The show stopping moment of the meet came from one of
the main event attractions of the season! John Lewis of Cheltenham was fresh
and ready for the AAA boys 800 meter final and he flew out to the lead and ran
the first lap in around 51 seconds! After some tough going on the 3rd 200,
Lewis found another gear and he found just enough to set not just a state meet
record and US#2, but a PA all time best mark of 1:48.72! His time betters Drew
Magaha's 1:48.82 from back in 2012!
His performance and the performance of Saahir Bethea in
the long jump catapulted Cheltenham from the bottom of the top ten to the team
championship! Bethea jumped 25-5.75 to set a personal best by over a foot after
Isaiah Brooks of Woodland Hills jumped 24-1.50 for the first time in his
career. To cap off the late charge to the team title, they won the 4x400 meter
relay with their best time of the season, a US#6 3:13.44!
Prior to that, we are already had huge fireworks in the
3200 meter run. A star studded field went through the first 1600 in 4:33 and
then the race really took shape. Late on, Colin Abert of Easton took the lead
from a surging Kevin James of Cardinal O'Hara with one lap to go. But sneaking
up on them like a hawk was Zach Brehm of Carlisle. He spent most of the race
far away from the leaders, going as far back as 17th at the 1600. He moved up
to the medal positions in the final two laps and then he found another gear and
started passing everyone on the final lap, eventually battling for the lead
with Abert coming down the home stretch. Brehm managed to overtake Abert in one
of the craziest finishes of the weekend and was rewarded with a new PIAA meet
record of 8:55.60 to Abert's 8:56.00, which also broke last year's record. The
top four all broke 9 minutes and the top 8 all ran under 9:06!
The boys 4x800 meter relay saw the favorites Pennsbury
record a strong US#2 time of 7:38.42 to win the state title, with help from a
1:50 anchor leg from Alek Sauer. Their performance was the 3rd fastest time in
PA history behind the 2009 Central Bucks South team and the 1982 Wissahickon
team. Pennridge finished 2nd in 7:40.56 and 2014 champions State College ran
7:41.50 for a solid 3rd place.
Dan Chisena of Downingtown East was the headliner in the
sprint events. The senior had a monster final day of his high school career,
taking the 100 and 200 meter dashes against Christian Brissett of Cheltenham.
Chisena ran a state leading 10.52 in the 100 and a 21.29 to take the 200. He
was also the 2nd leg of the 4x100 meter relay team that won gold in 42.01.
Jaxson Hoey of Malvern Prep left the Inter-Ac school
Malvern Prep in the middle of the school year and he stepped up to face the
best in the PIAA and he succeeded with a victory in the 1600 meter run in
4:11.47 to edge out PA#1 Jeff Van Kooten of Pittsburgh Central Catholic (4:11.53).
Donovan St Louis of Upper Darby led his team to a runner up finish with a 400
meter dash win in 48.33. Dave Marrington of Neshaminy proved he was the state
leader in the 300 meter hurdles with a winning time of 37.99. Ori Rinaman of
Mars Area won the 110 meter hurdles in 14.39.
In the field events, Jordan Geist of Knoch put on a show
in the shot put, throwing 65-9.75 to secure his first outdoor shot put gold
medal. Qayyim Ali of Williamsport won the high jump with a clearance of 6-6,
winning on misses against three other competitors. Grant Jones of Lasalle threw
a 10 foot personal best to come home as the surprise winner of the javelin with
a mark of 199-11.
AAA
Girls
We had repeat champions, double winners, and upsets in
the AAA girls events.
Dasia Pressley of Pennsbury earned her first outdoor 200 meter championship by running a new PA All Time Best mark of 23.52 to hold off 100 meter champion Chanel Brissett of Cheltenham (23.88). Pressley edged out the onl record by .01 seconds set in 1992 by William Penn's Jennifer Wilson. Brissett did win the 100 meter dash in 11.89.
