I am a senior in high school and have been running cross country but don't see myself truly getting good at a distance track event in a few months. I have interest in running the 400 but have only distance trained the past two years. IS it too late to begin spring training for the 400 track season in 4 months, will I find any success?
I think you will find success but don't push it too much because it is very easy to get injured. Be patient.
OP, have you tested yourself per your current sprint potential?
What are your current bests for 50? 100? 200? 400? Even if you're just timing yourself with a running start, you need to get some kind of idea of where you are at right now to sufficiently analyze how much work you will need to realize your upward potential.
How is your vertical jump? That's often an indicator of sprint potential as well.
Do you play full-court basketball? Soccer? Those are other sports venues that can give you an indication.
FWIW, it used to be "conventional wisdom" that an athlete cannot go from running distance to having success as a sprinter, but lately you see many distance runners focusing on improving their sprint ability and setting sprint PRs in the process, so anything is possible.
And frankly, it doesn't hurt one whit for ANY athlete to continue to work on sprinting ability. It is a win-win.
Congratulations for seeing the light and becoming a real athlete
Will you find success? Depends what events did you do? If you have a good 800 time you should be OK, but if you ran 3k+ it will be hard.
You don't want to be a skinny fat distance runner. Get in the gym and lift like your life depends on it, because it kind of does.
Do what you enjoy. I did anywhere from 100 to 800 in HS (did well), and I dabbled a tiny bit in XC.
Sprinting is more technically demanding and requires more fast-twitch muscle predominance. In my opinion, the workouts for sprinting are easier overall due to their shorter duration, by necessity.
It would be helpful to know your personal bests at any and all distances that you have run, as well as a sense of your general strength and conditioning base.