Photo by: Kelci Carle
Sun Down in the Field
The tone in the afternoon was set by the AA Girls Long Jump, with four athletes; West
Catholic's Amarah Crabbe (18-5.75,) Shenango's Sara Roe (18-3.50,) North Catholic's Anna Lazzara (18-0.25,) and Winchester Thurston's Alexis Bansah (18-0.25) all eclipsing the 18 foot
mark. Ultimately, it would be the West Catholic sophomore's first attempt on her second flight
that earned her gold. Crabbe, who came off four gold medals in Districts, now adds a state title
to her trophy cabinet.
While the Long Jump was nip and tuck, the AA Girls Javelin Throw would be a competition for second, with Teagan Osunde's 141-foot-five-inch thrust on her final attempt proving Secretariat-esque. Bryn Woodruff would set the tone early in the competition with her first
attempt, a 126-foot 11-inch heave, giving her silver. Rounding out the top three in the event was
Kaylyn Davis, who threw a 124-foot-one-inch toss on her fourth attempt.
The final girls field competition of the day, the AAA Triple Jump, also proved a clear-cut
winner when Souderton Area's Destini Smith snuffed the competition with a 42-7 on her first
leap. The jump was nearly three feet clear of the competition, with Palmerton's Nataly Walters
closest behind on a 39-foot-eight-inch final jump. State College's Sanai Abdullah took the bronze
spot with a 39 foot five.
The boys afternoon field competition began with the AA High Jump. A very competitive
field, the spoiles would belong to Ligonier Valley's John Jablunovsky, who would fault just once
in his first seven jumps, culminating with a first place worthy 6-6 leap. Kyleal Cottrell would scrap
his way to second, clearing six foot five inches despite faulting six times within the first five
markers. Jackson Sotosky took third with a 6-4.
In the grass field, Palmerton Area's Ryan Burkett took the top spot in the AA Boys Discus
throw with a 177-10. His fifth attempt was the furthest, but all five of his legal attempts would
have been enough for the top spot. Opting to save his best for last was second place's Alex Polenik, with the Penns Manor senior uncorking a 166-1 to leap over third place's Troy Raup
(165-6.)
Despite a delayed start, the AAA Boys Pole Vault went through without a hitch, as did
State College's Adam Bell (15-6, one fault), who defeated Northampton's Andrew Szeplaki
(15-6, two faults) to claim gold. A dramatic four-way tie for fourth was narrowly avoided by Abraham McNelly, whose 14-6 leap separated him from third.
Closing out the field was the Boys AAA Shot Put. The event proved to be one of the
most dramatic, with the top three of Gateway's Dino Nadarevic (58-8.50,) Grove City's
DeLathian Boanes (58-7.50,) and Central Valley's Tyler Ondrusek (58-7.25) separated by an
inch and a quarter.