SOL State Track & Field Preview (5-21-15)

This week’s notebook highlights the SOL athletes who will be competing in the PIAA Track & Field Championships.

By DENNY DYROFF

The phrase “ultimate destination” means different things to different people.

For those participating in the Gold Rush of 1849, it was California. For NFL teams, it is the Super Bowl. For mountain climbers, it is Mount Everest. For followers of the Islam faith, it is Mecca.

For scholastic track and field athletes, the ultimate destination is Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium where they can compete in the PIAA Championships.

More specifically, the ultimate destination is the podium where medals are awarded to the top eight finishers in each event with the top spot on the podium obviously the most desirable location.

Not surprisingly, many of the Suburban One League’s qualifiers for this weekend’s state championship meet at Ship have a real shot at stepping up to the ultimate ultimate destination to receive a highly-coveted gold medal.

One of them -- Springfield’s Chris Stone -- has already “been there, done that.”

Last year, as a junior, Stone won the Boys Class AA high jump gold medal. He also picked up a silver medal in pole vault, a seventh-place medal in javelin and was a state qualifier in long jump.

Stone also ascended to the top spot when Springfield claimed the team championship trophy.

This year, Stone has qualified in the same four events -- and he is optimistic that the Spartans can bring another team title trophy back to Montgomery County.

Stone is seeded first in pole vault at 15-9, first in high jump at 6-6, second in long jump at 22-7.25 and eighth in javelin at 177-9.

“I went through and projected team points based on the seeding,” said Stone, who will compete collegiately at Auburn next year. “We seed out at number one but Camp Hill is pretty close behind. Last year, we won the championship with two guys. This year is better because we have a bigger team. I think 35 points will get it done.”

If Stone holds his seeds, the Spartans will already have 29 points in the bank.

“In high jump, I want to get back to where I was last year when I did 6-9.25 at the league meet,” said Stone. “I definitely think I can go 6-10. Last week at districts, I had to rush back to pole vault when I was doing high jump.

“In pole vault, 15-11 is the state record and I’ve jumped 15-9. I think I could have done 16-0. Usually, there is a great tailwind at states. Hopefully, I can get on a big pole and use that and the wind to get 16-0. I’m using a 16-foot, 175-pound pole. I’m also bringing a 16-foot, 180-pound pole. That might give me a shot at the all-time record which is 16-6.

 “My first event at states is javelin on Friday. I’m seeded lowest in that, so I’m just hoping to get a medal and score some points for the team. In long jump, I’m seeded second so hopefully I can come away with a win. If you’re over 22 feet, you’re in contention. Getting 23 would be nice. I just need to hit it better and get more drive off the start.”

The Spartans’ other qualifiers are Aaron Morris in the 800 (seeded third), Sean Stovall in the 1,600 (25^th), their fifth-seeded 4x100 (Eric Westray, Ben Fisher, Kyle Wyche, Martin Worgan) and their 11^th-seeded 4x400 (Wyche, Fisher, Stovall, Morris).

In the Girls Class AA meet, Springfield’s Sydni Stovall is seeded second in the 400 and 16^thin the 800.

In the Girls Class AAA meet, it comes as no surprise that quite a few runners and jumpers in position to accomplish the vaunted feat of winning a gold medal will be wearing the uniform of Cheltenham High.

The Panthers’ Ciara Leonard has the top seed in the 110-meter hurdles at 13.67 (her District 1 record-setting time last weekend) -- much faster than Harrisburg’s Sierra Brabham-Lawrence, who is seeded second at 14.25. Leonard is also seeded sixth in the 300 hurdles while Brabham-Lawrence has the top seed.

Other SOL qualifiers in the 100 hurdles are Cheltenham’s Madison Langley-Walter (who is seeded fifth and seventh in the 300 hurdles along with third in long jump) and Janiel Slowly (18^th), Pennsbury’s Uche Onuoha (ninth in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles) and Neshaminy’s Alyssa Zukowski (15th).

The league’s other representatives in the 300 hurdles are Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Taylor O’Brien (11^th), Pennridge’s Jessica Milligan (23^rd) and Quakertown’s Sierra Camburn (24^th).

Cheltenham also looks strong in the sprints with Chanel Brissett checking in as second seed in both the 100 at 11.85 and 200 at 24.03. In the 400, Alexis Crosby is seeded ninth and Nicole Burke has the 15^thseed.

