PIAA track and field Class 2A highlights: Johns, Quaker Valley steal show on Saturday

SHIPPENSBURG ― Nora Johns says there’s probably nothing that will make it go away.

The WPIAL team championships, the success in other events, the confidence of knowing she’s the top seed. None of it is enough to eliminate the butterflies she gets each time she takes the track to compete in her top event, the 300-meter hurdles.

"I think it's gotta be (because of the work I put in)," Johns said following her victory. "I care about other events too, like the relays but I think I just get nervous in the 300 hurdles because it's the event I work hardest in."

Johns said those nerves were present in both years she competed at Seth Grove Stadium for the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Another constant theme in both of those races was a gold medal in the end – on Saturday, the Quaker Valley junior successfully defended her Class 2A title.

The two-time state champion says Saturday's pleasant weather helped ease her jitters moments before the race. Regardless of what did the trick, Johns delivered a strong showing altogether at Shippensburg, coming away with three medals.

On top of her gold in the 300 hurdles, the junior helped a pair of Quakers relays reach the podium as well. As Quaker Valley's girls track program continues to pile on success, having won the WPIAL team title in Class 2A this spring, Johns says she takes great pride in being one of the main figures leading the charge.

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Johns was far from the only Beaver Valley girls' athlete to have a big afternoon on Saturday. Her teammates, along with a few individuals from other area schools, also came home with some hardware. Here's a look at it all:

MY TIME NOW

Despite it being her first year running varsity track, Riverside freshman Callie Wetzel’s introduction to the event at Shippensburg University had taken place many years prior. The youngest of three, both of Wetzel’s older brothers – Calvin and Alden – have competed at Seth Grove Stadium numerous times.

“I have tons of memories from watching them run here,” Callie said. “The heat and the loud noise of the crowd are the two things that stick out most.”

On Saturday, Wetzel went from being one of the voices in the crowd to one of the athletes on the track receiving the loud roars of encouragement. The Panthers’ newcomer took home a pair of medals, placing sixth in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles ― her time of 45.73 in the 300 hurdles set a new school record.

After seeing her older siblings receive their share of hardware, Wetzel says it was a special feeling having an experience like that for herself.

“It’s amazing,” she said with a smile. “It’s so different hearing those loud cheers when you’re actually on the track. Every time I ran this year, I did it wanting to get somewhere big – I wanted to race here and do well like my brothers did. Today, I made that happen.”

As Wetzel was waiting to receive her second medal on the day, she was greeted at the podium by a tall hulking figure – her brother Alden, who also earned a bronze medal on Saturday, his coming in the 400 meters.

COMING BACK FOR MORE

The Quaker Valley 4x100 relay team members will be the first ones to tell you it took a while for them to figure things out. Perhaps that’s what makes the group’s story just that more special.

A journey that started with figuring out how to execute a clean baton exchange turned into a state medal on Saturday, as the quartet of Vanessa Pickett, Kwilai Karto, Spencer Elliot and Johns worked together to place sixth in the event for Class 2A.

"There were a lot of times we didn't expect we'd end up doing this well," Elliot said. "Our 4x100 relay teams have never really done that well before. It was a nice surprise to see us end up posting the time we did today."

The group says they were far from the original four the Quakers’ coaching staff had pegged to run in the event to start the season. After a handful of changes to the running order, the correct answer was found in a junior (Johns), sophomore (Elliot) and a pair of freshmen (Pickett and Karto). With all four returning next spring, the relay squad says gold will be on their minds in 2023.

THROUGH THE LINE

For most of its race in the Class 2A 4x800, the Quaker Valley relay team’s chances for a medal looked to be slim.

That all changed when the Quakers’ final leg, Ellie Cain, started her final lap. As she rounded her first turn with nine runners in front of her, the sophomore began to make her move. A swift effort pushed her on the heels of Ella McKernan of Wyoming Area for eighth place, where she remained until the final feet of the race.

“I knew I had to make something happen,” Cain said. “From the 200 until the end, I gave it my all.”

As Cain made her final burst of speed toward the finish line, McKernan started to wobble. And then, less than 10 feet from the finish, she fell to the ground. While the chaos ensued, Cain maintained her pace, dashing across the white line just before the Wyoming runner could slide her body the last few inches.

The finish was so close, so dramatic, that Anna Cohen, Kate Hines, and Cecilia Montagnese, the other three members of the Quakers’ relay team, were unaware of their place until it was displayed on the digital scoreboard.

“It was so suspenseful,” Montagnese recalled. “We were just waiting to see what the final times were, and when we found out, we just went crazy.”

As the three started to jump with joy, Cain stood next to them, attempting to catch her breath, having truly given every ounce of effort she had to help her team reach the podium.

GOING OUT WITH A BANG

It was a milestone Our Lady of the Sacred Heart standout Grace Gasior has been chasing for years. Not a medal – according to her, that was nothing more than a dream until Saturday. The lone goal the Chargers’ junior hoped to achieve in her first trip to Shippensburg was running her best event, the 400 meters, under 59 seconds.

She’d go on to do so not once, but twice, resulting in an eighth-place finish in Class 2A.

"Yesterday, I came in ranked 20th in the event, and I ran a personal best time by almost two seconds to get here," Gasior said. "My goal was to always break 59. It's been something I've come close to doing since I was a freshman. I can't thank my coaches enough for helping me get prepared to make this happen.

"To do it two times in two days is the best thing I could've asked for."

After attending OLSH for her first three years of high school, Gasior says she will be transferring to her home district of Montour for her senior year. Despite her success in the 400, she’s unaware of what will come on the track next spring due to her soon having to compete in Class 3A. One thing she was clear on however, was how proud she was to bring home a medal to OLSH in her final days as a Charger.

"This medal means a lot," Gasior said. "To go back to school and see the people in my class that have showed me support throughout all of this, it will be a pretty special final memory."

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

Quaker Valley ended the track finals with one more medal in the final event of the day: the 4x400 relay. Cain, Johns and Karto added an eighth-place medal to their daily tallies while Kathryn Karwoski was able to make the podium for the first time of her high school career. The Quakers' big performances allowed for them to finish tied with Riverside for 15th overall in team points.

Contact Noah Hiles at nhiles@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @_NoahHiles.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Johns, Quaker Valley steal the show for 2A girls in PIAA track