Jesus Batista ran against and often beat many other talented boys during his high school running days at Miami Killian.

But he probably would hesitate to challenge Southridge girls' track and field phenom Ebony Eutsey.

On Tuesday afternoon at the GMAC south preliminaries at Tropical Park, Batista knew how to point her out.

''When the race starts, she's the one that looks like she's on skates and everyone else is running,'' Batista said. ``You'll see. She'll fly right by everybody.''

Eutsey has been leaving runners in her wake in one of track and field's most grueling races better than anyone in the country the past two years.

For the second consecutive year, Eutsey owns the nation's fastest time in the 400 meters. Eutsey, a junior, has won the state championship with the fastest time in the state each of the past two years.

Eutsey set the mark with a time of 53.36 this season at the Sam Burley Hall of Fame Classic, but improved it by almost a second this past weekend by running a 52.42 at the University of Miami Elite Invitational.

In that race, Eutsey ran against professional and college competition, and finished second only to former UM star Dominique Darden, who now runs for Reebok.

''People call Ebony a phenom, but her personality doesn't reflect that type at all,'' Southridge coach Dja Dugue said. ``One the starting gun is fired, she's intense, but after the race, she's the most humble and down to earth kid.''

Eutsey's time was also more than a second better than the next highest mark by any runner in the nation, and nearly two seconds better than rising Jackson freshman star Robin Reynolds' 54.21, which is the next-best time in the state this season. Eutsey, who won the 200-meter state championship last year, also ran a time of 23.78 -- which is a Dade best and only 0.11 short of the state's top mark.

The time is already faster than the state record in the 400 owned by Olympian and former Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas' star Sanya Richards (52.51). One of Eutsey's main goals is to break it at this year's state championship meet May 9 in Winter Park. Eutsey is also part of Southridge's 1,600-meter relay team, along with seniors De'leatrice Moore, Kaneesha Knowles and junior Marcia Williams, and hopes to lead the Spartans to a second consecutive state team title.

''She's always been goal-driven and that's why she's succeeded,'' said legendary former Southridge coach Sam Burley, who coached Eutsey her freshman and sophomore seasons. ``When she puts her mind to something, she never loses focus.''

Eutsey, one of nine siblings, began running track in third-grade at Goulds Park. At the time, she said she would constantly lose to the other kids. But Eutsey evolved into a high school star by not quitting. Her mother, Mae, never let her.

Eutsey's perseverance carried over to the classroom. She wants to join her older brother, Jermaine, who ran at UCF, as the second member of her family to go to college. Eutsey has a 3.0 grade-point average, and is already being recruited by top-tier track programs such as LSU, FSU, UM, Florida and Notre Dame.

''My mom was always motivating me,'' Eutsey said.

'She always said to me, `If you start something and you're good at it, you need to finish it.' ''

RESULTS

• Girls' individual qualifiers -- 3,200 relay: 1. South Dade 10:06.10; 2. Ferguson 10:27.35; 3. Killian 10:55.52; 4. Southwest 11:08.13; 100 hurdles: 1. Sharene Enningham (SR) 15.76; 2. Tiatiana David (SD) 16.30; 3. Chenique McCall (SD) 17.02; 4. Mariana Quirozgarces (SUN) 17.20; 100: 1. Marcia Williams (SR) 12.38; 2. Shambrika Tomlin (CR) 12.52; 3. Iesha Payne (SD) 12.68; 4. Ashlee Adams (CG) 12.74; 1600: 1. Tianeisha Bogan (SD) 5:35.31; 2. Natalie Concepcion (FER) 5:36.15; 3. Kaneesha Knowles (SR) 5:36.60; 4. Maria Valdivia (BR) 5:45.63; 400 relay: 1. Coral Reef 48.87; 2. South Dade 49.01; 3. Southridge 49.36; 4. Coral Gables 50.93; 400: 1. Ebony Eutsey (SR) 54.83; 2. Ywkema Jackson (SD) 58.82; 3. Shannon Wright (CR) 59.40; 4. Jillian Valentin (FER) 1:00.00; 300 hurdles: 1. Latorria Grier (SD) 46.65; 2. Sharene Enningham (SR) 47.51; 3. Chenique McCall (SD) 47.90; 4. Zinnette Hendrix (SW) 47.93; 800: 1. Tianeisha Bogan (SD) 2:27.68; 2. Michelange Charles (SD) 2:28.10; 3. Kaneesha Knowles (SR) 2:28.62; 4. Christina Torres (FER) 2:33.08; 200: 1. Ebony Eutsey (SR) 24.72; 2. Marcia Williams (SR) 25.36; 3. Shannon Wright (CR) 25.83; 4. Kenneisha Shuman (SD) 26.19; 3200: 1. Jillian Roberts (CR) 12:19.79; 2. Kali Benavides (KIL) 12:27.33; 3. Maria Valdivia (BR) 12:30.30; 4. Natalie Concepcion (FER) 12:34.79; 1,600 relay: 1. Southridge 3:58.58; 2. South Dade 4:05.77; 3. Ferguson 4:21.25; 4. Killian 4:25.68; High Jump: 1. Kristina Joseph (CR) 5-0; 2. Ashanti Weathers (CR) 5-0; 3. Zinnette Hendrix (SW) 5-0; 3. Iyanna James-Stevenson (MHS) 5-0; Pole Vault: 1. Chantelle Johnson (SR) 8-0; 1. Brittany Jones (FER) 8-0; 3. Gabriela Herrera (FER) 7-6; 4. Sharnice Byrd (SR) 7-0; Long Jump: 1. Tyler Hodges (HOM) 17-6 ½; 2. Iesha Payne (SD) 17-1; 3. Zalika Cabey (SR) 16-2 ½; 4. Alexis Grier (SD) 16- ½; Triple Jump: 1. Tiatiana David (SD) 35-4 ½; 2. Tyler Hodges (HOM) 34-5 ¾; 3. Zalika Cabey (SR) 33-2; 4. Stephanie Espinosa (VAR) 31-11; Discus: 1. Janee Mickens (SR) 119-01; 2. Shanice Siplin (SR) 92-0; 3. Fatima Abdullahi (VAR) 87-8; 4. Wendy Almeida (FER) 85-4; Shot Put: 1. Janee Mickens (SR) 39-1; 2. Shanice Siplin (SR) 33-6 ½; 3. Raven Williams (CR) 31-10; 4. Remiche Murray (KIL) 28-7.

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