Photos by Don Rich, Patty Morgan, Kathy Leister and Jim Spisak
Patten Gets AA Pole Vault During Busy Stretch
SHIPPENSBURG -- Friday's pole vault was all about timing. Luke Patten knew this, as did most of his competitors.
With a medal on the line at the PIAA Class AA track & field championships, every little detail was going to be significant. But Patten wasn't just dealing with one event.
The West Middlesex senior also was under the gun in the 4 x 100-meter relay, where he aided his team into a heat-winning race.
It all proved to be time consuming -- and maybe a little stressful -- but Patten was rewarded for his effort as he secured his first state championship with a vault of 14 feet, 6 inches.
The mark tied a personal record on a day that saw a fearless wind bother countless other athletes.
"It [the day] started out a little shaky," said Patten, who won the District 10 meet with a vault of 14-0 one week earlier. "I missed my first attempt, but then after that I regrouped and from there it felt really good."
Once Patten hit a rhythm, he got into the thick of the pole vault race. Despite being less than a year into a new 15-foot pole, the senior showed confidence on the runway and in the air, properly negotiating key technique on his way to a state leading vault.
"It felt good coming off the ground, and I handled the pole really well, but it pushed back maybe one or two inches too far and I really had to work for it," the Penn State Behrend recruit said. "...A lot can go wrong when you get that high, everything needs to be pinpoint."
Switching from a 14-foot implement, Patten quickly adjusted to the 15-foot pole. He responded after an early meet in which he scored a 13-0 vault with marks nearly a foot higher just a month and a half later.
"That became my niche. Everything was working better on the 15 then the 14," he said.
With the gold medal, Patten hoped his effort could position West Middlesex in the hunt for a state title.
"We're set up to do something really good this year and possibly bring home the state championship," he said, "but everything needs to go well tomorrow."
Zaza Repeats in AAA Triple Jump
His body hugged the sand, and Wellington Zaza turned to the judges behind him and smiled.
"Can you check that at least?"
The answer was no, but the Garnet Valley product didn't have much else to complain about on Friday, as he won his second straight Class AAA triple jump championship with a leap of 49 feet, 10.25 inches.
His last attempt was a massive airflow, with Zaza cutting through the sky with precision and power, but before he could hit the ground officials had ruled that he had fouled, his third of the day.
Zaza truly went for big rewards on Friday, hoping to shoot for a PR as well as a gold medal. He didn't really leave disappointed, as his state leading jump was a season-best by over a foot.
"It feels great to be a champion," Zaza said. "For me to come out here and win it in back-to-back years is a pleasure to me. It makes me feel good, because to out-jump all these great athletes is a lot of fun."
Zaza displayed a thirst of energy, prompting the crowd more than once to clap during his attempts. The lively action helped burst open a key jump in the finals, though he felt he had a state record in him.
"I definitely felt I could have jumped a bit further," said Zaza, who is determining whether to continue his career at the University of Miami or Ohio State. "Just a few minor mistakes and a few fouls on big jumps."
Zaza's technique needed a few minor tweaks to hit the board more consistently, but on his successful efforts, there was no questioning his talent.
"It means the world, finishing strong," Zaza said. "It's my last year. Having fun with all my peers, because this will be the last time you see them outside of high school and college. So it's a fun feeling."
His state championship run is only beginning, though, as he's hoping to capture more medals in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, as well as the long jump.
"I'm always ready," he said. "Just because this is my last meet, that gets my wheels turning and makes me very motivated to finish strong."
Crowd Support Sends King Soaring to AA High Jump Gold
She heard the yelps from behind the fencing. They were familiar tones, heard almost on repeat as she made attempt after attempt in the Class AA high jump.
Fortunately enough for Lakeview senior Courtney King, the constant support was a good sign. It told her that her season wasn't up just yet.
When the voices reached a fervor on Friday at one point, King knew something special had occurred. The senior captured the state championship with a final leap of 5 foot, 6 inches.
It was a personal record by an inch, and came on a day where she was ranked third overall in a field that had more talent than she's faced all season.
King didn't necessarily expect to win, though, which makes her accomplishment all the more impressive. Four other athletes had completed heights at 5-4, which led to a crowded lead pack.
"My mindset was that I needed to do my best," said King, who will hope to jump at Indiana University of Pennsylvania next year. "Obviously I wanted to win more than anything, but if I got that in my head -- high jump is all mental -- I would have thought about it way too much. And so I went in, I got third last year. I thought if I got top three I'd be happy.
