This weekend’s upcoming PIAA Track and Field Championships will definitely be for the younger crowd when the contingent from the Schuylkill League heads to Shippensburg University.
Of the 24 athletes from the league who qualified for states with their performances at the District 11 Championships last week, 16 are underclassmen. There is a lot of young talent in the league, especially on the female side, and the results from districts confirm it.
There were seven league female athletes who won individual district tiles last week at Whitehall High School’s Zephyr Complex. More impressively, five of those were sophomores.
Pine Grove’s Maddie Frew (Class AA 100 hurdles) and Tamaqua’s Monika Shimko (Class AA 800) repeated their titles from 2014, while Pine Grove’s McKayla Lally (Class AA 300 hurdles), Marian’s Brenna Karnish (Class AA discus) and Jim Thorpe’s Brooke Cope (Class AAA javelin) won individual titles for the first time. All five competed at states last season in their respective events with exception of Lally, who qualified in the 400 and 1,600 relays as a freshman.
In addition, the Raiders’ Class AA 3,200 championship team of Chelsea Frantz, Victoria LaBar, Janette Kabana and Shimko are all underclassmen. Frantz and LaBar are juniors, while Kabana is a freshman. Frantz qualified for states as a freshman in the 800 two years ago.
Marian’s Tina Capparell, another freshman, followed up an impressive cross country season last fall by qualifying in the Class AA 800 by finishing second to Shimko. Jim Thorpe’s Autumn Cope, a junior, is also headed to Shippensburg in Class AAA javelin for the first time after beating the state qualifying standard in the event of 122 feet. She finished third overall in 128-1.
The trend held true on the boys’ side, too.
Out of the four individual district champs, three were underclassmen. Jim Thorpe’s Rayan Green (Class AAA high jump, triple jump), Schuylkill Haven’s Noah Fritz (Class AA shot put) and Shenandoah Valley’s Kyle Guers (Class AA 110 hurdles) won their first district titles last week. All three are juniors. Green went to Shippensburg last year in the high jump as a sophomore.
Whether there are any state title possibilities among the group remains to be seen. For certain, there is potential for plenty of hardware to be handed out this Friday and Saturday.
The seeds will gauge their chances. Then, they have to perform.
Number of league state qualifiers down
The number of state qualifiers from the league is the lowest since 22 went in 2011. The main culprit is in Class AA boys.
In previous years, the top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for the trip to Ship, as was the case this season in Class AA girls, along with Class AAA boys and girls. This year, however, only the winner automatically went.
Minersville’s Wesley Yutko (800), Schuylkill Haven’s Sam Brennan (1,600), Marian’s Mark Buchinsky (triple jump), Pine Grove’s Scott Werner (shot put) and North Schuylkill’s Jadyn Anczarski (discus) were all runners-up in their respective events. All five would be headed to states if the district had the same number of Class AA qualifiers it had in previous years.
The Colts would have had two relay teams — 3,200 and 1,600 — off to Shippensburg, too, after second-place finishes in both events. Perhaps the 1,600 relay, the final event of the meet Wednesday evening, was the toughest to take.
Dom Mussoline, who ran the anchor leg, felt he was blocked from passing Palisades’ final runner as the two crossed the finished line. The officials didn’t call it that way and Palisades ended up winning in 3:32.85, while the Colts had a 3:33.00. The state qualifying standard for the event was 3:29.60.
Long title wait over
for ’Canes, Blue Devils
Fritz’ and Guers’ district championships ended what was a lengthy title drought for male athletes from both schools.
Schuylkill Haven has had its share of male state qualifiers in recent years, with Jason Wilson going last year when he was a runner-up at districts in the Class AA 300 hurdles. However, the Hurricanes’ last district title from a male athlete was Zach Faust in shot put in 2010.
Shenandoah Valley’s wait was even longer.
The last male Blue Devils’ athlete to qualify for states was Danny Merva, who was the runner-up in the Class AA 110 hurdles in 2010. Prior to Guers, Shenandoah Valley’s last male district champ was Nicolai Varga in Class AA long jump in 2007.
Colts’ Bruno turns in
best career 100 final
I made a major mistake in my story in Thursday’s edition of The Republican-Herald when I reported that Marian’s Chris Bruno’s Class AA 100 dash championship time of 11.16 seconds was the worst of his previous three appearances in the district finals of the event.
Actually, it was Bruno’s best. And by a good amount, too.
Bruno ran a 11.27 as a sophomore and 11.60 as a junior when he was a runner-up both years. I apologize for the mistake.
Tide’s Lombel a part
of unique 100 final
Speaking of the sprints, Pottsville senior Sarah Lombel turned in the best performance of her career at districts, qualifying for states in two events in Class AAA.
Lombel was a runner-up in the 200, turning on the jets late to finish in 25.79 seconds. Lombel was also third in the 100 in 12.30 seconds, a school record, beating the event’s state qualifying standard of 12.67.
In fact, eight of the nine finalists in the event are headed to Shippensburg by besting the state qualifying standard. Liberty’s Jaylyn Aminu (11.77) was first, while East Stroudsburg North’s As-sata Hall (12.63) was eighth.
Aminu’s time beat the district record of 12.24 held by Tamaqua’s Tricia Plasko from 1988.
State preview page coming Thursday
The Republican-Herald’s annual state track and field preview page will be published in Thursday’s edition. It will spotlight all of our area athletes who have qualified for the PIAA Championships, as well a schedule of events and when those athletes will be competing.
(Carnahan is the track and field beat writer for The Republican-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @mdcarnahan71)