Mycaiah Clemons in the first round of the 60H on the way to a repeat.
As West Catholic coach Lenny Jordon often says, 'it was just a day at the office.' If that's the case, then it was a very profitable day, with their 2nd consecutive state indoor title and three state meet records. But they were pushed most of the way. Not surprisingly, Nicole Leach was involved in all three records. The first record was the 400, where she ran 53.82 to eclipse the 54.16 record of Harrisburg's Dominique Darden. Leach didn't get the record in the 200, but she and Krista Simkins of Wissahickon and Clarenchell Tate of Simon Gratz posted the #3, #4 and #5 times in the country this season, running 24.17, 24.23 and 24.26, respectively. Leach led off the 4x200, which ran 1:40.23, erasing the 1:41.09 record set by William Pen n in 2000. And Leach anchored the 4x400 to a record 3:49.82, eclipsing the 3:51.40 also set by William Penn in 2000. Tate was also busy in the 60. She ran the fastest time of the day, a 7.53, but it was in the Semis. In the Finals, she was just .05 slower, but it was enough for Great Valley senior Janessa Murphy to capture her first state title, going 7.57, US#7. In the 60 Hurdles, Valley's Mycaiah Clemons got a state record and beat Plymouth Whitemarsh senior Chanel Williams, 8.65-8.71. The mark beat her own record by .02. The difference in the final was Clemons was clean through the entire race, often the difference is the event. Clemons is now US#3, with Williams at US#5.
In the boys sprints, Simon Gratz had a target on their backs, thanks to three nation leading relay times early in the season - two of which still stand. They didn't catch themselves in either the 4x200 or 4x400, but neither did anyone else. Those 20 points went a long way toward the 47 they acquired on the way to the team title. Gratz led wire-to-wire in the 4x200, finishing at 1:29.52. In the 4x400, anchor Khaliff Featherstone was caught and passed by the Downingtown East anchor at the 250m mark of his leg, but within 50 meters heading into the final wide turn, Featherstone had taken control and pulled away to cross the line at 3:24.89. Earlier in the day, Featherstone had used a similar tactic in the 400, but this time he was the pursuer of Max Westman of Lower Merion, Featherstone won in a US#10 48.98, with Westman taking 3rd in 49.73 after begin caught by Bensalem's Reggie Carter, who went 49.61. The 200 was smokin' as well, with Central Dauphin's Jordan Mitchell beating both Featherstone, 3rd in 22.15, and Khaliff's teammate, Kenneth Talley, 2nd in 22.11. Mitchell posted a 22.06, which is #9 in the US. In the 60 Hurdles, Carrington Queen had tasted a loss several weeks ago at Lehigh, and he left nothing to chance at the big meet. His 8.11-8.08 and 7.99 trifecta was impressive, and left him at US#4 along with a state championship. As expected, West Mifflin's Montel Williamson had challenges from both teammate Brandon Coleman, and Conwell Egan's Steve Slaton. Williamson and Slaton both ran 6.93 in the finals, with the Titan getting the win. Coleman was 3rd in 7.07.