"I was seeded at 5-4 with six other girls," King said, "so I guess I was going for my best. I won it, so I'm very happy about it."
Top seed Joselyn Pascual of Milton dropped out shortly after, followed by Northern Schuylkill's Carly Gregas at 5-6.
King didn't miss on her first at 5-6, however, giving her the leg up on Olivia Jendrezjewski, who also scored at the height.
Neither girl could top 5-7.
"When we were jumping, there were four of us in, and high jump comes down to misses a lot," King said. "I tell myself I have to get this on my first jump. If I don't, if she got it on her first, I'll be behind."
In the end, King's decisiveness plotted a winning course. The senior became the first state track champion at Lakeview since Fawn Miller in 2010.
"Coming from Lakeview, a very small school," King said, "I wouldn't want to have it any other way."
She threw her hands into her face.
That's all she thought she could do. Pray and wait, she thought.
With the top seed in the Class AA girls' discus field -- Carter Green of Northern Schuylkill -- throwing for the last time on Friday, Seneca's Samantha Black needed just wait for her fate.
Holding a perilous lead late into the event, Black wondered whether it would be enough.
"I didn't even watch her," Black said. "I couldn't watch. I was like, 'Oh my Goodness.' I was like, 'C'mon, Carter.'"
Carter's last throw hit the ground. One hundred thirty-three feet.
Black had won with a final throw of 133-9, a personal best -- and a new school record at Seneca High.
"No, I honestly did not think [I would win]," Black said. "I thought it was good, but I thought I couldn't do better. Carter Green, she's an amazing thrower, she could do better than that."
Sometimes dreams do come true, though, and for the senior, who hopes to throw for a collegiate program next year, maybe her state leading throw leads to more success down the road.
Black certainly has the technique to improve. She had tinkered with the details slightly before her event Friday. She felt that led to a successful performance.
"I tweaked a little bit of technique, but other than that, nothing major," Black said. "I didn't want to change anything big. My warm-ups were pretty good. I didn't want to take a lot of warm-ups, because I was throwing so good."
Yohman Responds One Last Time to Earn Log Awaited AA Shot Put Crown
Jon Yohman responded every time someone made a push. He had the final say after all, he thought, being the top seed in the Class AA boys' shot put.
This time, this year, the Wilmington senior wasn't going to let anyone decide his future.
In the finals of the event, Yohman uncorked his best of the day, a 61-8.5 mark that captured his first state gold medal.
"I was definitely mentally prepared," said Yohman, a Penn State University recruit who was the runner-up in this event in 2012, despite being the top seed. "Me and my coach talked a lot. "Last year I was seeded number one. I was a little more emotional there because I was younger, but I ended up getting second. This year I had more experience and I came in more emotional sound than I used it in my throws."
The biggest turning point came on his last throw of the preliminaries. The entire field seemed to be turning the corner. Hickory's Luke Lewis unleashed a massive heave that marked at 58-3.
Then second-seed Jason Coon of Schuylkill Valley grunted his way toward a personal best of 59-10.75.
Yohman had briefly lost his lead. He could have lost his edge. He could have broken down, self-destructed. Instead, he responded in the only way he knew how. With a heave of his own.
Yohman silenced everyone -- save for his support crew -- with a 61-1. He didn't lose a lead from there.
"I wish I would have thrown better, because my PR is 62-1, but having three over 61 and having one 61-8.5 or something, I was really satisfied with my shot today," Yohman said.
In his District 10 meet a week earlier, Yohman had approached the event with more tenacity. He focused on exploding from the circle, spinning with aggression. But he said that effort led to some minor problems in his technique.
"I emphasized one thing mainly," Yohman said. "And that was keeping my neck stiff. Before I would tear my neck away and that would cause me to throw shotput way left. And instead of having the linear throw, I'd have the sideways throw that would take away from it drastically. Instead of being a center point of gravity, it would be around my shoulder."
With chalk still caked on his neck, Yohman seemed glad with his effort, but not content with his small victory. As the second-seed in the Class AA discus on Saturday, he wanted to add to his tally.
"There's always motivation," he said. "Even if you win by 20 feet, you are always motivated to get a PR. The better thrower, in any event - javelin, shot or disc -- you'll see them being the ones never being satisfied even if they win by a ton. You're motivated."
McKeen Stands Alone in AA Boys Triple Jump
Kyle McKeen was in a world of his own. The triple jump was his own little silo.
