Upper St. Clair sprinter reaching record speeds
Dani Prunzik speeds through life. The Upper St. Clair junior must in order to navigate her schedule.
Consider her agenda from April 23-30. In between classes and track practices, she traveled to Shippensburg for an invitational and to Philadelphia to compete in the prestigious Penn Relays. In between, she competed in a sectional meet at Mt. Lebanon. She also performed at the South Fayette Invitational.
“It’s very busy,” Prunzik conceded. “At the same time though it’s very exciting.”
In a matter of seconds, Prunzik experiences her thrills.
At the Shippensburg Invitational, she sprinted to record times in the 100- and 200-meter races.
In lowering her own school record, Prunzik set a meet record with her winning time of 12.05 in the 100.
In the 200, she shattered the school mark set by Jane Madson. Her time of 24.76 also ranks her 18th all-time in the WPIAL.
“I was real pleased. One hundred percent with my performances,” Prunzik said. “I felt as if I was really well prepared.”
Since finishing in the top 10 in the sprints at the PIAA championships last spring, Prunzik has toiled to improve upon her times. She won last year’s WPIAL 100-meter race in 12.46 and scored fifth with the same time at states. She ran a 25.40 in finishing runner-up in the district in the 200 and took eighth at states.
Under the guidance of Ron Newton and Karlon Nixon, she trained during the summer months, building up her strength. Under her school coaches, Matt Cosgrove and Doug Petrick, she continued her progress. During the winter indoor season, she placed fifth in the state in the 60-meter dash with a personal record time of 7.66. She finished fourth in the 200 with a 25.27 mark.
“My coaches pushed me in the summer and the offseason and that’s a big reason why I am doing so much better this year. Through lifting, I have gotten stronger and built the muscles that I need to apply to my running.”
During the summer, she lifted heavier weights with less reps then switched to less weight with higher reps during the indoor season. She focused on explosive and band work as well as plenty of stretching, which has reduced the shin splits that have plagued her career.
Prunzik also noted her focus on the form that has enabled her to dominate in sprint meets, including the TSTCA championships where she won both events.
“I’ve definitely improved because of all the hard work I have put in but we’ve also concentrated on and polished my technique. It’s definitely been coaching and repetition. More doing things right and practicing them the right way so it becomes more natural in races.”
Prunzik comes by her talent naturally. Her father, Dan, was a standout sprinter and hurdler in high school. The Mt. Lebanon product also played basketball and football. He went on to excel at wide receiver at the University of Maryland.
He is his daughter’s biggest supporter. He started her in soccer as a tot but she gravitated to basketball and track. She gave up the former in eight grade and focused on her running.
Mr. Prunzik also found the Shippensburg Invitational for her to compete in because the USC track team was idle that weekend, though Butler and Slippery Rock hosted multi-team events.
“We were not invited to Butler or Slippery Rock so my dad found out about Shippensburg. We thought it would be a good idea to get acclimated to where we would be running if we qualify for states and see other girls from other parts of the state,” said Prunzik.
Unlike at the PIAA championships, where participants usually run qualifying heats, Shippensburg had no preliminary races. Additionally, events started with a buzzer rather than a gun.
“It’s definitely different. The only other time they do that is at states so I was able to get used to that. My starts are something I have been working on and getting better at, Prunzik said.
Prunzik has improved her finishes too, particularly in the 200 meters.
“I probably like the 100 better than the 200 because it is the perfect distance for me. I’m usually peaking toward the end of the 100 but at the end of the 200 I can feel it,” Prunzik said. “This year though I feel like I am more in shape so that in the last 15 yards I am not as tired. I feel like I should be starting to peak.”
Prunzik will have the Baldwin Invitational on May 6 to hit her stride as she enters into the postseason. The WPIAL individual championships are set for May 18 or 19 at Slippery Rock University. The PIAA finals are scheduled for May 27-28 at Shippensburg University.
Prunzik said she hopes to break the 12-second barrier in the 100 and lower her time in the 200.
“My goal since the start of the season was to be in the 11s for the 100 and to break 25 in the 200 but since I am there now, I want to get my times lower.
“Of course, I’d like to win WPIALs in both but I don’t think about it or the pressure. I just think about running a normal race. I don’t feel pressure like I need to win. I’m just running against myself and I use the competition to push me to be my best. There’s plenty of competition out there so I have to really push myself.”
Dani Prunzik did not go to Philadelphia to compete in the Penn Relays alone. The junior competed with several other standout Upper St. Clair sprinters.
Her cousin, Sam, who is the point guard on the girls’ basketball team will compete on both relays with Prunzik as the anchor.
The 4×100 unit also includes Noor El Nokali and Emily Powell while the 4×400 features Jaclyn Martinelli and Ellie Shanholtzer.
Melanie Schumaker earned the field MVP honor during the 57th annual Butler Invitational.
The South Fayette senior captured the pole vault event with a mark of 12 feet, 1 inch.
Schumaker dominated the TSTCA meet earlier this spring. She won three events, including the pole vault as well as the long jump.
Schumaker also ran a leg on SF’s winning 4×100 relay team that included Dea Monz, Amanada Marquis and Olivia Renk.
Additionally, Schumaker took third in the 200 dash.
Schumaker’s showing helped the Lady Lions to the team title.
Amanda Marquis also was a triple winner at TSTCA. She won the 400-meter dash in 60.29. She ran a leg on the 4×100 and anchored the winning 4×400 unit that also featured Emily Sinton, Abbey Smith and Nora Provenzano
Additionally winners for SF during the TSTCA meet were: Grace Howard (high jump) and Lauren Iagnemma (1600 run).
Howard also earned silver medals in the long jump and 100-meter hurdles. She added eighth in the intermediate hurdles.
Erica King established a new school record when she placed second in the javelin with a throw of 126 feet, 10 inches.
The Lady Lions cemented a spot in the WPIAL team playoffs by winning their second consecutive section banner.
South Fayette will host one of the playoff venues for May 3 at 3 p.m. Mt. Lebanon’s girls and boys will compete as will the Chartiers Valley boys.
The winner advances to the WPIAL team track and field championships are set for 3 p.m. May 11 at West Mifflin High School.