FELIX RUNS FROM AWARD TO AWARD.

Byline: Tom Hoffarth Staff Writer

Trading Lycra for sequins and spikes for high heels, Allyson Felix certainly didn't look out of place wearing a tight-fitted silver dress and diamond necklace while making her way along the famous red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday afternoon.

If she keeps running away with national awards and setting world records, she could get used to this pretty fast.

Just hours after she was named the Gatorade National Female High School Athlete of the Year, the 17-year-old recent graduate of L.A. Baptist High in North Hills soaked in the TV camera lights and photographer flashes as she was escorted in with Sparks center Lisa Leslie as a guest of ESPN's ESPY Awards ceremony.

Mingling with the movie and TV celebrities, the music stars and big-time athletes was the icing on the day for Felix.

``The Gatorade award is such an honor and privilege, especially after seeing the list of the past recipients, and it's great to be recognized for a lot of hard work,'' said Felix, recently named the Daily News Girls' Track Athlete of the Year for the second season in a row after winning her third consecutive prep state title in the 100 meters and second in a row in the 200 meters.

One of those previous winners is Marion Jones, who claimed it three times during her track and field days at Thousand Oaks High. Seems Felix always will be linked with Jones - Felix reached national prominence when she broke Jones' national junior record in the 200 meters while running against professional competition at the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational in May. Her time of 22.51 bettered Jones' 1992 time by seven-hundredths of a second.

Two weeks later, Felix broke the world junior record by running a 22.11 at the Grand Prix Banamex against professional competition in Mexico City. She broke the previous mark of 22.19 set by Natalya Bochina of Russia in 1980.

However, that record is now in question because the site did not provide drug testing. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), track and field's governing body, requires the testing within an hour of a world record for the mark to be ratified.

``I can't do anything about that, so I'm just focused on the next step,'' Felix said Wednesday. ``That mark was still the highlight of my year, when it all came together.''

The 22.11 is the fastest run by any woman in the world this year and the 10th-fastest in history by a U.S. woman at that distance.

Felix will represent the United States at the World Championships in Paris starting Aug. 23. She became the first prep athlete in 23 years to qualify for the event by placing third in the 200 meters at U.S. Nationals last month.

Before that, she'll compete in the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic from Aug. 7-8.

Felix received her Gatorade award along with national boys' winner LeBron James, the prep basketball phenom from St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio. The top NBA draft choice last month by the Cleveland Cavaliers has a three-year, $12.96 million deal with the team on top of a $90 million endorsement contract with Nike.

James, at 6-foot-8, towered over the 5-foot-6 Felix during a photo shoot at the ceremony. He also was nominated for two ESPY Awards on Wednesday night.

Felix, meanwhile, seemed to appreciate the anonymity next to James, and later by Leslie.

``One of the nice things about track and field is that you're not as recognizable as someone in basketball,'' Paul Felix, Allyson's father, told reporters. ``We're really counting our blessings with what she's been able to accomplish and just the fact she can still pretty much be a teenager.''

Other girls nominees were Lisa Dodd, a softball player from San Diego; Kristin Richards, a volleyball player from Orem, Utah; Heather O'Reilly, a soccer player from East Brunswick, N.J.; and Candace Parker, a basketball player from Naperville, Ill.

Each of the nominees was national player of the year for their respective sports. This was the first time in the 18-year history of the award it was split for a boys and girls winner.

A panel of national sports-media members voted on the awards based on athletic performance, affect on team success and level of accomplishment.

Daily News Staff Writer Matthew Kredell and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tom Hoffarth, [phone]

thomas.hoffarth(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) L.A. Baptist track standout Allyson Felix, left, joins LeBron James after they were named Gatorade national prep athletes of the year.

(2) Allyson Felix, left, who has run the fastest 200 meters in the world this year, laughs it up with basketball phenom LeBron James in Los Angeles.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press