Athlete of the Week: Dimond senior competes in 2 state championships in 1 day

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It is a scheduling conflict Avrey Campbell has faced much of her life — soccer and track.

The two-sport star has been juggling the two sports that occur at the same time for the past four years. However, on the final day of her high school athletic career, the tug-of-war reached its pinnacle for the two-sport star.

At 4 p.m. on May 31, the Dimond senior claimed the Division I 300-meter hurdle state title against the best in her field with a time of 47.10 seconds.

But she had little time to celebrate.

“I got up and watched my sister run her 4x800 [relay] and it was like 10:30 [a.m.], so I started the day early at Dimond,” she said. “I stayed to run my 4x200, which we got second, and then I stayed and I ran the 300 hurdles, which I won, which was pretty awesome.”

Campbell recalled from the start of her day.

Campbell immediately took off her spike and put her on her warmups. She promptly packed her bag and hopped in her mother’s car and was off to the races for the runway.

Campbell had a state championship soccer match in Wasilla just 30 minutes after winning gold in Anchorage.

“Straight off the track from the 300 hurdles, I went straight to the car, drove to Lake Hood, and took off on a plane,” Campbell said.

By way of a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser through a family friend, Campbell was able to make it in time to suit up for the state title-contending soccer team.

”I was only like 10 minutes late to the game, which was awesome, because I thought I was going to miss the entire first half, but because of the plane, I made it pretty much on time,” she said.

Although Dimond ultimately lost the championship soccer match 4-0 to South Anchorage, the effort from the sought-after athlete cannot be ignored.

”It just means a lot to be such a big part of two teams and ... I love Dimond and I love my athletes and the family we’ve created here,“ she said. ”It’s amazing.”

Campbell made her final decision between the two sports when she committed to run track for her hometown University of Alaska Anchorage over playing collegiate soccer elsewhere.

“That was maybe the hardest decision I have ever made in my life,” Campbell said at the time of her commitment. “It took me forever, I cried about it a lot, I will admit, but it ended just being that UAA was the best fit for me.”

Ultimately, May 31 was a day Campbell proved you can be in two places at once.

”I think it is such a unique experience, and I think it is awesome,” Campbell said of the effort to compete in two state championships in one day. “I love Alaska and I love every little unique quirk that we have here.”

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