PA Girls to Watch at New Balance Nationals Outdoor

NBN Outdoor returns to historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the second year, granting PA athletes the home crowd advantage yet again. Some of the state's top girls are set to compete this weekend, so we took a moment to break down the names to watch.

Sprinters and Hurdlers to Watch

Avery Lewis of Friends' Central will have a busy weekend competing in the 100m dash, 200m dash, and long jump. Though, she's no stranger to this triple, in which she's won multiple national and state titles, both indoor and outdoor, by impressively dominating numerous events per meet. Don't blink an eye when Lewis is on the track or hitting the sand, as she's likely to add three more All-American finishes to her long list of accolades.  

Laila Campbell of Spring Grove is another big name representing PA in the 100m dash. Campbell is the returning NBN Outdoor 100m dash champion and will undoubtedly be looking to defend her title. She won last year, beating Virginia's Brianna Selby by less than a tenth of a second, running 11.56 (+2.5 wind-aided).

Kaddel Howard of Cedar Crest is a name we should all be familiar with by now. The freshman phenom is making her NBN debut in the 200m and 400m dashes. Howard has a solid 24.01 200m PR, although we recommend you pay closer attention to what she does in the 400m. She ran an insane 53.28 PR earlier this spring and won the 3A state title in 53.50. It will be exciting to see what Howard can do nationally.

Ka'Nai Bey-English (North - Mastery Charter) and Mimi Duffy (Central Bucks West) are more 400m runners to watch. Bey-English won the 2A state title in 55.11, and Duffy was the 3A 3rd-place finisher in 55.12.

The 2A state champion, Taleea Buxton (West Catholic), and the 3A state champion, Macaela Walker (Oxford Area), will compete in the 100m hurdles. Buxton has a PR of 13.80, and Walker has a PR of 13.94. You should also watch for Walker in the 100m dash.

Distance Stars to Watch

Olivia Cieslak of Haverford Township is running the 800m and 1 Mile. We can expect solid performances from the mid-distance queen in both events, proving she's already familiar with this double. Cieslak won the 3A 800 in 2:07.45 and the 3A 1600 in 4:49.78 at this year's PIAA championship. If that's not impressive enough, she's managed to keep the momentum going into the postseason with a 4:45.62 mile PR at the Hoka Festival of Miles invite. Time will tell how many more races she's got in the tank this season, but we fully anticipate a solid NBN meet for the young star.

Logan St. John Kletter of Mount Lebanon will compete in a longer-distance race combo consisting of the 1-mile and 2-mile runs. Kletter is etching her name as one of the PA greats, especially after setting an inspiring new 3A state meet record of 10:12.86 in the 3200m run. Expect to see her contend with the nation's best over 2 miles. As for the 1 mile, she ran a massive PR of 4:44.15 just over a week ago at the Night at the Island meet. With this in mind, we should also anticipate her mixing things up with the pack in this race.

Some other solid 800m run entries are Eyota Bey (Cheltenham), Ella Woehlcke (Mount Saint Joseph), Gwen Hamilton (Archbishop Wood), and Ashley Landis (Pennridge).

Ella Woehlcke will also run the 1 mile along with Emily Simko (Hatboro Horsham), two more runners with the potential to surprise us in that one.

The dynamic duo, Wren Kucler and Robin Kucler, from North Allegheny, will run the 2 mile, along with Natalie McLean (Pine-Richland). McLean is also entered in the 5k. Notably, she ran a 17:03 5K on the track after the Cross Country season this year. She could easily replicate that performance.

The Throwers to Keep and Eye On

Keep an eye on the discus competition for Ella Lucas of Warwick. Lucas won the 3A state title with a monster throw of 163-9. This effort is Lucas's current PR and ranks her US No.10 on the season.

Alexa Brown of Strath Haven has the potential to surprise us in the shot put. Brown finished 2nd in the 3A shot put competition at the state championship. She also had a PR throw of 44-5.5 earlier this season.

Ericka Jackson of Harrisburg High will do the shot put and javelin double. Jackson finished 3rd in both 3A events at the state championship with PRs in each (43-2 in the shot put and 137-1 in the javelin). If she can keep that momentum going, we may see some new PRs from Jackson this weekend.

The Jumpers will Soar

As for jumps, Ava Alexander (Rustin) is the headliner that needs to be on everyone's radar. Alexander is another one of those athletes who has previously won a national title and racked up countless All-American finishes and state title/medal finishes. Her most impressive performance this season was at the District 1 championship, where she jumped a PR of 41-10. There is no doubt Alexander has the potential to walk away with a national title.

Saige Forbes of Episcopal Academy will hit the sand in the long jump for the first time at a national championship. Forbes has previously found success in track events at various national meets, so she is no stranger to the big stage. Seeing how she performs in the long jump after hitting a PR of 19'-4.5" earlier this season should be exhilarating.

Pay attention to Niya Jeffers (Chester) in the high jump. She was this year's 3A state champion after clearing a PR of 5-7 and will have the potential to surprise us.

The J.P. McCaskey Relays have All-American Potential

J.P. McCaskey will bring their loaded 4x400m and 4x800m relay squad. Their best shot at an All-American finish is in the 4x400m relay, in which the team ranks 10th in the nation with a blazing season-best time of 3:44.80. Although they still have a lot of potential for success in the 4x800m relay ranking in the US Top 25 with a season-best of 9:05.09.

These are some of the top entries, not to mention the countless other PA girls set to compete at NBN Outdoor. Don't miss any of our updates on the action.