By Scott Huff
PIAA Class AAA Track & Field Championship
Seth Grove Stadium
Shippensburg University
Quakertown senior Alicia Evans was magnificent as she collected a gold medal in the 400 in the PIAA state championship for the second consecutive year and also finished fourth in the 200 meters.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel any pressure right before the race,” said Evans – who will attend Michigan State University next fall. “The pressure comes the month before states with the qualifying and the training. I am very confident that day of the race.”
Evans entered the 400 meters as the favorite and didn’t disappoint as she stopped the watches in 55.02, a personal best. However, Evans was seeded ‘only’ third in the 200 meters behind both Lydia Ali of Radnor and Iman Wilkenson. She finished fourth in that race.“I expected to be able to win the 400,” said Evans. “There were a lot of great athletes in that event, and to be able to beat them was a thrill.”
Evans will leave her scholastic career behind for the Spartan campus in East Lansing, Michigan. Evans chose Michigan State over Georgetown, the University of Tennessee, and Iowa – among others.
“I think that the only thing I will miss about high school is being able to train and compete with my sister,” said Evans in reference to her sister Jody Ann – a sophomore who took third place in the 100 meters in states. “I’ll miss getting up at 5 am and running before school with her. Look out for her next year – she is going to have a great year.”
The Norristown foursome of Rowanna Watson, Alexis Bell, Ciara Heath, and Zanya Milligan won the state championship in the 4 x 100 relay in 47.13.
“Those same four kids didn’t qualify for states last year because they dropped the baton at districts,” said Norristown head coach Miles Burrell. “Their goal this season was to win states – they went to bed thinking of winning states – and everything they ate they ate to prepare themselves for states. They were on a mission.”
Heath is a senior – but Watson, Bell, and Milligan are all just sophomores.
“They now have that state experience, and they have a very good feeling about themselves,” said Burrell. “They will enjoy their success for now, and we’ll think about next year in a few weeks.”
There were two record setting performances by SOL athletes as Abington senior Leah Nugent won the 300-meter hurdles in 41.10, and the Abington 4 x 400 relay won in a record time of 3:46.20.
Pennridge had a pair of gold medal winners as Tori Gerlach won the 3200 meters in 10:36, and Anne Holland won the high jump with a mark of 5-7.
Suburban One League
Women’s Results
3200 Meters
The SOL had an outstanding meet in the 3200 as Pennridge junior Tori Gerlach won the gold medal in a championship winning time of 10:36.00. Pennsbury sophomore Sara Sargent won the silver medal in 10:36.72, while North Penn junior Meghan McGovern took the bronze medal in 10:41.37.
4 x 800 Relay
The SOL placed four teams in the top ten of the state in this event. Central Bucks West clocked in as the # 3 team with a time of 9:06.25, while Central Bucks South clocked in as the # 7 squad with a time of 9:18.60. North Penn finished in eighth place with a time of 9:19.91, while the tenth place finisher was Pennsbury with a clocking of 9:25.85.
100 Meter Hurdles
The SOL had two finishers excel in the hurdles. Emerald Walden of Plymouth Whitemarsh took the silver medal with a time of 14.50, while Kayla Charles of North Penn took sixth in the event with a time of 15.14.
100 Meter Dash
A pair of underclassmen took SOL top honors in the 100. Sophomore Jody Evans of Quakertown and freshman Taylor Williams of Hatboro-Horsham finished in the top eight. Evans earned a bronze medal with a clocking of 12.34, while Taylor stopped the watches in 12.57 and took eighth place.
1600 Meters
Upper Dublin junior Sara Holl was the lone SOL runner near the top of the leader board in the 1600. Holl finished with a bronze medal in a clocking of 5:03.47.
400 Meters
Quakertown senior Alicia Evans won the gold medal in the 400 with a time of 55:02, while Abington junior Jordan Matthews had the fourth best time in the state with a time of 56:05.
4 x 100 Relay
The Norristown foursome of Rowanna Waton, Alexis Bell, Ciara Heath, and Zanya Milligan took the gold in the 4 x 100 with a clocking of 47.13. Quakertown finished with a seventh place showing in a time of 49.12.
300 Meter Hurdles
Senior Leah Nugent of Abington set a PIAA state record with a championship clocking of 41.10. She was the lone SOL runner to score in this event.
800 Meters
Senior Heather Selheimer of North Penn was the lone runner to place in the 800. Selheimer finished sixth with a clocking of 2:16.09.
200 Meters
Alicia Evans of Quakertown finished fourth with a time of25.55. Senior Nicole Grasty of Abington took sixth place, while Taylor Williams of Hatboro-Horsham finished in eighth place.
4 x 400 Relay
The Abington team earned gold with a record breaking time of 3:46.20. Central Bucks West pushed them hard and finished with a silver medal with a clocking of 3:50.83.
Pole Vault
A trio of SOL girls finished in the top ten. Sophomore Amanda Benninghoff of Upper Dublin finished in sixth place with a vault of 11-6, while senior Christina Geating of Abington and Haley Gorenflo of Plymouth Whitemarsh tied for ninth place with a height of 11-0.
Triple Jump
The only SOL jumper to score points in the triple jump was North Penn senior Sydnee Jacques with a distance of 36-6.
