Morning Recap PIAA State Championships

After a first lap dip that saw the Lewisburg junior in 9th place, Baylee Espinosa would quickly recover and take the top step of the podium in the Girls 1600 Meter Run. From 9th on the track through 400, Espinosa made up six spots in her second lap, with the remaining two spots overtaken on the third lap, providing Espinosa with a lead she wouldn't relinquish. Her 4:48.27 time was two seconds quicker than the field, with Quaker Valley's Cecilia Montagnese, who was in the lead through the first 800, settling for second (4:50.48). Greenville sophomore Karis McElhaney would round out the top three, making her own meteoric rise from 8th at the halfway mark to bronze (4:56.15).

Haverford's Olivia Cieslak was one of the main attractions coming to Shippensburg, with the Stanford commit sporting state-best times in the 800, 1500, 1600, and mile. The Stanford commit wouldn't disappoint in her first voyage on the track, never trailing in her 1st place 1600-meter AAA victory (4:44.22). From 11th place on the grid after 400 meters, Lower Moreland sophomore Annie Moniz climbed to second with a 4:50.81. Her 1:09.96 final 400 put her alone with Cieslak as the only runners to put in a lap time below 70 seconds. Moniz was the only Sophomore to finish within the team points, with the next fastest underclassman in Angela Zeng placing 12th. Rounding out the top three was Owen J. Roberts senior Jane Kratz, finishing .02 seconds (4:52.93) ahead of Meadville's Megan Puleio (4:52.95) to secure third.

In a competition that saw a lead change in all four laps, Quaker Valley sophomore Jonah Montagnese became the first underclassman on the day to top the podium with a 4:11.06. Montagnese represented the three seed in the event, and came from seventh place through 400 meters to win his 2nd 1600-meter event this season. Just four tenths behind him, top-seeded Jaxon Schoedel settled for second on a 4:11.47 finish. Consistency was key in Schoedel's second-place campaign, with just 1.6 seconds separating his quickest lap from his slowest. 1st place through the halfway mark, Freeport's Michael Braun finished in 3rd with a 4:11.97.

Mifflin County junior Carter Smith's unbeaten streak in the 1600 meter continued in Shippensburg, capturing the top spot on the podium with a 4:01.54. Smith was behind Hershhey's Vinay Raman (2nd; 4:05.30) through 1200 meters ran, but an eyebrow widening 58.26 final lap catapulted Smith to gold. The win continued Smith's electric pace, finishing first in 9 of his 10 events going into Saturday. Setting the pace through the first 1200, North Allegheny's Jack Bertram (4:07.81) settled for third.

Faulting just twice through the first nine rounds, Conemaugh Township junior Baylee Sleek took the AA Girls' High Jump with a 5-foot-8-inch leap. The jump was a two inch PR for Sleek, was an inch ahead of Quaker Valley's Oumou Thiero (5-7) and three inches in front of Ellwood City's Delaney Sturgeon (5-5) who represented the top three.

In a tightly packed field, Lancaster Catholic senior Margaret Bila stood tallest with a 137-foot-3-inch throw in the AA Girls Discus. Just two feet behind was Corry senior Lindsey Hasbrouck, whose 135-foot two-inch throw was good for second. Just under 130 feet was Lakeview senior Kyndra Seddon, who's 129 foot seven inch toss settled for bronze.

It would take a throw of over 40 feet to finish in the top three of the AAA Girls Shot put, with Ephrata junior Sophia Rivera topping the sheets on a 43-foot-three-inch toss. 2nd place featured another junior, Kira Moses, with the Pennsbury representative finding a 41 foot five inch toss. Sophomore Isabella Furgison rounded out the top three with a throw of 40 feet seven inches.

The AA Boys Long Jump was decided by inches, topped by California senior Lee Qualk's leap of 22 feet 10 and a half inches. 1.25 inches behind saw Jackson Sotosky, who's 22 feet 9.25 inch jump descended second. With a two and a half mile power hour leep of 22 feet seven inches, Nativity senior Noah Dolbin wouldn't mind the boost for bronze.

In the AA Boy's Javelin Throw, Corry Area's Nolan Carey (189-5) set the mark in front of a top three that featured Collin Geise (187-9) and Griffin Burnett (179-9) with Burnett setting his furthest throw on the first flight.

The Boys AAA Triple Jump saw two reach the 47-foot apex. New Oxford junior Brayden Billman (47-5) and Jonah Stucchio (47-1.75) pushed each other to the top two.

In a contest that was delayed by heavy rain and extended due to competition, the AAA Girls Pole Vault saw a PIAA record 13 feet 0.25 inches jump from Bermudian Springs' Lilyana Carlson. Carlson was the outright favorite, starting her first vault at 12 feet six inches, a mark no other competitor could hit. A three-way-tie for second shared the spoils, courtesy of Central Bucks West's Maddie Fuhrmeister, North Allegheny's Lindsay Breneman, and Milton Hershey's Lucille Heuermann's 12-foot flat leap.