Vandalia High School senior sprinter Sophie Bower is now a two-sport state medalist after she finished in eighth place in the 400m Dash at the IHSA 1A State Track Finals held at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Bowers ran a personal record time of 59.49 seconds in the Finals race which was just shy of the VCHS girls school record of 59.37 seconds in the event. The time was also an improvement on her Prelims time of 1:00.64 that got her into the Finals by just .01 seconds to grab the final qualifying spot. This was Bowers second trip to the State Meet after she qualified in the 100m Dash but did not place in last year’s State Meet. She is also a two-time IHSA Girls Wrestling State Champion and is at this time believed to be the first two sports state medalist for Vandalia as quick research on the IHSA website does not show any other dual sport medalists in individual events or sports. With the State Finals now in the books, Bowers will begin to prepare to compete collegiately as a dual sports athlete at Wartburg College beginning this Fall.
Click on thumbnails below to see photos of Sophie Bowers’ eighth place 400m Dash performance and more from today’s State Finals.
