DVGTCA Indoor Meet #4 (Lehigh University - Philip Rauch Fieldhouse, Bethlehem, Pa.)
The 60-meter battle didn't include Penn Wood's Thelma Davis as promised, but it still produced another great showdown between Cheltenham's Chanel Brissett and Pennsbury's Dasia Pressley. Both crushed the previous PA#1, but only one came out on top. Brissett took the close win by .01 over Pressley. Brissett now claims sole possession of the top time in the state. Pressley vaults to second with Friday being the first time she raced the distance.
We knew Council Rock South's Dominique Franco was capable of big things this year, we just hadn't seen it yet-until last night. Franco cleared a state-best 12-4 to take over as the lone PA#1 in a crowded bunch of talented PA vaulters.
The 200 meters was another good race. Penncrest's Alicia Collier (26.20) beat Delaware Valley Charter's Tikki Nero (26.30). The win for Collier follows up a nice DELCO meet on Wednesday where she won a pair of events.
Chichester's Nierra Berry also followed up her solid effort at DELCOs with a win 300 meters, clocking a 43.22. Terri Turner of Penn Wood pulled out a PA#8 in the 400 meters, winning in 58.62.
The 800 meters was surely a fun one. Maddie Villalba of CB West got the best of Penn Wood's Agnes Mansaray. Villalba won in 2:18, a PA#7. Mansaray did run a 2:16 earlier in the season. This likely won't be the last time we see these two race in the half this season.
In the field, Souderton's Moira O'Malley won the high jump with a 5-3. Strath Haven's Natalie Kent won the shot put with a PA#6 throw of 38-8.25.
Perkiomen Valley's Christina Warren focused on the jumps Friday night. The freshman finished second in the long jump (17-4.75) and then won the triple jump (35-10.25).
PCL Regular Season Meet (Haverford College - Lutnick Center, Haverford, Pa.)
Janese Lynch of Neumann Goretti didn't better her state-best mark in the shot put, but she did keep up her big season. Lynch easily won the shot put with a throw of 44-4.5.
D'Andre Swift of St. Joe's Prep won the 55 meters in a PA#6 time of 6.57 taking the win. His teammates Miles Green won the 55 meter hurdles in 8.10.
The 3000 meters was a good battle between two Cardinal O'Hara teammates. Rob Morro won his open debut in a 8:57, with Ryan James taking second in 9:05. Morro now sits at PA#6, while James is at PA#10. In the 800, Kamil Jihad won in a time of 2:00.79.
Alison Jones of Archbishop Ryan won both the 55 meter hurdles (9.24) and long jump (16-8), and then placed second in the triple jump (30-5).
SPIRE Scholastic Open (SPIRE Insitute - GaReat Sports Complex, Geneva, Oh.)
Will we ever see Jordan Geist lose again? Maybe not. Geist kept up his big season with another big win, taking the shot put in his second best mark of the season--68-6.75.
Caleb Sanford of McDowell made it 2-for-2 for 2016. Sanford cleared his PA#1 15-0 again to win at SPIRE. Sanford has proved to be the best vaulter in PA for now in these past two weeks.
Logan Caruso of Bradford pulled off a very nice double in the 1600m and 3200m. In the 1600m, he was second in 4:30.37 and in the 3200m, he won in 10:03.34. Nick Wagner of Penn Trafford won the 800 in a big way, clocking a 1:57.40. He was ninth a year ago at indoor states and is well on his way to moving up to the podium with that PA#7.
Kiski Area's Jace Roundtree followed up his PA#1 performance in the 60 meter hurdles with another good race this week. Roundtree won the event in 8.32--a little slower than last week, but still faster than the next best time in the state.
Yale Track Classic (Yale University, New Haven, Ct.)
What a weekend for Germantown Friends!
GFS made big moves on both the state and national leaderboards. Where do we start?