High Jump
Senior Annie Holland of Pennridge defended her state championship with a leap of 5-7. Junior Taylor Morgan of Upper Dublin finished fifth (5-3), junior Taylor Uzdzinski of Council Rock South finished sixth (5-3), and sophomore Kelly Anne Stuetz of Cheltenham finished ninth (5-2).
Long Jump
Abington junior Jordan Matthews took the silver medal with a distance of 18-3.25. Junior Ciara Andrews of Cheltenham finished in ninth place with a leap of 17-4.5.
Tyler Smith defends Title
Norristown senior Tyler Smith defended his PIAA Class AAA state title in the 100 meters, but it was far from unproblematic.
Smith missed over five weeks of the spring season with a painful hip injury and his ability to defend was in serious question. But the gutsy runner earned his way to Shippensburg to compete – and then another enormous barrier jumped in his path.
“Tyler was in warm-ups at states when a coach stepped into his lane and the two of them collided,” said Norristown head coach Miles Burrell. “Tyler had his braces tear into his lip and he had to get stitches to stop the bleeding. They ended up cutting out his braces, and we had to get dental wax to keep the points of the braces we couldn’t get out from cutting him.
“Tyler kept us on our toes all season with injuries,” added Burrell. “His perseverance and his God-given talent have taken him a long way. He wasn’t able to train the way we wanted him to because of the injuries, but his strong beliefs in himself and God have taken him as far as he has gone this year.”
Smith will attend Georgetown University next fall.
“You have to be a great student to get into Georgetown,” said Burrell. “And Tyler should do very well there.”
There were four other pure gold performances at states from SOL athletes.
Drew Magaha of Upper Moreland set a state record in the 1600 meters with a clocking of 4:07.32.
Matt Gilmore of Cheltenham won the gold in the 400 meters with a time of 47.81.
Hong Cho of Wissahickon won the gold medal in the 800 meters with a clocking of 1:52.49.
And the Central Bucks West 4 x 800 relay struck gold with a winning time of 7:41.51
SOL American Excels
The American Conference might be the smallest of the three SOL conferences, but its runners came up huge at Shippensburg this weekend. The conference came within a second place in the 200 of pulling off a sweep of the boys’ events from the 100 to the 1600.
Norristown’s Tyler Smith won the 100-meter (10.81), Cheltenham’s Matt Gilmore took gold in the 400 (47.81), Wissahickon senior Hong Cho finished first in the 800 (1:52.49), and Upper Moreland’s Drew Magaha set a PIAA record with a time of 4:07.32 in the 1600-meter. In the 200-meter dash, Cheltenham’s Matt Gilmore finished second only to Upper Perk’s Ronnie Gillespie.
Suburban One League
Men’s Results
3200 Meters
Junior Sam Hibbs of Hatboro-Horsham was the lone scorer for the SOL in the 3200. Hibbs finished in seventh place with a time of 9:22.40.
4 x 800 Relay
Central Bucks West was the gold medal winner in the event with a championship clocking of 7:41.51. Abington captured the silver medal in 7:41.57. while Central Bucks South finished sixth with a time of 7:52.02, and North Penn finished ninth in 7:52.75.
100 Meters
Norristown senior Tyler Smith won the gold medal with a clocking of 10.87. North Penn senior Brandon Mercer won the silver medal in 10.95, while Truman junior Paulus Gipla was the fourth place finisher in 11.10.
1600 Meters
Upper Moreland junior Drew Magaha set a PIAA record in the event with a championship clocking of 4:07.32. Senior Chris Campbell of Council Rock North finished in eighth place with a clocking of 4:18.08.
400 Meters
Cheltenham senior Matt Gilmore won the gold medal in the event with a championship clocking of 47.81. Hatboro-Horsham senior Colin Dempster won the bronze medal with a clocking of 48.06.
4 x 100 Relay
The SOL placed three teams in the top five in the event. Central Bucks West captured third (41.97), Norristown took fourth (42.09), and Council Rock North placed fifth (42.16).
300 Meter Hurdles
Junior Max Hairston of Wissahickon was the best of the SOL hurdlers in this event with a time of 38.76. Ryan Hines of Central Bucks South finished in seventh place (39.22), while Derek Newsome of Hatboro-Horsham finished in eighth place in 39.30.
800 Meters
Senior Hong Cho of Wissahickon won the gold medal with a clocking of 1:52.49. Brad Rivera of Bensalem clocked in at 1:55.28 and finished in seventh place.
200 Meters
Cheltenham senior Matt Gilmore took the silver medal in a clocking of 22.31. Josh Mindlin of Council Rock North finished in sixth place in a time of 22.79.
4 x 400 Relay
A trio of SOL teams scored points in the event. Abington took the silver medal as the Ghosts were clocked in 3:17.96. North Penn finished in fourth place with a time of 3:19.29, while Wissahickon ran a 3:19.71 and finished in sixth place.
Triple Jump
The lone jumper from the SOL to score points was Trevell Moxey of North Penn. Moxey finished in sixth place with a leap of 45-11.
High Jump
The lone jumper from the SOL to score points was Jay Jabat of Pennsbury, Jabat finished in fourth place with a jump of 6-6.
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