The Panthers enter the meet with the state’s fastest times in both the 4x100 -- 46.88 by Leonard, Slowly, Crosby and Brissett -- and the 4x400 -- 3:51.99 by Burke, Arianna Wallace, Dior Alston and Crosby.

The number one seed in the 200 belongs to Pennsbury’s Dasia Pressley at 24.00. The Falcons’ junior is also seeded third in the 100 at 11.92.

Other SOL runners in the state 100 trials will be Pennridge’s Taylor Chapman (fifth) and Truman’s Evelina Sloboh (26th) while the 200 will feature Norristown’s Jayana Webb (third) along with Pennridge’s Chapman (fifth) and Ariana Przybylowski (12^th). The league’s reps in the 400 are North Penn’s Uche Nwogwugwu (second) and Pennsbury’s Husniyyah Rogers (fifth).

Six of the top 10 seeds in the 4x100 at the PIAA meet are from the SOL. In addition to Cheltenham, the qualifiers are second-seeded Norristown (Dymon Lee, Jonae Cook, Kanitra Hill-Stewart, Charity Guy), third-seeded Pennsbury (Niasia Boone, Onuoha, Rogers, Pressley), sixth-seeded North Penn (Jessica Brenfleck, Kathleen Stevenson, Leiana Dean, Allison King), seventh-seeded Pennridge (Chapman, Przybylowski, Zoe Williams, Madison Morgan) and 10^th-seeded Central Bucks South (Jasmine Noble, Amber Stratz, Brianna Strat, Lydia Fielding).

In the 4x400, the SOL has the top three qualifiers and six of the top 13. North Penn (Nwogwugwu, Leianna Dean, Mikaela Vlasic, Allison King), which is seeded second, and Central Bucks South (Amber Stratz, Lydia Fielding, Jasmine Noble, Brianna Stratz) join Cheltenham at the top of the list.

The other teams running in the 4x400 at Ship will be fifth-seeded Central Bucks West (Maddie Villalba, Aly Logue, Lauren Olsen, Quinn Shiffler), ninth-seeded Souderton (Nikki O’Donnell, Sue Frustino, Cara Jackson, Moira O’Malley) and 13^th-seeded Abington (Victoria Collins, Victoria Matthews, Kelly Jawork, Marissa Heath) 3:58.31.

The 4x800 will also feature a heavy SOL presence with second-seeded North Penn (Stephanie Bresadola, Ali Valenti, Mikaela Vlasic, Phoebe Clowser), seventh-seeded Pennsbury (Erin O’Connell, Maddie Sauer, Meridith Twomey, Lizzy Kirk), ninth-seeded Central Bucks West (Olivia Berry, Cecilia Davies, Laura Roth, Vanessa Barrow), 10^th-seeded Abington (Marissa Heath, Kelly Jawork, Kara Travers, Cassie Smith) and 12^th-seeded Upper Dublin (Sarah Smith, Sofie Mercurio, Emily Stewart, Marissa Holl) 9:26.85.

In the open 800, the only SOL runner will be C.B. West’s but the lack in quantity will be offset by quality. Villalba has the fastest time in the state at 2:09.47.

“My race at districts could have been faster,” said Villalba. “It didn’t feel comfortable. I’m looking forward to states when I know I’ll really push myself.”

There will be five Suburban One runners in the 1,600 with Pennsbury’s Olivia Sargent leading the way. The Falcons’ stellar junior is seeded fifth with a time of 5:02.89.Sargent also has the number two seed in the 3,200 at 10:36.35.

“I’m looking forward to states,” said Sargent. “I’m not running any relays. So, I’ll be able to focus just on my two individual events.”

The other four local runners in the 1,600 are Pennridge’s Marissa Sheva (sixth), Pennsbury’s Mary Webb (seventh), North Penn’s Phoebe Clowser (10^th) and Quakertown’s Madeline Ocamb (24^th). The 3,200 field also includes Pennsbury’s Hannah Molloy (fourth) and C.B. East’s Elizabeth Morris (ninth).

At last weekend’s District 1 meet, Council Rock South’s Shannon Taub won the gold medal and narrowly missed breaking the decades-old meet record. She will enter the state meet as the number one seed with a height of 5-8. She also is seeded eighth in triple jump.

Shannon Taub’s twin sister Allison Taub will compete in two events in the big two-day meet at Shippensburg. She is seeded 13^thin shot put and 21^stin javelin.

