Until that precise moment.

With a time of 9:25.81, Bellefonte’s 3,200-relay team – featuring Althea Helms, Anna Tyson, Madyson Miller and Addison Friday – not only qualified for states but did so with almost ten seconds of leeway. Finishing one slot short of gold did little to diminish the smiles on their faces when it was all said and done.

The group achieved the momentous milestone they’ve been striving towards while overcoming amplified nerves from a two-hour rain delay. Years of hard work and trial and error had finally paid off, both from the standpoint of the squad and Bellefonte girls program as a whole.

“We’re all kind of shocked, very relieved and shocked,” said Helms following the race. “I feel like we were expecting it, but all of us were so nervous beforehand. Just trying to figure out how to control the moment and be prepared was really hard.”

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Bellefonte's Althea Helms competes at an invitational.

“I’m just happy to spend one more week with them,” said Bellefonte distance coach Bob Chandler. “They have executed so well all season long, all the credit goes to the girls for pushing each other, having each other’s backs and doing the work. They’re going to do great next week.

YEARS IN THE MAKING

While it may seem like the stars aligned to get to this point, that’s far from the case, with Chandler describing the milestone as ‘years in the making’. Through the years leading up to 2026, the team’s 3,200-relay squad – spanning numerous different rotations – worked tirelessly to whittle their time down to one viable for a PIAA push.

In 2024, Bellefonte got their 3,200-relay time from a 10:54.48 in March to less than a second off a sub-10 at LHACs in May. In 2025, they picked up where they left off progress wise, breaching the ten-minute mark and getting within 12 seconds of a state-qualifying time – then a 9:35.48 – with a 9:46.86 at LHACs.

And through the current season, that progress officially materialized into what they were looking for. With its current starting core, the relay team got within a second of hitting state qualifying standard in April before blowing it out the water at LHACs with a 9:25.72. They’d go on to replicate that run at districts, officially qualifying for states.

TIM WEIGHT/For The Express Bellefonte's Madyson Miller and Anna Tyson compete in a relay.

“We’ve been working to get a relay to states since our freshman year,” said Miller, now a senior. “It’s so exciting to finally do that my senior year and share these emotions with my teammates. We’ve worked together this whole year for that.”

Apart from the graduation of Aalyn Cernuska in 2025, the core has remained completely intact for the past two seasons.

Tyson and Jolley have been running the 3,200 relay since 2023. Fry – the program’s record holder in the 800 – was an immediate starter after moving from Indiana as a junior. And despite their specialty being the 400, Helms and Miller each took on the challenge of adjusting to the 800 heading into 2025.

“As a sophomore, Maddie said, ‘I think I want to be part of that 4×8 team in the future,’, so we started her on the workouts then,” said Chandler on Miller, who’s cut almost 30 seconds off her 800 since 2024.

“There were a lot of tears that first year through some of those workouts as she learned what it took. This year, she’s much more comfortable at that distance.”

Those two years together have seen the group come a long way, both as individuals and as a squad.

Above all else, they feel their trust in each other has helped them reach new heights. That trust has helped ease the nerves and tension that come before every race, with the biggest example being at districts, where a delay forced them to think about it for an additional two hours.

“We know what to say to each other before races. Whatever happens, we’re all doing this race together,” said Helms. “I think that was hard throughout the season, figuring out that like, this person needs to be more relaxed and this person gets really hyped. Knowing how we’re all going to react is hard.”

It’s a storied sendoff for much of the core, with Fry, Miller and Tyson all being seniors and the latter two experiencing states for the first time. It’s one they’ve been picturing since the end of last season and now, the dream has become reality.

Now, their attention turns to what lies ahead. While a big focus will be on simply enjoying the moment, the quartet stands a good shot at taking the accomplishment a step further, heading into the event seeded No. 9 out of 30 squads.

Their competition is set to kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Whatever happens, all the hard work they’ve put in has paid off in a big way, creating a moment they’ll remember for years to come.