Things to know about America Cardine.

First, America is her first name, not a nickname or a middle name.

Second, she has been competing in track meets this season with an injured left foot.

Third, she plans to become a physician and is much closer to achieving that goal than most high school seniors. But then, she isn't like most high school seniors.

Cardine took part in the PIAA Class AA track and field championships this weekend. She qualified in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and the long jump.

At the WPIAL championships at South Side Beaver on May 15, she placed second in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 2¹/₄ inches and was third in the 100 hurdles in 15.57 seconds. She placed fourth in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 47.83 seconds.

Brownsville Area High School coach Brian Nicholson figured Cardine's best chance at a medal at the PIAA championships at Shippensburg University was in the long jump. He said she could also possibly make it into the top eight in the 300 hurdles.

"She's been competing all year with a broken foot. That says something about her determination," Nicholson said.

Actually, Cardine's foot isn't broken ... at least she said it isn't. But she did break it last summer.

"I was racing a guy who plays football at Uniontown in the 100," Cardine said. "We were running on grass and I was beating him and hit a wet spot in the grass and my foot sort of slid and I felt a pop. But I kept running because I was winning."

Cardine said she was told she sustained a fracture, and her foot was placed in a cast. But the bone hasn't healed properly, which is why she has had pain.

As the season has progressed, she has figured out how to deal with the injury.

"I put muscle relaxer on it and then tape it and then lace my shoes real tight until it goes numb, and then I can run on it," she said. "It doesn't hurt unless I hit it on a hurdle, which I don't normally do, but have done."

Her left leg is her trail leg going over hurdles, so there is more of a chance of her smacking the foot on a hurdle.

Still, she was the girls' MVP this season at the Mid-Mon Valley Classic at Ringgold High School. It was the second consecutive year she won the MVP award and in four years of competing in the meet, she has collected 13 medals.

Cardine plans to have her foot checked again to see what the problem is.

As for her first name, America -- it comes with a story.

"My mom wanted to name me Brittney, which was a popular name at the time," Cardine said. "My dad said that Brittney was the most popular name in America and that she might as well name me America.

"Then he was watching TV and saw Florence Griffith Joyner running -- I was born in 1988, an Olympic year -- and they were talking about her winning for America and doing this for America and he liked the name even more.

"So, he said they should name me America, but my mom didn't want to do that. But when she went to leave the hospital with me, they wouldn't let her go until I had a name, so she gave my dad the paper and he filled it out."

When asked if she is teased much about her name, Cardine said, "I get a lot of people singing to me."

She has been involved in track for more than eight years -- Cardine attends a cyber school -- and is considering running in college. She has been taking classes at Laurel Business Institute in Uniontown along with her cyber school studies and said she will graduate from the business school in September.

Cardine then plans to attend California University of Pennsylvania in the fall. She knows Roger Kingdom, the track coach at California, and wouldn't mind competing for the Vulcans. But she said her class load might be too great for that to happen.

"I'm considering it. I know he [Kingdom] would make me better, but I don't know if I'll have the time," she said.

That means the PIAA championship might have been her final track competition.

Although Cardine has also competed in the sprints along with the hurdles, her favorite event is the long jump. She likes it because of the freedom.

"In that event it's just about you and your technique," she said. "You don't have to be the first one out of the blocks or rely on the starter or anything. I like the 100 hurdles, too, because it's about speed. But in the long jump, it's all on you."