AAA Boys' Discus Preview
A year ago, seniors left their mark in the AAA discus, taking the top 10 places and having a trio over 180 feet. With the Jordan Geist-led Class of 2017 on to bigger things on the college scene, it's up to a new crop of seniors to control this event.
Heading into the final week of the season, the Class of 2018 occupies the top 5 spots on the statewide rankings list. Based on their state qualifying performances, seniors only miss out on one place in the top 10.
Zach Gehm of Seneca Valley has a sizable edge on his closest competitor, WPIAL rival Sam Mastro of South Fayette. Gehm has a trio of major meets over 170 feet, including breakthrough efforts at 180-plus at Baldwin and the District 7 championships. Gehm was 11th last year, and with former rival Nolan Landis back in Ohio, the Raider leads a group of just four back from the top 20 at Ship in 2017.
Mastro got the best of his rival at Butler and has been consistently over 160 feet since the season began. He popped the state's No. 2 mark to qualify for Shippensburg, where he finished fourth in the PIAA final as a sophomore.
Yobani Moreno of Bensalem is a perfect 4-for-4 in major meets in 2018 and is one of four over 170. He heads to the Cumberland Valley fresh off his best mark of the season at the District 1 meet.
Keith Dreese of Selinsgrove topped the 170 mark a month ago at Lock Haven University's High School Classic. He returns for his third PIAA discus final and is looking to improve on his seventh-place finish from his sophomore season.
Teammate (and classmate) Brennen Wolf handed Dreese his only three losses this season with the platter and has finished first or second in all his meets except for the Penn Relays. Wolf was 17th a year ago and is back for the third time as well.
A final note, District 7 is riding a winning streak in this event thanks to state record holder Geist and former Hempfield Area standout Max Adams. The last time a non-WPIAL athlete won the AAA discus was in 2013 when Bryan Pearson of Bangor Area unleashed the top throw of 174-9.
ENTRIES:
Event 717 Boys Discus Throw AAA (25)
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NFHS Record: 236-06 2009 Mason Finley, Buena Vista HS, CO
PIAA Record: 207-06 2017 Jordan Geist, Knoch 7
NFHS Hnr Rol: 190-00
153-00 SQS
Name Year School Seed Mark Finals
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1 Gehm, Zach 12 Seneca Valley 07 189-00 SQS
2 Mastro, Sam 12 So Fayette 07 175-08 SQS
3 Moreno, Yobani 12 Bensalem 01 173-05 SQS
4 Wolf, Brennen 12 Selinsgrove 04 164-10 SQS
5 Anturase, Joshua 12 Pennsbury 01 163-05 SQS
6 Dreese, Keith 12 Selinsgrove 04 162-10 SQS
7 George, Brandon 11 Berks Cath 03 159-06 SQS
8 Maloney, Patrick 12 Methacton 01 156-02 SQS
9 Alexander-Gray, Cade 12 Mechanicsburg 03 154-00 SQS
10 Buell, Daniel 12 Corry Area 10 151-03
11 Hayward, Aidan 11 OJ Roberts 01 151-00
12 Weaver, Mike 12 Quakertown 01 150-04
13 Wrobleski III, Joseph 12 Scranton Prep 02 149-04
14 McAllister, Evan 11 Penn Trafford 07 149-00
15 Liggitt, Zachery 12 Northampton 11 148-04
16 Kline, Jeff 10 Fleetwood 03 148-03
17 Linhart, Hunter 11 Plum 07 146-08
18 Fields, Kenneth 12 South Western 03 146-03
19 Hoover, Josh 11 Cocalico 03 146-03
20 Herbster, Joshua 12 Cumberlnd Val 03 145-09
21 Munson, William 11 Jim Thorpe 11 143-04
22 Whittemore, Ryan 12 Bradford Area 09 139-03
23 Tofano, Ben 10 Altoona Area 06 135-11
24 Williams, Michael 12 Central 12 128-05
25 Singleton, Tyree 12 Palumbo 12 121-08