Shippensburg Jack Roddick Invitational - AA Meet Preview
Girls' Preview
Marian Catholic's Tina Capparell will aim for a big day in the distance events. She went 5:06 at Tamaqua last week in the 1,600 meters for a PA#4 time and she'll go for the win there again this week. She's also the top seed in the 800 meters. Mercersburg's Sophia Divone will also be strong in the 1,600, but she'll start her day off in the 3,200 meters as the top seed.
Amelia Heinbaugh of Fairfield Area is the top seed in both the 100 and 200 meters. Look for her to try and build off a pair of wins at Northern from last week. Her Fairfield teammate Moriah Logue is the top seed in the 100-meter hurdles. Mia Kilroy of Trinity (3) was a state qualifier last year and she'll be the one to beat in the 300-meter hurdles on Saturday.
Greenwood's Mallory Kauffman will look to keep her strong season rolling along in the throws. She's the top seed and strong favorite in both the discus and shot put.
In the jumps, the one to watch will be Penn Cambria's Lauren Michina. She's the top seed in both the long jump and triple jump. Her PC teammate Lyric Janosik is also worth keeping an eye on in both events.
Boys' Preview
Defending AA state champion Josh Booth of McConnellsburg will look for a big day in the 300-meter hurdles. He ran a PA#3 to win at Pan-Ram last week (39.40), so he'll try to improve upon that.
Speaking of state champions, Kolt Byers of Bermudian Springs, who captured indoor state gold, will be one to watch in the boys high jump. He's kept that winter momentum going into the spring after jumping a big PR of 6-08 at Northern last week. Look for him on the mat on Saturday.
The throws should generate some close competitions on Saturday. In the shot put and discus, we'll see some good talent out of Darien Yeager (Danville Area), Travis Zimmerman (Fairfield Area), Thomas Kitchell (Notre Dame-Green Pond), and Duane Knisley (Chestnut Ridge). Yeager won state medals in both events last season.
In the 1,600 meters, Garrett Baublitz of Juniata will go for the win. He's the defending champion at Ship in the event and ran 4:19 as a freshman last year, so he'll be looking to get his outdoor season off to a good start. Southern Huntingdon's Andrew Stanley is the top seed in the 3,200 meters. He'll also be worth watching for in the 2K steeplechase.
Bishop Guilfoyle's Max Sankey is the top seed in the 100 and 200 meters. Look for him to make an impact in the AA landscape on Saturday. Tyrone's Joe Kohler and Tamaqua's Brad Clemson are the top seeds in what should be a competitive 800 meters.