Here it is! The first ever outdoor edition of the Great 8!
So far this season, it's been cold, windy, and downright miserable for the athletes and coaches looking to get strong performances out of the gate. However, if last season was any indication of the future, everyone knew that the weather wasn't going to be strong enough to stop anyone from making an early season statement.
The biggest standout performer thus far in the early going is Taylor Ellis-Watson of Springside. The indoor 400 meter All American is the only athlete on the girls side to lead the state in two events. Both performances came from this past weekend's Lady Skins Invitational @ Neshaminy, where she ran 24.68 in the 200 meter dash and 56.1h in the 400 meter dash. Both events are also two of the deepest thus far. The 200 already feature five sub 26 second performances, which didn't happen indoors until the last week of the regular season. The 400 has five sub 58 second performances, with the top four coming from the Lady Skins Invite. Jordan Matthews of Abington is under 57 with a 56.7h and Emma Keenan of Gwynedd Mercy is 3rd with a 56.9h. Ashley Nicola of Jim Thorpe has run 12.00 in defeating All State runner Jody Evans of Quakertown at the Pirate Invite on March 26.
In the distance events, Angel Piccirillo of Homer Center is the only girl to be on all three distance lists. She leads in the 800 meter run with her 2:16.33 from the Altoona Igloo Invite on April 2. She's 3rd on the 1600 meter list and 8th on the 3200 meter list. However, the main story on the distance side is the number of young/under the radar athletes who are off to good starts this far. In the 800, sophomore Natalie Deacon has run a PA#2 time of 2:17.63 to win the Hurricane Classic on April 9. In the 1600, the next one in the line of Spence runners, Reynah, is PA#5 in the 1600 meter run after winning the Pan-Ram invite and defeating some solid runners in the process. In the 3200, freshman Kara Steinke of Methacton, who made a big splash in the fall, made her outdoor debut a strong one with a PA#2 10:59.46 from the PA Track Classic on March 26. Veterans still lead the longer races, as Maria Seykora of Notre Dame (5:01.0 1600) and Tori Gerlach of Pennridge (10:51.63 3200) are looking to solidify their spots atop the PA distance scene.
The 4x400 meter relay is off to a flying start thus far, as the top eight is already under 4:05. Abington still maintains their title of best 4x4 in 2011, running a 3:58.45 at Lady Skins on April 9. Strath Haven, Methacton, and Coatesville are the next three in line, all under 4:02. Upper Darby has the best 4x100 meter relay with a 48.6 from the Delco Relays over the weekend. Central Dauphin East ran 48.96 in freezing cold temps and wind at the Pan Ram Invite. Norristown (49.48 on April 2) is the only other team under 50 seconds. North Penn and Pennsbury continued their head to head relay battles at Lady Skins, with North Penn outlasting Pennsbury by 45 hundreths of a second in the 4x800 meter relay. Both teams are the only two under the 9:30 mark, which is already better than the amount under that mark going into the indoor state meet.
In the jumps, Jordan Matthews of Abington has company in the long jump. Erikka Williams of Rochester jumped 18 feet even over the weekend at the Warrior Track and Field Classic to put herself one inch better than Matthews. The triple jump has a similar scenario, as indoor champ Gabby Becattini of Methacton is also looking up on the leader list to Milton Hershey's Ahmenah Richardson. Richardson kicked off the season with a 37-9.75 at the Tim Cook Invite, a quarter inch better than Becattini. In the high jump, freshman Megan McCloskey of Germantown Academy is the only girl over 5-4 with her PA Classic mark of 5-6 on March 26. The pole vault has the familiar names from the indoor season back on form, with Larissa Debich of Hempfield (7) clearing 12-3 already, the only one over 12 feet thus far on the young season.
The javelin community received a shocking blow when senior Allison Updike of Tamaqua suffered a major injury during training after her 155-4 throw on April 1st at her home invite. In her absence, there are two national top ten throwers looking to become their own star. Lauren Kenney of State College is PA#2 with her 144-3 and Updike's teammate, sophomore Christine Streisel, is PA#3 with a 137-5. We may be able to see what the teacher (Updike) has taught the pupil (Streisel) as the season unfolds. The shot put is led by Rachel Serafin of Hempfield (7) and her 44-6 mark from the Tri State Champs on April 2nd. The shot put is improved from the winter, with the top eight already over 39 feet. Margo Britton of Dallastown has a commanding lead in the discus with her 135-2 mark from the Hempfield Black Knight Invite on April 9.
In the hurdles, Emerald Walden of Plymouth Whitemarsh is the early leader in the high hurdles, with Leah Nugent of Abington and Shelley Black of James M Coughlin yet to record marks this season. In the 300 hurdles, Kayla Coley of Cheltenham and Paige McDowell of Council Rock South are the only two under the 46 second mark thus far, with both recording the mark at the Lady Skins Invitational.
