AA Boys' Shot Put Preview
In Class AA, seven of the athletes who topped 50 feet in the shot put during the regular season will be in Shippensburg.
Leading the outdoor charts and the top returnee from 2017 is Danville Area's Darien Yeager. Sixth a year ago, the senior turned in a put of 54-0.5 in winning the Jack Roddick Invitational at Shippensburg more than a month ago and has not finished lower than third in his major meets this season.
Hickory's Brock Grundy had one of the top indoor seasons in the state and heads to Shippensburg with a District 10 title in the event. The junior finished fifth in the state indoor finale, reaching almost 56 feet and topping 55 in four competitions.
Dock Mennonite's Alex Martin had the best mark in the district meets, with his 52-6 being about a foot off his season best from April. A two-time state qualifier in the shot, Martin was 11th a year ago.
The wild card in the top group could be Connor Vass-Gal of Wilmington. The lone freshman in the state final, Vass-Gal threw 52-1 at the Hermitage Invitational five weeks ago but has not been as long since.
Based on their district bests, almost a third of a field is less than 2 feet from 50. A close and competitive event looks to be in the offing.
ENTRIES:
Event 616 Boys Shot Put AA (24)
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NFHS Record: 77-00 1979 Michael Carter, D JeffersonHS,TX
PIAA Record: 64-10.75 2007 Joe Kovacs, Bethlehem Cath 11
NFHS Hnr Rol: 61-06
50-03.00 SQS
Name Year School Seed Mark Finals
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1 Martin, Alex 12 Dock Menn 01 52-06.00 SQS
2 Grundy, Brock 11 Hickory 10 51-11.00 SQS
3 Blint, Bailey 11 Kane Area 09 51-02.75 SQS
4 Yeager, Darien 12 Danville Area 04 50-09.00 SQS
5 Brown, Myckel 12 Washington 07 49-11.50
6 Gose, Josh 10 Lewisburg 04 49-11.50
7 Rose, King 12 Riverside 02 49-10.50
8 Cowan, Max 12 Johnsonburg 09 49-03.75
9 Gurzynski, Joshua 11 Schylkll Havn 11 49-00.25
10 Vass-Gal, Connor 9 Wilmington 10 48-10.50
11 Zimmerman, Travis 11 Fairfield 03 48-01.75
12 Goncher, Cullen 10 Purchase Line 06 47-08.25
13 McElderry, Evan 11 Oley Valley 03 47-05.75
14 Kitchell, Thomas 10 Notre Dame GP 11 47-01.50
15 Kaercher, Jon 12 Freedom Area 07 46-08.50
16 Knisley, Duane 10 Chestnt Ridge 05 46-05.00
17 Scalese, Quinn 11 Purchase Line 06 46-04.50
18 Francis, Quameer 12 Conwell-Egan 12 46-00.75
19 Calhoun, Chase 11 Southmoreland 07 45-07.50
20 Olivarez, Marko 12 McGuffey 07 45-06.00
21 Polacek, Carter 12 Richland 06 45-04.00
22 Nicol, Garrett 11 Hopewell 07 45-02.00
23 Bujak, Kevin 12 Conwell-Egan 12 43-00.00
24 Dioubate, Mamud 12 Motivation 12 39-04.50