Shippensburg Jack Roddick Invitational - AAA Meet Preview
Girls' Preview
TRACK
Saucon Valley's Talitha Diggs had a strong opener last week at Pan-Ram and she'll be one to watch again this week. She's the top seed in the 400 and 200. Diggs won the 400 last year before taking sixth at states. She was also seventh at states in the 200. She'll get a good race from Jada Burton of Susquehanna Township in the 400. Burton blazed a PA#2 57.06 for the win at Pan-Ram last week and that matchup will be a can't miss.
The distance events are loaded for Saturday. In the 1,600 meters, defending AAA state champ Taryn Parks of Greencastle-Antrim will toe the line against Chambersburg's Abby Yourkavitch and the State College Area duo of Esther Seeland and Kileigh Kane. Seeland and Parks will return for the 800 where they'll face Northern's Marlee Starliper and Carlisle's Meg Lebo. Seeland was the indoor state champion in the 800.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Yourkavitch, Kane, Lebo, and Dallastown's Emily Schuler are entered in what should be a competitive 3,200 meters. Yourkavitch comes in at PA#1 and the only girl in PA to have run sub-11 so far this season in the event.
Cumberland Valley's Taylor Jede (PA#5) is the top seed in the 300-meter hurdles, while CV's Mallory Johnson and Hempfield Area's Bailey Traczynski will dual for the 100-meter hurdle win. The girls' 100 meters is wide open with a number of hopefuls for the win, including Hempfield's Carena Nottoli, State College's Taylor Givens, East Pennsboro's Cece Insalaco, and Selinsgrove's Megan Hoffman. Insalaco and Hoffman will return for the 200 against Diggs later in the day.
FIELD
Saturday will present yet another rematch between Lower Dauphin's Karina Long and State College's Givens in the horizontal jumps. Both are the top seeds in the long and triple jump. In the long, Liberty's Grace Mittl and Hollidaysburg's Darcie Frazier will also contend for the win. Easton Area's Kate Willshaw will look for a strong performance in the high jump. She leapt 5-05 in a dual meet this week to move up to PA#3, so she'll hope to build on that.
The pole vault field is stacked with a number of the top vaulters in the state set to go head-to-head. Manheim Township's Mackenzie Horn (PA#2) is the favorite, though Hempfield's Nottoli (PA#3), Manheim Township's Sydney Horn (PA#5), Penn Manor's Sarah Harthan (PA#5), and the State College duo of Lyndsey Reed and Lily Plute will make this an event to watch.
The throws, as well, are loaded. Selinsgrove's Piper Klinger is the top seed in both the shot put (she's ranked PA#4) and the discus (PA#1), but she'll have her share of challengers. In the disc, defending AAA state champion Madisen Kling of Red Lion will aim for the top spot and Cedar Crest's Hannah Woelfling will be in the mix. In the shot, Spring Grove's Airika McCaskill will give Klinger a good matchup. Palmyra's Kirstin West is the top seed in the javelin.
Boys' Preview
TRACK
The sprints should be close on Saturday. In the 100 meters, State College's Cohen Russell will square off with Hempfield Area's Eudel Moreta, Shippensburg's Alex Sharrow, and East Pennsboro's Drew Roman. Moreta is coming off a very strong opener at Latrobe last week.
In the 400 meters, we'll see a rematch between Mechanicsburg's Joseph Bruno and Cumberland Valley's Chase Ebersole. The two battled it out to the line with Bruno ultimately edging out Ebersole. Both are also entered in the 200, along with Russell, Moreta, and Roman.
Morgan Cupp of Mechanicsburg is currently PA#2 in the 3,200 meters and he'll return to the event Saturday in a race that also includes Wallenpaupack's Tyler Wirth, State College's Owen Isham, and Saucon Valley's Ethan Bernstein. Cupp will return in the 1,600, which also includes Warwick's Connor Shields, Hempfield's Christian Groff, Carlisle's Jack Wisner, and Cumberland Valley's Andrew Brown.
The 800 won't be a race to miss. Ephrata's Tyler Shue, one of the indoor season's breakthroughs (second at indoor states) is one to watch. Also in the field is Wirth, Wisner, and Cedar Cliff's Jack Baker, who ran a PA#3 at Pan-Ram last week. In the 2K steeplechase, there's a strong field headlined by Bishop Shanahan's Carlos Shultz and current state leader Frank Quinones of Shikellamy.
Penn Manor's Taraje Whitfield will look to continue his winning ways in the hurdles. He's picked up hurdle sweeps at both the PA Track Classic and last week's Black Knight Invitational. He enters at PA#3 in the 110-meter hurdles and PA#2 in the 300-meter hurdles. Hatboro-Horsham's Matthew Lenahan will give him a good run for his money in the intermediates.
FIELD
Ephrata's Elie Basenga went all the way to the state lead in the high jump last week at Hempfield. He cleared a career best 6-08 and he'll look to build upon that this weekend as the top seed.
The State College Area boys are loaded with jumping talent and it will be on display this weekend. The Little Lions have the top four seeds in the triple jump, led by PA#1 Lance Hamilton (47-0.25). Stanley Hamilton, Brandon Clark, and Jake Hefkin are also entered. Hefkin, Clark, and Lance Hamilton are also in the long jump. Hefkin enters the weekend at PA#6.
PA#1 Payton Morris of East Pennsboro will look to continue his winning ways on Saturday in the pole vault. He cleared 16-00 at Bruce Dallas a few weeks ago and then won last week at Hempfield. Northern's Michael Ginder (PA#5) and Altoona Area's Tyler Delozier are also in the field.
There's some good depth set for Ship in the throws. The Selinsgrove duo of Keith Dreese (PA#6 discus; PA#5 shot put) and Brennen Wolf (PA#6 shot put; PA#12 shot put) are entered, and so is Nick Hyde of Somerset Area (PA#11 discus; PA#3 shot put) and Jeff Kline of Fleetwood Area (PA#4 shot put), making the throws area the place to be over the weekend. Jabari Bennett of Washington-Lee (VA) is the one to beat in the shot put. He enters the weekend at US#2.
Leading the way in the javelin is Penn Manor's Alexander Scheivert, who tossed a PA#2 191-06 at Hempfield last week. He''ll try to build on that against a deep field with a number of boys who have 180+ potential.