Her eyes don’t wander from left to right anymore before a race. Her focus remains straight down the lane, her lane, a tunnel vision that shuts out all peripheral distractions. Lydia Ali has perfected it. She’s honed that concentration to such a fine sheen that nothing can rattle her. Nothing can touch her.
No one can keep up with her.
It’s why Ali is the fastest girl in the state. It’s why the Radnor senior is the defending 100-meter PIAA Class AAA (large schools) state champion. Ali’s accomplished so much. She’s smashed every Radnor High School sprint record.
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The only thing that had eluded Ali came crashing down this past Saturday, when she won the 60-meter dash at the Pennsylvania Indoor State Championships at Penn State.
Ali finished a long, grueling day of five races to top it all off with a personal best time of 7.53 seconds in the 60, which is currently the sixth-fastest time in the country. Yes, she is that special.
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“I put everything into the air and centered myself and prayed a little bit, and thankful for everything that happened to me,” Ali said. “This is my first time winning an indoor championship.”
But it’s been an interesting journey for Ali, who really blossomed last year as a junior. She was once a runner too concerned with who was running to her right or left. She’d take herself out of races before the race even took place.
“I think I learned a lot last year,” Ali said. “Something I’ve really learned is to never underestimate yourself, and I might have been a little guilty of that last year. I used to get too nervous about who I was running against than just running. Once I gained control of that, I began doing better.”
Now every runner she faces will be focusing on beating the University of Pennsylvania-bound sprinter.
“No matter who I’m competing against, I’ll never underestimate anyone I’m running against,” Ali said. “I’m always finding new challenges and there’s more to strive for, but being someone who other people will target, I know this year will come with a whole new set of pressures. It’s why I always want to think that I’m racing against myself in a way; that I have to outdo what I previously did. It’s a matter of how much you want to push yourself.”
What Ali has shown a propensity to do is perform well in big meets. She won the Central League championship, the District 1 championship—probably the most difficult and competitive area in the state—and topped last year off by winning the state title in the 100-meter in a blistering 11.83 seconds. Ali had to do it overcoming Chester’s Rayiana Johnson, the 2009 defending state 100-meter champion who was looking for a second-straight state title.
Ali spoiled that.
She came bursting almost out of nowhere.
But not to Radnor track coach Tom Flanagan. He knew all along about Ali’s speed. It was just a matter of experience and confidence, both of which grew exponentially.
“You could tell Lydia had ability just by seeing her run her freshman year,” Flanigan said. “But her ability to run well in big meets has been her trademark, you can say, over the last two years. Other runners may shrink in big meets. Not Lydia.”
Perhaps no other example of Ali’s toughness manifested itself more than a relay race her sophomore year. Ali was the third leg in a 4x200 relay coming around a turn when another runner sunk her spikes into Ali’s shin and tripped her. To Ali’s amazement, and to the amazement of those watching, she got up still holding the baton and made up a place in the race, helping her team move from third to second.
There were puncture wounds in her leg, and blood trickling down from two gashes.
“That’s one of my amazing memories, I didn’t drop the baton, I got back up and finished the race,” Ali said. “I remember looking down and seeing the blood pouring down my leg, and I skinned my shoulder. I didn’t feel any pain. I just kept running.”
And she’s continued running and has continued winning. Aside from having blazing speed, being fearless should add to Ali’s mystique. About the only thing left that she hadn’t achieved changed this weekend at Penn State by winning the 60-meter dash. Now she enters the spring doing the things she achieved last spring.
“I would love to repeat and win the state title in the 100 again this spring, and maybe look at winning the 200 and 400, or adding a second state title in either one,” Ali said. “I’m really happy for everything that’s already happened—and a blessing to have it happen all over again.”
Only faster. And with all eyes on her.
