Friday
Sheena Gordon, McDowell, is one half of the way to four individual medals, after taking the High Jump in a PIAA record 5-11 (right), and the Long Jump, going 19-10.25, plus moving on easily in the 100 Hurdles. Her Triple Jump will be contested Saturday. Meanwhile, the other possible four-gold champ, Tiffany Abney of Merion Mercy, cruised through prelims in the 300 Hurdles, 400, 200 and 4x400. She'll have one semi Saturday and four finals, if all goes as planned. She won three individual championshipls two years in a row, and was a member of the first place 4x400 in 2001.
Gwynedd Mercy and Lewisburg came through unscathed in their 4x800 trial, ready to face off Saturday for the AA girls State Championship. In AAA, the Council Rock girls went 9:17.84, just a nose ahead of North Penn, for the fastest time in PA this season. Manheim ran 9:20 to win the other heat. Last year's runner up Haverford, survived to run another day when senior Gen Story stepped in in place of the injured Adriana Boyle, who was diagnosed this week with a stress fracture. It's anybody's race tomorrow. For the boys, North Penn did their best to take it easy, but was forced to run a 7:55 as Warwick, Tennent, Lebanon and Strath Haven closed over the final lap. Mount Lebanon ran 7:57 to claim the other heat. If you ran over 8:02 you were gone. Tamaqua had the fastest AA qualifier.
In the 100 Hurdles, Schuylkill Valley's Heather Patch had the fastest qualifier, 15.29. Sheena Gordon and Dominique Darden will square off in the tomorrow after both went under 15 to get to the next level. Windber's Jeff Kiss blasted through with the top time in the 110 Hurdle prelim, while in AAA, there's another Cumberland Valley hurdler vying for a title, as Marques Pinkas had the best time of the Prelims, followed very closely by Penncrest's Steve Nichbols and Cheltenham's Jesse Patterson.
In the 300 Hurdles, Melissa Sopher of Slippery Rock was almost a second better than anyone in AA. In AAA, Tiffany Abney, Merion Mercy, was just as dominant in this early round. In the boys' AA, Chris Clark of Milton Hershey, had the best qualifier. In AAA, it was Pinkas again, with eight runners within a second.
In the 100 Dash, Judith Agyepong, Milton Hershey, went 12.77, while teammate Kandance Ferguson won another heat in 12.83. Kennett's Jakki Bailey dominated her heat and the field with a 12.10 prelim win. For AA boys, Mercyhurst's Lavonne Rowan had the best early time of the meet, 11.05, while in AAA. Jaron Hayes, Cedar Crest, went 11.14 and Akeem Vance, Greensburg-Salem, went 11.16.
Dominique Darden (left, sporting the color of her college choice) , Tiffany Abney, and Abington's Takia Brooks are heading for the anticipated showdown after each took their heat. Again, Darden will be the top seed, going 24.81. Also qualifying were Norristown's Courtney Clark, Wissahickon frosh Krista Simkins, and Kennett;'s Jakki Bailey. Mercyhurst's Lavonne Rowan posted a 22.21 to lead the AA qualifiers. In AAA, Maurice Sales, Peabody, went 22.07.
In the 400 prelims, Meredith Troutman, Myersdale, went 57.34 in one heat, while Maggie Borden, Delone Catholic, went 57.39 in the other. Dominique Darden, Harrisburg, had the fastest time of the early round, 55.78. Westinghouse's Yvonne Ferguson went 55.69, while defending champ Tiffany Abney, Merion Mercy, won her heat in 56.20. The top three seeds in boys AA held to form. In AAA, Abington's Lester Caesar pushed through to a 48.25. He was joined by seven other competitors undere 49.
Frosh Kaitlyn Urban of Bishop Mccort, took the 2nd heat in 2:18.45, the best time of the AA day. In AAA, Merion Mercy's Evelyn Dwyer controlled the pace and cruised to a 2:12.01. Pennwood's Danielle Rodgers was less than a second back, but appeared spent. Dwyer teammate Kimarra McDonald, also a freshman, went 2:17.78 to win the first heat. In AA Boys, East Pennsboro soph Tim Swartz went 2:00.19. In AAA, after a recall for a tripped runner, North Penn's Steve Craig was pinched at the merge and for a very brief time, was in last place. He was in position for a final push at the 400 and held off the competition to post a 1:56.81. Teammate Dan Michael, running the 2nd heat, had a similar experience, and recovered to get second to top seed Matt Evans.