How about Sarah Walker? Walker won the 800 meters for the second straight year at Yale, pulling away for the win in 2:12.21. Not a bad way for Walker to open up in her main event. That's a big PA#1 and a US#2, not far off Danae Rivers (Wilbur Cross)'s 2:12.09 US#1. The Great Valley duo of Amy Willig and Crosby Spiess were also in the field, finishing ninth and 11th respectively. Watch the race and her post-race interview below:
The GFS boys had a really busy weekend in Connecticut. First, the DMR. Leadoff leg Grayson Hepp dealt with a baton drop in the opening meters, but still managed a 3:18 split. Nick Dahl gave a 4:14 1600 meter anchor for a new PA#1 10:31.34. West Chester Henderson ran a PA#4 10:42.64 to take sixth in that race Watch the boys championship DMR here.
Individually, the GFS boys ran well on Saturday. Dahl came back for the 3000 meters in an absolutely loaded field. Dahl finished sixth overall, but still wound up with a huge PA#1 and US#8 (ten of the top 11 3K times in the country came in that race). For Dahl, it's a 4 second improvement from a year ago at Yale. WATCH Dahl's race here.
GFS' Hepp after a strong 1200m leg in the DMR, ran a PA#2 and US#3 1:55.50 for second place. It's a big PR for Hepp (including outdoor) and over five seconds faster than he ran at this meet last season! If you don't already know the name, get to know it: Grayson Hepp. Watch his 800 meter race here.
The Conestoga girls ran a solid of 12:32.57, a PA#2 just behind Penn Wood. GFS also ended up with a PA#3 DMR for the girls in 12:34.38 for fourth in the "Under 600" section. Great Valley was next across finishing with a 12:41.55.
Bishop Shananan boys ran a great 4x800 meter relay in one of the meet's final races. The team of Chris Kolimago, Seamus Breslin, Logan Yoquinto, and Seamus Fromhartz ran a PA#2 8:03.73 to take second place. Watch the championship boys 4x800 here.
Also in the 3000 meters was West Chester Henderson's Spencer Smucker (26th in PA#7 9:01.11) and West Chester East's Robert Moser (31st in PA#8 9:04.28)
Dickinson College HS Invitational #2 (Dickinson College - Kline Center, Carlisle, Pa.)
Diana Hammerstone of Easton won the 1,600 meters in a solid time of 5:13 to take the win. In the 3200 meters, Eastern York's Maddie McLain won in 11:43. Cedar Cliff's Dazjanique Williams won the high jump in a PA#3 5-3. Katie Jones (PA#2 PV) of South Williamsport won the pole vault, clearing 11-6, but still off her season best. State College's Veronika Karpenko was off her season best, as well, in the triple jump. But she still took second place with a jump of 36-11.
For the boys' Red Lion's Gregory Potter cleared 14 feet to tie his season best and PA#7 in the pole vault. Jordan Fisher of Mifflin County added his name to a long list of high jumpers in PA right around the same mark. Fisher cleared 6-4 for the win and a big PR to tie him for PA#4. Mifflinburg's Brian Zimmerman ran a nice 51.07 (PA#8) in the 400 meters for third, which is a nice way for him to open up his season.
Golden Bear Invitational (Kutztown University - O'Pake Fieldhouse, Kutztown, Pa.)
Lucianne Burner of North Pocono picked up the win in the girls' pole vault today (Photo by Bill Shearn)
Check out PennTrackXC photographer Bill Shearn's photo album here
Some PA teams went to Kutztown for the annual Golden Bear Invitational.
Wyomissing's Heriberto Colon was the winner in the 400 meters at Kutztown (Photo by Bill Shearn)
The boys side was led by some strong performances from Wyomissing. Heriberto Colon won the 400 meters in 51.18, a great time considering the surface at KU. That puts Colon at PA#9 in the event. He also won the 55 meter dash in 6.71.
