1 sport, just getting better and better at it is just really good for myself.”
Football is Kylen’s first love. But the track turned out to be a place where he could also shine. And just like he does on the football field, Kylen puts in the work to be the best runner he can possibly be.
That work ethic led to an impressive personal best time. His state championship time of 20.91 seconds in the 200-meter dash ranks first among freshman in the United States.
“He’s showed me that he wants to do it and what can make him better to get there.,” Largo head coach Leviticus McKinnon said. “We didn’t know the process was going to be this fast, but it was just all about cleaning him up, tightening up and just working on body mechanics. And he definitely picked that up pretty quickly.”
Kylen joined fellow Largo High student-athlete Laiana McClinton on top of the podium at the recent FHSAA state meet. She’s taking her talents to the next level and will compete at the University of Alabama. Kylen dreams of college, too. But thanks to his latest gold medal he dreams of the Olympics.
“I do dream that big. I really do. A lot of people might think just because football is my No. 1 sport that I wouldn’t want to compete in the Olympics, but I would love to compete in the Olympics,” Kylen said. “2028, I really do think I could be in the Olympics.”