In the high jump event, Taub’s top challenger from the league and the district -- C.B. East’s Grace Becker -- will have the number two seed. The field will also include Abington’s Victoria Matthews.

Council Rock South will also have strong representation in field events with Dominique Franco and Savannah Wood, both of whom enter the meet with the third-best height in pole vault at 11-6, Jaclyn Timoney, who is seeded 10^thin triple jump, and Kaitlyn Deissler, who has the 25^thseed in pole vault.
Other Suburban One girls who have qualified for field events at this weekend’s state met are Bensalem’s Amelia Ali in discus (seventh), North Penn’s Allison Williams (third) and Uche Nwogwugwu (fourth) in triple jump, Pennridge’s Przybylowski in long jump (15^th) and C.B. West’s Hannah Sexton in long jump (25^th).

Cheltenham’s boys are also heading to the state championships with some impressive seeds, including number one seeds for John Lewis in the 800, Saahir Bethea in long jump and the 4x400 relay team of Kyle Davis, Andrew Crosby, Bethea and Christian Brissett.

Lewis is coming off a gold-medal performance at the District 1 meet -- a performance that saw him obliterate the previous meet record. Lewis posted a time of 1:49.15 -- much faster than the old record of 1:50.92 set by Wissahickon’s Hong Cho in 2011.

“I didn’t really have a goal time,” said Lewis, who will run for Clemson University next year. “I wasn’t thinking about the record either. I just wanted to get a p.r. (personal record).

The Panthers’ state meet entourage of individuals also includes Brissett (third, 200; fifth, 100), Cordell Richardson (seventh, 300 hurdles; 11^th, 110 hurdles), Richard Austin (15^th, long jump) and Bethea (12^th, triple jump).
Another number one seed belongs to Neshaminy’s David Marrington who arrives in Shippensburg with the state’s fastest time in the 300 hurdles at 37.36. Pennsbury’s Kornelius Klah is seeded fifth in the 110 hurdles and 17^thin the 300 hurdles.
SOL’s representation in the 4x100 features eighth-seeded Council Rock North (David Gumino, Sean Mazlin, Tyler Loc, Sam Wong) and 11^th-seeded Wissahickon (Rasheed Wright, Ethan Dolberry-Wescott, Darren James, Kyuande Johnson).

In the 4x400, the league is sending third-seeded Abington (Josh Coleman, Jordan Neely, Martin McCall, Keion Broadus), seventh-seeded Neshaminy (Ben Matzke, Anthony Murray, Kyle O’Connell, Sean Conway). 10^th-seeded Upper Dublin (George Weems, Kyle McMullen, Matt Knowles, Thomas Henning) and 12^th-seeded North Penn (Brett Fenstermacher, Janeel Solanki, Chris Jefferies, Daniel Santiago).

The Suburban One League has the top four seeds in the 4x800 -- number one seed Pennsbury (Eric Kersten, Sam Webb, Matt Mulvaney, Alek Sauer), second-seeded Central Bucks West (Andrew Baker, Jake Claricurzio, Carter Zerweck, Rock Fortna), third-seeded Abington (Jordan Neely, Jake Good, Cameron Mitchell, Keion Broadus) and fourth-seeded Pennridge (Alex Masgai, Jeff Espinal, Dan Williams, Tucker Desko).

Other SOL qualifiers for the state championship meet are Wissahickon’s Darien Williams (16^th, 100); Council Rock North’s David Gumino (fifth, 200) and Edmond Lu (21^st, pole vault), Norristown’s Andrew Dillon (third, 300 hurdles; 19^th, 200), Abington’s Isaiah Smith (ninth, 400), North Penn’s Dante Watson (19^th, 400) and Pennsbury’s Alek Sauer (third, 800) and Sam Webb (fourth, 1600).

The list also includes Pennridge’s Dan Williams (17th, 800), Central Bucks East’s Jake Brophy (sixth, 3200), Hatboro-Horsham’s Casey Comber (10^th, 3200) and Tommy Haas (21^st, javelin), Council Rock South’s Joe Maguire CRS (16^th, 3200), Souderton’s Connor McMenamin (20^th, 3200), C.B. West’s Jason Douple (22^nd, pole vault), Souderton’s Chad Ziegler (24^th, pole vault) and Shamar Jenkins (14^th, triple jump), Bensalem’s Caleb Appiah-Owusu (23^rd, triple jump), Upper Dublin’s Kieran Moore (fourth, shot put) and William Tennent’s Sam Collazo (eighth, discus).