Mt. Lebanon ladies runners-up in WPIAL track championships
Eleni Nickolas helped Mt. Lebanon garner WPIAL runner-up honors during the Class AAA team track and field championship.
Lyle Banton won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles during the Baldwin Invitational.
Sometimes second place can be sensational. Just ask Mt. Lebanon, which finished runner-up to Hempfield in the WPIAL Class AAA championships for girls’ track and field.
“Wow,” said Lebo head coach Oscar Shutt. “What a great day.”
Heading into the meet, Lebo expected a close battle with the Spartans and North Allegheny. With a win in the final event, the 1,600-meter relay, Hempfield captured its fourth straight AAA crown by six points over the Blue Devils, 78-72. Lebo, likewise, narrowly edged the Tigers for second place.
“We knew we would have to be at our best to have a chance to win,” Shutt said.
The Blue Devils, indeed, were at their best, particularly during the “winner-take-all” 4×400 relay. Sarah Rolfsen, Corinne Repcheck, Kelsey Potts and Claire Dougherty put on an impressive showing, breaking the school record by almost a second, but Hempfield won the race to give the Spartans their third win in a row over the Blue Devils.
“What an effort by them,” Shutt said of the relay foursome. “Our girls selflessly and tirelessly gave amazing performances the entire meet. But, we wouldn’t have been in that position for the 4×400 had it not been for so many other great performances.
Among them were: Dougherty (4×800, 400, 800 and 4×400), Potts (4×800, 1600, 3200 and just 20 minutes after her 3200 the 4×400), Eleni Nickolas (both hurdles, long jump and 4×100) and Rolfsen (100, 200, 4×100 and 4×400), all competing in four races.
In addition to that, Sadie Saxton ran the 1600, 800, and came back for the 3200 where she, Grace Tandon and Potts completed the 9-0 sweep making the 4×400 for the win.
Senior Alexa Pavlick took first overall in the high jump and earned a second place against Hempfield in the long jump
Fabi Shipley won the shot put. A feat, noted Shutt, as Hempfield is the perennial throwing powerhouse in the WPIAL.
Ria Galardi finished second against Hempfield in the 300-meter hurdles
Despite a stress fracture in her leg, senior Brooke Packy still competed in the pole vault. She placed third with a personal record (9′ 0″) and earned a point against Hempfield.
Potts wins mile
Kelsey Potts captured the prestigious McKinney Mile in 4:56.19 and helped Mt. Lebanon to a third-place showing in the Baldwin Invitational. The junior also led Lebo’s 4×800-meter relay team to victory in a record-breaking time of 9:21.58 for the 42nd annual invitational. Sadie Saxton, who was 11th in the mile, Dougherty and Leah Graf also excelled on that relay unit.
The Lebo ladies also scored second in the 4×400 relay with Dougherty, Saxton, Corinne Repcheck and Sarah Rolfsen. Rolfsen, Nickolas, Caroline Glichert and Ellie Meinzer combined for fifth in the 4×100 relay.
Individually, Rolfsen and Nickolas scored seventh places in the 100-meter dash and 300 intermediate hurdles respectively. Dougherty took third in the 800. Annie McGonigle (javelin) and Fabi Shipley (shot put) also contributed to Lebo’s showing at the invitational.
The Lebo males, who were eliminated in the semifinals of the WPIAL team track finals, fared well at the Baldwin Invitational. Todd Gunzenhauser earned the silver medal in the 3,200 run. Marcus Edvardsson and Reed Farber tied for third in the high jump. Ian Harris secured sixth in the 1600. Patrick Kimball earned eighth in the intermediate and seventh in the high hurdles. The 4×400 relay team of Evan Cohen, Tyler Whitfield, Aaron Joseph and Brian Crowley finished fifth.
Banton takes two
Lyle Banton of Upper St. Clair dominated the hurdle events during the Baldwin Invitational. A double winner a week earlier at the South Fayette Invitational, the senior cruised to victory in the high hurdles with a 14.76 time and the intermediate event that covered 300 meters in 39.53.
Banton’s teammate, Keith Leckenby, scored medals in the sprints. The junior finished fourth in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the 200.
Helbling wins
Rachel Helbling from South Fayette won the 400-meter dash during the Baldwin Invitational. Her time of 57.94 not only set a new school standard but the mark earned her a spot on the National Silver Standard list for high school athletes.
In other results, Helbling’s teammate, Nicole Egan tied for fifth in the high jump.
Several athletes from Bethel Park performed well at Baldwin.
Alexandra Stevenson took third in the discus and shot put while Allyssa Debski took third in the javelin. Danielle Hinish finished fourth in the 1,600 run.
Donovan Staten secured sixth in the 400-meter dash. He anchored the 4×100 relay team of Alexander Minton, Terron Murphy and Chiante Pryor to a sixth-place showing. Individually, Pryor finished eighth in the 100-meter dash and Chris Pauley was eighth in the shot put. Amy Bogan, Karissa Coffield, Courtney Conway and Katelyn Hancock combined for third in the 4×800 relay.
While Taylor Smith of USC secured sixth in the shot put, several Peters Township athletes fared well at Baldwin. Hanna Falccione finished fifth in the high hurdles, Manasi Jadhav was sixth in the triple jump, Laura Ehrenberger was fourth in the 800 run and Nick Wolk added eighth in the McKinney Mile.
C-M third
Canon-McMillan finished third in the boys’ AAA standings during the WPIAL team championships. North Allegheny won its third straight title while Butler snatched the runner-up title from the Big Macs. Tied for second place, 75-75, the Golden Tornado has scored five more points than Canon-Mac had against fourth-place Hempfield, thus earning the runner-up trophy.
Highlights in the meet for the Big Macs included a near school-record performance in the 3,200-meter relay. Caden Meier, Jon Weese, Ethan Linderman and Michael Strosko combined to win the event in 7:56.86. Bronze was the positions scored by Eddie Cottrill in the shot put; Josh Lack in both hurdle events; Linderman in the 1,600-meter run and Ahmad Morris-Walker in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Shane Danyo picked up five points for C-M with his throw of 142 feet in the discus.
WPIAL finals
The Southern Qualifier for the WPIAL track and field championships will be held May 7 at West Mifflin. The top finishers advance to the district finals set for May 14 at Baldwin.