A race that never disappoints is the 4x800 meter relay,
where favorites Great Valley were given everything they can handle by Wilson
(3). The two Penn Relays Championship of America participants went toe to toe
for the gold. Great Valley were led off excellently by Elise Claffey, splitting
2:12. But then Wilson made a huge comeback in the 2nd leg to go level with the
District 1 champions. After taking the lead on leg 3, Wilson looked primed to
take the victory until Crosby Spiess reclaimed the lead with under 200 meter to
go. But Wilson had one more surge left in them and shocked the Lady Patriots
with a NEW US#1 time of 8:58.80! Great Valley finished 2nd and it was their 3rd
top three finish in a row and their 4th trip to the medal stand in as many
years.
Sierra Brabham-Lawrence of Harrisburg got a huge monkey
off her back in the 100 meter hurdles, finally getting the best of her rival
namesake Ciara Leonard of Cheltenham to win the 100 meter hurdles in 13.84. She
also took home 300 meter hurdle gold to complete the hurdle sweep in 42.25.
Marissa Sheva of Pennridge gave herself one last shot at
winning the outdoor 1600 meter title after finishing 2nd in the event back in
her freshman season of 2012. After a 70 second first 400 and 2:20 first 800,
Mady Clahane of Cumberland Valley took the lead and Sheva was the only runner
to respond. After several attempts to pass Clahane, she couldn't get around her
until about the back stretch of the final lap. From there, Sheva was not going
to be stopped, breaking 4:50 for the first time in her career, winning in
4:44.73!
Maddie Villalba of Central Bucks West completed her late season surge with a personal best and a successful defense of her title. Villalba's time of 2:07.33 was a 2 second improvement from last year's title win and it puts her at US#3 for 2015!
Cheltenham in the 4x100 and North Penn in the 4x400 had
to fight off strong challenges from Susquehanna Township to win their
respective relay gold medals. Cheltenham had the strength of Chanel Brissett to
win the 4x1 in 46.43 to 46.66, while in the 4x400 meter relay, North Penn
became the new state leaders with a time of 3:46.73 to Susquehanna Township's
3:47.74.
McKenna Keegan of Avon Grove successfully defended her
400 meter title, winning the final dual over Uche Nwogwugwu of North Penn 54.66
to 54.71. Madeleine Davison of North Allegheny ran away with the girls 3200
meter run during laps five, six and seven. On lap 8, as the wheels began to
slow down, the chase pack of Aislinn Devlin of Downingtown West and Olivia
Sargent of Pennsbury made one last move for it, only to run out of real estate
and Davison was crowned champion in 10:27.20.
In the field events, it was a first state title for
Tesia Kempski of Bishop McDevitt in the AAA girls pole vault, clearing 12-9 to
become the champion in a competition that went nearly 4 hours. In the AAA girls
triple jump, Veronika Karpenko of State College jumped her 2nd personal best in
under 2 weeks and cleared 40 feet for the very first time with a mark of
40-1.25. Courtney McCartney of Selinsgrove made it two throwing golds on the
weekend, winning the discus with a mark of 139-1.
AA
Boys
Chris Stone of Springfield Montco led his team to a
successful defense of their team championship with three more medals on
Saturday, including victory in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.25! Joey
Mundell of Schuylkill Valley won his 2nd gold medal of the weekend, taking home
the discus with a throw of 176 feet even.
Jumping on a stress fracture in his leg, Tre Tipton of
Apollo-Ridge defended his number 1 seeded position and came home with the long
jump title with a mark of 22-9.25. Mitch Liddick of Central Columbia outlasted
the field in a late start and finish to the pole vault with a clearance of
14-6.
On the track, Andrew Snyder of Camp Hill was a double
winner on the day, taking home the 400 meter dash in 48.39 and 200 meter dash
in a PIAA record 21.50! Jahvel Hemphill of Bloomsburg successfully defended his
100 meter dash championship with a time of 10.76. Elmer L Meyers took home the
4x100 meter relay title in 43.38. Luke Rarig of Southern Columbia completed his
dominance of the high hurdles with a title winning performance of 14.49. The
300 meter hurdles went to Tyler Burger of Northwest over Raheem Twyman of Elmer
L Meyers by the finest of margins. Both hurdlers ran 38.45.
