Lily Meskers crouched in the blocks.
Her blonde hair dangled in front of her as it danced with the gentle breeze. Her eyes caste downwards at the black track, waiting for the gun.
For the moment, the world stood still.
And then --
CRACK!
Meskers exploded out of the blocks.
The Erie senior tore around the top of the track, eating up ground on the competition. With 200 meters to go in the 400 she went to the arms and pumped at the air like a prizefighter - she knew how to run this race.
Her signature event.
With 150 meters to go she had made up the stagger and had no one in front of her. It was just a vast black track with white lines leading the way to the finish.
Her hands sliced at the air as her gaze remained in front of her. Her spikes clawed at the track with each stride.
In the end her only competition was the clock.
And when she crossed the finish line it stopped at 59.65.
While it was no personal best for Meskers, it was her eighth time under the coveted minute mark, and second of the season - out of two outings in the quarter-lap race.
Massive breakthrough always tends to follow such consistency.
Add that Meskers finished third in the 100 several hours earlier, and crossed the line first once more in the 200 in 26.60 several hours after the 400.
It was a busy day for the Erie senior at the Harrison Panther Invite, which played host to a slew of exciting races, per the usual.
RESULTS | PHOTOS
Next Page: Nadhia Campos shines bright in the distance events