AAA Girls' Shot Put Preview
2018 has been a dream year for Payden Montana of Berwick so far. After dominating during the indoor season, the senior Penn State signee has been even better outdoors. She's the top shot putter in the nation, owning the best two throws -- both over 50 feet. She won at the Penn Relays with a throw of 5-07 and added a throw of 50-04.25 to win the District 2 title.
She'll look to finish off the PIAA portion of her high school career with a second straight title and we'll see if she can take a swing at the outdoor state record, which is 50-11 (just four inches off!). She will certainly be looking to take down the PIAA meet record, 50-01.25.
Keeley Suzenski of Berks Catholic has also put up some fantastic numbers this season, too. The District 3 champ has won every competition with the exception of the Penn Relays where she took fifth. Her season best stands at 45-01.5. The junior will look to close out her season with a strong showing.
A number of other girls have thrown well over 40 feet this season. Hempfield Area's Mackenna Orie tossed a best of 43-10 this year. She took second at WPIALs to Baldwin's Laurel Bristow. Bristow, a senior threw a PR of 41-11 to win District 7. Both Orie and Bristow will be in the mix for high finishes. Abby Whitaker of Corry Area threw a nice PR of 42-01 to win the District 10 crown. That's about a foot and a half better than her previous best. She's throwing well at the right time.
Montana is the only returning medalist from last year, but Spring Grove's Airika McCaskill was ninth, just missing the podium. She was the District 3 runner-up and has a best of 40-08 this season. She'll have a great shot to break into the medals this year. So will Solanco's Anna Cooney. The senior was third in D3, but threw 41-09.25 to win the L-L League a few weeks ago.
Hazleton's Keturah LeGette, Souderton's Maria Deaviz, and Hempfield Area's Rachel Hutchinson will also compete for the eight podium spots in this very deep, potentially historic girls' shot.
ENTRIES:
Event 316 Girls Shot Put AAA (26) =============================================================================== NFHS Record: 57-01.25 2017 Alyssa Wilson, Donovan Catholic HS, NJ PIAA Record: 50-01.25 1980 Elaine Sobansky, Trinity 7 NFHS Hnr Rol: 46-00 37-06.00 SQS Name Year School Seed Mark Finals =============================================================================== 1 Montana, Payden 12 Berwick 02 50-04.25 SQS 2 Suzenski, Keeley 11 Berks Cath 03 43-08.00 SQS 3 Whitaker, Abby 12 Corry Area 10 42-01.00 SQS 4 Bristow, Laurel 12 Baldwin 07 41-11.00 SQS 5 Klinger, Piper 12 Selinsgrove 04 41-02.50 SQS 6 Orie, Mackenna 11 Hempfield 07 40-03.75 SQS 7 LeGette, Keturah 11 Hazleton Area 02 39-08.00 SQS 8 Deaviz, Maria 10 Souderton 01 39-06.00 SQS 9 McCaskill, Airika 12 Spring Grove 03 39-02.00 SQS 10 Hutchinson, Rachel 12 Hempfield 07 38-06.00 SQS 11 Morgan, Darby 11 Coatesville 01 38-02.25 SQS 12 Brown, Jordan 11 Strath Haven 01 38-01.50 SQS 13 Washington, Zhayria 11 WC Rustin 01 38-01.00 SQS 14 Cooney, Anna 12 Solanco 03 38-00.50 SQS 15 Katcavage, Cecilia 12 Haverford Twp 01 37-11.50 SQS 16 Hughs, Hannah 11 Elzbth Forwrd 07 37-07.50 SQS 17 Thomas, Kasey 11 Easton Area 11 37-07.25 SQS 18 Gilliam, Sarah 10 Bethel Park 07 37-07.00 SQS 19 Raezer, Jenna 12 Ephrata 03 37-06.75 SQS 20 Pighetti, Gabrielle 12 Bellefonte 06 37-04.00 21 Adeniyi, Adeola 12 Susquehnn Twp 03 37-02.75 22 Blalock, Symphonie 12 Springfield 01 36-09.25 23 Coffman, Abby 12 Bradford Area 09 35-05.50 24 LaPorta, Julia 12 Sthrn Lehigh 11 35-03.25 25 Bierling, Hannah 11 BonnerPrendie 12 33-01.00 26 Sakhokia, Tamta 10 Geo Washingtn 12 32-05.00