Dominic Peretta of Beaver Falls made it look easy in
defending both his 1600 and 800 meter championships. The junior ran even 62-63
second splits in the 1600 to win in 4:13.92. He then led wire to wire to retain
his 800 meter crown in 1:53.30.
Dominic Hockenbury of Lake Lehman used what he described
a "Prefontaine-like" strategy to retain his 3200 meter championship.
Hockenbury looked to run the legs out of his competition and after a 4:31 first
1600 meters, Griffin Molino of South Williamsport was the only one on his
heels. With two laps to go, Molino struggled to keep up with the champion and
the lead grew until it was academic that Hockenbury would keep the title with a
time of 9:08.10.
Wyomissing stayed as the only team in the division to
break 8 minutes in the 4x800 meter relay, running a winning time of 7:59.23.
Lakeland ran 3:23.38 to win the 4x400 meter relay.
AA
Girls
Markeeta Thomas of Paul Robeson successfully defended
both of her hurdle championships in emphatic style. In the high hurdles, Thomas
broke the PIAA Meet record TWICE, running 14.05 in the semifinals and 14.02 in
the finals. In the 300 meter hurdles, Thomas was not only the first to break 43
seconds in the event, but she also became the first to break 42 seconds,
running another PIAA record of 41.75.
Fellow District 12 squad Neumann Goretti cleaned up the
medals in the sprint events, winning both the 4x100 (47.70) and 4x400 meter
relays (3:49.36). Sydni Townsend won two individual gold medals, running 56.86
to win the 400 meter dash and 24.55 to win the 200 meter dash. The young squad
fell just two points short of Hickory for the team title, with Elena Marchand
(45-1.50) and Tori McKinley (43-3.25) going 1-2 in the shot put and their 4x400
meter relay team clinching the title with a 4th place finish when they only
needed to finish 6th to earn a share of the title.
Hannah Drake of Wilmington took home the girls triple
jump with a mark of 38-0.25. Brooke Hinderlitter of Redbank Valley threw 158-9
to win the javelin.
Shannon Quinn of Trinity (3) made the 3rd time the charm
after two consecutive silver medal finishes in the 800 meter run. This year she
made no doubt that the title would be hers and she was crowned champion with a
time of 2:11.24. In the 1600 meter run, Hannah Bablak of Quaker Valley emerged
victorious with time of 5:02.30. In the 3200, it was Marianne Abdalah of
Vincentian Academy taking home the title, running 10:55.93.
Friday Field
Friday Field
Defending champions struggled on the opening field session of the state championships. Only one of the defending champions managed to defend their crown.
And that athlete was Courtney McCartney of Selinsgrove. She won the AAA girls shot put with a mark of 46 feet even on a day where the field all struggled to find the form that got them to this meet. McCartney had three throws at 45 feet or better in the competition. Jocelen Ruth of Kutztown Area jumped up to 2nd position with a mark of 42-11.75 and Janese Lynch of Academy Park was 3rd in 42-6.25.
After finishing 2nd in the high jump for three years in a row, including twice to Cyre Virgo, Abby Jones of Franklin Area got the monkey off her back and became the new champion in the AAA girl high jump. Jones cleared 5-7 and was perfect throughout. Shannon Taub of Council Rock South was 2nd at 5-7, but a miss at 5-6 kept her from the title. Grace Becker of Central Bucks East finished 3rd in 5-6.
Freshman Breanna Gambrell of Athens Area forced AA girls long jump title defender Abby Martin of Boiling Springs to play catch up. Gambrell jumped 18-4 on her very first jump, while Martin struggled to get to 18 feet while trying to get her. Gambrell's 18-4 was enough to win the title in her first state meet, while Martin salvaged 2nd position with a jump of 18-1.50 on her final attempt. 19 foot jumper Linday Bauer of Salisbury settled for 3rd with a mark of 17-10.
The girls pole vault was a tricky event for all involved, as the crossing winds made it difficult for anyone to find a rhythm. Kaitlyn Toman of Salisbury managed to go perfect on the day with a winning clearance of 11-6. Rachel Brouse of Bloomsburg had a miss at 11-6 and had to settle for 2nd. Michelle Karabin of Greensburg Central Catholic finished 3rd at 11 feet even.
