Mt. Lebanon’s Dougherty dominates WPIAL finals
Mt. Lebanon track coach Oscar Schutt dubbed Claire Dougherty’s performance during the WPIAL track and field championships “historic” and indeed the effort was one for the record books.
The Mt. Lebanon junior garnered three gold medals and shattered three school marks. She is now qualified for the PIAA championships to be held May 22-23 at Shippensburg University.
Dougherty won the 800-meter run in 2:14.08. She also guided the 4×800 relay team of Sadie Saxton, Leah Graf and Kelsey Potts to victory and a new WPIAL record time of 9:13.22. The unit smashed the mark by two seconds and each of the girls ran their personal best time of the season.
Additionally, Dougherty anchored Lebo’s victorious 4×400 relay team of Sarah Rolfsen, Corinne Repcheck and Potts. The unit, which led wire-to-wire, finished in 3:58, a new Lebo record.
“Claire’s toughness and determination to run the 4×8 split all by herself to get the record was impressive,” said Schutt. “Then, in the 800, she had to battle through traffic and come from behind on the last 100 meters in the 800. Finally, she got the baton in the lead for the 4×4 and finished it off for the win. She had a great day.”
All the Lebo ladies had another great day on the track, added Schutt.
Potts finished second in the 1600 run with a 5:01.13. Plus, she posted the second fastest splits on both the 4×800 and 4×400 relays.
Also in the 1600, Saxton scored a personal best time of 5:10.61. She finished seventh overall and earned a berth in the PIAA championships. Grace Tandon also posted a PR of 5:17.43 and finished ninth.
Eleni Nicklas finished fifth in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Her time of 46.36 met the state qualifying standard.
In addition to the two relays and four individuals on the girls’ side, Lebo qualified two boys for the PIAA championships. Patrick Kimball advanced in the hurdles events with fourth and fifth places while Todd Gunzenhauser finished fifth in the 3,200 run.
Lebo placed two other competitors on the podium. In the high jump, Reed Farber secured sixth and Marcus Edvardsson tied for seventh place.
Two champs
Two other area athletes captured championships. Alexandra Stevenson led the list of Bethel Park qualifiers while Rachel Helbling topped the list of South Fayette qualifiers.
Helbling won the 400-meter race to become the school’s first AAA champion. She clocked in with a 57.09 time. Helbling also helped the 4×400 relay team of Brianna Rees, Tori Valachovi and Hannah Kenawell smash the school record with a state-qualifying time of 4:01.46. Zach Russell also qualified for the PIAA championships. The senior placed sixth in the 400-meter dash.
Meanwhile, Stevenson dominated the throwing events. She claimed the gold in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 42 feet, 4.5 inches. The senior also finished fourth in the discus with a toss of 122 feet, 11 inches.
Stevenson’s throwing partner, Chris Pauley also met the state qualifying standards in the discus. He finished fourth in the boys’ discus with a toss of 156 feet, 10 inches.
Though they did not advance, several other BP athletes placed during the WPIAL finals. Among them were: Danielle Hinish, eighth, 3,200; Chiante Pryor, sixth, 100 meters; Donavan Staten, fifth, 400 dash; Shane Burkhart, eighth, 3200; Pryor, Zach Taylor, Ken Barnhart and Alex Minton combined for sixth in the 4×100 relay.
USC shows well
Despite only advancing two athletes to the PIAA championships, Upper St. Clair had a good showing during the district track finals held at Baldwin.
“The WPIAL Championships were amazing,” said USC coach Doug Petrick. “Lots of PRs from USC kids, even those that didn’t get into the state meet or medal. Plus, amazing performances by other teams. It was perfect weather and a well-run and executed meet by the workers, which correlated to lots of jaw-dropping performances by the kids.”
Brevin Banton and Keith Leckenby qualified for states. Banton grabbed the silver in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. The senior secured sixth in the 110 high hurdles. Leckenby finished fifth and fourth in the 100- and 400-meter dashes.
According to Petrick, Leckenby also ran a strong leg on the 4×400 relay and helped the unit put in a season best performance (3:28). Banton, Alex Lindstrom and Matt Wertz also comprised the relay. Individually, Wertz placed eighth in the 800 race.
“We were excited to have two athletes advance to the state meet,” Petrick said. “This is the first trip for both and it should be a great time. We can’t wait and everyone is very proud of Brevin and Keith for their performances. They both ran multiple heats and events and had busy days at Baldwin.”
PT, CM busy too
Several athletes from Peters Township and Canon-McMillan had busy days, too, during the WPIAL finals. Among the state qualifiers for the Big Macs are: Lexi Vidonish, third, 300 hurdles; Haley Yenchik, fourth, pole vault; Ethan Linderman, second, 3,200 run, Caden Meier, second, 400 dash; and the boys’ 3,200-meter relay of Linderman, Meier, Jonathan Weese and Michael Strosko and the 1,600-meter relay unit of Meier, Strosko, Ahmad Morris-Walker and Alonzo Lemus.
Other placewinners for the Big Macs included: Vidonish, eighth in the high hurdles, Jordan Smith, fifth in the javelin, Seth Anderson, eighth in the long jump, and the 400 relay, third.
PIAA qualifiers from Peters Township include: Chloe Grzyb, eighth, 16,00; Laura Ehrenberger, fourth, 800; Hannah Falcione, fifth, long jump; and Nick Wolk, fourth, 1,600 run. Individually, Falcione also placed sixth in the triple jump followed by her teammate, Manasi Jadhav.
Two place for CV
Chartiers Valley placed two athletes on the podium. Katie Doyle and Jared Nelson both finished seventh in the long jump. Doyle missed the state standard by one inch.
SLS medals
Despite not having a home track, two Seton-La Salle athletes earned medals during the Class AA championships. Raja Rutherford also earned a berth in the PIAA finals. The junior finished fourth in the long jump. Ricky Mellick secured sixth in the intermediate hurdles.
Philbin to states
Mary Olivia Philbin finished fifth in the 400-meter dash to earn a spot in the PIAA championships. The Bishop Canevin senior clocked a 61.20 in the event.
KO qualifiers
The Keystone Oaks girls 3,200-meter relay team of Jessie Porter, Kara Hoffman, Lauren Ragan and Jenny Murtha finished in fourth (10:04.93) in the WPIAL and advanced to the PIAA finals. Individually, Murtha placed seventh in the 3,200 run and Ragan took 11th. Danielle Super took third in the high jump. She also finished ninth in the pole vault. Emily Kalanish finished fifth in the shot put to claim her spot in the state championships.
Other top finishers for KO included: Selena Canello, sixth in the 200; Brian Brosnan, ninth, 800; Jack Malka, ninth, pole vault; and Erica Ragan, ninth, javelin. The girls 1,600 team took sixth with a time of 4:17.99.