The legend of Kaddel Howard continues to grow. Three track and field seasons have brought three state gold medals.
This one required defending her own title. Cedar Crest’s sophomore went back-to-back in the 400 at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association indoor championships at Penn State Sunday.
Howard, who burst onto the scene at this meet 12 months ago, finished in 54.93. She was comfortably ahead of Mastery Charter’s Ka’Nai Bey-English at 55.32.
After entering the event with a season-best time of 56.94, Howard found another gear when it mattered the most.
“It’s the competitiveness; it’s the state championships,” Cedar Crest coach Rob Bare said. “Not being the favorite gets a little extra motivation going. She executed the race plan to exactly what she needed to do.”
It’s hard to picture Howard as anything but the favorite, no matter what the performance sheet says. She won the PIAA outdoor 400 as a freshman and her PR of 53.28 is nearly two seconds faster than any time in Lancaster-Lebanon League history.
Howard took third place in the 200 Sunday, finishing in 24.62 while competing in the No. 2 heat. Friends Central’s Avery Lewis was first at 23.73.
McCaskey’s 800 relay team had the second-best L-L girls performance at State College. The foursome of Aasly DeLeon, Corrine Miller, Isabel Roman and Damani Crosson earned silver and set a school record by hitting the line in 1:42.47.
Other top girls results included Ephrata’s Sophia Rivera taking fifth in the shot put at 37-4.5 and Warwick’s Katie Becker tying for sixth in the high jump at 5-3. DeLeon was the eighth-place finisher in the 60 at 7.80.
Veronica Vacca of Mount Saint Joseph won the pole vault at 14-3. The junior eclipsed the meet record set by Solanco’s Katie Urbine at 13-6 last year. Elizabethtown’s Anna Rank was sixth and Penn Manor’s Kate Harnish was seventh in the pole vault. Both cleared 12-0.
McCaskey's 800 relay team finished second at the PTFCA indoor state championships at State College Sunday.
A boys record fell when Butler’s Drew Griffith finished the mile in 4:02.19, the third-fastest time in the United States this season. Griffith surpassed the mark set by Archbishop Wood’s Gary Martin in 2022.
Lampeter-Strasburg’s Colin Whitaker took fifth in the mile at 4:13.90. The senior was one of three L-L boys to earn a Top 8 finish. The others were Ephrata’s Nick Keller, fifth in the 400 at 48.92, and Elizabethtown’s Brendan Rilatt, seventh in the shot put at 54-4.5.
Howard heads into the outdoor season on a high note. One of her goals is to break the PIAA record in the 400, set by Saucon Valley’s Talitha Diggs at 52.82 in 2020.
Nothing seems out of reach for the sophomore, who also owns the fastest 200 time in L-L history at 24.01.
“She’s humble, she’s kind, she’s caring,” Bare said. “She’s just got that next gear and she’s super competitive. I love that. We felt that going into this race, if it’s close at the end she could pull it out.”
That’s how Howard became golden again.
