STATE CHAMP! Malden High 9th grader wins State Championship in 300-meter dash

Khadijah Diagne sets Division 2 Meet Record with a time of 38.25 seconds; runs in ‘Meet of Champions’ this week for ‘Best in Mass.’

By Steve Freker

Uncharted waters?

No problem… and she doesn’t even need a compass or a map! She will just keep doing what she’s been doing all season long: winning!

Malden High School freshman Class of 2029 runner Khadjiah Diagne is a State Champion! A first-year competitive runner, Khadijah has been setting up events and then knocking them down like bowling pins with record-setting victories. On Thursday, February 12, Khadijah became the first State Champion in Girls Indoor Track in many years for Malden High, running to a school and meet record 38.25 seconds in the 300-meter run at the Division 2 State Championships. Running at The Track at New Balance, in Brighton-Allston, Khadijah set another meet record with the time. She had set another meet record the previous week at the Mass. State Track Coaches Association’s Freshman-Sophomore Meet.

Only in ninth grade, Khadijah is in her very first year of competitive track events and has burst onto the season with gusto, earning herself high state and regional rankings. “It’s just incredible how well [Khadijah] has run this year, especially against the best competition in the state,” said Malden High Director of Athletics Charlie Conefrey. “This is only her first year competing and she has gone right to the top. We are very proud of her!”

Last Thursday, she beat her closest competition by nearly three full seconds, outpacing Willow Herndon (41.56 seconds) of Plymouth North. Khadijah also finished in second place in the Division 2 state 55-meter dash event, with a time of 7.11 seconds. The 7.11 is not even her personal best, as she set another Malden High School indoor track record in the 55M with a time of 7.08 seconds at the Greater Boston League meet earlier this year.

With the State Champion best time, Khadijah now advances to the MIAA’s “Meet of Champions,” which is being held back at The Track at New Balance this Saturday, February 21. She will be able to compete in both events, considering her times. She will be considered as the favorite in the 300-meter event, as her time on Thursday ranks as the best in Massachusetts heading into the event.