Locals hoping for a big weekend at PIAA Track & Field Championships
May 27—The PIAA Track and Field Championships get underway at 9 a.m. today and Saturday at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.
A large contingent of local competitors have made the trip to "The Ship" and are hoping to return to Mercer County with a large haul of medals.
Last year, Wilmington senior Connor Vass-Gal, who is now at YSU, captured the gold medal in the shot put (62-6 1/4) and placed second in the discus (158-9).
Vass-Gal was hoping to set a PIAA record in the shot, but just fell short. Bethlehem Catholic's Joe Kovacs holds the record of 64-10 1/2 set in 2007. Vass-Gal had reached a distance of 66-6 3/4 at the D-10 Championships.
Also last May, Lakeview senior Isaac Lightcap won the state title in the Class 2A pole vault (15-0), Slippery Rock's Maryann Ackerman (Oregon State) captured the 2A crown in the javelin (147-6), and Wilmington's 1600-meter relay team of Grace Mason, Becka Book, Lindsey Martineau, and Lizzie Miles grabbed gold in a time of 4:01.95.
Former track and cross country standout Mason is now at Robert Morris University while Book and Martineau are back in Shippensburg this weekend.
That same Hounds' foursome also placed third in the 400 relay (51.14) at "The Ship" last May while Martineau finished second in the 300 hurdles. Her time of 45.76 set a school record that was previously held by Sunny Daugherty. She also took fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.21).
At Saturday's District 10 Championships at Slippery Rock University, Martineau placed first in the 100 hurdles (15.20) and placed second in the 300 hurdles (47.31). She also ran a leg on the fourth-place 400- and 3200-relay teams.
Slippery Rock's Gianna Bedel placed third in the high jump (5-3) at "The Ship" last year. She was second at the D-10 meet on Saturday (5-2).
Hickory's Luca Bertolasio, who won the D-10 long jump title (22-0 3/4) on Saturday, finished fifth (21-5 1/2) in Shippensburg last May. He also ran the anchor leg on the Hornets' D-10 champion 400 relay team (43.94) that will compete in Shippensburg. His teammates are Ramarion Whitehead, Keenan Scullin, and Luke Nevil.
Hickory athletes captured a bunch of D-10 titles at SRU Saturday and will look to bring home some hardware from Shippensburg.
Christie Boren defended her district title in the 400, Paige Griffith won the high jump, Myah Burns captured the 100 hurdles, Keenan Scullin took first in the 100, and Noelle Dahlstrom, Bailey Wier, Isabella Gingras, and Jillian White won the 3200 relay. White is just a freshman, Wier and Dahlstrom sophomores, and Gingras is a junior. Boren also tied for second in the high jump and Scullin was runner-up in the 200. Boren did not place in the 400 at states last year.
Mercer's Willow Myers placed fifth in the 1600 at Shippensburg (5:08.48) last season. Myers won the 1600 (5:12.14) on Saturday and finished second in the 3200 in a time of 11:40.10.
Farrell High senior speedster Sanaa Brodie captured District 10 titles in the 100- and 200-meter dash on Saturday at The Rock. Brodie's times were 12.71 and 26.87. Brodie finished seventh in the 100 (12.66) at states last season.
Reynolds sophomore star Grace Bresnan placed seventh in the triple jump (36-0 1/4) last May. On Saturday, Bresnan won D-10 titles in both the triple (36-6 3/4) and long jumps (17-8).
Other locals who did not place at "The Ship" last May and are looking for medals this weekend:
Grove City junior Abigail Nichols had a huge day at the D-10 Championships and did not place last year in Shippensburg. Nichols won the long (16-7 3/4) and triple jumps (34-5 3/4) on Saturday along with the 300 hurdles (47.38) and 1600 relay (4:17.27).
GC's Abby Steffler also did not place at "The Ship" in the 800 or 1600 last season. On Saturday, she won both events in 2:22.57 and 5:24.27.