Uche Nwogwugwu won the winner in the high jump and runner-up in the triple (Photo by Bill Shearn)
For the girls, North Penn had a great meet, picking up first place medals all over the place. Olivia Dyer won the 3000 meters to start the meet. The Maidens' picked up wins in both the 4x800 and 4x400. Uche Nwogwugwu won the high jump (5-0) and took second in the triple jump with a PA#7 35-11.5. Allison Williams won that triple jump competition with a PA#6 36-1. Mikaela Vlasic won the 800 meters with a time of 2:24.05.
In the pole vault, North Pocono's Lucianne Burner was the winner, clearing 11-0
Lebanon Valley College HS Invitational (Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pa.)
Emily Stauffer made her return this season to the circle in a big way. The Cocalico senior, in her first competition since the summer, won the shot put and climbed to the top of the state rankings. Her PA#1 of 45-11 gave her the sizable win in the event. Stauffer is the reigning indoor champ, and from the looks of things, she's just getting started.
In the boys' shot put, Northern Lebanon's Dakota Leonhard keeps improving in his breakthrough season. Leonhard threw a foot and half further than he did at Albright earlier in the week for a PA#4 56-3.25 for the win.
JP McCaskey's Nathan Henderson also made his indoor season debut, winning the 1600 meters in 4:32.15 for the win. Jacob Underwood of Wilson (3) won the 3000 in 9:45.
Milton Hershey's Nasir Salahudin won the 55 meter hurdles, dropping a PA#4 in the event with a time of 7.91. In the high jump, Shamokin's Chris Petraskie got himself on the rankings with a 6-2 to start his season off with a win.
TFCAofGP Indoor Meet #5 (Haverford College - Lutnick Center, Haverford, Pa.)
The distance runners of the association had a good day. Rock Fortna of CB West was the winner in the 800, running a PA#12 1:58.25 for a big win. In the mile, we had three guys in a race to the finish line. Connor McMenamin of Souderton won it in 4:35.29 over LaSalle's Eddie Goebel (4:35.84) and William Tennent's Matt Kraus (4:35.92). The 3K was a competitive race. CB West's Brian Iatarola (9:11) took the win over CB East's Josh Goetz (9:14) and LaSalle's Stephen Paul (9:17).
CR North's Mike Welde had a nice win in the 400 meters, clocking a 51.93--a nice indoor PR.
The CB East 4x800 of Marc Motter, Louis Kettelberger, Ata Shahideh, and Jake Brophy took the win in a fast 4x800. East's time of 8:06 moves them up to third in the state rankings. Pennridge (8:12.70) was second, improving on their season best and grabbing a PA#5. Abington was third in 8:14.83.
In the DMR, Neshaminy put together a nice team, winning in a PA#5 10:47.54.
The high jump has been full of breakout athletes this winter. There have been lots of big PRs and any number of the top 15 or so may have legitimate chances to win at Penn State, or at least sneak on the podium. Adding his name to that list in Pennsbury's Eric Wacker, winning the event at Haverford in an impressive 6-5. It's a three inch improvement for Wacker from the Burdette Classic.
Brian Kaufman of Upper Dublin won the long jump with a PA#9 21-3.75.
Delaware Valley Charter's Jahmair Craig won the 60 meter dash in a PA#9 7.23. In the mile,
Rustin's Jack Carmody got beat out by Episcopal's Jakob Jorgensen, who won in a 4:39.59. Cardinal O'Hara Gavin Inglis won the 3000 meters in 9:28.31.
The Haverford School's Sam Lindner won the 60 meter hurdles in a PA#8 8.65.
Sophomore Charlie Verna from Devon Prep had a big day, winning the long jump in a PA#6 21-5.75. He currently the top sophomore in Pennsylvania.
Wissahickon's Yondell Dudley was a winner for the second time this week, taking the shot put with a throw of 52-1.
Molloy Stanner Games (The Armory, New York, NY)
Seth Slavin of Pleasant Valley went up to The Armory and walked away with a PA#1. Slavin was third in the 3200 meters with an impressive 9:38.42. That converts to an 8:58.8 3000m, which would be a PA#7.