If you win an NCAA championship in D1 you are likely a threat to make team USA as one of the world’s best. It’s exactly what Abby Steiner did in 2022 in the 200 meter dash both indoors and outdoors, before proving to be the fastest in that event for all of America later that same season. But just years before her there was another woman who ran past everyone at the NCAAs. Sha’Carri Richardson might be a World Champion right now, but she first showed how good she really is by winning the 100 meter dash at the NCAAs. What makes what Sha’Carri did so special is that she did it while she was still a freshman. So it is arguable that if you can win it all that early then it is not only a victory, but a coronation. That means you are supposed to dominate the world someday, and it’s really only a matter of time.

It is impossible to predict the future for any athlete with certainty. But what Jameesia Ford is doing right now, is not only a problem for every team in the NCAA. It is also a problem for every fast woman in America, which includes all the pros. If she can keep this up, during an Olympic year, then somebody is not making team USA this year, who probably deserves to be on it. And they will have a freshman from the University of South Carolina to blame.

Jameesia Ford’s rise as one of the best sprinters in the USA

During the first 2 meets of her freshman season, Jameesia Ford ran the 300 meter dash. In those two races she ran the second and fifth fastest times ever recorded in college for that event. She was 3 hundredths of a second off of Abby Steiner’s collegiate record. The women on the all-time list ranked fifth or better include Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Talitha Diggs. Every woman in the top 5 has won at least 1 NCAA championship, either before she broke the record, or during that same season. The only one who hasn’t done it yet is Jameesia and that’s because she’s never even had the opportunity to attend one yet.

Then in her first 200 meter dash race indoors Jameesia Ford became the collegiate leader. That is a big deal, but it only means she can contend for a title. She lost that lead shortly thereafter, but she took it back again. Only this time she ranked fourth fastest all time for the indoor 200 meter dash. The only women ahead of her are Abby Steiner once again, Julien Alfred, and Favour Ofili. All of them are not NCAA champions. But the only reason is because Favour Ofili had the unfortunate circumstance of having to battle Abby Steiner every single time to get one. And she is not in college anymore. Neither is anyone else who is fast enough to beat Jameesia when she’s on top of her game.

This is all proof that Jameesia Ford is the real deal. I won’t make any promises about what will happen. But I can tell you what is supposed to happen. It is clear that as a freshman for the South Carolina Gamecocks, she is the best women’s sprinter in college right now. But that’s not all, she is also supposed to win an NCAA championship in the 200 meter because nobody has proven they can stop her. If she does then the clock is ticking for her to make team USA. If  you win it all that early, then it’s really only a matter of time.

Sha’carri Richardson won the USAs in 2021 for the 100 meter dash. That was just 2 years after her NCAA victory, but remember there was no 2020 Olympic trials for her to compete at. Abby didn’t win it all as a freshman, but after she did she won the USAs herself that season. Fans know who team USA is supposed to send to the Olympics in the 200 meter dash. It’s Gabby Thomas, Sha’carri Richardson, and Abby Steiner. That’s in no particular order for the record. One is an Olympic medalist already, the next is a World medalist in that event, and the third is an American champion, and collegiate record holder at least for now. The only way Jameesia Ford makes the team is she basically has to steal a spot, from one of those women. But the thing is she has the talent to do it.

How good was Jameesia Ford in high school?

At the high school level, Jameesia Ford was a 5 star recruit, but she was actually ranked second and fourth in her class for the 400 and 200 meter dashes. That 200 was behind Elise Cooper the #2 recruit in the SCA girls top 10 for 2025, as well as Adaejah Hodge and Mia Brahe Pedersen. They are #3 and #1 in the class of 2024. Simply put Jameesia was not on the short list to win it all in the NCAA as a freshman, or even enter a conversation about the Olympic games. For the record, South Carolina doesn’t normally get 5 star recruits and the SCA national list is proof of that. But they do bring in 4 star level athletes. And as a junior in high school that was exactly what she was at the time!

The Bottom Line

Jameesia Ford clearly has a habit of proving the doubters wrong. She went from a 4 star recruit to a legit 5 within 1 season of high school. Now she is running past everyone they put in front of her. She has literally never lost a race on a college track since she started her season. And the only women who seem to be competing with her are already in the record books. Jameesia Ford is supposed to win the NCAAs this year in the 200 meter dash. But when the Olympic trials come around, she is also supposed be there in the final. And all of America’s fastest women had better bring their A game. Because a 19 year old freshman with Olympic dreams most certainly will.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, RUN GOOD.

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