SPRING GROVE, Pa. — As the saying goes, your high school years fly by in the blink of an eye; but, Spring Grove's Laila Campbell only needs seconds to make a lasting impression.
"It's been a while year of recruitment so it's finally like, 'Okay, this is official.' I know I announced earlier, but now it's official," said Campbell.
The Rockets' track standout went from up-and-comer to phenom in the time it takes her to run 100 meters. State Championships, national championships, Gatorade Player of the Year and countless scholarship offers followed quickly.
"I think and look at it like, 'That's all of mine?' I'm really thankful and blessed to have everyone support me," said Campbell, looking at her accomplishments spread across the same table where she signed her Letter of Intent.
"We started running track at age eight," recalled her dad and Track Coach Brian Campbell. "We started looking at the different events, the different accomplishments, the ups, the downs and just enjoying the process."
Campbell has officially signed with LSU, which is consistently one of the top track programs in the nation.
"I made a good relationship with my coaches at LSU. It was a tough decision to make, but once it was made, I wasn't going to change my mind," added Laila.
"Not a lot of people know, but when we went to look at LSU, we picked a non-football weekend," recalled Coach Campbell. "You can get caught up in the glitz and the glamour, but we wanted to look at the substance. When it came to LSU, we wanted to look at the track, the academics, just the school itself and the environment."
It's Campbell's name on the medals, the trophies and the scholarship, but she didn't do it alone.
"Especially being in a public school setting, I think that shows everybody that you don't need to go to an IMG Academy," said Coach Campbell. "Spring Grove has given us all those resources to be able to compete at the level of the SEC, so I just want to say thank you to the community and the administration."
Like opposing runners, her recruitment is behind her. But, Campbell still has plenty to chase after in her final season at Spring Grove.
"I want to break state records. I want to run something like 22, or something under 23 in the 200 at states. At the end of the year, I feel like I can run 10.9, 11 low and 22 mid," said Laila, with a smile.