In the boys field, shot put specialist Jordan Geist of Knoch proved that he can get the job done in the discus. Playing the underdog role to David Lucas of Warwick, Geist threw 182-2 on his first attempt, making it tough for Lucas, who struggled to get on a roll. Geist got to 186-2 on his 3rd attempt while Lucas didn't get in the 170s until throw 5. His last ditch mark of 183-1 was not enough to keep the title, and Geist became the AAA boys discus champion. Lawson Monta of Greensburg Salem was 3rd at 167-9.
Michael Biddle of Williamsburg had little threat to his crown after throwing 199-6 on his 2nd attempt in the AA boys javelin. The mark was enough to secure the title, with Ian Behm of Wilington coming the closest to the state leader at 189-10. 3rd place went to Mitch Wilcox of Youngsville at 187-7.
Last round drama took place n the AA boys triple jump. After Kobren Frederick of Huntington took the lead in round 4 at 46-3, Tyler Carter of Trinity Christian benefitted from leading the prelim rounds by getting one last at the win and taking advantage of it, jumping 47-0.75 to snatch the title away from Frederick. 3rd place went to Anthony Milliner of New Brighton at 45-4.75.
In the afternoon session, Madison Wiltrout of Connellsville broke the 180 foot barrier for the 3rd meet in a row in the AAA girls javelin, setting a PIAA record of 182-8, breaking the old record by nearly 25 feet! Madison Smith of New Oxford (135-2) and Jocelen Ruth of Kutztown Area (134-3) rounded out the top 3.
Erika Voyzey of Tyrone Area found the right time to get back to the form that had her near the top of the state for most of the winter. The junior repeated as AA girls high jump with the best clearance of the day, 5-8. Lindsay Carl of Central Columbia and Caroline Banas of Holy Redeemer both cleared 5-6, with Carl earning 2nd place on misses.
It may not have been the 19 foot mark she has grown accustomed to jumping regularly, but a state title for Khyasia Caldwell-Adams of Pocono Mountain East in the AAA girls long jump will make up for that. The sophomore was only 3 inches better than 5th place, clearing 18-3 to earn a .25 inch win over Lauren George of Hempfield (7) and a one inch victory over Veronika Karpenko of State College and Cyre Virgo of Fleetwood.
Hickory picked up 20 points in the AA girls discus, with the 1-2 combination of Tori McKinley and Elena Marchand leading the way. McKinley was crowned champion with a mark of 143-4, while Marchand threw 141-2, ten feet better than Molly Montalvo of Greenville at 131-4.
The boys afternoon session saw Ryan Wilkes of Valley View retained his championship in the windy AAA boys pole vault with a clearance of 15-6. Bobby Upton of North Allegheny and Hayden Fox of Hempfield (7) finished 2-3 with a clearance of 15 feet even.
Joey Mundell of Schuylkill Valley survived a tough day and became AA boys shot put champion with a mark of 54-10.25, winning by just 2.25 inches over Nick Bowers of Kittaning. Dalton Hoagland of Berks Catholic threw 53-9.50 to finish 3rd.
Like the AA boys triple jump in the morning, the AAA boys triple jump also came down to the final round, where sophomore Ravaughn Dillard of Gettysburg equaled his school record and set a personal best by 10 inches with a state winning mark 47-11. 2014 champion Deshawn Millington of Carlisle had one last shot to catch him, but could only manage a 47-7.50 for 2nd. His teammate Isa Paschall finished 3rd with a mark of 46-6.75, good for 14 team points for AAA boys team title chasing Carlisle.
