Servite sprinter Benjamin Harris believes his best

Benjamin Harris has already completed enough in his high faculty observe profession to make most of his friends envious, but he insists he’s far from performed.

A junior sprinter from Servite, Harris was keen to test a few more objects off his to-do checklist Saturday at the state meet in Clovis, where he sought to win the 100- and 200-meter dashes while also anchoring the 4×100 relay.

Since making national headlines in 2024 by profitable the 100 at the Arcadia Invitational in a wind-aided 10.38 as a freshman at Long Beach Poly, Harris has been in the highlight, though he doesn’t search it.

“I don’t care about the hype,” he said following Friday’s prelims at Buchanan High, where he earned spots in the finals in all three of his occasions.

Long Beach Poly boasts one of the proudest packages in California yet Harris opted to switch to Servite in February 2025 and has not appeared back. A yr in the past he was second to De La Salle’s Jaden Jefferson in the 100 at the state finals, clocking 10.31.

The Friars gained the state 4×100 title in 40.27 last spring without their celebrity from Compton and with him have been two-hundredths off that in posting the quickest time in Friday’s preliminaries. Their purpose Saturday was simple: break their own state document, which they set at Arcadia in April with a nation-leading 39.70.

“It was a hard change leaving the coaches there at Poly but it was for the better and will benefit me for the future,” Harris said. “Working out with my teammates is a blessing. They push me. We’ve all gotten better and I’m looking forward to us being training partners until we go off to college.”

Harris was first in the 100 in 10.32 at Arcadia, clocked a personal-best 10.18 in the Southern Section finals and bettered it with a wind-aided 10.17 seven days later at the Masters Meet, equaling the fourth-fastest time in state historical past under any situations. He also ran a wind-aided 20.51 in the 200 at the part finals, another lifetime best.

He gained his 100 heat Friday in a wind-legal 10.36 but three others posted quicker wind-aided instances. In the 200, Harris was the fifth-fastest qualifier in 21.10 but he remained assured he would run his best Saturday.

“I’m gonna bet on myself a thousand percent of the time,” Harris said. “The 100 and 200 will be a battle. Whoever executes better will win but I trust my training. At the end of the day it’s me versus me. My biggest competition is myself.”

Servite head coach Brandon Thomas believes Harris is just hitting his stride.

“He’s determined not to lose — he’s the ultimate competitor,” Thomas said. “He’s been very dominant in the 100 and now he’s coming into his own in the 200.”

Harris prefers the longer of the 2 dash races.

“The 200 was always my favorite event,” he said. “That’s my bread and butter. However, I’ve improved a lot in the 100.”

Harris not only excels on the oval, but also on the gridiron. He led the Friars’ varsity soccer group with 39 catches for 457 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 video games in the autumn and plans to be back in pads his senior yr.

“A lot of people want me to be a football player who runs track but for me it’s the other way around,” said Harris, a slot and outdoors receiver and kick returner. “I’m a track runner who plays football.”

Harris is worked up about his future and desires to be a two-sport athlete at the next degree, having obtained a number of affords while citing UCLA, USC, Texas Tech, Miami and Oregon State among his favourite locations.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done since my freshman year,” he said. “I really have no regrets. As you get older the biggest thing is staying healthy and if I can do that I’m going to be the best in California.”