Welcome to the pre league/conference edition of the Great 8. The weather finally warmed up and the athletes responded with some great performances! The girls have been consistent for most of the season. But after the depth that was shown at the end of last season and during indoor track, there may be a new definition to the word elite by the time this season is over.
Just like it did on the boys side, the 3200 meter run was the big event of the weekend. Seven of the top eight performances on the list are from this weekend and they all broke 11 minutes! Amy Darlington of Liberty had to sleep an extra night before running the 3200 at the Henderson Invite due to storms, but she created her own thunder and lightning with a state leading 10:44.46. Maria Seykora of Notre Dame capped off a 1600-3200 meter double at Delco Champs with a hard earned victory in 10:49.67 (PA#2). Katie Rodden of Archbishop Carroll ran a 20 second personal best with a PA#4 time of 10:54.01 behind Seykora. Margo Malone of North Hills ran 10:54.81 for PA#5 and edged out PA#6 Nicole Hilton of South Fayette (10:54.90) and sister Shannon Malone (PA#7 10:55.27). In the 800 meter run, the cream of the crop continued to rise to the top and will soon be breaking through the ceiling. Emma Keenan of Gwynedd-Mercy (2:12.12) and Heather Selheimer of North Penn (2:13.46) went head to head and finished PA#1 and PA#2 when it was all said and done. Chloe Schmidt of State College returned to the event with a PA#4 2:15.02 at West Central Coaches and relay superstar Val Wilson of Strath Haven earned an individual gold medal in the event at Delco Champs with a PA#6 2:16.29. Eleven girls are under 2:17 this season. Back to Margo Malone, she ran a PA#3 converted 1600 meter time of 4:53.34, while Hannah Grossman of Strath Haven ran a personal best 5:01.48 for PA#5 and Tess Meehan ran her own PR behind Grossman with a PA#8 5:02.07.
Shelley Black of James M Coughin ran her 2nd invitational 100 meter hurdles and ran her 2nd sub 14 of the season. At her home invitational, Black ran 13.74h for US#10! She now has a half a second on the field. Leah Nugent of Abington is coming back into form when it counts, winning both hurdles at Henderson. She ran a PA#3 time of 14.40 in the high hurdles, one of five times under 15 seconds this week, and then won the 300 meter hurdles in a new state leading time of 43.06, over two seconds better than the field. Emily Wenger of Garnet Valley and Amanda Spencer of Hampton both ran PA#2 times of 45.26 to win their respective invitationals and Paige McDowell of Council Rock South ran a PA#4 45.31 to win at William Tennent.
The top two in the 100 meter dash changed, as AA 100 meter champion Cierra White of Engineering and Science (PA#1 11.97) and AAA 100 meter champion Lydia Ali (PA#2 12.01) showed the state that they are ready to defend their gold. White also added a PA#2 24.57 in the 200 meter prelims at Henderson and Ali added a PA#3 24.80 to win the Delco championship. The only big highlight of the sprints was Taylor Ellis-Watson of Springside. Not often do you see someone win the 400 meter dash by four seconds. It is also rare to see a female superstar run 54.97 in the process! She continues to make her case as the best all around sprinter in the state week after week.
In relay action, Quakertown (PA#5 48.52) and Penncrest (PA#7 48.71) cracked the top eight in the 4x100 meter relay. Phoenixville ran a PA#6 3:59.73 to win the Lower Merion 4x400 meter relay, and Methacton ran a PA#8 time of 9:30.50 to win the 4x800 meter relay at Henderson.
The long jump added four new performances, including the top two in the state. Jordan Matthews of Abington cracked the 19 foot mark for the first time since February with a win at William Tennent with a mark of 19-1. Ciara Andrews of Cheltenham finished 2nd to Matthews with a PA#2 18-8.50. Logan Brenker of Conwell-Egan (18-2 PA#6) and Shelley Black of James M Coughlin (PA#7 18 feet even) were the other two top eights this week. The Baldwin Invitational added PA#s 3-6 in the triple jump. The four were separed by 2.5 inches and were led by winner Shatori Walker-Kimbrough of Hopewell (PA#3 37-4). Sophomore India McCoy of Ambridge Area became the new state leader in the high jump with a huge personal best of 5-8. This is her 3rd consecutive week of improvement in the event. Paige Rittleman of Butler cleared 5-6 for PA#4.
In the throws, the discus was the event to watch this week with four new performances making the list. Rachel Serafin of Hempfield threw a PA#2 mark of 137-3 to win the Baldwin Invite. Megan Dornish of Elk County Catholic won the AA West Central Coaches Invite with a PA#5 133-9. The javelin also added four new marks of their own, led by a PA#4 144-0.50 throw from Jessica Merckle of Fort Cherry. Felicia Reid of Kiski Area (PA#5 143-3) and Kaitlyn Brace of Peters Township (PA#6 139-6) went 1-2 in the event at the Baldwin Invite.
| Rank | Time | Athlete Name | Team | C/O | Date | Meet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1. |
11.97 |
Cierra White | PA Engineering & Science | 2011 | 05/06/2011 | 6th Puma/Henderson Track & Field Invitational | |
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2. |
12.01 |
Lydia Ali | PA Radnor | 2011 | 05/05/2011 | Girls Delco Championships | |
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3. | 12.02 | Taylor Ellis-Watson | PA Springside School | 2011 | 04/23/2011 | 17th PTFCA Colonial Classic | |
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4. | 12.17 | Tymerah Burgess | PA Simon Gratz | 2011 | 04/23/2011 | 17th PTFCA Colonial Classic | |
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5. | 12.21 | Krista Kuss | PA Baldwin | 2012 | 04/15/2011 | Butler Invitational 47th Boys 10th Girls Annual | |
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6. | 12.22 | Lanae Newsome | PA Brookville Area | 2013 | 04/30/2011 | Erie McDowell Invitational | |
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7. | 12.24h | Danielle Smith | PA Whitehall | 2011 | 04/29/2011 | ASD Invitational | |
| *** MILESPLIT US SECOND TEAM ELITE 12.25 *** | ||||||||
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8. | 12.27w | Jessica Whitmore | PA Chambersburg | 2012 | 04/29/2011 | 4th Millersville High School Invitational | |