The PIAA State Championship is this weekend. What can we expect out of this year's final and who are the contenders in each event?
Girls' Jumps Preview | Boys' Jumps Preview
Links You'll Need:
- Performance Lists | Heat Sheets
- Meet Schedule
- State Rankings By Classification:
- AA Girls | AAA Girls | AA Boys | AAA Boys
AA Girls Pole Vault - Saturday 9 AM
Editor's Prediction: Lilyana Carlson cruises to the win and puts an exclamation point on her undefeated season.
Lilyana Carlson (Bermudian Springs) has been the class of the field all season. She is undefeated through seven meets this year and just won the District 3 title. She won last year's 2A title and is back to defend her crown again.
Warrior Run's Aurora Cieslukowski is somewhat close to Carlson in height. She cleared 12-6 to win the PHAC League Championships. She finished seventh at the Penn Relays and continues to trend in the right direction.
Other contenders include Aleah Morgante (Grove City), Elizabeth Michael (Beaver) and Adeline Woodward (Trinity 03).
AA Girls High Jump - Friday 9 AM
Editor's Prediction: Sara McConnell gets a little bit of redemption and wins the PIAA Title.
We get a fun rematch in the 2A High Jump. Grove City's Milena Sciullo won the 2024 PTFCA Championship, but River Valley's Sara McConnell won it in 2023 before finishing runner-up this year.
They'll see each-other again at the PIAA final. Both girls enter with season bests of 5-6.25.
Quaker Valley's Oumou Thiero has also cleared that height, but she finished third at the District 7 Championship where her teammate Mia Gartley scored the win.
AA Girls Triple Jump - Saturday 12:30 PM
Editor's Prediction: Been there, done that... Walters leans on her experience to win another PIAA title.
Yet another Milena Sciullo event, but can the sophomore challenge seasoned veteran Nataly Walters (Palmerton)?
Walters swept the long and triple jump titles at last year's championship and enters with the top mark in 2A this year, a 39-7.5.
Sciullo jumped 39-3 to win the District 10 Championship last weekend. She narrowly beat Grace Bresnan (Reynolds) who jumped 38-1.5.
Jay Olawaiye (Quaker Valley), will be in the hunt as well after wining the District 7 title.
AA Girls Long Jump - Friday 12:30 PM
Editor's Prediction: If Clare Ruffing can continue her consistency streak, she'll win the PIAA title with a jump over 18-7.
Three girls jumped over 18-feet at their District Championships; Nataly Walters (18-6), Clare Ruffing (18-5) of Carlynton and Amirah Crabbe (18-4.5) of West Catholic.
Ruffing enters with the best mark of the season. She jumped 18-8 in late April and has jumped 18-5 or further in her last three meets.
Freshman Amirah Crabbe actually has a personal best of 18-5.25 from last year's New Balance Nationals Outdoors. She might surprise the field with her explosive leap.
AAA Girls Pole Vault - Friday 9 AM
Editor's Prediction: Veronica Vacca.
Maddy Kelley (Villa Maria) beat Veronica Vacca (Mount Saint Joseph Academy) on attempts at the District 1 Championship. It happens.
At the end of the day, Vacca is still one of the best pole vaulters in the state. Pennsylvania is loaded with Pole Vault talent, so Vacca will still need to execute, but her ceiling is much higher than most of the other vaulters in the field.
Kelley will certainly pressure Vacca. She jumped a personal best 13-6 earlier this month and is carrying a lot of confidence into the PIAA Final.
AAA Girls High Jump - Saturday 9 AM
Editors Prediction: Bahn is a well-rounded athlete who is capable of executing on the big stages. She's our pick to win the PIAA title.
It could be hard to beat Ella Bahn (Spring Grove) on Saturday. Her 5-9 personal best eclipses the field by two inches.
Avon Grove's Lexi Boiardi is the only other girl to have cleared 5-7 this year. She did it to win the District 1 title last weekend.
AAA Girls Triple Jump - Friday 12:30 PM
Editors Prediction: Destini Smith will cruise to the PIAA Title with another 41+ foot performance.
Destini Smith (Souderton) is the heavy favorite in the triple jump. She has jumped nearly three feet further than any other AAA competitor in 2024. Her 41-11 is a US No. 4.
There's not much more to say. She can hold her punches and save herself for the high jump and long jump or go after the PIAA record of 42-10.
AAA Girls Long Jump - Saturday 12:30 PM
Editors Prediction: Lily Hendricks shocks the field. She puts it all together and jumps a mid-19 mark for the win.
About six different girls can win the AAA Girls Long Jump title: Amirah Nesmith (Cheltenham), Summer Mellow (Methacton), Rose Kuchera (Canon-McMillan), Aria Messner (Pittston), Olianna Oravitz (Solanco) and Lily Hendricks (Central Mountain).
In all seriousness, this could be the event of the day if you're keeping your eyes on the runways. The field is so packed together.
Aria Messner had the best jump from last week as she soared 19-2.5. That was a huge personal best, and marked her fourth improvement in-a-row. Her first long jump of the season was a 14-6.25 back on April 13th. She has improved a TON since then.
Don't overlook Summer Mellow, who finished third at last year's championship. She may have finished third at the District 1 Championship last week, but thats not indicative of what she is capable of.
Amirah Nesmith won that championship, and she finds herself in the conversation now.