The Panorama Panthers girls track and field team had representatives at the 2022 State Track and Field meet this year and one sophomore defended her state champion titles from last year while also making history in the process.

Panorama sophomore Jaidyn Sellers headed into the 2022 State Track and Field meet looking to defend her state champion status in the 100m and 200m dashes from last year and was able to do so in dominant fashion. In the 100m dash, Sellers ran a blistering 12.13 which earned her another state champion finish, but it also broke the state meet record of 12.14 as well. Head Coach Greg Thompson says Sellers stepped up to the challenge this year in a quick Class 2A field.

“She’s just the type of kid, she will run as fast as she needs to run and there was some good competition in both the 100 and 200 this year so her times continued to drop and that’s good to see from last year. Her best time last year was 12.43 in the 100 and so obviously running 12.13 this year is an improvement. It doesn’t sound like much of an improvement but in a sprint race of 100 three-tenths of a second is quite a bit.”

In the 200m dash, Sellers was able to also defend her state champion title coming in with a time of 25.04, which was a season best time for her. Thompson tells Raccoon Valley Radio that while it’s early on to look at the chance for Sellers to three-peat next year in the 100 and 200m dashes, the chances of her doing so is a good possibility.

“The second place in both races graduate so then you start looking a little deeper down the list and I just see that Jaidyn’s chances of repeating those are very high obviously if we can just keep her healthy and she continues to get stronger. She loves to be in the weight room, so I just see her only getting stronger and hopefully faster.”

Now in the offseason for track and field Sellers will continue to play sports as she will be out on the softball field for the Panthers Softball Team but will look to be a favorite once again next season in the 100m and 200m dashes as she is now a two-time state champion in both events.