Top qualifiers set for WPIAL track championships
The moment of truth arrives May 19 for area runners and jumpers as the WPIAL hosts its District 7 track and field championships at Baldwin. Berths for the PIAA championships, to be held May 27-28 in Shippensburg, will be on the line.
“The No. 1 goal every year is to get as many individuals and relays through to the WPIAL finals and then states as possible,” said Chartiers Valley coach Lori Poe. “Everybody has a lot of individuals who have been running, jumping and throwing well, but the hard part is doing it that day at the finals. There is no room for errors, off days or being too nervous to compete well.”
During the Southern Qualifier at West Mifflin last week, Mt. Lebanon’s Claire Dougherty and South Fayette’s Rachel Helbling performed like the veterans they are. Both enter the district finals this week as defending WPIAL champions.
Dougherty leads a cadre of runners who helped Lebo finish third as a team in the WPIAL. She was a three-time WPIAL medalist last year and is expected to dominate the field in the 800-meter run. She won the qualifier in 2:16.21, but her best time this season has been a 2:13.78.
The senior, who is bound for Darmouth, is a member of the school’s and WPIAL-record breaking 4×800 relay team. This year’s unit of Sadie Saxton, Leah Graf, Aoife-Ruby Dunne and Dougherty are seeded No. 1 for Thursday’s championships. They won the qualifier in 9:38.10. Dougherty also anchors the 4×400 team with Sarah Rolfsen, Keara Mangan and Molly Mangan. The group finished second to South Fayette in the qualifier.
Lebo’s 4×100 relay of Molly Mangan, Flynn Begor, Caroline Glickert and Rolfsen won the qualifier in 49.35 and is expected to be one of the top eight seeded teams for the finals.
During the qualifier, Molly Mangan shattered the school record in the 200-meter dash. She won the event in 25.15, breaking the mark of 25.41 set by Kayleigh Birks in 2009.
Individually, nine Lebo ladies, including Dougherty and Molly Mangan, qualified for the WPIAL championships with Top 8 showings during the Southern Qualifier. They included: Rolfsen, fourth in the 100-meter dash and fifth in the 200; Rory Vigras, third, 1,600; Keara Mangan, eighth, 800; Gillian Livingston, sixth, 3,200; Aya Obeid and Angie Gyurina, tied for first with eight others in the high jump.
Bryce Brandenstein and Patrick Kimball headline the list of Lebo men who qualified for the championships. Brandenstein won the 800-meter run during the Southern Qualifier, while Kimball won the 300 intermediate hurdles. Kimball posted the top qualifying time in the high hurdles. Meanwhile, Brandenstein anchored the 4×800 relay team, which finished second to Chartiers Valley. The unit also consisted of Todd Gunzenhauser, L. Lewis and Jack Cameron.
Josh Kalapos and Ian Harris finished two-three behind Upper St. Clair’s Bennett Sneath in the 1,600 race at qualifiers, while Gunzenhauser and Peter Cosentino finished fifth and sixth, respectively, to qualify in the 3,200 run. Cameron Potts took eighth in the 1,600. With a sixth-place showing, Lebo also qualified its 4×100 relay team of Tyler Quach-dao, Garrett Montilla, Edgar Parrilla and Beau Greenwood.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Lebo coach Oscar Shutt. “We are looking forward to finals and getting as many kids qualified for states.”
At CV, that is always the goal and so far, Poe is pleased with the progress of her athletes.
“First,” she said, “I was very pleased with how everyone on our team did at the qualifiers. Now, we would like individuals to place. I have a lot of upperclassmen that are really focused on making states. They have been at the championship meet before and want more than placing.”
Several Colts have shots at placing high during the WPIAL finals. Among the top performers were Laurel Dinnen, Dan McGeough and Jared Nelson. Dinnen took home gold, silver and bronze in the javelin, shot put and discus. McGeough won the shot put and took third in the discus. Nelson won the long jump and was runner-up in the triple jump.
The Colts also finished first in the 4×800 and the 4×100 relays. The 4×800 unit consisted of Elias Zajicek, Matt Thomas, Micah Colson and Joe Westrick. Jon Uher, Nelson, Sean Parenti and Aaron Tate comprised the sprint relay. In the 4×400, Parenti, Zajicek, Nick Jessloski and Hunter Haer took second.
Other top individual showings that netted WPIAL berths on the men’s side included: Tate, sixth, high hurdles; Colson, fifth, 1600 and seventh, 800; Parenti, third, 400; Lennon Zrimsek, eighth, 400; Zajicek, second, 800; Westrick, third, 3,200.
Among the CV ladies to qualify for the WPIAL finals were Katie Doyle, third, long jump and fifth, 100 dash; Alexis Byers, seventh, 1,600; Kiki Thornton, sixth, 800; Amy MacFarlane, eighth, 800; Tia Horew, eighth, 200; Abbey Collins, fifth, long jump; Johanna West, fourth javelin.
MacFralane, Thornton, Byer and Bryanna Zrelak combined for fourth in the 4×800 relay. Collins, Katherine Ball, Carleea Webb and Doyle finished fifth in the 4×100. Horew, MacFarlane, Molly Beattie and Thornton were seventh in the 4×400.
South Fayette shines
South Fayette had another impressive showing at the qualifier, but it was the Lions’ football players who excelled.
Junior Mikey Speca, who was a threat all over the field for South Fayette last fall, took third in the 100 dash with a personal-best of 11.19. Head coach Scott Litwinovich, who rejoined the Lions’ football staff with the plan to draw more athletes to the track team, was floored to see Speca, a first-year track competitor, come within 0.09 of first place.
