Bianca Knight is a Ridgeland star athlete, who gets a "tip of the hat" from the Weblog. She has run better times in Mississippi and elsewhere than she turned in at Friday's Class 4A state track and field meet.

Still, the nationally ranked Ridgeland sophomore clearly was the day's star, tripling in the 100, 200 and 400 meters for a third consecutive year.

Knight was timed in 11.70 seconds in the 100, clocked 24.13 in the 200 and ran 55.77 in the 400. While all three times were slower than Knight's state meet performances as a freshman, she came up with a good reason for Friday's mediocre showing.
"I'm really not in shape yet," said Knight, who is nationally ranked among the top five in the 200 and 400 by dyestat.com. "As usual, I run my fastest times in the summer. I was just trying to win today."

Ridgeland's lack of a track has hampered Knight's progress this season, she said, but that will change in July with the scheduled completion of the school's brand-new facility. Congrats, Bianca, and we hope your new track will be finished soon!