By Lex Mercado
Sprints/Hurdles
The 60 meter hurdles has been dominated by two hurdlers, with one setting the pace early and the other pacing the 2nd half of the season. Freshman Markeeta Thomas made her mark on the state of Pennsylvania back in the 2nd week of the season when she ran 9.22 to win the 2nd DVG Meet. By mid-January, she ran 9.18 and looked like the favorite in the event come Saturday. Then on January 21 at the Kevin Dare Invititional, Kayla Coley of Cheltenham had her breakthrough. After carrying a 9.33 from her Burdette Classic victory, Coley became the first and only girl to break 9 seconds to win at Penn State. She has done it one other time at the DVG Meet of Champions. Katelynn Williams of Plymouth Whitemarsh is following the footsteps of 2011 bronze medalist and former teammate Emerald Walden. Williams had a great performance of 9.02 to finish 2nd at Meet of Champions, while PTFCA Carnival champion Eliana Yankelev of Lower Merion has been PA#3 for over eight weeks of the season (9.04 at MOC). Amy Hicks of Swenson has been a consistent PA top 8 performer and carries a 9.09 into the state meet. Rachel Van Metre of Strath Haven is the only returning medalists entering the meet (7th).
The 60 meter dash has had only one state leader since the opening night of the season. At the first DVG meet on December 10, 4th place state medalist Jody Ann Evans of Quakertown ran 7.65 to win her first race of the year. That time topped the state list for the entire season until Meet of Champions, where she made her first improvement from that December race with a time of 7.61 to enter the state meet unbeaten. 2nd seed Katelyn Jackson of Springside ran her season best of 7.74 to finish 2nd at the Kevin Dare Invite. But was 3rd at the Burdette Classic. Jerricka Belt of Laurel Highlands is the top Western PA representative, running 7.77 in her only attempt at the event. Amani Nesmith of Swenson has had two straight 2nd place finishes in big meets. She was 2nd to Evans at Meet of Champions in a season best 7.77, and she was also 2nd at the PTFCA Carnival to Courtney Mitchell of Central Dauphin East. Mitchell won both the Burdette Classic and the Carnival, winning the latter in 7.84.
Mitchell's teammate Deme'shia Davis is the top seed in the 200 meter dash. The Central Dauphin East senior and 2011 5th place medalist is the only girl to break 25 seconds this season, running 24.98 to win the PTFCA Carnival. Davis also won the Burdette Classic in December. 4th place medalist Evans will be going for the 60/200 double. Like the 60 dash, Evans is unbeaten at 200 meters, with her time improving every single race from 26.02 to 25.62. Jada Steward of West Catholic has come on strong entering the state meet, with wins at the Catholic League Championship and the DVG Meet of Champions. Imani Harris-Quillen of Swenson has been in the state top five for a large chunk of the season, bringing a 25.66 from the Hispanic Games to the meet. She was 2nd to Steward at Meet of Champions. Katelyn Jackson of Springside has the 3rd fastest time in the state with her 25.38 from the Kevin Dare Invite.
The 400 meter dash has one girl under 57 seconds this season. But Ceaira Brown of Overbrook (56.44 at New Balance Games) has not faced a single PA girl in the event this season. All her match-ups have been in the 800. The 7th place 2011 medalist will be facing her competition for the very first time on Saturday. She will be meeting Markeeta Thomas of Swenson for the first time, who has big wins at Burdette and the Carnival to her name and a former PA#1 time of 57.08 from the Hispanic Games. Meet of Champions winner Caela Williams of Penn Wood defeated Thomas for that title, and brings a 58.20 from the same Hispanic Games. Harris-Quillen will be looking to score more points for her team in this event (58.1 at NJ Varsity Classic), making her dangerous. She was 5th in the event last season. Allison Sharkey of Cardinal O'Hara will be racing these girls for the first time after entering the meet unbeaten in the event, including PCL and DELCO title victories.
