It was a huge day of action at Saturday's PTFCA Indoor Track Carnival, but the event that stole the spotlight had to be the girls 200 meters that saw a premiere matchup between a pair of the state's brightest stars: Avery Lewis and Laila Campbell.
Both girls entered the 200 meters having already won events earlier in the day. Campbell of Spring Grove won the 60m dash in 7.47, just off her season best. That time broke Talitha Diggs' meet record of 7.54 from 2019. Lewis of Friends' Central won the long jump -- her fourth win of the season in the event -- with a mark fo 19-1.5.
But then came the fourth and final heat of the 200 meters, where the two would square off. It was the sophomore pair's second meeting of the season; they raced at the Millrose Games with Lewis taking third in a PA No. 1 7.40 and Campbell taking fourth in a PA No. 2 7.45.
On Saturday in the 200m, both girls got away well. Lewis made progress on the inside in the first half of the race, but Campbell -- running blind on the outside -- held strong. Lewis then got the advantage just off the final turn and held off Campbell down the homestretch to win in 24.18. Campbell took second second in 24.57.
Lewis' time is a new state-leading time and not far off her indoor personal best in the event, despite the fact that Saturday's race at the Carnival came on Lehigh's flat track (Lewis' PR from last year of 23.91 took place at the VA Showcase on a banked track). Her time from Saturday is also a US No. 11 among a bunch of banked track performances.
For Campbell, it was a indoor PR and a new PA No. 2. It's a nice improvement on her time of 24.83 from earlier in the season, which also came on a flat track.
This will all set the stage for what should be an interesting rematch at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships in two weeks. That will come on a banked track at Penn State's Ashenfelter Track. The pair will also likely face off in the 60m dash.
We've seen plenty of fast sprint times over the years, and with an impressive pair like Lewis and Campbell, we could see some historically fast -- and historically exciting -- state finals. Stay tuned.
Watch the unlocked race above and check out the girls 200m results below.
Girls 200 Meter Dash
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26.63 SGQ State Guideline
Name Year School Finals H#
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1 Lewis, Avery 10 Friends' Cen 24.18 SGQ 4
2 Campbell, Laila 10 Spring Grove 24.57 SGQ 4
3 Ramey, Milan 10 Harriton 26.02 SGQ 3
4 Schearer, Beth 11 Sfield Delco 26.28 SGQ 3
5 Jackson, Sandra 12 Harry S Trum 26.30 SGQ 2
6 Moneme, Chinonye 12 W C East 26.54 SGQ 1
7 Norris, Tatum 11 Susquehanna 26.66 3
8 Olsavsky, Erin 12 Haverford To 26.93 3
9 Boardman, Mia 12 Cumberland V 27.08 4
10 Calder, Macayla 10 Northeastern 27.29 1
11 Hudson, Kaleigh 12 Spring Ford 27.41 3
12 Dearry, JaNaisa 9 Chester 27.79 2
13 Sagullo, Sidney 11 W C Rustin 27.87 1
14 Ehrenhalt, Amanda 12 Penn Charter 28.00 1
15 Minning, Lucy 12 Radnor 28.09 2