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Mt. Lebanon finishes strong at PIAA track & field finals

By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read
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At one of the hottest state meets and under a relentless sun, Mt. Lebanon enjoyed a successful weekend at the PIAA track and field championships.

Three individuals and a relay returned home with medals. Some even established new school records.

Claire Dougherty raced to a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter dash. The Almanac’s 2016 female athlete of the year clocked a 2:10.75, which was almost two seconds better than her personal record and ranks No. 3 all-time in the history of the WPIAL.

Dougherty also helped the 4×400 relay run a historic race. The team, which also consisted of Sarah Rolfsen and sisters, Keara and Molly Mangan, finished fourth in 3:52.83. The time was over three seconds faster than the school record set May 18 at the WPIAL championships. According to records kept by WPIAL track historian, Jim Faiella, the mark also ranks third fastest in the history of District 7.

“To fully explain the accomplishment of this relay team and race, one needs to understand a little background,” said Oscar Shutt.

Shutt and the other Lebo coaches saw the extended forecast for high temperatures at states and felt it would be a lot to ask Dougherty to do three races in the prelims on May 27 and come back in potentially three again May 28. Dougherty was a member of Lebo’s WPIAL championship 4×800 relay. Based on the seeded times from the other districts, the coaches concluded Lebo had a better chance to medal in the 4×400 than the 4×800.

“So I made the difficult decision for the WPIAL champion 4×800 relay team to compete at the state meet without its best runner,” Shutt said.

With sophomore Rory Vigrass subbing for Dougherty, the relay of seniors Sadie Saxton and Leah Graf along with freshman Aoife-Ruby Dunne finished 17th in the prelims. In fact, Vigrass ran a 2:26 in her 800 leg, shaving three seconds off her best time.

“Rory really stepped up,” said Shutt, “and I really have to commend Sadie and Leah for their leadership and support of the team.”

In finishing fourth, the 4×400 did not have an easy time of it, either. Because of a thunderstorm, the preliminaries were cancelled. As a result, the event was re-seeded from slow to fast and run as time finals. This meant anyone from any heat could medal. Lebo was seeded 11th, in the second fastest heat.

“So the goal was to win the heat and put up a time that would finish ahead of some of the eight teams from the fast heat,” explained Shutt.

Though the girls finished second in their heat, they still managed to run an amazing time and exact eighth place in an overall very fast 4x400m relay. Penn Wood won the event in 3:42.67, more than two seconds faster than second-place Cheltenham (3:44.96)

In the men’s competition, Todd Gunzenhauser finished fifth in the 3200.

“Todd ran a very savvy race, staying in the middle of the pack until lap five, then he methodically moved up and picked off runners each lap to finish with a state medal,” Shutt said.

Patrick Kimball also garnered a medal. The senior finished eighth in the 110-meter high hurdles (15.42). He added 15th in the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Competing in their first-ever PIAA track meet, Josh Kalapos and Ian Harris finished 16th and 19th respectively in the 1,600-meter run. Additionally, Molly Mangan and Sarah Rolfsen finished 13th and 15th respectively in their 200-meter semifinal heats

Two place

Two South Fayette students gained medals at the PIAA championships.

Sam Mastro finished fourth in the discus. He set a new school record with a throw of 169 feet, 100 inches.

Rachel Helbling finished fifth in the 400-meter dash. The South Fayette sophomore, who is a two-time WPIAL champion in the event, clocked a 56.27, which also was a new school mark.

Additionally, Amanda Oliver set a school record with a time of 12.46 in the 100-meter dash. Oliver reached the semifinals of the race.

Rutherford 3rd

Raja Rutherford earned two medals during the PIAA Class AA track and field championships. The Seton-La Salle senior took third in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 8 inches. She also secured sixth place in the 200-meter dash with a 25.55 time.

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