One of the toughest events to qualify for, especially if youíre also running on a 4x800 squad, is the 1600. Run too hard, and your second day is tough. Run too easy, and there's no second day. The top AA girls controlled their races, with three going one 5:10 in the first heat, and Ashleigh Wetzel, Lewisburg, going out very hard, almost being caught at the line, to run 5:10.73. In AAA girls, Footlocker finalist and 1600 challengers Jessica Cickay, Council Rock, and defending AAA Champ Stephanie Madia, North Allegheny, handled the field trying to conserve energy, but were passed at the end when they had assured their qualification for Saturday's final. Top challenges ran about the same pace in the first heat. In AA boys, there were no surprises. In AAA, all eyes were on Shaler's Sam Bair as he cruised to a 4:19.48, holding off Cedar Cliff's John Butler. Newcomer Eric Fleming, Bishop Shanahan, won the other heat in 4:21.10 over the same challenger he held off at the District One meet, Mike DiDio, Council Rock.
The AA girls 4x100 will include Milton Hershey again, as their 49.13 was the best of the afternoon in AA. Upper Darby wasted little time telling their competition their plans, posting a 47.58. In AA boys, Elmer L. Meyers posted a 42.88. And in AAA, North Penn went 42.25, but there are eight teams within a second.
No team in AA girls went under 4:05, so Saturday should be close. In AAA, Merion Mercy comfortably went 3:53. In the boys AA, Wyomissing, Harriton and Milton Hershey were heat winners. And Glen Mills went 3:16.71, three seconds up on North Penn and four on Abington.
In the field events, where are all finals, it was Sheena Gordon (right) day as the UCLA bound all-around athlete cleared a PIAA record 5-11 in the High Jump, and went 19-10.25 in the Long Jump. Jill McCoy of Central cleared 5-6 for the AA championship.Mycah Clemons, Valley, went 17-05.25 in the AA Long Jump.
Senior Jocelyn Lindsay of Waynesburg Central cleared 12-00 in the Pole Vault. Charity Payne of Selinsgrove, threw the Shot 44-08.00 to win AAA. Cassie Buckwalter of Wilmington, won the AA Discus with a toss of 145-00. Beth Crocus of Freedom took the AAA Javelin, going 148-01.
In the boys Field events,Nolan McCready of Wyomissing went 45-05.75 to win the AA Triple Jump. In the AA Discus, Mike Stewart, an Allegheny senior went 189-02 for the victory. Ed Ruiz of William Tennent threw the Discus 176-06 for the AAA title. Kurt Dunn of Towanda cleared 14-10 to win the AA Pole Vault. Dane Miller, Schuylkill Valley, claimed the AA Shot Put title, going 61-00.25. And Mike Whitehead, Norristown, won the AAA Triple Jump, going 48-04.50.
Saturday
It was the Sheena Gordon, Dominique Darden, Tiffany Abney show as combined, they won seven individual and one relay state championships. Gordon took the High Jump (5-11) and Long Jump ( 19-10.25) Friday, plus the Triple Jump Saturday (42-10.25). Darden started her Saturday by coming back on Sheena Gordon in the 100 Hurdles, going 13.80+3.9, to defend her championship from 2001. She then posted a 23.80 PIAA Record in the 200 to dominate probably the deepest field of any event at States. Abney is now 8 for 9 in individual events, adding two golds to her collection this year, taking the 400 in 53.79 and the 300 Hurdles in 42.11, narrowly defeating Norristown's Courtney Clark. She also anchored the winning Merion Mercy 4x400 relay to a 3:49.84.
The guys were almost as impressive, as North Penn (above) took the team title behind the second fastest 4x800 in the US this spring, 7:45.47. Plus, Sam Bair set a PIAA record in the 1600, going 4:09.61 to break a 20-year-old record.
Team titles went to Wyomissing boys and Milton Hershey girls in AA, plus Merion Mercy girls and North Penn boys in AAA.
Milton Hershey used experience to run a 49.06 and take the 4x100. In AAA, Upper Darby kept their great season alive with a 47.54 win. Bethlehem Catholic won AA with a 42.81. In AAA, Cedar Crest was Dqed, as Cumberland Valley went 42.30 to win.
In the 4x400's, Milton Hershey 4:02.22 was easily enough to win a state title. Wyomissing 's boys went 3:21.07 to win comfortably in AA. Glen Mills left no doubt of their dominance, gong 3:14.54.
Gwynedd Mercyy dominated the field in the AA 4x800, going 9:17.17. Both Great Valley (9:16.63) and Council Rock (9:16.76) bettered that mark, with all members of each team setting PRs in the finals. Merion Mercy, behind a 2:09 from Evelyn Dwyer, closed to finish 3rd in 9:18.76. Earlier, she had pulled away from a qualify field to win the AAA 800 in 2:09.03. As expected, Tamaqua defended their 4x800 title, winning in 8:05.25.
