Jacobs breezes through her heats in the 100, 200 and 400
SHIPPENSBURG – Breehana Jacobs not only advanced through her three preliminary heats in the PIAA Track & Field Championships on Friday, she did so in style with the fastest times in the 100, 200 and 400. Jacobs breezed through her heats. She won the 400 in 54.59, nearly a second faster than Council Rock’s Ije Iheoma’s winning time in her heat.
Jacobs cruised through her 100 in 11.91 seconds and will be joined by teammate Aleesha Washington in the 100 semifinals.
She also had the fastest time in the 200 with a heat-winning pace of 24.70 seconds. Jacobs was the only sprinter to break 25 seconds.
The heat of the 100 and 400 gave way to a strong headwind during the 200, and Jacobs noticed the difference.
“The wind was a killer in the 200. It was hard to run through that,” explained Jacobs.
The senior is the two-time defending champion in the 100 and the defending champion in the 200, so she has a lot on her plate as she approaches her final high school competition.
“I was most concerned about the 400. I wasn’t sure how I was going to run it,” said Jacobs. “I switched up my style and still got a PR.”
After the 400, Jacobs stopped by the trainer’s tent for a little work.
“I have to do that after I run the 400,” said Jacobs. “My legs cramp up on me. He stretched them really good.”
The 400 is the wildcard in her quest to win three sprint gold medals.
“I want to win the 400. No one is expecting me to,” said Jacobs, who has only run the distance competitively six times. “It’s not my event. The other girls do that all the time.
“The 400 takes the most out of me. It’s a lot of pressure, but not out of my comfort zone. I learn every time I run it.”
Also on the to-do list is to not only win gold in the 100, but do so in record-breaking time.
She did so in 2006, but it was wind-aided.
J.P McCaskey’s Emily Dresser had the second-fastest time in the 100 at 12.30 seconds with Downingtown’s Christen Arnold, Nazareth’s Ashley Williams, North Penn’s Chloe Mannings, Avon Grove’s Briana Cavallaro, and Ben Franklin’s Jasmine Russ all running under 12.4 seconds.