The latest state record holder will be taking it to the track at the New Balance Outdoor National Championships starting Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Dasia Pressley of Pennsbury became the undisputed top sprinter in the state after setting the state record in the 200 meter dash with her 23.52 performance at states and her 2nd place finish in the 100 meter dash. She will be running both the 100 and 200 meter dashes at nationals. She sits at US#9 in the 200, which will be her best chance at winning All American honors.
Two of PA’s top 10 girls 400 meter runners will be making
one more run for it. Nicole Burke of Cheltenham (PA#6 55.60) and General McLane’s
Bethany Evankovich (PA#7 55.75) are entered. Burke struggled to 8th
place at the state meet, while Evankovich ran two personal best performances to
earn 4th place on the best day of her career.
The best 800 meter runner in the state and the potential heir apparent will compete in the 800 meter run. US#4 Sarah Walker of Germantown Friends has run personal bests in back to back appearances, with her 2:05.79 from Saturday’s Carribean Scholastic meet the latest performance. Another personal best may not only make her a national champion, but will put her in great position to make a run for the USA squad at the World Junior Champs later this summer. Walker will also anchor the Germantown Friends 1600 meter sprint medley relay team that will look to earn All American honors.
The potential heir apparent to Walker in this race for PA is Olivia Arizin of Cardinal O’Hara. The sophomore sits at PA#4 and US#35 with her June 2 performance of 2:09.49. Breaking 2:09 would be a huge achievement and would make it back to back seasons a sophomore has broken that barrier.
Mady Clahane of Cumberland Valley ran a huge personal best in the 1600 at the state meet to earn runner up honors. Her 4:47.95 puts her at PA#2 and US#26 for the season and it was the first time Clahane broke 4:50. Joining her on the line will be 3200 meter AAA champion Madeleine Davison of North Allegheny. In 2014, she showed that she was capable of taking down Brianna Schwartz, the best distance runner at the time. Winning the 3200 meters at states was the biggest win of her career. With nothing to lose and all the momentum in her favor, an All American berth out of the unseeded section may be in the cards.
One of the girls who failed to chase down Davison will be running the 2 mile and the 5000 meter run. Aislinn Devlin of Downingtown West made big strides in 2015, spending time in the PA#1 spot in the 3200 and earning her best state meet finish at states (3rd). An NXN qualifier from the fall, Devlin will be running her 2nd national 5000 meter race of the year. Nothing to lose and everything to gain, Devlin will look to place high in both events. She is currently US#45 at 3200 meters.
One of the freshmen sensations of the 2015 season, Madison Langley-Walker of Cheltenham, will be competing in the 100 meter hurdles. Walker sits at PA#6 and is US#5 amongst class of 2018 competitors. She has a season best of 14.28, which is under two tenths of a second off the national freshmen lead. Katie Dodson of Oxford Area sits at PA#8 (14.44) after a big district 1 meet punched her ticket to states, where she placed 6th.
Penn Relays 400 meter hurdles champion Brooklynn Broadwater of Springside Chestnut Hill hopes to be at 100 percent as she enters the 400 meter hurdles at nationals. She shares the US#7 spot with her Penn Relays winning time of 1:00.69 and is tied for US#3 in the junior class. An injury in May will hopefully be just a hiccup in her quest for All American honors. AAA 300 meter hurdle runner up Maddy Mueseler of Greater Latrobe will run the 400 meter hurdles for the 1st time in her career. She had a 300 meter hurdles best of 42.42 from the state meet.
In the relays, AA squads Neumann Goretti and Villa Maria Academy will make serious runs at All American honors. Neumann Goretti were the best team in the 4x400 meter relay for the majority of the season and will look to have all hands on deck with fresh legs after a grueling state meet helped the team earn 2nd place. They sit at PA#2 and US#31 with their Penn Relays 3:47.39 Philly Area victory. They will also contest the 4x200 meter relay as well.
Villa Maria Academy won their 2nd 4x800 meter titles in 3 years in AA with a strong 9:11.81 PA#6 and US#33 performance. A fresh run at the relay could lead them to a school record and a shot at the medal. Joining them will be the AAA champions that shocked the state 4 weeks ago! Wilson (3) ran a then US#18:58.79 to upset favorites Great Valley and they will look to do it again. They sit at US#3 and will be one of the favorites for the national title.
Overbrook will run the 4x2 with Neumann Goretti and will be the lone representative in the 4x1. They sit at PA#16 on the year in the 4x100 meter relay. Souderton will look to get one more strong 4x400 meter relay together to cap off a huge season for their relay team and their school. They sit at PA#15.
In the field events, AAA high jump champion Abby Jones of Franklin Area will feel like she has every opportunity to do well in this event after winning the state title. She has the 2nd best mark in the state at 5-9 and she beat the two time state champ Cyre Virgo a month ago. Erika Voyzey of Tyrone Area found her form just in the nick of time on her way to her 2nd AA state title after missing most of the spring with injury. She is back to 5-8, but will need to get over that mark to have a chance at All American honors. Lilly Harnish of Waynesboro also has a win over Cyre Virgo, while Moira O’Malley of Souderton had a good sophomore season.
The girls pole vaulters all got left out of the seeded section, but can still make noise if they get it right. Tesia Kempski of Bishop McDevitt had a career day in winning the AAA state title last month. Her and Megan Fry of State College share the top spot in the state at 12-9 and will go head to head once again. Lucianne Burner of North Pocono has earned some big wins, but will look for her biggest performance at nationals. She has cleared 12-3 this spring.
In the horizontal jumps, Veronika Karpenko of State College will compete in both the long and triple jump. Karpenko was crowned triple jump AAA champion with her first career 40 foot jump (40-1.25) and she beat some top jumpers on the way to that title. She is also on the cusp of breaking 19 feet in the long jump, but her 18-11.50 took place back in April. Madison Langley-Walker of Cheltenham also had her personal best in April (18-6) and she will look to improve upon her US#7 mark in the class of 2018 at nationals.
In the throws, Courtney McCartney of Selinsgrove is back and looking for a huge day after a subpar state title win. She is back to her 49 foot throwing ways from 2014, but now she needs to find that form again if she wants to get back to her 2nd place finish at nationals last year or to the national championship. She is currently at US#6, which was where she finished in the 2014 rankings. McCartney’s biggest rival, Emily Stauffer of Cocalico, hasn’t reached her best form since January, where a 47-10 took down the outdoor champion McCartney. Some recovery time after a very busy season should help Stauffer find her groove. Jocelen Ruth of Kutztown, Nina Gambacorta, and Janese Lynch of Academy Park all enter as PA top ten putters.
McCartney, Ruth, and Lynch will also compete in the discus, where they all sit in the state top 7. McCartney leads the way at PA#4 with a mark of 141-8. PA#5 Maura Kimmel of Moniteau will also compete. She is half a foot off of the 140 foot barrier.
The javelin will have national record holder Madison Wiltrout missing in action due to injury. PA#2 and US#6 AA state champ Brooke Hinderliter of Redbank Valley will be a favorite to medal after a personal best 158-9 at states. PA#3 and US#10 Danielle Collier of Hickory will compete with vengeance on her mind after failing to record a mark at the state meet last month. Ruth is the other PA top ten javelin thrower entered in the event.
While the New Balance National meet takes place, Maddie Villalba of Central Bucks West will be competing out in Seattle at the Brooks PR Invitational. The two time AAA 800 meter champion had a sizzling month of May, finishing it with a state title and a 2:07.33 time that sits at US#12. This will be her first career postseason national competition.
