Girls' Shot Put Preview
The whole season, two names have risen above the rest in the girls' shot put: Hickory's Tori McKinley and Neumann Goretti's Janese Lynch. They hail from different corners of Pennsylvania, so Saturday will be our first opportunity to see PA#1 and PA#2 compete against each other this season.
McKinley is the state leader. Consistency has been the Auburn recruit's model this season. She's thrown over 44.5 feet in her last five competitions. Her best throw of the season came at Youngstown State in late January when she popped a 46-10.25, which is her all conditions PR. She followed that up with another 46 footer at SPIRE in her next meet. The reigning AA outdoor state champ is seeking her first indoor title on Saturday.
Lynch is second in the state. She started her season off in a big way with a 45-4.5 at Ursinus back in mid-December. She fell into a bit of a lull since then, until this past Saturday. At the DVGTCA Meet of Champs, Lynch threw a 45-11 for a new indoor PR. That's a good sign for this Saturday, as it may take another throw like that to take down McKinley. Lynch was oh-so-close to an indoor state championship last winter and she'd love to cap her indoor career with a win.
Those two are the favorites, but who else can possibly challenge for the top spot, or at least a high place? How about Berwick's Payden Montana? The junior has been steadily progressing all season, and she threw a huge indoor PR (and all conditions PR) of 42-9 at Clarks Summit. That shot her up to PA#3 and another big improvement could mean a big upset come Saturday.
Speaking of big PRs, Hempfield Area's Samanatha Orie also had a huge PR this past weekend. Orie threw 42-6.5, nearly a two foot indoor best, and now sits at PA#4. Orie, too, can put herself in that conversation up near the top of the leaderboard. Orie was seventh at indoor states last year.
Burrell's Elizabeth Weimer snuck into the medals last year, taking eighth. She's currently PA#5 with a best of 41-9 from early in the season. She'll be looking to improve upon her place from 2016. Liberty's Jochebed Arthur has only competed indoors twice this season, but the District 11 champ from outdoors last spring has already shown some great improvement. She sits at PA#6 right now.
With the rest of the field with season bests between 38-5 and 40 feet, the other spots for medals are certainly up for grabs. Watch for JP McCaskey's Aliyah Striver (15th in 2016), State College's Jordan Bair (16th in 2016), Lake Lehman's Emily Johns, Butler's Jena Reinheimer, and Germantown Academy's Meaghan Toscano to make a good push for that top eight.
Girls' Shot Put Entries:
Event 23 Girls Shot Put (15)
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9 to the finals
State Meet: 49-01.50 2/21/1998 Heather Colyer, East Juniata
Name Year School
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1 Arthur, Jochebed 12 Liberty
2 Bair, Jordan 12 State College
3 Johns, Emily 12 Lake Lehman
4 Lahr, Alyssa 11 Shamokin
5 Lynch, Janese 12 Neumann Gore
6 McKinley, Tori 12 Hickory
7 McLeod, Sianni 12 Abington
8 Montana, Payden 11 Berwick
9 Orie, Samantha 12 Hempfield
10 Parker, Megan 12 Mercer
11 Reinheimer, Jena 11 Butler
12 Striver, Aliyah 12 J.P. McCaskey
13 Toscano, Meaghan 9 Germantown Acad
14 Weimer, Elizabeth 12 Burrell
15 Winebrenner, Reagan 11 Chambersburg