Winner's Table
Saturday
AAA Girls Triple Jump: Veronika Karpenko, State College, 40-1.25
AA Boys Long Jump: Tre Tipton, Apollo-Ridge, 22-9.50
AA Girls Javelin: Brooke Hinderlitter, Redbank Valley, 158-9
AA Boys Discus: Joey Mundell, Schuylkill Valley, 176-0
AAA Girls Pole Vault: Tesia Kempski, Bishop McDevitt, 12-9
AAA Boys High Jump: Qayyim Ali, williamsport, 6-6
AA Girls Shot Put: Elena Marchand, Hickory, 45-1.50
AAA Boys Shot Put: Jordan Geist, Knoch, 65-9.75
AA Girls Triple Jump: Hannah Drale, Wilmington, 38-0.25
AA Boys High Jump: Chris Stone, Springfield Montco 6-8.25
AAA Girls Discus
AA Boys Pole Vault
AAA Boys Long Jump: Saahir Bethea, Cheltenham, 25-5.75
AAA Boys Javelin: Grant Jones, Lasalle, 199-11
AA Girls 3200 Meter Run: Marianne abdallah, Vincentian Academy, 10:55.93
AAA Girls 3200 Meter Run: Madeleine Davison, North Allegheny, 10:27.20
AA Boys 3200 Meter Run: Dominic Hockenbury, lake Lehman, 9:08.10
AAA Boys 3200 Meter Run: Zach Brehm, Carlisle, 8:55.60 (PIAA MEET RECORD)
AA Girls 4x800 Meter Relay: Villa Maria (10), 9:11.81
AAA Girls 4x800 Meter Relay: Wilson (3), 8:58.80
AA Boys 4x800 Meter Relay: Wyomissing, 7:59.23
AAA Boys 4x800 Meter Relay: Pennsbury, 7:38.42
AA Girls 100 Meter Hurdles: Markeeta Thomas, Paul Robeson, 14.03 (PIAA MEET RECORD)
AAA Girls 100 Meter Hurdles: Sierra Brabham-Lawrence, Harrisburg, 13.84
AAA Boys 110 Meter Hurdles: Ori Rinaman, Mars Area, 14.39
AA Boys 110 Meter Hurdles: Luke Rarig, Southern Columbia, 14.49
AA Girls 100 Meter Dash: Nicole Scherer, Burrell, 12.32
AAA Girls 100 Meter Dash: Chanel Brissett, Cheltenham, 11.91
AA Boys 100 Meter Dash: Jahvel Hemphill, Bloomsburg, 10.76
AAA Boys 100 Meter Dash: Dan Chisena, Downingtown East, 10.52
AA Girls 1600 Meter Run: Hannah Bablak, Quaker Valley, 5:02.30
AAA Girls 1600 Meter Run: Marissa Sheva, Pennridge, 4:44.73
AA Boys 1600 Meter Run: Dominic Peretta, Beaver Falls, 4:13.92
AAA Boys 1600 Meter Run: Jaxson Hoey, Downingtown West, 4:11.47
AA Girls 4x100 Meter Relay: Neumann Goretti, 47.70
AAA Girls 4x100 Meter Relay: Cheltenham, 46.43
AA Boys 4x100 Meter Relay: Elmer L Meyers, 43.38
AAA Boys 4x100 Meter Relay: Downingtown East, 42.01
AA Girls 400 Meter Dash: Sydni Townsend, 56.86
AAA Girls 400 Meter Dash: McKenna Keegan, Avon Grove, 54.66
AA Boys 400 Meter Dash: Andrew Snyder, Camp Hill, 48.39
AAA Boys 400 Meter Dash: Donovan St Louis, Upper Darby, 48.33
AA Girls 300 Meter Hurdles: Markeeta Thomas, Paul Robeson, 41.75 (PIAA MEET RECORD)
AAA Girls 300 Meter Hurdles: Sierra Brabham-Lawrence, Harrisburg, 42.25
AA Boys 300 Meter Hurdles: Tyler Burger, Northwest Area, 38.45
AAA Boys 300 Meter Hurdles: Dave Marrington, Neshaminy, 37.99
AA Girls 800 Meter Run: Shannon Quinn, Trinity (3), 2:11.24
AAA Girls 800 Meter Run: Maddie Villalba, Central Bucks West, 2:07.33
AA Boys 800 Meter Run: Dominic Peretta, Beaver Falls, 1:53.30
AAA Boys 800 Meter Run: John Lewis, Cheltenham, 1:48.72 (PA ALL-TIME BEST)
AA Girls 200 Meter Dash: Sydni Townsend, Neumann-Goretti, 24.55
