Stars heat up the track
It was a big weekend in track as Butler, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair hosted meets that will help prepare athletes for further competition, including the WPIAL team and individual championships.
Because of the inclement weather this spring, all the Section 7 teams (Baldwin, Bethel Park, Canon-McMillan, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair) are participating in a super-dual meet April 25 at Baldwin to decide placement and who will advance to the WPIAL team championships scheduled to begin May 1 with the semifinals. The team finals will be held at 4 p.m. May 7 at Baldwin.
The WPIAL individual championships are also scheduled for Baldwin. The top 24 AAA and top 16 AA athletes in each event will be entered for the competition set for May 17. Top finishers advance to the PIAA championships to be held May 25-26 at Shippensburg State University.
Additionally, some of the biggest names in local high school track, such as Molly Mangan of Mt. Lebanon and Savannah Shaw from Upper St. Clair, will compete in the Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track and field event in the United States, April 26-28 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
“The meet speaks for itself, with a rich history and tradition that brings together the best elite, college and high school track and field athletes,” said USC head coach Doug Petrick.
While Mangan will compete in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and Shaw will run in the mile at the Penn Relays, Shaw will also compete in the 800-meter run at the South Fayette Invitational. Shaw and other members of the USC track and field team competed in the annual USC relays last weekend. Baldwin won the event with a team score of 66 points while the Panthers and Chartiers Valley followed in second and third places.
The Penn Relays, though, are the pinnacle for Shaw, who has already raced in nationals for cross country and is committed to North Carolina State University.
“Savannah is part of a talented field in the high school ladies championship mile run. It’s a who’s who of high school mile runners and it’s going to be an awesome race. We are excited for her. She’s going to rock the race. We are so amped to see her race.”
After her event on April 26, Shaw will get a chance to check out some of the professional and collegiate races under the lights. Then she will return home and transition into the championship part of the high school season. Shaw will start by running the 800-meter race at the South Fayette Invitational to be held April 28.
The Lions’ own Sam Mastro has dominated the field events this spring. At the Butler Invitational last Friday, he won the discus with a throw of 162 feet, 9 inches. He also captured the gold in the shot put with a toss of 53 feet, 7 inches.
Sam Snodgrass won the 3,200. The SF senior clocked a 9:30.71 time.
Meanwhile, Rachel Helbling and Hailey Bair excelled for the Lions during the Mt. Lebanon Invitational. A senior, Helbling won the 200-meter dash. A junior, Bair captured the high jump.
The Blue Devils, however, dominated their own meet, by placing many competitors at the top of the podium.
Among the female winners for Lebo were: Flynn Begor, high hurdles (15.29); Jane Chaves, 100 dash (13.36); Marija Pavlick, javelin (113 feet, 10 inches).
Among the male winners for Lebo were: Parker Reed, 100 dash (11.35), Noah Stephens, 400 run (54.98); Patrick Anderson, 800 (2:00.01); Robert Wincshel, 3,200 (11:07.98); Mason Ventrone, high jump (6 feet); Josh Schaal, discus (115 feet, 7 inches).
Lebo won the 4×800 men’s relay, the 4×100 girls’ relay and the 4×400 men’s relay.
“We had a chance to get some of the younger athletes involved because we wanted to keep the varsity members fresher going into the section meet,” coach Oscar Schutt explained of Lebo’s strategy in its invitational.
“It was great competition and I’m thankful for all of the parent support and efforts by the other coaches to make the meet run so smoothly,” he added of the event, which is normally held earlier in the season but due to inclement weather was postponed until last weekend.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Libell led the charge at the Lebo meet for the Bethel Park track team. The junior captured the long jump (15 feet, 6.5 inches) and pole vault (9 feet, 10 inches). She also finished runner-up to Begor in the 100-meter high hurdles.
Other first-place finishers for the Hawks included: Eli Allredge, 1,600-meter run (4:41.92); Megan Malecki, intermediate hurdles, (52.27); Luke Surunis, javelin, (132 feet, 3 inches); Ryan Tischler, pole vault (11 feet); and Mike Conaboy shot put, 46 feet, 4.5 inches. Jehvonn Lewis, Beck Kozak, Tanner Volpatti and James Krandel combined to win the 4×100 relay in 44.06. BP is the defending WPIAL champion in that event.
Finally, Alicia Lehman collected gold medals in the discus (108 feet, 11 inches) and the shot put (32 feet, 9 inches) to complete the first-place showings among local participants at the Mt. Lebanon Invitational.
In other track news this past weekend, Peters Township (96) finished runner-up to Canon-McMillan (158.5) in boys’ division at the Washington-Greene County Track Invitational.
In the girls’ competition, Caroline Fyock of Peters Township received Field MVP honors. She won the shot put. She placed second in the discus with a personal record of 110-34. She also took 10th in the javelin.
Also, Jen Massucci won the 3,200-meter race in 11:59.69.