Lakeview's Gavin Murdock grabbed gold in the 110 hurdles (15.62) and took second in the 300 hurdles (41.91) on Saturday. Murdock did not place in the 110 hurdles last season in Shippensburg.
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PERFORMANCE LISTS
TOP PERFORMERS AND LOCAL ATHLETES
CLASS 2A GIRLS
3200 relay: Central Cambria 9:36.54; 6. Greenville 9:48.28.
100 hurdles: Taleea Buxton (West Catholic) 14.78; 2. Lindsey Martineau (Wilmington) 15.20.
100: Tatum Norris (Susquehanna) 12.18; 7. Sanaa Brodie (Farrell) 12.71; 10. Tamya Hubbard (Sharpsville) 12.76.
1600: Jolena Quarzo (Brownsville) 4:59.09; 6. Willow Myers (Mercer) 5:12.14; 10. Karis McElhaney (Greenville) 5:17.78.
400 relay: Paul Robeson 49.32.
400: Lily Saul (Montoursville) 56.56; 11. Lydia Reed (Lakeview) 1:00.01;
300 hurdles: Nora Johns (Quaker Valley) 45.50; 9. Lindsey Martineau (Wilmington) 47.31.
800: Lily Saul (Montoursville) 2:13.20.
200: Tatum Norris (Susquehanna) 25.35; 21. Sanaa Brodie (Farrell) 26.87; 23. Lydia Reed (Lakeview) 27.04.
3200: Jolena Quarzo (Brownsville) 10:49.52; 14. Willow Myers (Mercer) 11:40.10.
1600 relay: Lewisburg Area 4:03.25; 7. Greenville 4:11.13; 12. Lakeview 4:12.90.
High jump: Porschia Bennett (Towanda) 5-8; 9. Gianna Bedel (Slippery Rock) 5-2; 10. Erika McGowan (Lakeview) 5-2.
Pole vault: Ella Dougher (Western Wayne) 12-3; 13. Erika McGowan (Lakeview) 9-6.
Long jump: Taleea Buxton (West Catholic) 18-3; 6. Grace Bresnan (Reynolds) 17-8; 13. Julia Coffaro (Slippery Rock) 17-1.
Triple jump: Baylee Blauser (Union-A.C. Valley) 37-6; 6. Grace Bresnan (Reynolds) 36-6 3/4.
Shot put: Emma Callahan (Shenango) 50-8.
Discus: Justley Sharp (Homer Center) 142-1; 7. Mackenzie Herman (Reynolds) 113-9.
Javelin: Audrey Friedman (Ft. LeBoeuf) 149-8; 10. Julia Balaski (Mercer) 120-8.
CLASS 2A BOYS
3200 relay: Hughesville 8:00.16; 4. Grove City 8:18.09; 5. Greenville 8:18.17.
110 hurdles: Jake Rose (Southern Columbia) 14.0; 16. Gavin Murdock (Lakeview) 15.62.
100: Ethan Black (Conemaugh Twp.) 10.63; 7. Keenan Scullin (Hickory) 11.07.
1600: Luke Seymour (Schuulkill Valley) 4:16.53; 10. MJ Pottinger (Grove City) 4:29.19; 11. Thomas Hunyadi (Hickory) 4:29.40; 14. Joshua Jones (Grove City) 4:30.03.
400 relay: Bartram Motivation 42.99; 14. Hickory 43.94.
400: Jake Brungard (Camp Hill) 49.07; 13. Trey Reznor (Grove City) 50.95; 19. Riley Runyon (Greenville) 51.75.
300 hurdles: Jake Rose (Southern Columbia) 39.30; 15. Gavin Murdock (Lakeview) 41.91.
800: Carson McCoy (Deer Lakes) 1:56.34.
200: Ethan Black (Conemaugh Twp.) 21.56; 22. Keenan Scullin (Hickory) 23.07.
3200: Sean Aiken (Eden Christian) 9:27.72; 22. MJ Pottinger (Grove City) 9:59.95.
