Rachael Collins of Honesdale qualifies for her third trip to the PIAA state track meet

SCRANTON — Honesdale’s Rachael Collins put the finishing touches on a sensational track & field season this week with one more stellar performance.

The Lady Hornet senior traveled to Scranton Memorial Stadium Monday and Tuesday to complete in this year’s District 2 Championships. There, she medaled in three of the four events she entered before a big enthusiastic crowd.

Collins placed first in the 200M, first in the 400M and second in the 100M. Along the way, she set a brand new school record and qualified for the PIAA state meet.

“Rachael is a wonderful young woman,” said Head Coach Paul Russick. “Today’s performance was just awesome, one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. You just don’t see many kids as driven as Rachael is anymore.”

For her part, Collins experienced a wide range of emotions, culminating with sheer joy while waving to friends and family from atop the podium.

“I’m so very grateful for this day and just beyond thrilled!” Rachael exclaimed. “To end my high school track career like this is really amazing.”

Collins will now have one last opportunity to put her skills on display before heading off to the college ranks. She’ll journey to Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University for the PIAA Track & Field Championships.

This year’s edition of the event is slated for the weekend of May 26-27.

Gold medal dreams

Rachael is the daughter of Michael and Erika Collins, Honesdale.

She is an extremely talented and versatile athlete who excels in four different sports. And while she’s a standout in cross country, field hockey and basketball, it’s on the track that she truly shines.

Heading into the 2023 spring season, Collins had already won medals at districts and made a pair of trips to states. As a senior, though, she was laser-focused on creating a legacy for herself.

Collins opened up the season by reeling off three wins during Honesdale’s first home meet of the season. She rocketed to victory in the 100M, 200M and 400M in leading the Lady Hornets to a 105-44 Lackawanna League rout of Western Wayne.

She followed that up up with electrifying performances at the Icebreaker Relays, hosted by Wallenpaupack Area, and the Cavalier Classic, held at East Stroudsburg South.

Along the way, Collins swept all three sprints in meets against Delaware Valley, North Pocono and archrival Paupack. She closed out the regular season campaign with top-rated times in the 100M (12.6), 200M (26.1) and 400M (1:00.4).

These impressive numbers left Collins seeded at or near the top of each event and poised to make some serious noise at districts in Class AAA.

“Even though I was ranked high, I knew that it definitely wasn’t going to be easy,” Rachael said. "I figured that I’d have had some girls on my heels the whole time, so I had to push hard and give it my all.”

Which is exactly what she did.

Collins struck first in the 400M, racing out to an early lead and powering her way down the stretch to victory. She crossed the line in a time of 57.29, good for both the gold medal and the top spot in Lady Hornet history.

“I was so excited!” Rachael gushed. “Setting a new school record feels amazing. I’ve been eying up that 400 time all season and I’m so glad I was able to accomplish it.”

Next up was the 200M, an event in which Collins was the prohibitive favorite. Once again, the battle-tested senior made mincemeat of the competition.

She breezed her way into the finals with a first place finish in the prelims, then defended her AAA crown with a sizzling time of 25.97 in the finals.

“Rachael now has the school record in the 200M and 400M,” Coach Russick said. “She’s obviously a very talented athlete, but a lot of her success also comes from that drive and incredible work ethic.”

Collins closed out the meet with one more medal-worthy effort. Once again, she left it all on the track but had to settle for silver in the 100M dash. Her time of 13.08 was second only to Pittston Area’s Aria Messner (12.9).

“I knew after the prelims I was going to have some work to do,” Rachael said. “But, I stayed focused on my race and myself. I just wanted to run my best and I think I did.”

Back on the big stage

With two more gold medals on her resume, Collins is now headed back to Shippensburg for her third appearance at the state meet.

She will represent District 2 in both the 200M and 400M, marquee events in AAA that traditionally feature some of the best athletes in the Commonwealth.

Coach Russick believes that his senior star is due for a breakthrough … and quite possibly a place on the podium.

“This is Year 3 for Rachael on the biggest stage,” he said. “I think that experience has only motivated her to where she wants to go. Rachael’s goal is always to compete and give it her all and I know she will.”

Not surprisingly, Collins isn’t satisfied with just qualifying. She’s determined to improve upon her past efforts and possibly earn a spot on the podium.

“This is my third trip to states so I want to perform better than I did last year and the previous year,” Rachael said. “I hope with the tough competition I can lower my times again ... and I’m definitely shooting for a medal.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Senior track standout Rachael Collins to represent Honesdale at states