TAMAQUA — Tamaqua’s Paige Demetriades was a sophomore when she attended Christine Streisel’s Division I college-letter signing day to attend Duke University two years ago.
“John (Kotchmar) said to me ‘You are going to do this one day.’ And I was just like
‘I don’t know. I would love to,’ ” Demetriades said.
That day is here.
Demetriades has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Pittsburgh and compete on the women’s track and field team in the javelin. A press conference was held to officially announce her decision Wednesday at the Tamaqua High School library. The official NCAA signing day for Division I track and field is April 15.
Demetriades gave credit to her javelin coaches, Barry Krammes and Kotchmar, for helping her get to this point. Krammes, a Pottsville graduate and head boys’ track and field coach at East Stroudsburg South High School, and Kotchmar, the Raiders’ javelin coach, run The Factory, a javelin training center in Mary D.
“I am really excited,” Demetriades said. “I think I am super fortunate to go. Because of John and Barry it is possible for me to go. I am so grateful to them for giving me the opportunity and it is kind of neat to continue in the Tamaqua tradition of javelin throwing.”
With her verbal commitment, Demetriades becomes the Raiders’ fourth female track and field athlete to compete for a Division I school in the javelin since 2008. She joins Casey Wagner (University of South Florida), Allison Updike (University of Georgia) and Streisel. Both Pitt and Duke are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Demetriades also visited Penn, William & Mary, Mount St. Mary’s and Bucknell. Her decision to attend Pitt was pretty much set after she visited the campus last November and met head coach Alonzo Webb and throwing coach Chip Brundage.
“I didn’t think I would love the city much,” Demetriades said. “It is a different kind of city and I really liked it. The coach was awesome. I loved the athletes there, I thought they trained super hard, and they were just really excited about it. It is somewhere where I think I would enjoy training every day and can get better.”
Demetriades will join Pine Grove graduate Kalene Anderson, who is currently a junior, on the Panthers women’s squad.
Demetriades started competing in track and field when she was a freshman, and doing the javelin become somewhat of a happy accident. George, Demetriades’ father, wanted her to work out so she decided to join Streisel at The Factory.
“I was always into basketball so I had to get a little bit stronger and bigger,” Demetriades said. “The Factory, where they are developing these athletes, I figured I would go work out there. I fell in love with the javelin.
“I just went there to work out. I knew Christine worked out there and I wasn’t necessarily going to throw the javelin. I just figured it would be a good way to gain strength and get stronger. I really liked it.”
Demetriades grabbed her first postseason medals in the javelin as a sophomore. She was the runner-up at both the Schuylkill League and District 11 Class AA meets, finishing second to Streisel.
Demetriades won her first postseason titles last year. She claimed the league title with a throw of 144 feet, 1 inch, her current personal record, at Tamaqua. Demetriades then won the District 11 title in Class AA with a 132-1 at East Stroudsburg South High School.
Demetriades also competes in the pole vault for the Raiders, finishing fifth at leagues in the event in 2013 and 2014. Last year, she was tied for fourth at districts.
But it is the javelin that has become Demetriades’ favorite.
“It is different than anything else,” she said. “I pole vaulted and I ran a little bit in track, but I enjoy it. It is different.”
“It takes a full athlete to do it. It is not just being stronger or being fast, it is the combination.”
With her future set, Demetriades is looking forward to her senior season for the Raiders. She would like to break the school girls’ javelin record of 161-2 set by Updike in 2010. Demetriades also wants to do better at states. She finished 20th as a sophomore and 19th last year.
“I would love to give it a shot,” Demetriades said of the school record. “It’s a big goal. I just want to continue to perform, just keep performing at districts and hopefully do a little bit better at states.”
Paige Demetriades file
Age: 17
Hometown: Lake Hauto
Family: George (father) and Mary (mother), Pierce (brother)
College: University of Pittsburgh
Events competing in: Javelin
Area of study: Undecided, considering hospital administration or physical therapy