45th Leonard Stephan T&F Classic 2006

Weekend Highlights: WEDNESDAY 4/19: The North Allegheny jumpers, throwers and vaulters, buoyed by three strong running relays, won the 4/19 Moon Mixed Relays over a strong Seneca Valley squad. On the same day in eastern PA, also under perfect skies, THURSDAY 4/20: Penn Charter set five meet records in taking six of 13 contested relays at the Karl Hankton Relays at Valley Forge Military Academy. FRIDAY 4/21: In a series of meets held across the state as the rain began to fall on Friday, performances were impressive, despite the cold wind and damp air. If I had to pick one on such a nasty night, I\'m glad I picked the precisely run Bald Eagle Invitational at Lock Haven University, where the Lewisburg girls held off a strong challenge by Maryland\'s Linganore, starting the meet with a win in the 4x800. In the boys\' competition, Selinsgrove was the only team with over 100 points. Ryan Ferguson set the tone for the win, garnering a meet record in the 110 Hurdles. At the 4th Wildcat Invitational @ Latrobe, it was on the track that Altoona flexed its muscles with some outstanding performances to take the team title. Rising sprint star A.J. Alexander contributed to two wins. Teammate Darrell Morris was a double winner as well, taking both hurdle events. Zach Epple won the 800. Other outstanding performances included a meet record from Penn-Trafford\'s Josh Christopher in the 3200. And Wes Banks of Hempfield (7), set two meet and school records in winning the Shot Put and Discus. At the Northern Bedford Invitational, the Berlin Brothersvalley girls used depth and a big throw by senior Megan Lamens to carry them to a 97-82 win over host Northern Bedford Teammate Mike Bowman won the boys\' Javelin. The young talent was also evident as Tussey Mountain sophomore Jordon Donaldson won the 400 and the 800. Northern Bedford freshman Taylor Crawford had a big night, winning the Long Jump, and taking 2nd in the 100 Hurdles, 3rd in the Triple Jump, and 4th in the High Jump. SATURDAY 4/22: Wow, and congrats covers it all for Center thrower Allyn Lauglin at the Beaver County Championships @ Riverside HS. She has been heading for the magic white line in the dirt that tells everyone she has put the shot 50 feet. Laughlin hit the mark on the nose... not a quarter-inch more or less. The mark gives her the #1 throw in the US. She also won the Discus. Talented teammate Lindsay Dolan won the Triple Jump, the 100 Hurdles and was 2nd in the 300 Hurdles. Ambridge\'s Jonathan Kowal was a double champ, taking the 300 Hurdles and 110 Hurdles. Riverside\'s Denes Veres won the Shot Put to go with his Discus win. At the Central Bucks West Relays, the North Penn girls won four relays on the track and four in the field events. The 2x300 Meter Hurdles is individually timed, and North Penn hurdler Erin Berg ran a 46.9. On the boys\' side, Abington\'s Jerrett Eaton went 39.6. Central Bucks South, Archbishop Wood, and Neshaminy were3 all under 45 seconds in their 4x100. Neshaminy posted a good 1:32.7 in the 4x200. Pennridge\'s girls ran 9:57.6 to take the 4x800. Home team CB West captured the Sprint Medley Relay in 4:10.0. At the 15th Lady Spartan Invitational @ Latrobe HS: the home girls of Hempfield got 20 important points from thrower Samantha Fetter to hold off Norwin 75.5 to 68. Fetter won the Shot Put and the Discus, going 128-03. Teammates Erika Carranza and Katie Thompson went one-two in the 800. Norwin captured the 4x400 and the 4x800, with Hempfield 2nd. Norwin\'s Megan Duncan posted a fast 400. The Penn Hills 4x100 won. Diana Filtz, Penn-Trafford, ran a fast 5:07.8 to win the 1600, and also took 2nd in the 3200 to Penn Hills\' Kaitlin Grimm. The American Conference Relays @ Wissahickon HS featured Methacton star Ryann Krais and an increasingly strong crew of teammates who helped her win four golds, three in track relays, and one in the field. The Wissahickon boys ran 10:56.4 to win the DMR. Four different Wissahickon boys set a meet record in the 4x1600, going 18:06.8. There was a rare tie in the 300 Hurdles. It was a better day to be a distance runner or a thrower who didn\'t mind the mud at most meets, including the Great Valley Relays. And on a track located along a ridge, you have to expect wind. It was the rain we could have done without. The day started with a Delaware County record and a Meet Record in the 4x1600. The West Chester Henderson girls posted a strong 4x800. Strath Haven set a meet record in the Shuttle Hurdles. Strath Haven also won the 4x100 and the 4x400. Conestoga was anchored with a 2:17-point 800 by Liz Costello, racing to a Sprint Medley Relay win. In the field, Coatesville won the Shot Put Relay Kaleena Gray. Penncrest\'s Karen Shump had the top throw of the day. Shump also won the Discus. Glen Mills dominated the Shot Put Relay with Robert Williams and Nathan Stewart. Upper Darby\'s Dominique Asbury had a season-best in the High Jump. His teammate Bintou Dibba had the top Long Jump. They came, it poured, they left the Stan Morgan Invitational @ Carlisle HS. With a deluge that affected the timing as much as the athletes, the meet management called it a day after a few sprint trials, the 300 Hurdles and a few throwing events. The trials were declared finals (so don\'t take too much meaning from the results), other than Chambersburg frosh Anyssa Barbour continued to cruise. Hershey\'s Jess Tack won the Shot Put with a throw of 35-05.75. At the City of Hermitage T&F Invite @ Hickory HS, Union City\'s Natalie Clickett had a big day in the Shot Put and Discus. Northwestern\'s Cody Cipalla lead a fast bunch in the 200 with five guys under 23.3. 5th in that race was Franklin\'s Cody Cummings who obviously liked the longer distance of 400 meters. Cipalla won the High Jump. Mercer\'s Justin Angemeier was 4-inches beyond West Middlesex thrower Josh Brown in taking the Javelin. At the North East Invitational @ North East HS, Iroquois\' Nicole Wilson won the Shot Put and Discus. Other double winners included Eisenhower\'s Elisha Jones in the Long Jump and Javelin; Iroquois\' Ryan Johnson in the Discus and Shot Put; and Tyler Sweet of Warren in the 110 Hurdles and Javelin. At the Bulldog Relays at Winston Churchill HS in Maryland, William Penn York competed at this meet, finishing 5th in the Girls\' team competition with 48 points. At the Glasgow Invitational @ Glasgow HS, DE, Garnet Valley\'s boys tied for 3rd place with 52 points behind wins in the 400 and 4x400. The Garnet Valley girls team finished 8th with 21 points. Laurel Highlands\' Jared Jodon joined a big-time club in the Pole Vault at the Morgantown High/WVU T&F Invite @ U. of West Virginia. Other top performances from the Laurel Highlands team came from Breehana Jacobs with wins in the 100 and 200. She also helped the 4x100. And teammate Jack Macioce cruised to a 3rd place in the 200. (Photo by PennTrackXC.com: Chester wins the 4x400 by just .01 over a hard-charging Upper Darby anchor at Great Valley Relays)