Distance
For the first time since 2009, there will be a new champion in the 800 meter run, and for the first time since Easton graduate Chanelle Price in 2008, the field has an overwhelming favorite. Her name is Emma Keenan of Gwynedd-Mercy, the 2011 silver medalist. Keenan has been PA#1 since her 2:17.01 win at the Burdette Classic. She followed it with a 2:15.02 win in Maryland, a then US#2 2:12.26 at the Yale Invitational, and she broke her own Meet of Champions record with a winning 2:12.30 on Friday. She has been in the top five in the country for that entire stretch, and she is currently US#4! 6th place medalist Natalie Deacon of West Chester Henderson finished a close 4th to Keenan at the PTFCA Carnival with an indoor best 2:15.77. Seline Tan-Torres of Methacon started the season hot and at the Kevin Dare, she ran 2:15.55 to win easily and earn US#4 honors on January 21. Kennedy Weisner of Elk County Catholic ran 2:16.65 this season at TSTCA #2 and Peyton Hampson of Waynesburg ran 2:17.26 at TSTCA #3 to represent Western PA in the field.
Like the 800, the mile also has a favorite, and this favorite will be going for her 3rd gold medal in the event. Angel Piccirillo of Homer Center made a name for herself at this meet two years ago and she has been close to unbeatable since. She is unbeaten in the event and is coming off a US#15 4:54.83 win at TSTCA Champs. Meanwhile in Eastern PA, a lot of top times have been run this season, but not many have been against opponents in the field. Maria Seykora of Notre Dame ran an indoor best 4:58.00 at the Millrose Games, but has not faced anyone in the top ten in the field. 2011 bronze medalist Hannah Grossman of Strath Haven ran a lifetime best 4:59.78 at the New Balance Games, and has dropped her time every time she has run the event. Freshman Marissa Sheva of Pennridge ran 5:01.60 at the Millrose Trials and will be looking to make as strong an indoor state debut like she did in cross country. Kennedy Weisner of Elk County Catholic has spent most of the season chasing Piccirillo on the TSTCA circuit and has stayed close to her.
Piccirillo will also be in the 3000 meter run, where she finished 2nd last year. The two time defending champion and all time state record holder Sara Sargent of Pennsbury will be fresh waiting for her. Sargent has only run the event once, finishing 3rd at the Molloy Stanner Games in 10:16.43, while Piccirillo ran 10:06.17 at TSTCA Champs on Saturday. Meghan McGovern of North Penn has run 10:10 or faster in this event in each of the last three seasons, running 10:10.54 on January 13. Tori Gerlach of Pennridge has only run the event once at Kevin Dare and ran 10:17.68. She was 4th last year as the top seed. Regan Rome of Dallas and Meredith Speakman of Boiling Springs went head to head at Susquehanna with Rome pulling off a narrow victory.
Relays
Swenson has been the undisputed top relay team in the 4x200 meter relay this season, having been ranked in the US top ten since mid December. Currently they sit at US#6 with their New Balance Games performance of 1:42.10. Lately, they have had some teams challenge them at some big PA meets. Central Dauphin East gave them their best shot at the PTFCA Carnival, only to come up three tenths of a second short, but running a season beat 1:44.59. At the DVG Meet of Champions, Pennridge gave their best shot and had a similar result as CD East, a 2nd place finish with a season best of 1:44.94. Easton Area was part of the chase pack at the PTFCA Carnival, running 1:46.31 for 3rd, while State College ran a solo 1:46.2 at their home invitational last Thursday. Central Bucks East, the lone returning medalist team (7th) ran 1:46.77 while making the finals at the Hispanic Games.
Swenson has had similar success in the 4x400 meter relay, with only last year's silver medalists Central Bucks East (4:03.52 at DVG Meet of Champions) the only PA team to defeat them this season. Swenson has spent a good amount of the season at US#1, but enter the weekend as US#3 with their New Balance Collegiate Invite time of 3:51.07, and have been at 3:55 or faster on a banked track since the 2nd week of the season. Paul Robeson (3:59.52) and Penn Wood (3:59.76) are the other PA teams to break the 4 minute mark. Strath Haven finished 3rd at the Meet of Champions, as the 2011 6th place finishers ran 4:04.04.
The 4x800 meter relay will be Strath Haven's 2nd attempt at history. The all time state record holders entered the 2011 relay as the big favorites to win the event and had a chance for the meet record. They did record the win but not the record. They come back with two of the four legs from that team and from the team that holds the 9:08.57 state record from last year. This year, they have run 9:10.59 to finish 2nd at the Millrose Games. Downingtown East were the pace setters early on, having spent a week at US#1. They finished 3rd at DVG Meet of Champions with a time of 9:23.87 and will be Strath Haven's toughest challenge. 4th place in 2011, outdoor state record holders West Chester Henderson, are coming on late, running 9:29.4 at the NJ Varsity Classic on February 8, and will have one of the better anchors ready for the stretch run. Methacton (7th in 2011) and Garnet Valley bring young teams to this very exciting field. 9:11.48 is the record to go for.
