New contenders step forward
This past weekend gave us a lot of fast performances on both the local and national scenes. Some of those performances came from the usual suspects that have performed at a high level week in and week out. But one other thing we did see what the emergence of some new contenders who performed well over the weekend to put themselves in the state title conversation.
For the boys, no one made a stronger case for state contention than Elias Graca of Fox Chapel. A 1:53.97 800 meter runner outdoors, Graca had never run that fast on an indoor oval. Then Saturday came along and he blasted a US#4 1:53.13, the fastest time of his life. He is now under half a second off the top two in the state, and with the top two running their times in December, perhaps Graca is performing well at the right time.
For the girls, Sierra Brabham-Lawrence of Harrisburg managed to get herself to the starting line of a 60 meter hurdles race after weeks of battling injuries. The state champion won the PTFCA Carnival in 8.70, 3rd in the state. But in the context of her season, running 8.70 is a strong performance for her first 60 hurdles attempt. Ciara Leonard may have had all the plaudits thanks to her blistering pace in the event, but the last time these two met, Brabham-Lawrence won the state title and took the meet record in the process. Brabham-Lawrence’s return suggests that the title may still be up for grabs.
Other competitors such as Charles Snorweah of Pennsbury (3 gold medals on Saturday),Charles Headen of Lasalle (PA#1 6.94 60 meters), McKenna Keegan of Avon Grove (56.94 400) and Gabrielle Wilkinson of Friends Central (2:15.40 800) had big performance over the weekend and have now included themselves in any state title discussions.
Will all these athletes be able to rise to the occasion on the second time of asking? March 1 will give us the answer.
PTFCA Carnival sets new record
In the previous four PTFCA Indoor Carnival meets, the performances have been excellent and the quality of the meet each year has improved. The meet went from 130 to 149 to 135 state qualifying guideline performances in 2011, 2012, and 2014 respectively (2013 was snowed out).
But the 2015 edition of the Carnival surpassed all of those impressive numbers thanks to improved depth and strong fields across the board. This year’s meet produced a record 184 state qualifying guideline performances in a year where hitting the time does not guarantee a state meet berth. A couple of events produced double digit qualifying numbers (girls 200, girls 400).
A huge increase in those numbers could be due to the fact that for some teams, this was their absolute last chance to qualify for states. For others, there was a sense of urgency to put a good performance out there to increase their chances of going to states as PA’s version of Selection Sunday draws near.
The Carnival was a huge success and many teams took advantage of the opportunity to wear spikes at Lehigh. With the DVGTCA Meet of Champions and the TFCAofGP Meet of Champions coming up this weekend at Lehigh, as well as the TSTCA Meet of Champs at Edinboro, we might see similar outcomes in all competitions.
After Saturday, there will be no more chances. Do or die time has arrived!
PA shined brightly on the national stage
Congratulations are in order to all the PA athletes and teams who took their show on the road and competed in big meets that were broadcasted on national television and online.
PA had three silver medal performances at the Millrose Games, with two of them coming from Pennsbury’s Olivia Sargent in the mile, and the Pennsbury boys 4x8 that improved on their best time by a full second. They now boast two 1:55 legs on their relay. The 3rd silver medal went to the Cheltenham boys team, despite improving their 4x2 time slightly. They may no longer hold the US#1 spot in the event, but they are still a national title contender after running 1:28.37.
Out in Ohio, Elias Graca, Jordan Geist of Knoch, and Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy were all gold medal winners at the SPIRE Showcase. Graca became a state contender at 800 meters, Abdalah showed why she is still one of the top young distance runners in the country, and Geist showed the nation why the shot put is a must see event every time he steps into the throwers circle. Rarely do you ever see a 10th grader throw 66 feet, which is what Geist did on Saturday. All of his throws were over 63 feet in his series.
Great job to everyone who performed on those big stages. We all look forward to seeing them live and in person at the state meet in just less than two weeks!
