Three advance to national track championships
Three Upper St. Clair student-athletes recently qualified for the 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships held July 24-30 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Peyton Meckstroth, Emily Powell and Owen Carothers were among the top finishers in their respective events at the regional qualifying event.
Competing in the girls’ 13-14 division, Arising seventh grader at Fort Couch Middle School, Meckstroth qualified in three events. She will competed in the high jump, 100-meter hurdles and pentathlon. The pentathlon includes the 100-meter hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump and 800-meter run.
A rising junior at Upper St. Clair High School, Powell competed in the girls’ 15-16 division. She qualified in all three of her events – long jump, 400-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles. This is the second year in a row she has qualified for the national championship event.
A rising sixth grader from Boyce Middle School, Carothers finished third in the 80-meter hurdles and sixth in the 800-meter run. He competed within the boys’ 11-12 division.
The 2023 USATF Region 2 Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships were held July 7-9, 2023, at SUNY Cortland in Cortland, NY. To advance from Region 2 to the national championships, athletes had to finish within the top eight in an individual or team event. For those competing in combined events – including the pentathlon – only the top two advance; third place must meet qualifying standards to qualify for the national competition.
Athletes qualify for the Region 2 championships by competing in their association championships. The Upper St. Clair athletes compete locally within the USATF Three Rivers Association.
Results from the regional were: Meckstroth, second, high jump, second, pentathlon and sixth, 100-meter hurdles; Powell; fourth, 400 hurdles, sixth, long jump and seventh, 10 hurdles; Carothers, third, 80 hurdles and sixth, 800 run