200m Dash Preview

by Karlon Nixon

The Boys

The banked track at Penn State University will be on full display this weekend, with 20 of the fastest boys in Pennsylvania running one lap at full speed to make the podium at the PTFCA Championship.

Conor McFadden (Central Bucks West) has been waiting for this race all year. In 2022, he pulled up with an injury at the PTFCA Championship. This season, McFadden is the #1 seed in the boys' 200-meter dash with a time of 21.50 and has only run in 3 indoor meets.

Jackson Clarke of Danville Area is the #2 seed at 21.56 and is undefeated at the distance with three invitational wins at East Coast Invitational, Spire Scholastic Invitational, and Kevin Dare Invitational. Clarke will look for a solid finish to run down McFadden in the home stretch.  

Daunte Bell from Norristown ran his first sub-22 of the season, winning the Garden State Invitational in 21.90. He will also be a challenger to claim the 200-meter dash.  

Freshman sensation, Abaas Hunter of Episcopal Academy, is coming into the championship with a 21.97 from the North Shore Invitational. Hunter is the only freshman boy who qualified for an individual PTFCA Championship event.

Other dangerous threats in the 200-meter dash will be Colin Kravitz (North Pocono) 22.03, Robert Turner (Coatesville) 22.10, and Jacob Thompson (Mars) 22.17. 10 out of the 20 competitors have broken 22.25 this season, and with no preliminary rounds, anything is possible on the banked track at Penn State. 

Jesse Myers (State College), Asad Reese (Imhotep Charter), and Zachary Willen (Methacton) will also mix in.

The Girls

In the 200m dash, seven girls return from the 2022 PTFCA Championship. Avery Lewis (Friends' Central) will look to defend her 2022 200-meter dash PTFCA Indoor Track and Field Championship with a season-best of 24.39 this year. Lewis holds a .70 advantage over the entire field, which makes her the favorite to win her second 200-meter PTFCA Indoor Track and Field Championship. After Lewis, the following seven girls are only separated by .21 seconds, making this a must-watch race on the high banks at Penn State. 

Faith Fuqua (Downingtown East) looks to challenge Lewis in the 200m. Fuqua has emerged as one of the athletes to watch in 2023, winning the DVGTCA Meet #4 & placing second at the Ocean Breeze Invitational.

Fuqua has knocked off a second and a half in the 200-meter dash since December and will ride that momentum into the PTFCA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  

Milan Ramey (Harriton) has only raced in the 200-meter dash three times this season but set an indoor personal best of 25.11 and won the North Shore HS Pre-National Invitational. In 2022, Ramey placed 9th, missing the podium by one spot, and will use that to her advantage to medal in 2023. 

Mimi Duffy (Central Bucks West) placed fifth in 2022, but with a stronger field in 2023, she is seeded seventh with a season-best of 25.28. Duffy won the DVGTCA Meet of Champions in February and will look to challenge the field and return to the podium in 2023. 

If one girl could spoil the party in the 200-meter dash, Abbie Huey of Indiana is the girl to do so. Huey has not lost an individual race this indoor season and has a lot of momentum going into the PTFCA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She won a 200-meter title earlier this year at the State College Invitational, which was held at Penn State & TSTCA Meet #1. Huey has a season-best of 25.21 which puts her right in the thick of things.

Amirah Nesmith 25.15  (Archbishop Ryan), Ka'Nai Bey-English 25.23 (Mastery Charter Pickett), and Kaddel Howard 25.30 (Cedar Crest) round out the top 8 in the 200-meter dash. 

Kamyah Wright (J.P. McCaskey), Olivia Renk (South Fayette), and Beth Schearer (Springfield Delco) all return from 2022 to challenge the field in 2023.