When a high school athlete starts to set records like seasoned professionals, everyone notices. That is precisely what went down recently when Olympic champ Noah Lyles opened his 2026 indoor season with a solid 300m run at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational.  While Lyles’ performance showed he’s still at the top of his game, one day later, an 18-year-old sprinter ran a record-breaking run that outshone Lyles’ time.

On January 17, at the VA Showcase, Tate Taylor of San Antonio Harlan School ran 32.45 seconds in the 300m, breaking the U.S. high school indoor record of 32.64 set by Brian Herron in 2018. Interestingly, his run was 0.15 seconds faster than Noah Lyles’ recent 32.60, a small but meaningful margin in sprinting terms that put him ahead of one of the fastest men in the world, even if only for one race.

After the race, Taylor succinctly revealed how he reached the top spot. “I trained hard for this. I prayed a lot for this,” he said.

Describing the intensity of the run, he added while showing the track: “I got up this curve. I was like, okay, I got off.. I’m feeling good. I was like, dude, I’m feeling perfectly fine. The moment I got off that curve, boy, that lactic came quick…I couldn’t feel my butt, I couldn’t feel my legs in general. Only thing I had was my arms, and I was like, man, I just gotta finish this race. So, that’s all I had to do. ”

Taylor didn’t just win the race; he took a clear lead in the final stretch, finishing ahead of his training partner, Jake Odey-Jordan, who crossed the line in 32.64 seconds, tying the old record. Taylor spoke about their teamwork and shared joy:

“Jake…pushed me to that national record. I pushed him because he broke the national record as well. So, man, God had us on his shoulder, and we’re going to try to stay up there with him.”

Sure, Tate has broken the record now, but Noah Lyles’ lifetime best in the 300 meters is 31.87 seconds, which he ran at the 2017 USA Indoor Championships. But when a teenager is coming close to those numbers, comparisons are inevitable esspecially to professionals.

Tate Taylor’s record runs

Tate Taylor’s numbers as a high school athlete are hard to ignore. In 2025, he ran 9.92 in the 100 meters at the Texas UIL 6A State Championships, breaking the U.S. high school record and becoming the fastest prep sprinter in American history. That time also placed him second all time among under 20 athletes worldwide, only behind Letsile Tebogo’s 9.91 as a teen.

At the same meet, he clocked 20.14 in the 200 meters.  That time put him among the only high schoolers ever to break 20.20, a sprint level shared with elite names, and moved him into fourth‑fastest under‑18 historically.

Indoors, Taylor continued to separate himself. At Nike Indoor Nationals, he ran 20.46 in the 200 meters, setting a new U.S. high school record and breaking the Armory meet record that had stood since Noah Lyles’ 2016 run. He also posted 6.64 in the 60 meters at the Armory Track and Field Center.

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So, where did Noah Lyles stand at the same stage?

Noah Lyles was an elite high school sprinter, but his development followed a different curve. At 17, his best 100 meter time was 10.08, which he ran while winning the 2016 USA Junior Championships. That was excellent for a prep athlete, but it was not record-breaking.

His standout moment came in the 200 meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, where he ran 20.09 while still in high school. That race broke a 31-year-old national high school record and pushed him into the spotlight. While his 200 m mark was record‑breaking, Lyles never ran under 10 seconds in the 100 m while he was still in high school.

Noah Lyles’ best of 10.08 was excellent for a prep athlete, but slower than Taylor’s 9.92, which is already faster than what Lyles achieved before turning 18.

This does not diminish what Lyles became. His growth after turning professional has been exceptional, leading to Olympic gold and personal bests of 9.79 in the 100 and 19.31 in the 200.