Milton Hershey went one-two in the 200, as Kandance Ferguson went 25.25, to edge Judith Agyepong (25.47). In AA boys, Mercyhurst's Lavonne Rowan went 21.86 +2.1. In AAA, Maurice Sales of Peabody went 21.82.
In the AA 100 Hurdles, Valley's Mycaiah Clemons beat older sister Mycah 14.61-14.73. Sharon's Morgan Bradley took the 100 dash in 12.24. For the boys, Brad Mueller won in 10.65 for 100, while Jaren Hayes, Cedar Crest, went 10.78 in AAA. Windber's Jeff Kiss won in 14.39, while Penncrest's Steven Nichols took AAA in 14.22.
Melissa Sopher, Slippery Rock, took the AA 300 Hurdles in 43.78. Jeff Baird, Central Columbia, went 38.79, while Cumberland Valley's Marques Pinkas pulled away from a strong field to win in 37.61.
In the 400, Delone Catholic's Maggie Borden won by over a second, going 56.47. Harriton's Dan Engle went 49.37 to win AA. And Abington senior Lester Caesar went 48.18 to win AAA.
Iroquois senior Leah Kerstetter pulled away from Lewisburg junior Ashleigh Wetzel in the final 100 to run the fastest 1600 of the day, a 4:55.13. She then came back to take the AA 800 in 2:16.72. In AA, Joe Castillo, Milton Hershey won in 1:58.85. A crash in the first 100 meters gave North Penn's Steve Craig and Dan Michael reason to drastically alter strategy. Michael never recovered, but Craig pulled back from the pack to finish second. Hempfield's (7) Matt Evans won in 1:53.60.
North Allegheny's Stephanie Madia successfully defended her title, going 4:56.97 in a crowed field, with five girls under 5:00. Second belonged to Peter's Township's Jessica Perry, who just hours before, had won the 3200 in 10:39.57. Defending state champ Jesi Christiansen of Greenville, gave it everything she had, but Our Lady of Sacred Heart's Katie Purcell had a great closing half to win in 10:48.66. Scranton Prep's Gary Malinko won the AA 1600 in 4:16.57. In AA boys, Towanda's Tyler Spencer pulled away from a recovering Andy Weilacher to go9:25.38. And a mid-race strategy change led Baldwin's Dan Mazzocco to take the race later than planned to win in 9:07.68.
In the field events, McDowell's Ryan Sherwood and Warwick's Brad Zimmerman both threw over 222 feet, with Sherwood getting the advantage by seven inches. Bald Eagle sophomore Angela Hoover threw 152-04 to win by over four feet. Liberty's Lauren Birckhead cleared 11-03 to win. Ashley Mondie, Milton Hershey, went 38-04.00 ton win the Triple Jump. Wilmington's Cassie Buckwalter put the shot 39-05.00 to win by over two feet, getting her second title in two days. Indiana's Melissa Stewart threw the Discus 134-06 to win a state title. In AA, Adam Moerder of Schuylkill Valley, and Tyrone Goosby, Beaver Falls, both cleared 6-08. In AAA, Altoona's Tyler Fedeli won with a 6-07. In the Shot Put, Conestoga's Steve Meyers got over 60 feet again, by 3.50 inches to win his state championship. In the Pole Vault, Boyertown's Adam Bingaman cleared 15-00.
Friday
Sheena Gordon, McDowell, is one half of the way to four individual medals, after taking the High Jump in a PIAA record 5-11 (right), and the Long Jump, going 19-10.25, plus moving on easily in the 100 Hurdles. Her Triple Jump will be contested Saturday. Meanwhile, the other possible four-gold champ, Tiffany Abney of Merion Mercy, cruised through prelims in the 300 Hurdles, 400, 200 and 4x400. She'll have one semi Saturday and four finals, if all goes as planned. She won three individual championshipls two years in a row, and was a member of the first place 4x400 in 2001.
Gwynedd Mercy and Lewisburg came through unscathed in their 4x800 trial, ready to face off Saturday for the AA girls State Championship. In AAA, the Council Rock girls went 9:17.84, just a nose ahead of North Penn, for the fastest time in PA this season. Manheim ran 9:20 to win the other heat. Last year's runner up Haverford, survived to run another day when senior Gen Story stepped in in place of the injured Adriana Boyle, who was diagnosed this week with a stress fracture. It's anybody's race tomorrow. For the boys, North Penn did their best to take it easy, but was forced to run a 7:55 as Warwick, Tennent, Lebanon and Strath Haven closed over the final lap. Mount Lebanon ran 7:57 to claim the other heat. If you ran over 8:02 you were gone. Tamaqua had the fastest AA qualifier.