HOUSTON - Turn on the video and the first thing you notice is Cameryn Dickson's bright red jersey against the dropbox of a dark April night.
The next is the junior pulling and running away from the pack during the 200-meter dash this past weekend. Not only did she just win, but with a blazing time of 23.48 seconds, Dickson won the race, broke a school record, and secured the fastest wind-legal time in the United States.
"It felt like I was flying. I felt as though I was in my element the whole race and knew once I left the blocks all I had to do was execute my race," Dickson said. "Once I got on the straightaway I felt so strong and had a feeling I would run a fast time.
"I just had no idea it would be the No. 1 time in the nation."
Dickson advanced to the Region III-6A Championships this week with that 23.48 time in the 200-meter dash and an 11.83 mark in the 100-meter dash.
The junior has always posted fast times.
Back in her freshman season at Clear Brook, Dickson advanced to the Regional Meet in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. In the 100, she punched her ticket to the UIL State Track Meet, where she finished eighth.
Her sophomore campaign was on track to be another big season until COVID-19 shut everything down.
That lost season has done nothing but put a chip on the shoulder of Dickson, who has come out in 2021 and done virtually nothing but win. In every meet she has run in this season - she hasn't finished less than second in any race.
"I felt I had something to prove since COVID took away my whole season last year," Dickson said. "I have matured mentally and physically since and I'm in even better shape than I was my freshman year. Last year an injury slowed my training but now I'm back with awesome coaching and training."
With a loss season that has affected the recruiting for a lot of track athletes.
Dickson told VYPE that she currently has no offers but has had a lot of communication with "top Division I schools". The junior expects her recruitment to really fire up once the NCAA lifts their dead period in the early summer.
"My dream school is ultimately where God leads me," Dickson said. "I've always wanted to continue my track career at Division I, a four-year university where I can obtain a degree in BioMed Engineering."
Outside of track, Dickson spends her time reading, drawing, painting and is very active in her church with their youth ministry program.
With the Regional Meet set for later this week, Dickson is focused on her ultimate goal but respects the fact that she has to race first before making plans for Austin.
"I honestly do not like talking about State prematurely because nothing is guaranteed," she said. "I respect all of the athletes that have also worked hard and advanced to Regionals so I must stay focused on the next race and not look past Regionals. With that being said, entering High School, my goal was to advance to State and win all four years.
"Making it to state this year would be the reward of the hard work, dedication, and sacrifices my family and I have made."
Back to that video.
The 23-second clip of Dickson's Area Championship race in the 200-meter dash went viral over the weekend. The Tweet, which is pinned at the top of her account, has over 100 retweets and 600 likes with 17, 200 views.
"It's nice to see people are enjoying that particular performance, however, I don't really pay attention to the number of views because I don't want to lose sight of the end goal."
The junior is locked in and Austin is where she wants to end up.
