Boys
Only two male sprinters return to the 2014-15 season to defend their state titles, and they both make up the core of PA’s top sprinting team.
John Lewis (400m) and Christian Brissett (60m) of Cheltenham won indoor individual gold medals at the state meet last year, and they were both part of the state title winning 4x400 meter relay and the fastest 4x200 meter relay teams from last season. Lewis returns as the top 400 meter runner this season, while Brissett is the top returning 60 meter sprinter and 3rd best returner in the country. Brissett is also the 3rd best returner in the state at 200 meters.
Brissett’s toughest competition for this season will be Tyler Whitmore of Upper Moreland. Whitmore is the top returning 200 meter runner (21.80) and was the runner up at states in the 200. He is also the 9th best returner in the country in the one lap sprint.
Whitmore joins Brissett as the only returning sub 7 second 60 meter sprinters this season and has the 4th best 400 meter time entering the season. Look for these two to engage in one of the rivalries of the season.
Tory Long of Hempfield (3) is the only returning medalist in the 60 meter dash (8th), while Lasalle’s Charles Headen had a big season last year and ran 7.01 as a sophomore and was a state semifinalist. Nick Shaffer of Methacton is the lone returning 200 meter medalist from 2014, while Charles Snorweah of Pennsbury will also be in the mix for 200 gold after just missing a sub 22 second performance last January.
Snorweah will also be chasing Lewis in the 400 meter dash after Lewis defeated him at the state meet when Snorweah entered the race with the state’s best performance. These two elite quarter milers will see plenty of each other this season as Lewis looks to hold on to his title. Both guys are the only sub 50 second runners coming back this season. The two are also top ten returners in the country, with Lewis ranked 4th and Snorweah ranked 6th.
In the hurdles, state runner up Mitch Valko of South Fayette is back to claim the state championship after missing out last season. Valko is the only sub 8 second returner in the 60 meter hurdles this season and he did not finish outside the top 3 in any 60 meter hurdle race last season. Mason Weh of Upper Darby was the lone sophomore to make the medal stand last season and is the 2nd best returner with an 8.10 personal best. Mike Burton of Coatesville snuck into the final last season and will look to have a convincing senior season.
Girls
Like their male counterparts, Cheltenham will carry a strong group of sprinters from a team that set the indoor state record in the 4x200 meter relay at the New Balance Indoor National Championships in March. Two of those members are back and ready to top last season’s success.
Ciara Leonard set the indoor state record while earning All American honors in the 60 meter hurdles after missing out on the state gold against Sierra Brabhim-Lawrence of Harrisburg. The two of them are in the national top five for returning hurdlers. Leonard (8.40) sits 2nd, while Brabhim-Lawrence (8.45) sits 4th. When these two square off, records may fall once again.
Behind them is a deep class of hurdlers that made up seven of the top 8 at states last season. Markeeta Thomas of Paul Robeson has medaled twice in the hurdles in her career and is a consistent 8.60 performer. Aspen Gaita of Stroudsburg was one of the most consistent hurdlers since medaling last season. Kat Quigley of Pine-Richland and Cassidy Jenkins of Lakeland will also mix it up in the hurdles as part of a deep group of returning hurdlers. Maddie Holmberg of Hempfield (7) will be missing from this group as she recovers from September knee surgery.
Meanwhile in the sprints, Chanel Brissett of Cheltenham exceled as state champion Katelyn Jackson’s understudy and is ready to lead in her 2nd season after finishing 2nd last year in the 60 meter dash. Brissett will have plenty of company chasing her down in both the 60 and the 200 meter dashes.
200 meter champion Dasia Pressley of Neshaminy finished close behind Brissett in the 60 meter dash before winning 200 meter gold at states. Taylor Chapman of Pennridge finished 4th in the dash for the 2nd year running, showing her consistency of medaling at states in her first three tries. Jameela Muhammad of Paul Robeson was in the mix last season and will be there once again. Lauren Costa of West Allegheny was the top dash sprinter out West last season, and Alli Wyland of Hollidaysburg medaled in her first state meet.
Pressley blew the field away in winning the title in 24.42, good for US#6 on the returners list. Taylor Champman medaled along with 400 meter champion Brooklynn Broadwater of Springside Chestnut Hill, who continued to improve in her 2nd season, adding a bronze medal in the 200 to her 400 meter win. Those three are the only sub 25 second 200 meter runners coming back this season. Brissett leads the chase pack that is full of runners who are also talented in other events and specialties.
Broadwater added 400 meter gold to her 200 meter bronze in a year that did not feature a single sub 56 second runner in the event for the entire season. Broadwater won the title against very experienced runners. But since that win, 7th place medalist and outdoor AAA 400 meter champion McKenna Keegan of Avon Grove went on a big tear that crowned her champion in May. The wild card in the 400 meter dash will be Neumann Goretti 9th grader Sydni Townsend, who was the AAU champion in the summer, running 54.49 to win the championship as an 8th grader. She will join teammate and 8th place medalist Ariana Ruffin.