“Knocking 0.30 off your (personal best) is crazy,” Litwinovich said. “I didn’t know he was that fast. He’s enjoying it and I think he’s seeing just how successful he can be. A couple of our other football players are like that.”
Junior Ryhan Culberson, the Lions’ standout tight end, qualified in the long jump and narrowly missed in the 300 hurdles. Junior Luke Meindl, a defensive back, was first in the triple jump (43-7½). Junior offensive lineman Thayer Phillips qualified in the shot put, discus and javelin.
Sam Snodgrass finished fourth in the 1,600 while Aaron Pfeil took that spot in the 3,200. In the field events, Thayer Phillips took third in the shot put, sixth in the javelin and seventh in the discus. Sam Mastro secured second in the discus.
On the girls’ side, Rachel Helbling won the 400 dash in 58.53. She is the defending WPIAL champion. Allison Gates won the 3,200 in 11:54.58. Maria DeCello followed in fourth. Tori Valachovic won the intermediate hurdles (46.03) and qualified with third-place in the high hurdles. Courtney Phoennik took the gold in the triple jump.
Other Lady Lions to qualify for the WPIAL finals include Amanda Oliver, third, 100 dash; Rachel Schuman, fifth, 100; Brianna Rees, seventh, 400; Hannah Kenawell, fourth, 800; Sydney Lerda, fifth, 800; Skylar Aitken, Morgan Marmarelli, Oliver and Phoennik, 4×100 relay; Hailey Bair, fourth, high jump.
Curran wins hurdles
Peters Township senior Caroline Curran tried the hurdles as a seventh-grader when she decided they were unlike the other track events. There were many falls, many hurdles hit and it took years to truly hone the craft, but Curran will enter the next WPIAL Championships as one of the top seeds.
Curran finished first in the 100 hurdles with a personal-best of 15.08 and second in the 300 hurdles behind South Fayette’s Tori Valachovic with a time of 47.42.
“During my race, I knew it was one of the best I’ve ever ran,” Curran said of the 100 hurdles. “I could just feel how fast I was going. I honestly didn’t see myself taking first or second today with all the great competition here. I hoped to qualify, but I stayed confident.”
Curran was not the lone Peters Township athlete to win at the Southern Qualifier.
Chloe Grzyb was first in the 1,600-meter run. Hannah Falcione placed first in the long jump. She added second in the triple jump, and Nick Wolk won the 3,3200 meters.
Other PT qualifers included Laura Ehrenberger, second, 800; Ally Spalaris, sixth, 1,600; Sydney Wehn, second, 3,200, Jennifer Massucci, fifth, 3,200; Angela Heisinger, sixth, intermediate hurdles; Mia Spergel, seventh, high jump; Angelique Williams, eighth long jump; Masasi Jadhav, sixth, triple jump; Ava Falcione, eighth, triple jump; Caroline Fyock, fourth, shot put and sixth, discus; Matt Massucci, fourth, 800; Damon Gall, seventh, 1,600; Casey Zakis, fifth, high hurdles; Anthony Wells, seventh, pole vault. The Indians have qualified both 4×800 relays as well as the boys’ 4×400.
“We are hoping for the kids to run, jump, throw or vault their best of the year,” said PT track coach Justin Pinto. “We are trying to qualify as many as we can to the PIAA the following weekend. It is always nice to see the work put in produce great results in May. These kids have worked hard all year and it’s nice to see them succeed.”
BP qualifiers
Among the athletes qualifying from Bethel Park were Claire Makowski, seventh, 3,200; Rachel Toogadd, eighth, hurdles; Kathryn Kimes, Madelie Werner and Rebbecca Libell, tied for first, pole vault; Christine Kovalchick, sixth, javelin; Zach Taylor, sixth, 100 dash, and second, long jump; Terron Murphy, fifth, 200; Logan Runco, seventh, 400; Ryan Zimba, sixth, 1,600; Todd Brendan, second, high hurdles; Cody Shetter, seventh, high hurdles; Garrett Hoffman, seventh, intermediate hurdles; Brendan Todd, first, high jump, and fourth, triple jump; Joey Weston, first pole vault; and Chris Pauley, second, shot put, and seventh, discus.
C-M qualifiers
Among the qualifiers from Canon-McMillan were:
• Chyna Beck, second, 200 dash; fourth, high hurdles
• Cerena McBride, fourth, 400; eighth, high jump
• Kierra King and Emily Clopp, fourth and fifth, intermediate hurdles. King added fourth in long jump.
• Madi Germeyer, second, discus
• Elizabeth Hathaway, fourth, discus
• Danielle Williams, third javelin
• Kamden Martin, fifth, 100 dash; seventh, 200
• Alonzo Lemus, fourth, 200 and 400
• Ahmed Morris-Walker, first, 400 run
• Damon Gall, seventh, 1,600, and eighth, 3,200
• Michael Trax, first, high jump; third, long jump; and sixth, triple jump
• Graydon Wass, eighth, pole vault
• Seth Anderson, fifth, long jump
• Rahmiere Knight, third, triple jump
• Eddie Cottrill, sixth, shot put
• Jordan Smith, fourth, discus; third, javelin
USC qualifiers
Qualifiers from Upper St. Clair included:
• Jane Madson, fourth, 200 dash
• Savannah Shaw, second, 1,600
• Keith Leckenby, second, 100 dash; second, 400
• Christopher Adamo, third, 800
• Bill Lang, fifth, 800
• Alexander Lindstrom, sixth, 800
• Michael Stemmler, seventh, 3,200
• Victor Dubbs, third, 300 hurdles
• Harvey Kane, first, high jump; fifth, long jump
• James Pollock, fourth, shot put