1600 relay: Imhotep Charter 3:25.73; 5. Grove City 3:29.20; 7. Greenville 3:30.39.
High jump: Justice Shoats (Holy Redeemer) 6-6; 6. Josh Dreves (Grove City) 6-3; 10. Logan Turton (Mercer) 6-3.
Pole vault: Logan Gossard (Richland) 14-8 1/2; 6. Willum Sheffler (Wilmington) 13-6; 7. Solomon Glavach (Wilmington) 13-6.
Long jump: Carter McDermott (Penn Cambria) 22-9; 4. Luca Bertolasio (Hickory) 22-0 3/4; 7. Josh Dreves (Grove City) 21-9 1/2.
Triple jump: Enoch Aboussou (Johnsonburg) 45-6; 11. Jack Thomas (Commodore Perry) 42-9 1/4.
Shot put: J'Ven Williams (Wyomissing) 57-4.
Discus: J'Ven Williams (Wyomissing) 187-0.
Javelin: Drew Mruk (Wyoming Area) 210-6; 7. Ethan Wiley (Mercer) 162-0.
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CLASS 3A GIRLS
3200 relay: Central Bucks South 9:21.18; 26. Hickory (10:33.52).
100 hurdles: Macaela Walker (Oxford Area) 14.57; 24. Myah Burns (Hickory) 17.11.
100: Laila Campbell (Spring Grove) 11.63.
1600: Olivia Haas (Blue Mountain) 4:56.55; 26. Abby Steffler (Grove City) 5:24.27.
400 relay: Cheltenham 47.83.
400: Jillian Sydnor (Shippensburg) 55.67; 25. Christie Boren (Hickory) 1:01.12.
300 hurdles: Sanaa Hebron (Neshaminy) 42.63; 25. Abigail Nichols (Grove City) 47.38.
800: Olivia Cieslak (Haverford Twp.) 2:11.39; 26. Abby Steffler (Grove City) 2:22.57.
200: Sanaa Hebron (Neshaminy) 24.42.
3200: Claire Paci (Greencastle) 10:38.10.
1600 relay: Cumberland Valley 3:52.33; 25. Grove City 4:17.27.
High jump: Katie Becker (Warwick) 5-10; 18. Paige Griffith (Hickory) 5-1.
Pole vault: Katie Urbine (Solanco) 12-0.
Long jump: Shannon Mullin (State College) 18-8 1/4; 23. Katie Feng (Grove City) 16-7 3/4.
Triple jump: Shannon Mullin (State College) 39-11 1/2; 27. Abigail Nichols (Grove City) 34-5 3/4.
Shot put: Elizabeth Tapper (Hempfield) 45-10 1/2.
Discus: Ericka Jackson (Harrisburg) 148-3.
Javelin: Kaylla Williams (Harrisburg) 146-9.
CLASS 3A BOYS
3200 relay: State College 7:49.35.
110 hurdles: Demaris Waters (Harrisburg) 13.83.
100: Jaden Brown (Norristown) 10.52.
1600: CJ Singleton (Butler) 4:09.95.
400 relay: Wilson Area 41.78.
400: Lebron Bessick (Coatesville) 47.47.
300 hurdles: Devin Nugent (North Penn) 37.54.
800: Jacob Puhalla (Moon Area) 1:51.49.
200: Cameron Sims (Williamsport) 21.43.
3200: CJ Singleton (Butler) 9:05.81.
1600 relay: Central Bucks West 3:17.12; 23. Slippery Rock 3:36.33.
High jump: Dakota Arana (Shippensburg) 6-6.
Pole vault: Justin Rogers (Hershey) 16-4.
Long jump: Brendan Leneghan (St. Joseph's) 23-8 1/4.
Triple jump: Matthew Cusatis (Hazleton) 47-11 1/2.
Shot put: Wade Shomper (Cumberland Valley) 61-7 1/4.
Discus: Anthony Smith (Shippensburg) 164-7.
Javelin: Bronson Krainak (Danville Area) 191-8.
