Will Floyd ’23 is really fast. The senior already has three Seattle Prep track records, a Washington state track record, and a medal in international competition. It all started back in middle school. “I always played sports in middle school, I was always kind of fast. I think it was 6^th or 7^th grade that one of my close friends dad said ‘you’re fast, you should start running track’…and so I got into CYO track in middle school.”

Floyd did well in middle school, but once he got to Prep his first season of track was canceled when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020. Sophomore year was the first time that Floyd was able to compete in an official high school meet, and he started off with a bang. At the culminating Metro Championship meet that year, he placed 2^nd in the 400-meter and set the Prep record.

In the fall of his junior year, Floyd excelled as a wide receiver for the Panthers football team. Going into his first full season of high school track that spring, Floyd didn’t really know what to expect. “I just wanted to stay at the top in the 400-meter, but obviously I wasn’t prepared and expecting the things I did last year.”

In his first meet of the season, he won every race in which he competed, taking home victories in the 100, 200 and the 4×100 relay. In fact, during the regular season, he won every individual competition except one. Then came the biggest test of his young track career, the state championships in 2022.

“The first day of state, I was up in the stands with my club coach, and we were looking through a book with all the state track records. He pointed out the 200-meter record and said, ‘You should go out and try to break this.’”

At the time it may have seemed like an ambitious goal, but Floyd soon put to rest any doubts. “I remember crossing the line I felt good. I knew I’d won, and I remember looking back at the time and seeing the 21.01… I’d thought I’d tied it, but when I got back to the stands they were like ‘Yeah, you got it.’”

Floyd finished the season with 27 victories in 29 races (he got 2^nd in the two he didn’t win) and a Washington state record. Not bad for his first full season.

His standout numbers at Prep earned him the opportunity to compete for Team Canada at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Colombia over the summer. He placed 4^th in the 400-meter and took home a bronze medal in the 4×400 relay. “It was awesome, it was just a small taste of what it’s like to compete at the highest level in a sport. To be able to be there at such a young age, and it being my first experience on that type of level was definitely eye opening and was a different experience than anything I’d had before.”

How does Floyd plan to build on his success from last year? “More or less not changing up what I did last year. I’m definitely going to start my training earlier this year, try to get some stuff done during this fall.” In order to have the time to focus on track however, he had to quit something he loved: football. “It was a really hard decision. I loved playing football, especially being around all my teammates. After everything that happened this summer, I realized I want to do everything that I can with track and make the best of those experiences, and sacrificing football just came with that.”

Floyd looks forward to the things he wants to accomplish in his final year at Prep. “I want the Washington state record for the 100, 200, and 400. Also, to bring home a state championship to Seattle Prep, and hopefully to cap it all off, a Gatorade player of the year banner in the gym.”

While no one knows for certain what Floyd’s future holds, one thing is for certain: Will Floyd is only getting faster.