Photo by Craig Amoss
For 300 meters of the fast section of the 3A girls 500 meter dash, it looked as if James H. Blake senior Noelani Phillips would run away with her first state title as she led from the gun. Even with 100 meters left, Phillips still led the race and Matthews sat in third place. However, one final surge off the final curve would be the difference for the Mount Hebron sophomore as she edged Phillips at the line. Both girls ran season bests and their times (1:15.85 for Matthews, 1:16.00 for Phillips) ranked fourth and sixth on the 2019 state leaderboard, respectively. Phillips would also eventually earn her first state title in the 200 meter dash at the outdoor state meet.