Imhotep’s Jayden Horton-Mims, the top-ranked sprinter in the state, found his sanctuary on the track

There was a time when Imhotep Charter’s Jayden Horton-Mims would finish a race head down, eyes low, seemingly uninterested in learning his time.

Living amid the chaos young people often endure in Philadelphia can have that effect.

Fortunately for the junior phenom, whose record-setting 300-meter performance raised eyebrows at last week’s Armory Officials Hall of Fame Invitational in New York, the track has become a place of refuge.

Last week, he didn’t just break a record that had stood for nearly 38 years, he also — in head-to-head competition — beat Virginia’s Quincy Wilson, whom many considered the No. 1 sprinter in the nation. It also was Horton-Mims’ first time competing in the 300.

Horton-Mims’ time of 32.92 seconds bested the state indoor record set by Central’s William Reed, who finished in 33.19 in 1986.

The performance also was the seventh-fastest time in high school history, according to MileSplit. Horton-Mims now holds the state’s top spot in the 200, 300, and 400 meters this season.

MileSplit ranks him No. 3 overall behind No. 1 Jelani Watkins of Jacobs Sports Academy in Texas and No. 2 Wilson of the Bullis School. He also has been invited to next month’s Millrose Games, which bills itself as “the world’s most prestigious indoor track and field competition.”

“This year, I was just hungry and I wanted the top spot,” Horton-Mims said during practice this week. “When I got on the line, I just took a deep breath and said, ‘I got to do this. I got to win this. I got to be the top dog, so everybody can know my name.’ ”

Now, with guidance from a compassionate coach, insight learned from a mistake that could have cost him everything, and the talent and work ethic to become No. 1, Horton-Mims has his name on the national track radar.

“He runs like he has a story to tell,” said Imhotep coach Anthony Bishop.

Later, he added: “To be honest, the sky is the limit for this kid.”

In some ways, Horton-Mims’ journey has always been difficult. He was born a month premature and weighed only 4 pounds, 6 ounces.

“He was a little guy,” said his father, Odell Mims, in a phone interview. “It took him a while to develop, but once he did, it was off to the races.”

At first, Horton-Mims, now 16, often was a blur on the football field. He was on the Blackhawks squad that won the Pop Warner national championship in 2019.

He also played football his freshman year at Imhotep but has since focused strictly on track.

Ironically, his lack of focus stood out during his freshman year. Bishop, now in his fifth season at Imhotep, said he had seldom seen emotion from Horton-Mims before last week’s triumph.

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“Before when he ran a race, he’d finish, and he wasn’t even checking the time,” said Bishop, who runs two group homes in Germantown. “He just walked away with his head down.”

Asked what occupied his mind back then, Horton-Mims said it was the fatal shootings of a few friends. He declined to go into specifics but said transcending the city’s violence is what motivates him now.

“Philly is like a war zone,” he said. “I’ve lost some friends to the streets because that’s the path they chose. I don’t want to choose that path. I want to make it somewhere instead of dying out here. That’s why I keep going.

“Because the streets won’t get you nowhere but jail or dead. The streets can’t get you far in life. Track can get me far in life.”

That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s been smooth sailing since Horton-Mims identified track as the way forward.

A misstep in school during his sophomore year cost him the entire season. Since then, he says he has learned to pick and choose his battles more wisely.

Bishop said he got frequent phone calls from Horton-Mims during the summer about workouts and his new goal to be the best. Bishop, a former standout sprinter at Martin Luther King and then Lincoln University, said he liked what he heard.

“But I’m from the ‘show me’ state,” he joked. “You have to show me, not just tell me.

“Ever since that boy stepped foot on the track this season — he’s shown me.”

Colleges, Bishop said, have already started to notice. More could follow if Horton-Mims continues to improve.

“That’s the main thing I’m happy about,” said Odell Mims, who added that his son’s mother, Mona Horton, also is a key supporter.

“I never went to college,” he continued. “It’s easy to go left out here. The way these kids are dying out here, I’m just so proud that he’s kept out of trouble.”

Horton-Mims has also shown his younger brothers, Keshon, 14, and Yakeese, 11, another way forward.

“Because if they see me doing the right things,” he said, “they won’t go down the wrong path.

“So, every step I take has a purpose. Every step I take counts.”