 TSTCA Indoor Meet #2
Madeleine Davison established herself as one of the nation's top distance talents in 2014 with a podium finish in the New Balance Outdoor Nationals and a spot in the Foot Locker Nationals. On Saturday, the North Allegheny junior went even better and faster, running a US#1 time of 9 minutes, 54.14 seconds for 3,000 meters in her 2015 indoor debut. "I did feel a little bit rusty after the break from racing, and it showed in the splits for my first few laps -- they were all over the place," Davison said of the initial effect from an almost 2 month gap in her racing schedule. "Eventually, though, I was able to find a rhythm and settle into a more consistent pace. I think the first race back is always the hardest for me because I'm never sure what to expect, so it's nice to get an idea of my fitness level after a few weeks of solid training." Davison's performance at the Tri-State Coaches meet lowered her PR by almost 8 seconds and joined Cumberland Valley's Mady Clahane in the nation's sub-10 club this season. "My coaches thought that breaking 10 minutes would be a realistic but challenging goal for the first meet, so my plan going into the race was to try to run the splits for that time and see how it felt," the nation's new No. 1 said. "I was a little bit surprised to find myself below 10-minute pace early on in the race, but I just kept doing my best to keep hitting the marks. "Looking back, I'm pleased with how I ran, and it's nice to have a concrete starting place for this track season. It was very surprising to hear that my time was the current US #1!" Davison, who ran a 4:47.07 mile and 10:39.08 3,200 a year ago, is looking forward to a long and productive track season, and her goals appear to be unchanged by her barrier-breaking opener. "Honestly, this race doesn't really change my ultimate goals for this track season as a whole, nor does it significantly alter my expectations for indoor," she said. "I look at it as a starting place from which I can hopefully improve as the season goes on. It's great to already have a PR under my belt, but at the same time I know that this is only the first step toward some of my long-term objectives in track." Davison helped pull the next two finishers to PA top 10 times, with Mt. Lebanon's Kelsey Potts finishing a strong double with a PA#5 10:23.16 and Eden Christian Academy's Lauren Gronbeck crossing in a PA#9 10:27.10. Earlier in the meet, Potts won the mile in her first race since a top 20 finish in the Foot Locker final, clocking a PA#5 5:06.98 to turn back the PA#6 5:08.53 by Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy. Villa Maria's Grace Trucilla also cracked the yearly top 10 with her PA#7 win in the 800 at 2:18.25, while Mt. Lebanon's Claire Dougherty was next in 2:20.31. Other strong performances were turned in by Villa Maria's 4x800 squad with a PA#3 9:40.54 to Bethel Park's PA#8 9:51.11, while Seneca Valley won the distance medley in 12:52.11. Nicole Scherer of Burrell continues to sprint well under cover. In the 60, the sophomore narrowly defeated Greater Latrobe's Maddy Mueseler, T-PA#10 7.95 to 7.97, while Scherer was an easier winner in the 200 in 25.76. A pair of Hempfield Area teammates dominated the 400. Gabby Holmberg won in a PA#10 59.08 to Rachel Reese's 59.63 as the Spartans were 3 seconds ahead of the field. In the field, Julia Howard of Greensburg Salem matched her PA top 10 season best in winning the long jump at 17-9 and won the triple jump in at PA#4 36-10. Canon-McMillan's Chyna Beck (36-2.25) and Oakland Catholic's Olivia Rowe (36-1) also topped 36 feet, while Kelsey Plecenik of Norwin moved to PA#11 to win the pole vault at 11-1. On the boys' side, Knoch's Jordan Geist continued his domination in the shot put with another 60-foot meet. Although he was only able to crack through the barrier once Saturday, Geist's 61-8 heave was a winner by 10 feet. South Fayette's Mitch Valko moved up to the top spot in Pennsylvania and into a tie for 10th nationally in the 60 high hurdles. After running 8.12 seconds in the prelims, the senior went 8.09 to win the final over Mt. Lebanon's Patrick Kimball (PA#4 8.34) and Mars Area's Ori Rinaman (PA#5 8.40). In the 60 dash, Bryce Boyd of Cathedral Prep ran a PA#5 7.12, and Elias Graca of Fox Chapel also is PA#5 in the 800 after cruising to a 1:58.03. Kevin Garbark of West Mifflin led a pair of 1-2 finishes for the Titans in the long sprints, running a PA#10 22.90 and a 51.97 to turn back teammate Nathan Kibble twice. Matt McGoey led a 1-2 for North Allegheny in the 3,000 with his PA#5 8:52.36, while Hayden Fox of Hempfield Area is now PA#2 in the pole vault at 14-9. Caleb Sanford of McDowell cleared 14-1 ahead of the same mark worth PA#6 for NA's Bobby Upton. Other PA top 10s went to Penn Trafford's Steve Cheswick in the high jump (PA#6 6-3) and Shaler Area's Cody Greygor in the long jump (PA#8 21-8). Girls Highlights200 Meter Dash - Nicole Scherer (Burrell) 25.76
3,000 Meter Run - Madeleine Davison (North Allegheny) 9:54.14; Kelsey Potts (Mount Lebanon) 10:23.16; Lauren Gronbeck (Eden Christian Academy) 10:27.10; Ava Pietrzyk (North Hills) 10:38.05; Danielle Hinish (Bethel Park) 10:40.74;Clara Savchik (North Allegheny) 10:43.76; Chloe Grzyb (Peters Township) 10:49.88; Morgan Grudi (Canon-McMillan) 10:56.94; Kirsten McMichael (Ringgold) 10:58.50;
Boys Highlights
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