SHIPPENSBURG — Tamaqua’s Morgan Boyle finished eighth in Class AA pole vault last year at states.
She wanted a lot better Friday morning.
It didn’t happen for the Blue Raiders’ junior. Still, Boyle ended up a state medalist in the event for the second consecutive year after she finished in a three-way tie for eighth with Kane’s Savannah Anderson and Wilmington’s Julia Strobel by reaching 10 feet at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
Boyle wasn’t particularly pleased with her performance, especially after she cleared 10-6 at states last year.
“I really don’t want to make excuses but the wind sucked,” Boyle said of gusty Northwest winds that greeted everybody Friday. “I don’t know. I just didn’t feel it today.”
Boyle’s medal was a part of a quiet day for Schuylkill League athletes at the state meet.
The day started out well enough as Tamaqua’s 3,200 relay team of Monika Shimko, Victoria LaBar, Chelsea Frantz and Janette Kabana ran a season’s best 10:01.04 in their
heat of the Class AA preliminaries to reach today’s finals. The Raiders were fifth in their heat and had the 10th best time overall of the preliminaries, finishing in the top 12 to advance.
Minersville’s 3,200 relay team followed by reaching today’s Class AA boys’ 3,200 relay finals. Wesley Yutko, Clement Rushanan, Colton Fox and Ben Hinkel ran an 8:21.44 during the preliminaries, finishing fifth in their heat and 10th overall.
Pine Grove’s Maddie Frew and Shenandoah Valley’s Kyle Guers also reached the semifinals of their events Friday morning.
Frew was fourth in her heat during the preliminaries of the Class AA girls’ 100 hurdles in 15.83 seconds. Guers finished fourth in his heat during the preliminaries of the Class AA boys’ 110 hurdles in 15.69.
During the afternoon session, Jim Thorpe’s Rayan Green earned his first PIAA medal in the Class AAA triple jump at 45 feet, 8.25 inches.
The rest of the afternoon didn’t go well for area athletes as nobody advanced out of the preliminary round on the track and, outside of Boyle and Green, no one medaled in the field events.
Boyle came into the Class AA pole vault seeded eighth after a runner-up showing at the District 11 Championships last week. Boyle entered the competition Friday at 9-0 and missed her first attempt at that height. She cleared her second attempt at 9-0, and then cleared both 9-6 and 10-0 on her first tries.
Boyle was knocked out of the competition after she was unable to clear 10-6 on all three of her tries.
Salisbury’s Kaitlyn Toman, who beat Boyle at the District 11 meet last week, won the title at 11-6.
“I am definitely not happy at all but I have another year,” Boyle said.
Actually she will have today. Boyle is seeded seventh for today’s Class AA javelin after she won a district title last week with a 133-7. Boyle was eighth in the event last year at 125-1.
In Class AA field events Friday, North Schuylkill’s Carly Gregas (5-0) finished in a 9-way tie for 12th in the girls’ high jump, Schuylkill Haven’s Noah Fritz (47-8) tied for 18th in the boys’ shot put and Upper Dauphin’s Victoria McGuire (109-7) was 13th and Marian’s Brenna Karnish (106-10) 16th in girls’ discus.
In Class AAA field events, Jim Thorpe’s Brooke Cope (118-7) and Autumn Cope (106-10) were 16th and 26th, respectively, in girls’ javelin, while Lehighton’s Joe Blauch (132-3) was 18th in boys’ discus.
In Class AA preliminary events:
• Nativity’s Lindsay Lord (17.01) was eighth in her heat in the girls’ 100 hurdles;
• Marian’s Chris Bruno (11.64) was seventh in his heat in the boys’ 100;
• Pine Grove’s McKayla Lally (1:04.02) was seventh in her heat of the girls’ 400 and sixth in her heat during the girls’ 300 hurdles in 46.74. Also in the girls’ 300 hurdles, Frew (47.87) was fifth in her heat, while Upper Dauphin’s Anna Osman (48.11) was sixth;
• Shimko (2:24.40) and Marian’s Tina Capparell (2:27.34) were ninth and 12th, respectively, in their heats of the girls’ 800;
• and Pine Grove’s Nilitza Malave (27.23) came in seventh in her heat of the girls’ 200.
In Class AAA, Pottsville’s Sarah Lombel was fourth in her heat during the girls’ 100 in 12.68 and sixth in her heat of the 200 at 26.61.