2007 PTFCA Indoor State Championship 2007

Standards for entry into the 2007 PTFCA Indoor State Championships, Saturday, February 24, 2007 @ Penn State University

A reminder to coaches and athletes - every meet you compete in during indoor

Despite their strong showings at the 100th Millrose Games on February 2nd, Boyertown senior Jason Weller and Easton junior Chanelle Price don't see themselves as milers. But they're getting to that point. Quickly. (Photos of Jason Weller and Chanelle Price by Maroon News of NJ)

Try picking up the guy's 16 lb. shot put and imagine getting it out to 60'. That's right, for most of us, it is a distance that will remain right there... in our imaginations. Even in shot put-deep Pennsylvania, it is a distance that does not happen for a lot of athletes. In fact, indoor or outdoor since indoor 2004, there have only been nine athletes to achieve the feat. It is that special. (left: Wayne Crawford, Chestnut Hill Academy; right: Joe Kovacs, Bethlehem Catholic - photos by Don Rich)

Updated Performance Lists reflecting a few corrections as of 1PM 2/22. 

The Easton girls have depth. Not only that, they can score in a ton of events. But heading their chances to move from last year's runner-up to this year's champs is junior Chanelle Price. She should contribute with two individual wins and give them a chance at two relay wins, as well. Watch the rest of this remarkable junior class of girls, including Ryann Krais in the hurdles, 400, long jump and a relay, Carly Seymour in the 3000, and Karen Shump in the shot put. The boys individual match-up mile between defending champ Paul Springer and Millrose mile champ Jason Weller should be epic. The 800 will be a rumble. And the shot will be out there over 60. It may take some special jumps to win the high, long and triple. And buckel your seatbelt for the sprints and relays. There is always something to prove in a very short time.Chanelle Price will lead Easton in two individual and two relays.

Highlighting the weekend... At the 2007 PTFCA Indoor State Champs @ Penn State University, Chanelle Price puts on a show termed "greatest indoor PA performance ever. The record will show that Easton won the girls team title. And the word team applies. It's never a one person achievement. But the record will also show that one athlete put on a performance that few who witnessed will ever forget. Fellow junior star Ryann Krais led her team to 2nd by taking two individual events and a runner-ups in a third individual and a relay. Jason Weller of Boyertown attempted, survived and thrived in a previously impossible distance triple. McDowell win the boys' title. Highlighting the rest of the weekend... also on Saturday at the WV FLYERS INDOOR MEET #3, Katherine Ward of State College finished 2nd in the 3200. Tim Wertner of Greencastle-Antrim took 1st in the 1600 and 2nd in the 3200. State College's Rick Koubek was 2nd in the 1600. Bethany Walker of Ellwood City, took 3rd in the 1600. On Tuesday night at the 70th EASTERN STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS @ the NY Armory, Cheltenham senior Brandon Bing followed up his US#1 21.52 at PTFCA States with a 3rd place finish three days later in NY. Hatboro-Horsham's Joe Berry improved on states, good for 2nd in a jump-off. LaSalle College HS was 3rd in the 4x800. 

Splits of the 2/24 PTFCA Indoor State Championships which are not credited to an individual are courtesy of Mark Schwartz. If you have additional splits and/or corrections, please email don@penntrackxc.com 

Track people, especially the ones over a certain undisclosed age, tend to compare athletes to other athletes they have either heard about or seen perform. That's a good thing. That's what makes us track people. But when you consider the thousands who participate from year to year, there are relatively few legends. One such legend is Upper Dublin's Kim Gallagher.  

Photo Galleries by Don Rich, Karen Ward and Megan Zeller of the 2/24 PTFCA Indoor State Championships - over 5000 pix in 11 galleries.

Jason Weller had a busy day. Mile. 3000 meters. DMR anchor. Sounds like a little much. Well, for most athletes it would have proven to be their undoing. However, Weller welcomed the challenge, and the guts and gamble paid off with his award as the Male Athlete of the Meet.Running fresh, Scott Van Kooten and Rob Speare were Weller's main competition.  

Videos from the 2/24 PTFCA Indoor State Championships @ Penn State University, including the Paul Springer Mile, the Girls 60 Dash, the Weston Banks Shot Put, and the boys' DMR.  

Weston Banks goes from a 175 lb frosh to a 62'02.75" thrower. Ryann Krais' doesn't win one of her specialties... and is happy for the girl that beat her. No, really! Hempfield's Weston Banks joined the 60-foot club on a perfect day. His throw of 62-02.75 - US#5 mark - eclipsed his outdoor PR of 59-04.25 and his recently set indoor PR of 59-03 by a lot. The throw was not entirely unexpected. Mechacton's Ryann Krais had a great meet as well, winning the 400, taking the long jump, and anchoring the 4x400 to a come-from-behind 2nd place. She also took 2nd in the 60 hurdles. That is where the story gets interesting. 

Select photos by Don Rich, Megan Zeller and Karen Ward from the 2/24 PTFCA Indoor State Championships, and by John Nepolitan of Dyestat.com (including photo below) of PA athletes at the 2/27 Eastern State Championships at the NY Armory 

Paul Springer never exaggerates. Sometimes to others it may sound that way, but if you look at his recent history, he is right on. He said he would break 15 minutes at Lehigh in the District 1 Championship. He ran 14:47. He said he would be a Foot Locker Finalist. He was. And heading into the PTFCA Indoor Championships, he said he would set a meet record for the mile. He did.So where does this confidence come from? Well, it begins from within, of course... but it also comes from a process and an approach to the sport he has embraced from his coach of two years, Bill Moss. Moss can easily be mistaken for one of the athletes (I did the first time I met him). But his wisdom about what not to do... which he has translated into what to do, is well beyond his years.

  The 2007 All-State Indoor Track & Field Team was selected by a committee of the PTFCA on 3/6 taking in consideration honors won, quality and consistency of performance and head-to-head competition. Congratulations to all the new All-State athletes.

The highlight of the indoor season would probably have to be running at the New Balance Games at the Armory in New York. What an amazing place! We had to fight off teams from all around just to get a seat. But once the bloodshed was over, the view was worth it. The seats overlooked the track, and it was almost like sitting in a football stadium. The track almost smelled fast. How can anyone help but run the race of their life there? I had also never run on a banked track, so even the hollow thundering sound of each race going off was new and fascinating to me.

From time to time we get historical questions that are not as simple as just checking the meet archives or sending a well-placed email or two. And during the past month, we have received two questions that fit in that category. It didn't take long for the answers...