Photo by Phil Grove
TSTCA Indoor Championship Preview
The TSTCA season comes to a close on Saturday with its Championship meet back at Edinboro. Plenty of the biggest names in western PA track and field will be in attendance.
BOYS
One again, the shot put will take centerstage at the TSTCA Championship Meet. Last year, Knoch's Jordan Geist set the indoor state record at this meet, which stood until this winter when he broke his own record again. Geist returns to the circle this week and he'll be looking to take down that state record again.
Geist threw 73-10 for the state record this past week at SPIRE. He also threw a 73-9.5 in that same series, proving the strength and consistency are all there for the Arizona recruit. What does he have in store for this week?
Of course, like always with any meet in western PA, it's not just Geist in the loaded field. PA#4 Alex Murray of Hempfield Area, PA#5 Cameron Landis of Cathedral Prep, PA#11 Sam Mastro of South Fayette, PA#18 Nolan Landis of Cathedral Prep, and PA#22 John Eakin of Bradford Area are also in this field.
Photo by Phil Grove
Meadville's Journey Brown returns to the track on Saturday. Brown sits at PA#1 and US#8 in the 60 meters. He'll face off with Ambridge Area's Isaac Elliott, who is on a tear this season. Aliquippa's Antwan Brooks will make for an exciting 60 final. Brown is also entered in the long jump as the top seed; he's at PA#7 in that event. Elliott will return later for the 200 meters, where he's ranked PA#6. Shenengo's Dom Data will look to give him a run for is money there.
Speaking of PA#1s, North Allegheny's Ayden Owens is the heavy favorite in the 60 meter hurdles. Owens is also entered in the long jump and 400 meters. In the 400, Greater Latrobe's Zakharee Williams is the top seed.
The mile will be a matchup between Butler's Noah Beveridge and South Fayette's Sam Snodgrass. Also in that field is Seneca Valley's Sam Owori and Norwin's Matt O'Neill. Fresh off a TSTCA win last week, Penn Hills' Isaiah Bailey will look to keep it rolling into this weekend in the 800 meters. Penn Trafford's Nick Wagner, North Allegheny's Zach Ehling, and the Greensburg Salem duo of Frankie King and Dylan Binda are also in the field, looking for the win. South Fayette's Aaron Pfeil is the likely favorite in the 3000 meters after running 9:03 last week, but Baldwin's Casey Conboy, Seneca Valley's Trey Razanauskas, O'Neill, and Greensburg Salem's Dylan Binda are also contenders for the win here.
Photo by Phil Grove
Altoona Area's Daiquan Watson will look to keep up his great season in the high jump. Watson is at PA#4 after clearing 6-6 earlier this season. PA#5 Emmanuel Mitchell of Penn Hills will be a good challenger. He's cleared 6-5 this season. Watson won the battle with Mitchell at TSTCA #3, but we'll see what happens in Saturday's rematch. Watson will also compete in the triple jump as the top seed. Kiski Area's Jalen Cloud will look for the upset there.
In the pole vault, watch for the matchup between North Allegheny's Jono Pelusi and Hempfield Area's Zach Sattieux. Both have cleared 13-9 so far this season.
Photo by Phil Grove
GIRLS
Burrell's Nicole Scherer will be one to watch in the sprints. The senior has had a great season thus far and she'll look to keep it going. In the 60 meter, she'll face off with the South Fayette duo of Amanda Oliver and Rachel Schumann in what should be a fast final. Scherer will then return later for the 200 meters. She'll be favored, but Mount Lebanon's Molly Mangan will be looking for the upset.
The hurdles should be excited, just as they've been all season for western PA competitors. It's an open field all around. North Allegheny's Melina Owens is the top-ranked hurdler in the field at PA#4 after she ran 8.86 at SPIRE last week. PA#6 Jayla Ellis of Oakland Catholic, PA#7 Bailey Tracyznski of Hempfield Area, PA#10 Brenna Cavanaugh of Bentworth, and PA#11 Chyna Beck of Canon McMilan are also entered and should make for one of the day's most intriguing races.
In the 400 meters, watch for a good race between Bradford Area's Ashton McGriff (PA#7) and Butler's Alexis Leech (PA#12). McGriff posted a huge indoor PR this past week at Edinboro to snag that top seed.
Photo by Don Rich
Plenty of big names are set for the mile on Saturday. Headlining the field is North Allegheny's Clara Savchik, who's had a great indoor season to this point. Upper Saint Clair's Savannah Shaw, Butler's Maggie Welty are also in the field for this race.
Savchik is also entered in the 3000 meters. We've seen her pull off this double successfully before and she'll look to do it again. Vincentian Academy's Marianne Abdalah and the Fox Chapel duo of Annika Urban and Sarena Seeger will look to challenge her.
In the 800 meters, watch for top seeded Rachel Helbling of South Fayette. Greater Latrobe's Anna Ramsey, West Alleheny's Maddie Salek, Greensburg Salem's Malia Anderson, and Shaw are among the other entries in the field.
In the shot put, PA#4 Samantha Orie will get back in the circle, along with PA#13 Jena Reinheimer and we should see some good throws there. Hempfield Area's Molly DeBone is the top seed in the pole vault, but Butler's Taylor Weaver should give her a good competition.
Photo by Christian Lisle
The top seeds in the high jump are South Fayette's Courtney Phoennik and North East's Carlye Zahner. In the triple jump, Beck from Canon McMilan is the top seed, but Hempfield Area's Gabby Holmberg and Phoennik will make for a good competition there. In the long jump, Bentworth's Cavanaugh, Forest Hills' Zoe Roush, and Oakland Catholic's Ellis are among the favorites for the TSTCA title.