After the recent PIAA District 11 meet, Catasauqua’s Hamaad Jenkins had s surreal moment.

The sophomore ran a season-best 22.81 in the 200 and advanced to the state meet at Shippensburg University this weekend. Jenkins was confident in his abilities, but it proved to be a lifetime highlight.

“Never in my sophomore year would I expect to go to states,” said Jenkins. “But taking deep breaths and knowing my teammates and other kids from other teams believe in me. That pushed me to want to do better.”

Jenkins is confident he can excel further this weekend.

“At this point, my start in the 200 isn’t at its peak right now,” said Jenkins. “The best part of my 200 is my top-end speed. That’s the best part of my race.”

He also has worked to improve his finish and his strategy.

“Before the last 80 meters is where people would catch up to me,” noted Jenkins. “But now it’s where I start to reel people in and make the race closer.

“I never expected to touch the 22 (second) barrier,” said Jenkins. “But with me, I treated practice workouts like it was an actual race. It helped me succeed and get placements I never expected to get.”

Head coach Kyle Rusnock is confident about Jenkins’ performance this weekend. He also realizes his potential the next two years.

“We are so proud of Hamaad qualifying for the state meet,” beamed Rusnock. “Needless to say, it will be super exciting waiting for his time to come after the race.

“Hamaad is very dedicated. He put work into it, and it paid off. He started preparing for this during the summer workouts. Hamaad has had a great season and improved throughout the year, peaking at the right time. Being a sophomore and making it to states is very impressive. His future is going to be exciting.”