Recap: Altoona Mountain Lion Classic

Track and field action in west-central PA at the 2023 Altoona Mt. Lion Classic. Here's a brief look at some of the notable performances from the meet.

Girls

Sprints:

Abbie Huey (Indiana Area) eased her way to the win in the 3A 100m dash final. Huey ran 12.03, just .09 off her PR.

Huey continued her success in the 200m dash, winning her prelim in 25.07, then doubling back in the final, running 25.18 for the win.

Distance:

Morgan Roemer (DuBois Area) clocked a big PR and PA No.17 time of 2:15.62. Roemer won the 3A race by over three and a half seconds.

Delaney Dumm (Forest Hills) cracked the five-minute barrier for the second time this season to win the 2A 1600m run finals. Dumm ran 4:58.65 in an awe-inspiring solo effort.

Dumm and Roemer both posted impressive doubles coming back in the 3200m run. In the 2A race, Dumm took the win in a blistering 10:43.28. In the 3A race, Roemer took the win in a solid 10:52.42.

Hurdles: 

Hailey Kravetz (Altoona Area) was the standout performer in the 300m hurdles. Kravetz won the timed 3A final in 46.22.

Relays:

The Central Dauphin East 4x100m relay team got things done, dominating their way to the 3A win in 49.28.

The Elk County Catholic 4x800m squad cracked the PA Top 25 with a 9:44.25 performance to win the 2A race.

Jumps:

Lauren Stroka (DuBois Area) had the strongest performance in the triple jump. Stroka had a PA No.23 effort of 36'-3.75" to win the 3A competition.

Throws:

Justley Sharp (Homer Center) obliterated the discus competition with an electric 143' throw to win the 2A competition. 

Sharp continued her success in the shot put with a winning throw of 43'-5.75", less than three inches short of her current season best and PA No.2 mark of 45'.

Belle Bosch (Chestnut Ridge), PA's current No.1, had a mighty throw of 151'-5" to win the 2A javelin competition. Coming in 2nd was Sophia Mazzoni (Derry Area) with a throw of 136'-9", and finishing 3rd was Mary Grusky (Punxsutawney Area) with a throw of 134'-4".

Boys

Sprints:

Ethan Black (Conemaugh Township Area), PA's current No.1, flew his way to the win in the 100m dash clocking a time of 10.38. This was after he ran 10.47 during the prelims.

Black, PA's current No.1 in the 200m dash, posted an impressive double to win the 2A 200m. Black ran a blazing 21.51 in the prelim to return in the final with a 22.07. Jesse Myers (State College Area), PA's current No.3, won the 3A race. Myers ran 21.52 in the prelim to return in the final with a formidable 21.42.

Myers, PA's current No.1 in the 400m dash, put on an inspiring double to win the 3A 400m. Myers ran 48.36 to beat the rest of the field by two and a half seconds.

Distance:

The 800m run made for an exciting event, with Thomas Hess (Lewisburg Area) leading the charge in the 3A race. Hess ran a new PA No.4 time of 1:53.14. The State College Area duo of Nick Sloff and Owen Vaira finished behind Hess. Sloff was 2nd in 1:54.32, and Vaira was 3rd in 1:56.70. Meanwhile, Tyler Rader (Huntingdon Area) won the 2A race in 1:56.81.

Hurdles:

Bernard Bell (South Western), current PA No.2, won the 3A 110m hurdles in 14.45. This is after he posted the fastest prelim time of 14.37. Jon Wess (Central Cambria) won the 2A race in 14.80.

Bernard Bell kept the momentum going in the 300m hurdles, taking the 3A win in a new PA No.6 time of 39.13. Meanwhile, in the 2A race, Andre Marnika (Penn Cambria) won in a new PA No.12 time of 39.66.

Relays:

Central Dauphin East took the crown in the 3A 4x100m relay with a new PA No.9 time of 42.76.

The South Western 4x400m relay team win the 3A race in 3:25.20. This is a new PA No.18 performance. 

Lewisburg Area put things together in the 4x800m relay to win the 3A race in a new PA No.8 time of 7:59.74. 

Jumps:

Bernard Bell continued his success in the field with a winning 3A long jump effort of 22'-8". Miles Brooks (Penns Valley) won the 2A competition with an effort of 22'-2".

Ricky Zampogna (Kane Area) was the standout athlete triple jumper after winning the 2A competition covering 45'-2.50" to crack the PA Top 10. Brooks put together a nice double coming in 2nd with a jump of 44'-4". While in the 3A competition, Caden Delattre (Hollidaysburg) won with an effort of 44'-10".

Vault:

Nathan Lutz (Altoona Area) won the 3A vault contest as the only athlete to clear 15' on the day. Dylan Andrews (Bellwood Antis) won the 2A vault contest, clearing 14'-6".

Throws:

Alex Polenik (Penns Manor) won 2A discus after throwing 156'-8". Polenik beat the rest of the field by over 20'.

Blake Klosky (Windber Area) cracked the PA Top 25 in the shot put after winning the 2A competition with a 51'-4.5" throw.

Rylan Daugherty (Martinsburg Central High School) took the 2A javelin crown with a monster PR of 177'-4". Daugherty's performance earns him the current PA No.15 rank.