The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

Track star will race for Penn in the fall

Nwogwugwu was impossible to catch

- By Kev Hunter khunter@21st-centurymed­ia.com @khunter10 on Twitter

Uche Nwogwugwu will go racing off to The University of Pennsylvan­ia in the fall, having left quite a legacy on the track at North Penn.

Chosen as the Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, Nwogwugwu sped away to one gold medal after another while helping to lift her team to rare heights.

At the PIAA State Championsh­ips, Nwogwugwu won gold every time she went on the track. She won the 400 title. She ran the second leg of the winning 4x8. And she capped things off by anchoring the 4x4 team to a teamtitle clinching gold.

She also pulled off a pretty rare feat, defending her state title in the 400 dash.

“That was a race. I knew it was gonna be a race,” said the senior, who crossed the finish line in 53.80 seconds. “They all went out really fast. They were in front of me the first 150 so I knew it would come down to the last 100 meters.

“I just tried to not give up on the curve and finish the race.”

The week before at the District One Championsh­ips, Nwogwugwu captured her second straight 400 title at Coatesvill­e.

“It was really good competitio­n. They always push me,” she said of the district competitio­n, which she out-performed with a time of 54.87, “so it felt really good to come out on top today.”

Nwogwugwu was outstandin­g all season for NP, leading the Knights to an unbeaten dualmeet season, a Suburban One League Continenta­l Conference title, a runner-up spot at districts, and the PIAA-3A State Title, North Penn’s first since 1997.

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 ?? DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO ?? North Penn’s Uche Nwogwugwu walks off the track during the PIAA Championsh­ips.
DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO North Penn’s Uche Nwogwugwu walks off the track during the PIAA Championsh­ips.
 ?? DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO ?? Mikaela Vlasic takes the baton from Uche Nwogwugwu to begin the anchor leg of the 4x800 meter relay.
DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO Mikaela Vlasic takes the baton from Uche Nwogwugwu to begin the anchor leg of the 4x800 meter relay.

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