Defending champions and current meet record holders North Penn return to the distance medley relay to defend their title. The relay specialist program will have Meghan McGovern ready to anchor the team and will be a tough girl to shake off if the anchor leg is close. Pennridge has the top time in this event, running 12:19.74 back in late January, and have good depth that makes this relay dangerous, with the Sheeva sisters Marisa and Caitlyn and Tori Gerlach available for this event. North Hills ran 12:19.90 at the SPIRE Invitational, and have the Malone sisters, who have had solid seasons thus far. Haverford Township will have the Meehan sisters Tess and Sophia, with each of them having top performances in the mile and the 3000 meters respectively. Notre Dame will have Maria Seykora to anchor their squad.
Field
The long jump has been one of the more competitive field events in the past couple of weeks, with the top competitors looking to make names for themselves as the top girl. Defending champion Jordan Matthews of Abington spent most of the season at the top with a mark of 18-1 at Dickinson in December. At the PTFCA Carnival, 8th place 2011 medalist Diamond Hodge of Girls High took over the state lead with a head to head victory over Matthews with a mark of 18-4.75. Matthews did jump 18-2.50 to stay 2nd in the state. Amani Nesmith of Swenson was 3rd with a then lifetime best of 17-9. At the DVG Meet of Champions, Nesmith joined Hodge at the top of the state list with a winning 18-4.75 of her own. Katie Catania of Methacon made herself a major player in the gold medal hunt with her 2nd place finish in 18-2.75, a PA#3 mark. Kayla Hope of Tamaqua is fifth girl at 18 feet or better with her 18-0.75 mark from the Albright HS Invite on February 8. Rachel Van Metre of Strath Haven (4th) and Logan Brenker of Conwell Egan (7th) are the other returning medalists.
Without a single returning medalist in the triple jump, the event is anyone's to win. The current state leader is Taneira Bowman of Chester with a mark of 37-11.25 from a DVG Meet in late January. She finished 3rd in the meet of Champions to Diamond Hodge who won the meet with a mark of 37-5. Lanae Newsome of Brookville jumped a PA#2 37-7.25 at Slippery Rock. Quadisha Newkirk of Paul Robeson won the Burdette Classic with a then PA#1 mark of 37-3. Katie Catania of Methacton will look to use her momentum from the past week to put her in contention for the title.
The high jump will feature a potential one on one contest at the top, as former US#1, current T-US#4 and DVG all time record holder Megan McCloskey of Germantown Academy will go up against former indoor state champ Taylor Morgan of Upper Dublin, who has cleared 5-6 three times this season. Recently, the two have had some big wins to give each jumper confidence going into Saturday. 2011 silver medalist McCloskey broke Morgan's record at the PTFCA Carnival, while 3rd place Morgan won the Meet of Champions. McCloskey has cleared 5-8.25 this year and Morgan is still looking for her first victory against her. Ahmenah Richardson of Milton Hershey (5-6) and Paige Rittleman of Butler (5-5) are the other jumpers over 5-4 this season. Rittleman is the TSTCA Champion, while Richardson was 4th at the PTFCA Carnival.
Larisa Debich of Hempfield enters the pole vault as the defending champion and the state leader with a clearance of 12-6 from early February. She is the TSTCA Champion and current T-US#6. 2011 bronze medalist Virginia LaMacchia of Central Columbia cleared 12-3 to win at Kutztown, and she is the Burdette Classic winner. She was 2nd at the PTFCA Carnival to 4th place medalist Grace Giampetro of Villa Maria Academy for her only loss of the season. Amanda Benninghoff of Council Rock South defeated Giampetro to win the DVG Meet of Champions. Benningoff cleared 11-9 for PA#3 honors.
The shot put in 2012 has been a friendly competition between teammates. Jennifer Neider (PA#1 43-3.50 on January 20) and Taylor Woods of Hickory (PA#2 42-3.75 on February 11) have exchanged the top spot and have exchanged victories as well. Neider leads the head to head series 4-3, but Woods finished one place better than Neider at states last year. Woods has improved her marks the past couple of weeks, including a win at the TSTCA Champs and may have the hot hand come Saturday. Rachel Fatherly of Williamsport is PA#3 at 40-7, but hasn't thrown since that late January date, but is the only other thrower over 40 feet. Woods and Neider are the only two returning to the field from the 2011 meet.