PIAA Track and Field Notes
Marshay's Memories
One of the most memorable scholastic track and field careers in the midstate came to a close at the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday when Chambersburg's Marshay Ryan went out in style. She won the long jump with a PR 19-10 on Friday, and then won the triple jump with a PR 41-1 ¼ on Saturday.
VIDEO: Marshay Ryan's 19-10 in the long jump
That gave her three straight PIAA golds in the long jump and two straight in the triple jump. With that kind of success, along with her dominance at the District 3 Meet and the Shippensburg Invitational over the years, Ryan has many memories of Seth Grove Stadium. But those are not the first things that come to mind when Shippensburg is mentioned.
“This is the school that my parents attended and where they met,” Ryan said. “If it weren't for Shippensburg, I probably wouldn't be here. But when I think about it, I think about all the competitions, opportunities and what God has done for me here.”
Ryan will be attending and competing at the University of Auburn.
800 fall, 4x400 success
A positive turned into a negative turned into a positive. That was what happened for Annville-Cleona's Shawn Wolfe on Saturday with the 800-meter run and the AA boys' 4x400 relay. In AA, Wolfe was the No. 1 seed in the 800. But when the finals started, he stumbled out of the start and fell. There was a restart, but Wolfe never ran like he had while winning the District 3 Meet and finished in 12th place. But Wolfe put his troubles behind him in time for the 4x400. Wolfe ran the third leg of the Dutchmen's 4x400, which won the gold medal with a 3:27.16. Eric Bowman, Mark Bachman and Ben Mason ran the other legs.
PHOTO GALLERY: PIAA Championships, Day 2
Bachman, Jeff Inman, Mason and Wolfe also took the 4x800 gold medal with a time of 8:03.25 earlier in Saturday's action.
Seizing the opportunity
There was a very similar circumstance in the AAA boys' 800. Alec Kunzweiler of Cumberland Valley was seeded first and was leading the race with 150 meters to go. But there was contact between him and Brad Rivera of Bensalem, and Kunzweiler fell down. Zach Brehm of Carlisle had nothing to do with the collision, but was already in the process of making his move on the leaders when it occurred. Brehm passed by Kunzweiler, who would finish last, and Rivera, who finished second, to win the gold medal with a 1:54.40.
Palmyra sophomores have state on high alert
While Palmyra's win in the AAA girls' 4x800 surprised no one who has paid attention to the Cougars' success this year, it did provide one of the most dramatic moments in the entire meet. Katie Dembrowski, the anchor runner for Palmyra, crossed the line with a 9:13.17, while Pennsbury's Sara Sargent fell across the line at the 9:14.71 (more on that below).
VIDEO: The finish and celebration to Palmyra's 4x800 relay win
There is no reason to think that the Cougars' success will decline in the upcoming years. Although Olivia Farabaugh, the first leg runner, is a senior, the other three runners are all sophomores. Their success is in no way limited to track and field. Miranda Salvo and Maria Tukis, who run the second and third legs of the 4x800, were members of the District 3-AA and PIAA cross country champions last fall. Tukis was also the District 3-AA individual winner. Dembrowski was a first-team Big 11 field hockey member last fall for Palmyra's field hockey team. In the winter, Dembrowski and Tukis were the first two players off the bench for the Cougars' District 3-AAA girls' basketball championship squad.
Questionable calls take away silver medals
There was another story going in the AAA girls' 4x800 race, involving the Pennsbury team that appeared to finish second when the race ended. When Sargent fell at the end of the race, she lost the baton as her hand hit the finish line. However, at that point her torso had not cross the line, and it is the torso that determines when the runner crosses for his or her final time. So when she stood up and actually did cross over, officials ruled that Sargent and her Pennsbury teammates were disqualified for not still being in possession of the baton when finishing the race.
Following the rules to the letter, that is the correct ruling. But it certainly seems like an occasion on which the letter of the rule got in the way of the intent of having the PIAA Meet in the first place. Pennsbury did not actually do anything wrong to be penalized and denied, not just a silver medal, but any spot on the medal stand at all. Essentially, Pennsbury was not disqualified for a false start, bad handoff or foul play, but because Sargent did all she could to try to beat Dembrowski fairly.
But while the rules do in fact back up the ruling with Pennsbury, a decision that either inconsistent or outright wrong cost Trinity's Madison Depner a silver medal in the AA girls' pole vault.
Depner made contact with the bar on her first attempt at 11-6, and although the bar shook, it stayed on its ledge. The Shamrock senior thought it counted as a make, but after walking off the mat was told by a judge that it was a miss. After the event, Depner told reporters that the judge told her it was because she pushed the bar back, even though it did not fall down.
If that was in fact the case, the unanswered question becomes why did some similar cases, in which the bar was hit and moved slightly back, count as makes throughout the whole weekend. Even Depner's clear on 11-0 shook the bar and moved it back slightly from its original position, but that was never questioned. If her vault at 11-6 had counted, Depner would have finished in second place.
Unlike Pennsbury though, the odd ruling did not cost Depner a medal. She still finished in fourth.
Stepping off the soap box now...
Never count out Katlin Gould
It is nothing new for relay teams to have their best runner to run the last leg of the race. That's common strategy. But few fourth-leg runners have the ability to catch other anchor runners from behind like Cedar Cliff's Katlin Gould. Gould had already shown her closing speed twice in the District 3 Meet. She took the Colts from fourth place to a gold medal in the 4x400 relay, and she made a surge on the straightaway of the 400 to pass a runner and get a silver medal. She finished her Cedar Cliff career in the AAA girls' 4x400 on Saturday by catching one more runner in the last 100 meters to jump the Colts from sixth to fifth place. Nicole Boldosser, Amanda Lawrence and Taylor Chapman were other members of the relay team.
PHOTO GALLERY: PIAA Track and Field Championships, Day 1
Why settle for one gold medal?
In addition to the aforementioned Ryan, the following athletes won multiple individual gold medals during the state meet. Two boys won three individual golds. In AAA boys, Garnet Valley's Wellington Zaza won the triple jump (49-10 ¼), 110 hurdles (13.66) and 300 hurdles (37.24). In the AA competitions, Clay Allen of West Middlesex took the long jump (23-0), the 100 (10.72) and the 200 (22.29).
In AAA girls', Jody Evans of Quakertown won the 100 (11.79) and 200 (25.03). There were more multiple winners in AA. Alyssa Wise of Washington won the 100 (11.85) and 200 (24.85). Kennedy Weisner took the 800 (2:13.27) and 1600 (5:01.14). Lastly, Lanae Newsome of Brookeville won the long (18-1 ¾) and triple jumps (39-6 ¾).
Complete PIAA track and field coverage:
Boys': » AAA News | » AAA Results | » AAA Seeds
Boys': » AA News | » AA Results | » AA Seeds
Girls': » AAA News | » AAA Results | » AAA Seeds
Girls': » AA News | » AA Results | » AA Seeds
10 years later: » Thomas Jordan's epic javelin exploits
Javelin champs: » PIAA | » District 3
PIAA preview: » Jumps | » Throws | » Relays | » Sprints and distance runs
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