It was forecast to be sunny and calm. But the wind kicked in early and didn\'t stop the entire day, affecting performances and keeping it cooler than perfect conditions. But that didn\'t hold back many of the performances as much as the fact that most athletes were training through the meet - aiming for bigger days in five and six weeks at season\'s end.
The big guns in the throws unleashed some great efforts, but the big names in the distance races had their eyes on the future. Ryan Whiting had a L-O-N-G day in both event length and throws. The AAA Discus started with AA at 10:30 in the morning, and by the time AAA was complete after 1:30, the AA boys were nearly done at the Shot Put and it was time for Whiting to switch gears. But before he did, he let the rim-weighted disc (the more difficult one to throw) sail for 196-07 in one of his preliminary throws. The last sector measurement was at 200\', so waiting for the finals, officials borrowed the 250\' tape from the Javelin, just in case Whiting went over the last line. Unfortunately, it wasn\'t to be. With virtually no time to recover, he put the shot 64-06.25 for his second win.
The top two seeds in the boys AAA 1600 were Craig and Brad Miller. At the half, going through in 2;20, it became apparent that this race was being run for the win, and not the time. Craig and Brad opened it up after that, and were joined by Cedar Cliff\'s Tim Johnson and Cedar Crest\'s Andy Miller. Craig waited until the final 70 meters to assert himself, but Johnson and Miller went wide and made it a race. Checking a photo, you can see Miller had the race measured. His time was 4:26.58, which, if you do the math, is a 2:07 negative split. He had split 1:54-high during the morning\'s 4x800 in which Manheim Township was 3rd, with only Conestoga Valley breaking the eight-minute barrier at 7:56.85. Both Johnson and Miller were under 4:27, with Brad fading over the last 100. In the other premier distance match-up, Pat Caulfield of Cedar Cliff sat on Cumberland Valley\'s Curtis Bixler until the last lap of the 3200 before sprinting to the win in 9:28.85, with Bixler, who is aiming for a good showing at the Penn Relays 3000, finishing at 9:36.19.
The AAA sprints were just as entertaining, with York\'s Knowledge Timmons and Central Dauphin\'s Jordan Mitchell trading victories. Timmons had the 100 well in hand 10.67 to 10.90. But in the 200, he was behind in an outside lane, and nearly caught Mitchell, both timed in 21.67. In the Hurdles, Dallastown star David Hoffman pulled off the double, going 14.62 for 110 and 39.24 for the 300. Cumberland Valley\'s David Stonfer went 49.68 for the win in the 400.
Central Dauphin and Cedar Cliff tied at 66 points each in the team competition.
In AAA girls, it was a team battle between Cedar Cliff and the Philadelphia Catholic League\'s Cardinal O\'Hara, as the final tally had the CC Colts in front by just 3.50 points. O\'Hara\'s Michelle Frayne did her part, handing Altoona\'s Rachel Gehret her only loss of the day - winning the Triple Jump by four inches, going 37-05.50. Gehret did take the 200 in 25.53, the High Jump at 5-06 and the Long Jump, leaping 18-04. The other multi-event wonder, Amy Backel of Northern, nearly matched her PA#1 Jav of 141-09 with a throw of 141-00, cleared 10-06 to easily win the Pole Vault, and cleared 5-02 to take 2nd in the High Jump. Sarah Morrison, Chambersburg, ran a quick 5:08.99 to win the 1600. Lara Crofford, Big Spring, didn\'t wait to get beaten by anyone\'s closing kick, so she pushed the 2nd mile to win in 11:12.31. O\'Hara\'s Beth Kelly closed strong to get 2nd in 11:16.35. Cumberland Valley ran a strong 9:37.02 to hold off Cardinal O\'Hara in the 4x800 by less than three seconds. Cedar Crest\'s Becky Eisenhauer won the Shot Put at 39-03.75.
In boys\' AA action, Lake-Lehman\'s Brandon Burkhardt was a double winner, taking the Javelin with the best toss of the day at 196-09, and the Discus with his 144-01. Matt Holsberger, Penn Cambria, was 2nd in the Javelin with his 181-03 effort. Biglerville\'s Joey Wagner continues to impress in the 200 and 400, taking both with his 22.66 and 49.87 double. Nate Kiss, Windber, posted the 2nd fastest 110 Hurdles of the day at 14.83. Troy Harris, Bedford had the 3rd best 300H with his 39.91. And Christian School of York ran a strong 3;30.50 4x400. Bedford won the team title.
In AA girls, Columbia and Boiling Springs battled for the team title, with Columbia coming out on top by just four points at 46. They were led by Jill Meshey, who went 26.65 and 1:00.51 for a 200-400 double; and Katie Shelley, who pulled off the distance double of 1600-3200 with times of 5;15.56 and 11:31.09. Rockwood\'s Joanna Nist won two events, the High Jump (5-02) and Long Jump (17-07), and took 2nd in the Triple Jump (34-07.50). Greenwood senior Jessica Kratzer won the Discus with a throw of 125-04, took 2nd in the Shot Put at 32-07.50, and 6th in the Javelin at 109-05.