At AAU Junior Olympics, Howard Shatters National Record, Wins 400m Championship

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Kaddel Howard! In her first two years of high school track for Cedar Crest, she has captured four State gold medals in the 400m, two indoor and two outdoor. In doing so, she has set records in both the Lancaster Lebanon League and District 3. Running a 53.25 to win the 2024 PIAA Outdoor State Championship, Howard finished her sophomore season with the meet record of 53.11 squarely within her sights as she enters her junior year.

Beyond being Pennsylvania’s queen of the quarter-mile, Howard has also shown her range, being able to successfully compete in any race from the 100m up to the 800m. In May, Howard smashed the Lancaster Lebanon Championship Meet record in the 200m. The next week, she served as the anchor leg of the Falcon 4x800m team that won the District 3 Championship.

With the resume that she has compiled thus far in her running career, there is little argument that Howard is a generational talent.

At the AAU Junior Olympics, held at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, North Carolina, Howard spent this past week continuing to add to her list of accolades as she faced some of the best talent from across the entire United States. Running for Philadelphia-based High Level Track Club, Howard took on the added challenge of competing in the 100m, 200m, and 400m.

On Monday, her journey began with the 200m. In the prelims, Howard ran a 24.46 to qualify for Wednesday’s semifinal round. In the semis, she laid down a 24.15 to finish 9th overall, just shy of making it into the finals.
Thursday meant a date with the 100m dash. In the prelims, Howard ran a 12.44 to finish 26th overall. Though her time was impressive, it was not enough to move her to the next round.

With her first two events out of the way, Howard was ready to focus on her marquee event when the 400m semifinals began on Friday afternoon. In the semis, Howard was nothing short of dominant as she dropped the hammer to clock a blistering 52.47. Not only did she run the fastest time on the day, it was the fastest time ever run at AAU Nationals by a female in the 15-16 year old division as she broke the fourteen year-old record of 52.71.

Her unbelievable performance on Friday set Howard up as the heavy favorite entering Saturday’s Championship Finals. When the gun went off, Howard did not disappoint as she made it around the track in 52.87, crossing the finish line over a full second ahead of the silver medalist from Georgia who crossed the line in 54.01.

Kaddel Howard!!! Two-time State Indoor 400m Champion. Two-time State Outdoor 400m Champion. Now, a National Champion and National Record holder in the 400m.

The rest of the world now knows what we already knew: Howard is an exceptional talent who continues to raise the bar. Going into her junior year, Howard still has two years left in her high school career to continue writing her script. It is a story that you will want to watch.

 

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