PA athletes will be participating in the SPIRE Showcase meet on Saturday LIVE on MileSplit starting at 4:30pm.
Jordan Geist of Knoch will be back in action as he attempts to take over the number 1 spot in the US in the shot put. Geist just took over the US#2 spot with his 65-10.75 performance at Youngstown State on Sunday. He averaged 63 feet in his six attempts.
Mitch Valko of South Fayette will contest the 60 meter hurdles as the top seed in the event. The state's fastest hurdler at 60 meters (8.09) struggled to 8th place in his last appearace on Sunday at Youngstown State. The spotlight will be heavy on him. Can he rebound?
Top five miler Mike Kolor of Seneca Valley and Jeff Van Kooten of Pittsburgh Central Catholic will contest the 1600. Kolor was PA's 2nd best miler at the Yale Classic back in January, dipping under 4:24. Van Kooten is sitting outside the state qualifying places at the moment, having run 4:33 for the mile and 1600 meter distances so far this winter. A big performance will be needed to keep his state hopes alive.
Kolor will join Elias Graca of Fox Chapel Andrew Koryak of Vincentian Academy in the 800. Graca is coming off a win at the Youngstown State Invite on Sunday, and will have a lot of momentum that could carry him into the sub 1:57 range. Koryak has run 1:58 this season and has been a model of consistency this season. Graca Kolor will be coming off the 1600 and will hope to put together a sub 2 minute performances.
The girls events will feature Lauren Costa of West Allegheny in both the 60 and 200 meter dashes. While the Eastern side of the state has been performing in a blaze of glory this season, Costa has been untouchable out West. Costa has yet to taste defeat this season in the 60 and she has been in the mid 25s in the 200 all season as well.
In the 800 and 1600, Villa Maria Academy will be well represented. Claire Brown, Grace Trucilla, and Alison Carson will all run the 800 meter run. Trucilla is currently 10th on the state 800 meter list at 2:18.25, while Brown has run 2:20.21. Brown has had better success in the 1600 this season, running 5:09.35 one month ago. Carson will look to put herself into state contention with a big performance in both races.
The 1600 will also have Aislinn Devlin of Downingtown West toe the line. The sophomore ran already recorded a 5:05 mile from a meet out in Massachusetts. Can she get under 5? Devlin will also run the 3200 meter run with Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy. Abdalah broke the 11 minute mark on Sunday while chasing down Brianna Schwartz and Kelsey Potts on Sunday at Youngstown State. Her and Devlin are surely capable of getting under 11 minutes on the big stage.
Jocelen Ruth of Kutztown will look to close the gap once again on the top two shot putters in the state on Saturday. Ruth has been on a lifetime best run, reaching a lifetime best of 45-4 a month ago. She still trails the top two by over two feet, and will need to continue her big run if state glory is to be within reach come March 1.
Julia Howard of Greensburg Salem will contest the long jump, aiming to break the 18 foot mark, which would be a first in her career. Breaking 18 feet would also put her in the state top five with two weeks left until the state meet.
The full acceptance list can be found HERE...
