Can Jordan Geist go even further this week at Edinboro? (Photo by Phil Grove)
TSTCA Indoor Meet 2 (or #1, since last week was canceled)
BOYS
It's no surprise that Jordan Geist has been clicking on all cylinders this season. At YSU, the junior also was the best he has ever been throughout a competition, putting together a six-throw series that averaged among the best performances in history. Geist opened at 64-11 before really letting the shot fly, shattering his facility record of 65-10.75 from last February with a heave of 67-11 in round 2. His final throw in the prelims was another record as the toss measured 68-7.5.
Two rare fouls occurred before Geist almost hit the 70-foot mark. His four fair throws measured a whopping 67-10.25, which would have been No. 13 AT at the beginning of the season.
"(Saturday) was a little frustrating being so close but not getting (70 feet), but it is a PR and I am happy I could do that today," Geist said. "As far as re-breaking the state record, it is fun to set it higher. It will definitely be interesting seeing how high I can set it this year." (Courtesy of Phil Grove)
While a lot of eyes will be on Geist Saturday, there's plenty to get excited about elsewhere on the track and in the field.
After Geist, the shot put field looks solid. Hickory's Evan Blaire and Hempfield's Dom Marshall highlight a deep bunch for the day's biggest event.
Micah Watts of West Mifflin is PA#2 in the long jump and he's looking for more this weekend. It's a big jump up to Kellin Valentine's PA#1 mark, but we'll see what Watts has in him.
The pole vault will be one of the premiere events of the day. PA#1 Caleb Sanford of McDowell is the favorite having cleared 15-0 twice this season (Correction: Sanford cleared PA#1 15-4 on Wednesday at Butler HS). Hayden Fox went 15-3 last season, but has only cleared 13-3 this year. Will Saturday be his breakthrough? Fox's Hempfield teammate, Adam Gamber (PA#4) is also in the field.
Cathedral Prep and McDowell should be locked in a close 4x200 meters. Cathedral Prep will also look for a good 4x400 meter relay with West Mifflin on their tails. Penn Hills and Kiski Area will be a couple teams to watch in the DMR.
PA#4 Watts of West Mifflin comes in as the likely favorite in the 60 meter dash. Jace Roundtree of Kiski Area will look to challenge him, but Roundtree (PA#1 60mH) will also run the hurdles looking to build off his state-leading time. Watts is also entered in the 200 meters.
Dominic Frisina of Cathedral Prep got off to a great start to his season a few weeks ago at SPIRE and now he'll look for more. He's PA#6 in the 400 meters and we'll see if he has a sub-50 performance in him on Saturday.
Penn Trafford's Nick Wagner also got off to a good start to 2016 at SPIRE two weeks ago. He returns to the 800 to try and improve on his PA#8. He'll face some nice competition from Penn Hills' Isaiah Bailey.
Nick Wolk of Peters Township will take on the mile this weekend. Wolk was a triple winner (!) at Slippery Rock in early January. He won't be tripling Saturday, but rather focusing, it seems, on the mile. Winchester Thurston's Tristan Forsythe and Bradford's Logan Caruso will be his top competitors in that race.
In the 3000 meters, North Allegheny's Marc Migliozzi will square off with Will Loevner and Mount Lebanon's Todd Gunzenhauser.
GIRLS
The DMR should be a nice race between Mount Lebanon and Villa Maria. In the 4x200, Penn Hills, Hempfield (7), and South Fayette come in as the favorites.
Nicole Scherer of Burrell will have a busy day, competing in both the 60 meter dash and 200 meters. She'll be favored in both after a great start to her season at Youngstown a few weeks ago.
A lot of eyes will be on Madeleine Davison on Saturday. The former North Allegheny distance runner ran cross country unattached and will be doing the same for the indoor season. Davison won Foot Locker Northeast after a season where she competed against mostly college competition. The Syracuse recruit is entered in both the 800 and mile to start off her indoor season.
Also in the 800 will be Villa Maria's Grace Brown, Hickory's Lexi Bible, and Mount Lebanon's Claire Dougherty. The mile also has a strong field with Oakland Catholic's Lauren Finikiotis, Mount Lebanon's Kelsey Potts, and Villa Maria's Claire Brown joining Davison. Finikiotis is also entered in the 3000 meters along with a nice field that includes Lauren Gronbeck and Marianne Abdalah (competing unattached), Greensburg Salem's Riley Kwiatkowski and Ava Pietrzyk of North Hills.
Raja Rutherford of Seton-LaSalle will compete in the long jump, while Greensburg Salem's Julia Howard and Oakland Catholic's Olivia Rowe headline both horizontal jumps for what should be a good meet in the pits.
PA#5 (and US#5 sophomore) Molly DeBone of Hempfield (7) will be favored in the pole vault along with McDowell's Nada Buntic.
The shot put should exciting. PA#3 Tori McKinley will look to build on her strong season. PA#4 Maura Kimmel of Moniteau will look to challenge her.
