Girls' 200 meters
Pennsbury's Dasia Pressley won the 200 at states as a sophomore. Can she do it again as a senior? (Photo Steven Pisano)
The senior and the freshman: Pressley and Peace set for close race
Kouri Peace of Pennridge enters the 200-meter dash as the top seed, with Dasia Pressley of Pennsbury hot on her tail. Both are the clear favorites (their seed times are over a second faster than the next closest girl). While Pressley beat Peace at the Hispanic Games, Peace's 200 meters has improved greatly since then. It culminated with her dominating performance at the DVGTCA Meet of Champions, coming off the 60 meters. Peace dropped a flat-track 24.32, which converts to a 23.97. Meanwhile, Pressley hasn't run the 200 since Hispanic, instead focusing on the shorter stuff. But Pressley threw down a US#1 300 meters at the Armory Track Invitational in February, showing that the strength is absolutely there. Like the 60, we'll get the veteran versus the rookie narrative, but I doubt that will be on their minds once the gun goes off.
Kouri Peace of Pennridge has run some very fast flat track 200 times in the past few weeks (Photo by Joe Swift)
Last year proved that being a top seed, or even being in the
fast heat, doesn't guarantee anything, though. Brooklynn Broadwater of
Springside Chestnut Hill won from the fourth of five heats last year. That
brings us to a good number of girls seeded behind Peace and Pressley with their
eyes on the upset. Caroline Duffy of Methacton has that senior grit that will
make her dangerous, and Thelma Davies of Girard College has been a quick riser
as a freshman. The most interesting case
in the field might be Nicole Scherer of Burrell. After a quick start to her
season in January, Scherer has been MIA this season. If she's healthy enough,
Scherer has upset potential.
This is definitely an event to keep an eye on the state record. William Penn's Juanita Broaddus ran a 24.02 in 2002 and that record has stood since then. Peace and Pressley will have a number of rounds in the 60 dash to deal with, but it's certainly something to watch for.
List of entries:
Event 13 Girls 200 Meter Dash (26) =============================================================================== State Meet: 24.02 3/2/2002 Juanita Broaddus, William Penn Name Year School Seed =============================================================================== 1 Peace, Kouri 9 Pennridge 23.97 2 Pressley, Dasia 12 Pennsbury 24.14 3 Duffy, Caroline 12 Methacton 25.22 4 Davies, Thelma 9 Girard Colle 25.25 5 Scherer, Nicole 11 Burrell 25.29 6 Crawford, Haley 12 State College 25.44 7 Evans, Alysha 12 Susquehanna 25.49 8 Miles, Porsha 9 Coatesville 25.51 9 Morales, Zea 12 CB East 25.65 10 Rutherford, Raja 12 Seton-LaSalle 25.73 11 Horstman, Emily 12 Butler 25.77 12 Nero, Tikki 11 Del Val Charter 25.78 13 Collier, Alicia 12 Penncrest 25.80 14 Muhammad, Jameela 12 Paul Robeson 25.87 15 Ruffin, Ariana 11 Neumann Goretti 25.88 16 Dorsey, Avani 11 Imhotep 25.89 17 Shewbrooks, Meaghan 11 CB East 25.89 18 Mangan, Molly 9 Mount Lebano 25.92 19 Hill, Sarah 11 Williamsport 26.01 20 Dietrich, Jennifer 11 Baldwin Scho 26.04 21 Myers, Teneisha 11 O J Roberts 26.06 22 Young, Gloria 12 Imhotep 26.09 23 Klag, Sarah 12 Hempfield (3 26.09 24 Prusacki, Lauren 10 Methacton 26.17 25 Berry, Nierra 11 Chichester 26.20 26 Evankovich, Bethany 12 General McLa 26.22