But it worked for him. The Northwestern senior claimed the Class AA triple jump on Friday, scoring a personal best of 46-9.25.
"It felt like it was a good jump," McKeen said. "I knew it was big and hopefully I didn't think anyone would catch me."
He had some things work in his favor, though. Second-seed Johnathon Jacoway of Sharon fouled on all three of his attempts -- even though two of them looked like bombs.
"I felt pretty good," McKeen said. "I wasn't really expecting first place, but definitely it was great to get the first place."
Throughout the six jumps, it never seemed as if McKeen had to worry about much. He scored a 46-5 earlier in the preliminaries, putting him in the top pole position for most of the event.
Salisbury Township's Daniel Reichenbach, who entered as the top seed, finished second with a leap of 44-7.25, though never really got a hold of a good jump.
"There was a little bit of a headwind," McKeen said. "I don't mind the cold weather. It helped me warm-up a bit better. Being from Erie, you're used to it."
McKeen referenced pre-season work as one factor that led to this victory. There were bleacher climbs, strength training and countless speed workouts. All of these were common enough. But the repetition and the execution is what set them apart.
McKeen never wavered in the final product.
"Just try to stay calm and it helped me not be as nervous," he said. "I just tried to warm up and just keep going and beat my own marks."
Krezmer succeeds in AA javelin after long off-season
Montoursville senior Matt Krezmer won the Class AA javelin on Friday, scoring a final mark of 182-5 after failing to reach the final round a year ago.
It was a nice shift in the paradigm, and Krezmer noted that "a lot of off-season work" went into the change in dynamics.
"It really paid off," the long-haired Krezmer said. "I got first place, so I'm really happy."
But his event didn't start out as well as he would have hoped. With the wind providing a difficult deterrent, Krezmer waited until the perfect moment.
The only minor calculation he missed, however, was the time. He had just 10 seconds to throw on his first attempt, and as a result, the senior forced a throw that landed in the 150-foot range.
It could have thrown him for a loop. But he was unfazed.
"I know it was going to be a bad throw, because I waited until there was going to be 10 seconds left on the clock," said Krezmer, who committed to Bucknell University. "I knew my run-up was bad, but I couldn't stop because I would have had to scratch it, so I just threw one. It didn't matter to me. I knew I could throw better."
Confidence certainly helped his cadence. From there, Krezmer uncorked some of his best efforts. He scored his state-leading throw on his second attempt.
North Clarion's Mitch Obenrader, who finished second, was close on one attempt that reached 179-7, but for the most part, Krezmer said he wasn't worried.
Facing a steady headwind, the Montoursville product actually had a lot of interference to deal with. But he mentioned dealing with similar conditions earlier in his season.
"A lot of the meets in the beginning of the year were like this," he said. That helped a little bit. I was glad it was like that in the beginning of the season, because that's how it was today."
Newsome comes from behind to win AA long jump
It's still not her favorite event, but she's getting by. Perhaps Friday's performance will leave Brookville senior Lanae Newsome with a better taste in her mouth.
"It's OK. I mean, I still love triple jump way more. It's OK, I'm getting better at liking it," Newsome said after winning the Class AA long jump with a leap of 18-1.75.
Newsome saw a competitive field early on. Essence Barron of New Brighton challenged the senior, hitting on her first attempt at 17-10.25.
She led the field after the preliminaries, forcing Newsome to step up.
"I was scared because it was a little too good, being that it was my very first mark," Barron said. "It was scary, because I didn't know whether I was going to backtrack from there, and I usually always get nervous when I jump early than later. They were close distances."
Unfortunately, Barron couldn't hold on -- though she did end up in second place with a mark of 17-10.25.
Newsome eventually worked out some small quirks, little planting her foot closer to the board. In her first attempt, she was nearly a foot off.
"I was having trouble getting on the board, so I had to adjust where I started," Newsome said. "I was nervous about it, but once I did it, it was fine."
But being put in a deficit early seemed to motivate Newsome. It's a position she almost enjoys, she says.
"I've been in that position before in triple jumping, I was behind," she said. "And I got nervous, but I just had to keep my head and go for it."
Newsome was shy on words after her win, but the senior is quite busy on Friday. She qualified for the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, too.
"A gold medal is a gold medal. It feels awesome. I'm happy," she said.
Photos by Don Rich, Patty Morgan, Kathy Leister and Jim Spisak