When it comes to running track, there’s no question what Ty’Mesha Nabors’ favorite event is.

“I love running the 300 hurdles,” the Vicksburg High senior said. “It’s just a smooth race that you can go through. You don’t have to worry about anything. You just go with the flow.”

Nabors turned that enthusiasm for the 300-meter hurdles into a Mississippi track dynasty. She capped off her senior year by winning her third consecutive MHSAA Class 5A championship in the event, and added a state title in the 4×400 meter relay to boot.

Nabors only lost once in the 300 this season — to Clinton’s Monica Mosley, the Class 6A champion and overall state record holder — and is now the 2016 Vicksburg Post Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Nabors has signed with Alcorn State University, and also runs on the junior circuit with the Mississippi Heat Track Club.

“My dream is to go to the Olympics and make it big and give back to my people in Vicksburg,” Nabors said. “I just want to thank (Heat coach Clarence) Maxey and (Vicksburg High coach Stacey) Banks and everybody that helped me succeed at life.”

Nabors won her first state championship in the 300 hurdles as a sophomore. She repeated as champion in 2015, and got the hat trick this year.

Nabors also added to her repertoire along the way. She was part of Vicksburg’s record-setting 4×100 meter relay team in 2015 and ran on the 4×400 squad this year that won the Class 5A title. She also ran the 100-meter hurdles for the first time this season, and reached the state meet.

Although the 100 and 300 hurdles require the same skill, they are vastly different races in terms of pacing, strategy and speed. Nabors has a longer stride that has allowed her to master the 300, but is a detriment in the 100 where the hurdles are closer together. She clipped one late in the race at the state meet and it likely cost her a spot on the podium. Nabors finished fourth.

“I cried afterward. They told me to just clear my mind and let all of it out on the 300,” Nabors said.

She did just that. Nabors clocked a time of 45.40 seconds in the 300 to easily beat Shamarra Grover of Natchez by a half-second.

“I had to defend my state titles, and I had to repeat,” Nabors said.

Nabors closed her successful state meet by running the anchor leg in the 4×400 meter relay. The Missy Gators had finished second in that event last year, so getting to the top of the podium this time was a nice send-off, she said.

“At practice, coach Maxey makes us run 450s to get our wind up and make ourselves better by pacing and striding. By doing that, we got better. And when we got to state we just brought it out,” Nabors said.