A year ago, Kristian Phennicie was a relative unknown in Pennsylvania sprint circles. Now, the senior has an outdoor state title to his name and as the indoor season kicks into gear, he's picking up right where he left off last spring.
Phennicie, of Dallastown, put down a pair of impressive performances at Saturday's Kevin Dare Invitational on his future home track. The Penn State recruit won the 60m dash and placed second in the 200 meters to finish up a strong day at PSU's Ashenfelter Track.
Phennicie went 6.90 to win the 60 meter dash. He ran that time twice; once in the prelims and again in the finals. He was the lone sub-7 boy in the field. That time puts him at PA No. 2 on the season tied with reigning outdoor 100m state champion Jaden Brown and just behind PA No. 1 Michael Fellin of Marian Catholic (6.88).
He returned later in the meet to take second in the 200 meters, running a state-leading time of 22.08. Phennicie was second to Maryland standout Judson Lincoln, who clocked a US No. 2 time of 21.63 for the win. Lincoln, in the outside lane, got away well, but Phennicie hung tough in lane 5 and closed well to pick up the PA No. 1 time (also a US No. 13).
Saturday was a terrific indoor season opener for Phennicie, who really emerged onto the scene last spring during his junior year, winning the PIAA Class AAA state title in the 200 with a 21.62 at Shippensburg. His performance at Kevin Dare proved that he's perhaps in an even better spot for his senior year. The future Nittany Lion is only going to get faster from here.
Watch his 60m and 200m races below.
