LAKELAND — What a difference a year makes.
As a junior in 2025, Lakeland’s Dobie was just very good sprinter who finished 12th in the 100-meter dash at state whose personal record was 10.77 — respectable, but no where near elite.
One year later, Dobie has graduated as a state champion whose personal-best time of 10.24 blew away the competition in the 4A state meet, established him as the undisputed county record-holder in the event and earned him a track scholarship at the University of Florida.
Dobie is The Ledger’s 2026 Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
There was no doubt who the fastest sprinter was in Class 4A. At the state final, Dobie quickly separated himself form the pack — no small feat for the 100 — and the second-place runner wasn’t close. In an event where first and second place is often decided by hundreds of a second, Dobie ran 10.24 while Flanagan’s Jacob Thomas ran 10.43.
“I was just in shock, I was surprised,” Dobie said. “Actually I wasn’t really in shock because I know I was goin to hit 10.2 at the end of the season.”
But he admitted it could have been 10.28 instead of 10.24. His best time of the season had been 10.34 so he had been close to breaking under 10.3.
What did surprise Dobie was the margin of victory.
“The dude I was going against, he ran a 10.38 so I thought it would be me and him would be close,” Dobie said.
Dobie’s time capped a season in which he transformed into an elite sprinter.
Last year as a junior, he ran under 11 seconds just four times in seven meets. He was the county and district champion and ran a respectable personal-record time of 10.77 seconds to finish fourth at regionals. He went on to finish 12th in 10.96 at the 4A state meet.
Dobie set the tone at the beginning of the season when he ran a PR of 10.49 in the first of nine meets. He set new wind-legal personal record five times, never running slower than 10.54. Prior to state, his best time wind legal was the 10.34 he ran at the district meet. His best overall tie was 10.32 at the FSU Relays, but it had a wind reading of 4.9.
Neither of his best times, however, gave him part of any county records. There were a a few runners who could claim the county record. Arian Smith had the fastest wind-legal time of 10.30 that he set in 2020 at Mulberry. Ryan Colson ran 10.29 for Bartow 2006 but there was no wind recording. Leon Covington ran 10.27 in 2006, but there’s no record of wind. Auburndale’s Chauncy Smart’ ran 10.26 in 2017 as the fastest electronically timed record but with a 3.7 wind reading, his time wasn’t wind-legal.
Then there’s Keith Strong of Lake Gibson, who ran 10.26 in 1986 but there’s no record of a wind reading, and it’s possible it might have been hand-timed.
So now there’s no doubt. Dobie’s 10.24 is the best no matter how you slice it.
“I didn’t know I was going to get a Polk County record, but knew I was going to get the school record,” he said. “I didn’t even know I got the Polk County record until I went on Instagram. I was in shock. I wasn’t really going for that.”
The state title and county mark weren’t the only things he accomplished at the state meet. His time drew the interest of college coaches. Florida coaches called after the state meet and after a visit to Gainesville, he signed with the Gators. He can’t wait to get up there and start training.
Earlier this season, Dobie attributed his improvement to how more seriously he took training, and his record-setting finish to the season has allowed him to set bigger goals.
“It gives me a lot of motivation,” Dobie said. “I think I can drop sub-10 (seconds). I think I can get 9.85. That’s how I feel now after dropping to 10.2 at states.”
Dobie is also improving in the 200. He was county, district champion and region champion and but finished 13th at state. His personal-record of 21.24 that he ran at districts ranks tied for fourth all-time in Polk County since 2000.
After his high school success, Dobie now has big dreams — the Olympics. He knows what the first think he needs to do to accomplish that goal, the same thing that led to success this season.
“ I practice harder,” he said. “I’m going to practice every day. If you don’t go to practice, you’re not going to see no improvement, so just practicing every day and harder and being disciplined.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland’s Dobie leaves as state champion and Polk’s fastest sprinter ever
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
