Five Meet Records. Top five US performances including a 63-04.25 Shot Put, a 23-10.50 Long Jump, and a 47.65 400. Dropped batons by the favorites. Gutsy winning performances by lots of underdogs. Even more snow is PA. All in all, it was your typical PTFCA Indoor Championship Meet. ONE OF THE TOP THREE INDOOR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS IN THE US YEAR AFTER YEAR! (Summary below)
Above: Gywnedd Mercy and Haverford HS both broke the 3-year-old state meet record
of 9:23.90 in the 4x800, going 9:20.93 and 9:21.73, respectively.
Glen Mills' Tyree Suber simply keeps getting better each week this winter. Working his way past 60 feet a few weeks ago, then throwing it greater than that distance at least three times Saturday, his last two were over 63', including the final meet record 63-04.25. He was selected male athlete of the meet hands down. And the girls top performer was not unexpected, nor were the times. William Penn's Juanita Broaddus took the 200 in 24.35, the 400 in 54.52, was 3rd in the 60 in 7.76 and gave her team a chance to win the 4x400.
The team that got second overall, West Catholic, also captured the 4x200. Taking the boys title after Glen Mills was DQed in the 4x200 and suffered a baton drop in the 4x400, was District 1's Pennsbury (below). Al Gregory contributed to many of team's points, winning the Long Jump in a top US effort of 23-10.50, getting 2nd in the 60, and running on the winning 4x200.
Not to be lost in the team titles are the additional four meet records. Drew Eckman, Oxford, positioned himself at the 150 for a drive that would take him over a second-and-a-half faster than the prior week on Lehigh's flat 200. His 47.65 is US#3. Dior Lowry, Martin Luther King (Philly) set three PRs last week at the Meet of Champs, then blew past the meet record 8.09 in the 60 hurdles, going 8.05 in the finals. And in the home town of State College/Penn State's Kevin Dare, who was killed in a Pole Vault accident at last year's Big Ten Indoor Championships, Hickory junior Andrew Rademacher cleared a meet record 15-06. His third effort at a state record 16-01 was close. Mark Korich, Springfield Montco, ran another nice double, winning the Mile in 4:17.88 and getting 2nd in the 800 in 1:55.29 to Chris Kessler, Sun Valley, 1:54.45. He'll run the 800 at the Nike Indoor Classic. Two hot 4x800's as the Philadelphia Catholic League went one-two behind Bonner's 8:03.18 and LaSalle's 8:04.67.
In addition to the relay victories, West Catholic's win was powered by Frosh LataviaThomas, 2:13.55 800 winner, and Nicole Leach's 2nd in 400 in 54.91 and 3rd in 200 in 24.75. There were some close calls on Meet Records in the girls races, but the only one that fell was the 4x800 as little discussion centered on Gwynedd Mercy Academy, who then went out to power to a 9:20.93. Also breaking the record of the 2000 Conestoga squad was Haverford HS, 2nd in 9:21.73. Cardinal O'Hara led early but suffered a dropped baton. KimRorabaugh, Purchase Line took the Shot Put with her 40-05.50. Getting with .09 of the meet record was Upper Darby's Jannea Bridgeford, 7.59 60. And Christina Smith, William Penn, came with .07 of the 60 Hurdle record with her 8.92. Janine Ricci, Hatboro-Horsham ran a tough but effective triple for her 3rd place team, getting 1st in the Mile in 5:03.50, 3rd in the 3000 in 10:20.37, and anchoring to a 3rd in the 4x800 (9:28.23). Emily Kruger, Lampeter-Strasburg, took the 3000 in 9:59.88.
Third place team, Hatboro-Horsham
