Columbus’ Darren McQueen is Miami-Dade County’s Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year
Darren McQueen isn’t settling for just being a champion in Florida.
The Columbus athlete wants to be one of the sprinters in the world.
After winning two state championships as a senior, McQueen is the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade County Boys’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year, and headed to run for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He hopes it’ll be a springboard to even bigger things.
“My dreams of going to the Olympics will come true,” McQueen said.
McQueen won championships in the 100-meter dash and 1,600 relay to help the Explorers finish second in Class 4A last month. He also added a bronze medal in the 200 dash and finished fourth in the 300 hurdles.
McQueen’s season-best time of 10.41 seconds in the 100 was the fourth-best in Florida this year. He won his state title with a time of 10.56 seconds.
“My greatest achievement might be going 10.4,” McQueen said. “I’ve been running the 100 for a long time and my times have never really been this good, so for the times to finally show in the race feels good.”
McQueen’s year-over-year improvement is astounding. As a junior, he didn’t even qualify for the 4A championship in the 100, running a 10.97 and finishing fourth at the Region 4-4A championship in 2021.
His work ethic is part of why he harbors dreams of one day qualifying for the Summer Olympics.
“I know it’s going to take a grind, 24-7. It’s going to be hard,” McQueen said. “There’s going to be days I want to quit ... but I know just sticking to my workouts that I’m going to be able to make it one day.”
DREAMING BIG
He has dreams beyond track and field, too. He finished high school with a 4.82 GPA and earned recognition as an African American scholar for his performance in advanced-placement classes.
At Pittsburgh, he plans to study to be a psychiatrist. As thankful as he is to keep competing for the Panthers, he’s also thankful about the academic opportunities track and field are providing.
“It’s given me a lot,” McQueen said. “It’s given me a free education to go to the University of Pittsburgh for free and it’s given me a family.”