The first day of adidas Indoor Nationals brought some big-time performances from Pennsylvania athletes, a good sign that even bigger things are set to come in Virginia Beach.
There are a ton more Championship events coming on Saturday -- and a bunch more on Sunday, too -- so make sure to keep an eye out all weekend long. here's what we saw on Day 1...
3 PA Girls Make The Championship 400m Final
A trio of Pennsylvania girls will be featured in the Championship 400 meter final on Sunday after impressive runs in the prelims.
Athletic Development Group's Margaret Conteh and Friends' Central's Micah Trusty both won their respective prelim heats with Conteh running a season best of 55.59 to improve upon her own PA#3. Trusty went 55.61. Neshaminy's Sanaa Hebron (55.71) was a close second in her heat to top qualifier Lauren Tolbert from North Carolina.
All three PA girls have qualified for Sunday's final, and, not only that, all three will be in the fastest section of the two-heat final along with Tolbert, who went 55.44. It's setting up to be a thrilling final with PA well-represented. Expect some quick times.
South Fayette's Amy Allen was 11th overall. While she didn't make the final, her time of 56.42 is a new PR for the senior.
In the Championship 200 meters, Hebron and Conteh returned, but neither made the final.
Brown Makes the 400 and 200 Finals
Butler's Guinness Brown is headed to a pair of sprint finals, as he wrapped up an impressive day of prelims on Friday.
In the 400 meters, Brown improved upon his own PA#1 and went 49.05 to grab the win in his heat and take one of the eight finals spots. His time was the fourth best overall in the field. The final is set for 12:10 P.M. on Sunday. Just missing the final was Freddie Haynesworth of Conwell-Egan, who ran a PA#2 time of 49.87 for tenth overall.
Brown wasn't done, though. Hours later, he returned for the 200 meters, going 21.95 -- just off his own PA#1 in that event -- to place seventh overall. That final is scheduled for Saturday at 5:55 P.M.
Carroll Runs PA No. 3 All-Time 5,000m
After a big fall in XC, Margaret Carroll has kept it rolling into the winter. The Northeastern senior ran the third fastest time in Pennsylvania girls indoor history, clocking a time of 17:11.73 for third overall in the Championship 5,000 meters on Friday night.
Carroll hung well with the lead pack for much of the race and came home with an impressive time. Caroline Lehman of Florida earned the win in a time of 16:53.22.
In the boys Championship 5K, CJ Singleton of Butler placed sixth overall in 15:18.24.
More Highlights
- Eric Albright of Garnet Valley placed third in the Invitational 1,000m. The senior went 2:29.23 against a strong field, which is just off his own PA#1 time that he ran earlier this season.
- Claire Zubey of Owen J. Roberts ran a PA#2 time of 5:09.28 to place sixth in the girls Open mile. JP McCaskey's Arielle Breuninger went 5:10.40, a PA#3, for ninth overall.
- There were some solid times in the boys' Open mile, as five Pennsylvania boys dipped under 4:30. Leading the way was Greensburg Salem's Quintin Gatons, who went 4:24.12 for eighth overall. Manheim Township's Tyler Stevens was tenth in 4:26.63, Exeter's Alex Holbrook was 14th in 4:29.20, Hempfield's Aidan Hodge was 15th in 4:29.25, and LaSalle's Ryan McGinley was 16th in 4:29.34.
- Perry Irons of Germantown Academy ran a time of 59.06 for seventh overall in the Open 400m.