100 Meter Dash
200 Meter Dash
400 Meter Dash
800 Meter Run
1600 Meter Run
3200 Meter Run
100 Meter Hurdles
300 Meter Hurdles
4x100 Meter Relay
4x400 Meter Relay
4x800 Meter Relay
Long Jump
Triple Jump
High Jump
Pole Vault
Shot Put
Discus
Javelin
Here it is! The first ever outdoor edition of the Great 8!
So far this season, it's been cold, windy, and downright miserable for the athletes and coaches looking to get strong performances out of the gate. However, if last season was any indication of the future, everyone knew that the weather wasn't going to be strong enough to stop anyone from making an early season statement.
The biggest standout performer thus far in the early going is Taylor Ellis-Watson of Springside. The indoor 400 meter All American is the only athlete on the girls side to lead the state in two events. Both performances came from this past weekend's Lady Skins Invitational @ Neshaminy, where she ran 24.68 in the 200 meter dash and 56.1h in the 400 meter dash. Both events are also two of the deepest thus far. The 200 already feature five sub 26 second performances, which didn't happen indoors until the last week of the regular season. The 400 has five sub 58 second performances, with the top four coming from the Lady Skins Invite. Jordan Matthews of Abington is under 57 with a 56.7h and Emma Keenan of Gwynedd Mercy is 3rd with a 56.9h. Ashley Nicola of Jim Thorpe has run 12.00 in defeating All State runner Jody Evans of Quakertown at the Pirate Invite on March 26.
In the distance events, Angel Piccirillo of Homer Center is the only girl to be on all three distance lists. She leads in the 800 meter run with her 2:16.33 from the Altoona Igloo Invite on April 2. She's 3rd on the 1600 meter list and 8th on the 3200 meter list. However, the main story on the distance side is the number of young/under the radar athletes who are off to good starts this far. In the 800, sophomore Natalie Deacon has run a PA#2 time of 2:17.63 to win the Hurricane Classic on April 9. In the 1600, the next one in the line of Spence runners, Reynah, is PA#5 in the 1600 meter run after winning the Pan-Ram invite and defeating some solid runners in the process. In the 3200, freshman Kara Steinke of Methacton, who made a big splash in the fall, made her outdoor debut a strong one with a PA#2 10:59.46 from the PA Track Classic on March 26. Veterans still lead the longer races, as Maria Seykora of Notre Dame (5:01.0 1600) and Tori Gerlach of Pennridge (10:51.63 3200) are looking to solidify their spots atop the PA distance scene.
The 4x400 meter relay is off to a flying start thus far, as the top eight is already under 4:05. Abington still maintains their title of best 4x4 in 2011, running a 3:58.45 at Lady Skins on April 9. Strath Haven, Methacton, and Coatesville are the next three in line, all under 4:02. Upper Darby has the best 4x100 meter relay with a 48.6 from the Delco Relays over the weekend. Central Dauphin East ran 48.96 in freezing cold temps and wind at the Pan Ram Invite. Norristown (49.48 on April 2) is the only other team under 50 seconds. North Penn and Pennsbury continued their head to head relay battles at Lady Skins, with North Penn outlasting Pennsbury by 45 hundreths of a second in the 4x800 meter relay. Both teams are the only two under the 9:30 mark, which is already better than the amount under that mark going into the indoor state meet.
In the jumps, Jordan Matthews of Abington has company in the long jump. Erikka Williams of Rochester jumped 18 feet even over the weekend at the Warrior Track and Field Classic to put herself one inch better than Matthews. The triple jump has a similar scenario, as indoor champ Gabby Becattini of Methacton is also looking up on the leader list to Milton Hershey's Ahmenah Richardson. Richardson kicked off the season with a 37-9.75 at the Tim Cook Invite, a quarter inch better than Becattini. In the high jump, freshman Megan McCloskey of Germantown Academy is the only girl over 5-4 with her PA Classic mark of 5-6 on March 26. The pole vault has the familiar names from the indoor season back on form, with Larissa Debich of Hempfield (7) clearing 12-3 already, the only one over 12 feet thus far on the young season.
The javelin community received a shocking blow when senior Allison Updike of Tamaqua suffered a major injury during training after her 155-4 throw on April 1st at her home invite. In her absence, there are two national top ten throwers looking to become their own star. Lauren Kenney of State College is PA#2 with her 144-3 and Updike's teammate, sophomore Christine Streisel, is PA#3 with a 137-5. We may be able to see what the teacher (Updike) has taught the pupil (Streisel) as the season unfolds. The shot put is led by Rachel Serafin of Hempfield (7) and her 44-6 mark from the Tri State Champs on April 2nd. The shot put is improved from the winter, with the top eight already over 39 feet. Margo Britton of Dallastown has a commanding lead in the discus with her 135-2 mark from the Hempfield Black Knight Invite on April 9.
In the hurdles, Emerald Walden of Plymouth Whitemarsh is the early leader in the high hurdles, with Leah Nugent of Abington and Shelley Black of James M Coughlin yet to record marks this season. In the 300 hurdles, Kayla Coley of Cheltenham and Paige McDowell of Council Rock South are the only two under the 46 second mark thus far, with both recording the mark at the Lady Skins Invitational.
