What a difference a month has made for Amanda Dillon.
The Springdale Har-Ber junior wasn’t at full strength when she traveled to Greensboro, N.C., in June and ran in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, where she finished in a tie for 14th place in the Emerging Elite girls 400-meter dash.
She’s now healthy again, and she loves the results.
Dillon returned to North Carolina A&T this week as a member of the local Power Up Track Club and set a personal-best Wednesday in the 200 during the USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships.
“I’ve been working very hard for this, and this is the last meet I will run this summer,” Dillon said. “I’m all better now, and the times are showing that. I’m really happy with that PR.”
Dillon, 16, ran in the seventh of 10 preliminary heats for 17- and 18-year-olds in the 200 Wednesday afternoon and finished with a time of 24.83 seconds. She missed out on going on to the semifinal round by .05 seconds, but what was more important to her was she beat her previous record in that event by almost one-half second.
“That was huge to me,” she said. “It was the first time I had run the 200 over there, and I was really hoping that I could run it in 24.9. I’m really happy with the result, and it’s only going to get better from there.”
Dillon made a quick impression in February when she won the 200 and the 400 during the Class 5A-7A State Indoor Meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center. She opened the outdoor season by winning those two events during the Joe Roberts Invitational, but that was before she was plagued with a lingering knee injury.
Dillon continued to run despite the injury, but her performances were never the same. She had
At A Glance
USATF National Junior Olympics Track & Field Championships
When: Through Sunday
Where: North Carolina A&T, Greensboro
On The Web: www.usatf.org
only one other first-place finish, winning the 400 during the Bulldog Relays in Fayetteville, but she finished second in the Class 7A State Meet and third in the Meet of Champs.
“It was tough on her, and injury was our story of the year,” Har-Ber coach Brett Unger said. “You would just see flashes of herself from time to time. I think Amanda’s best race may have been her 400 split during the 4x400 relay at the 7A-West Conference meet.
“I’m happy to see Amanda doing well and running well this summer. What we’re seeing right now is a result of the hard work and dedication she has in running faster and running better.”
Dillon has participated in almost daily training with the Power Up Track Club during the summer, including speed work and running up hills, and credits that for her improvement. In addition to the two meets she has run in Greensboro, she also took part in the Arkansas USATF meet at Hendrix College in Conway and the USATF Region 9 Championships in St. Louis in order to qualify for this week’s meet.
She was the only person to run in her age group in the 200 and 400 during the Conway meet, and track officials had her run with the boys. That included fellow Power Up members Frank James and Dallas Hines, both of whom she has trained with during the summer.
“It was actually funny,” she said. “I’m pretty competitive out there, and I was trying to beat them.”
Dillon’s time in Greensboro isn’t over just yet. She will compete this morning in the 400, her favorite event, and hopes to improve on her time of 56.82 that she had when she won the event during the recent Region 9 meet in St. Louis.
“I would really love to run in the 55s or a low 56,” she said. “I also plan on reaching the semifinals and be among the top 24. But there are plenty of athletes here, and they are all really good.”
If Dillon advances past today’s preliminary round, she will run again Saturday in the semifinals. The final is set for Sunday morning.