As a youngster today, Ta'nae Henderson was competitive dance, but hanging around her brother's basketball practices in middle school sparked a new interest.

I will race the boys and if they didn't beat me, they have to run a lap.

My dad was like, I should try out for the track team and I did it.

And my coach wisely, he told me I was really good at it and I should keep going.

She went out for track at Pine Forest High School, where the elite Level girls program has produced multiple team and individual state champions.

Tony's talent was immediately evident, but her commitment level on and off the track was not.

When she first came out, I was a little hesitant because I was like, you know, you're going to have to show me that you've bought into what's going on inside the school.

You know, as far as classroom work, discipline wise and all of those things.

And she took it and ran with it.

I realized I had something good with track.

I was like, okay, I got to get my act together in school, get new friends, surround myself around better people with the same mindset is me.

There was a lot of growing pains for Tony when it came to team structure.

What the expectations were.

But let me tell you, over the years those pains went away and once she bought in, it was over.

The coaches honed in on her potential as a hurdler, the challenging skill a great fit for today, physically and mentally.

When you find a kid that can three step, you know, over ten hurdles, you know you've got something special, especially if they can do it early.

She did it within the first two weeks.

It's very complicated for other people to know.

I'm a very hard competitive, so I like doing stuff that other people can't really do.

So I was like, okay, yeah, this is really good.

She's a great dancer.

She's been a cheerleader.

She's got great flexibility, all of those things.

And she's got speed with her stride length.

It makes her dangerous hurdler.

She's blossomed into just that.

As a junior, Tony won the regional championship and finished seventh at the state meet in an ultra competitive Florida field.

The retirement of legendary Pine Forest coach Paul Bryant after last season could have been a setback, but the hurdling guru chose to still work with Tony and her impressive progress continues with new personal bests.

As a senior, there's no other hurdle closer I feel like I would be comfortable with.

He'd been with me since the start.

I asked my coach, can you stay out here until I'm dying?

Light is help me with this one last year and he can go do it and we want to do it, he say.

And I'm really excited for that.

As well as hurdles, Tony is also a sensation in the triple jump, another challenging event that is especially tough to master.

When I first tried it, I kind of cried.

I'm like, I'm not understanding this.

I'm getting my steps wrong.

I wasn't jumping in, is it right?

And coach kept working on me.

We did a couple of drills in the grass to get me to where I am not.

She's progressed to lofty status as a senior, breaking the school record multiple times, a huge accomplishment in a program like Pine Forest and producing the second best jump in the entire state.

Just like a rise in the hurdles, it's been a combo of immense talent and now elite level work ethic.

She'll come out here even if she's hurt, she'll still want to come out here and get a workout in.

That's that's the type of work ethic that she has because she wants to be great.

That work ethic is second to none.

We have to tell her to go home.

She's not satisfied with the work she's doing.

One more rep, coach.

One more rep. One more rep. She's a competitor.

She's fierce.

She doesn't like to be second best or feel like somebody is getting better than she is.

I want to practice it over and over and over again until I get it right, and then I can leave and they be like, Tony, I got to stop because I'm kind of upset and I want to keep going to get better.

One of the biggest eye openers for today on just how far she's come was at the LSU High School Classic.

It was a lot of competitive girls out there for the triple jump, and I didn't think I could win it.

I went there and doubted myself, like, okay, I'm going to play top five, I'm not going to actually win.

And I went out there and I won.

I was like, wow, I got to stop that to myself.

When I get to these big meets where I can do some great things.

It was really special for me.

I will always remember that.

She's received multiple division one college offers, but not from the very top programs like her dream school of LSU.

Tony is most likely going to sign with the elite level junior college program at South Plains, Texas, hoping that will eventually open all the doors.

She's put herself in position to make it happen for the last two and a half, three years, she has just been what you want to be as a student athlete.

I couldn't be more proud of the growth that she has shown over the four years that she has been here for us high school.

She gets the right coaching and weight room and all of that stuff that comes with college.

She could be really, really special.

When you first got here and you were skeptical about track, you know.

Could you envision from there to where you are now?

Looking back, I wouldn't think I would be as great as I am now.

I'm really proud of myself.