Preview
by Don Rich, PennTrackXC.com
This preview is intended to be a general overview, and certainly not all-inclusive of the potential performances of the athletes who have qualified for this championship. PennTrackXC wishes all competitors a great experience, and at the very least, PRs!
AA Girls
Let's start with one of the easiest: Gwynedd Mercy will take the 4x800. They're not only the defending champ; they have gone faster this year, a 9:04.57 at the Penn Relays. Two members of that squad, Kate Vernon, now a junior, and Kahki Mealey, also a junior are among the top seeds in several other races, as well. Vernon and Mealey will go head-to-head in the 1600. Mealey was 3rd in 2003. Vernon will defend her title in the 800 against Springfield (Montco) junior Faye Korich, among others.
This deep junior class also includes Lynn Morelli of St. Basil Academy. She will defend her 3200 championship. A challenge should come from Dallas sophomore Lisa Giacometti. Mycaiah Clemons of Valley will be trying to keep the 100 Hurdles and Long Jump AA titles in the family. Her sister, Mycah, won both in 2003. Quaker Valley's Jasmine Rogers just set a WPIAL record 14.18, and will be her chief competition in the hurdles. Newcomer Mary Dell of Boiling Springs should have an impact, She is among the leaders in the 100 with a 12.69 and the 200. Karns City's Samantha Pistorious and Delaware County Christian's Audie McKenna are right there with her in the 200. Defending Javelin Champ Angela Hoover is a senior, and should hold onto her title. Greenwood's Jessica Kratzer is the top seed in the Discus.
AA Boys
We'll be watching over two days to compare the distance races, especially on the boys' side. Lewisburg's Chris Spooner is one of the best distance runners to come out of PA (you'll have to follow the Duke Blue Devils next year to catch him). He ran an 8:53.46 two-mile in Hartford, CT a few weeks ago, and has opted to leave the 3200 title he won in 2003 open to someone else. That someone will probably be Westmont Hilltop senior David Mock, who is bound for William & Mary. Spooner will run his maximum four events. He'll anchor 4x800 with the best time in the state, a 7:45.85. He'll also run the open 800, where he has a 1:52.35, and 1600, where he'll face Mock. Plans also call for Lewisburg to be in the 4x400 final, and that'll be his final race in PA as a prep star. In the sprints, it's a toss-up between Brad Kanuch of Westmont Hilltop, Kevin Baidoo of Harriton, Todd Koenig of Bishop Carroll, and Andre Broussard of Elmer Myers in the 200. Broussard and Baidoo are top contenders who will face each other in the prelims. Who will have the best throws in AA or AAA? Auston Papay, the Sharon senior and indoor and Penn Relays champ in the Shot Put, has thrown 64-11. But Ryan Whiting, in AAA, is an inch better. Papay will also try to top Florida-transfer McKenna McClure of Council Rock South in the Discus. In the Javelin, South Park junior Chad Radgowski will face defending champ Osayi Osunde of Central Columbia. Both in the 205-206 range. Ryan Fritz, the defending champ of Octorora, is the class of the High Jump field and could give fans a look at 7 feet if the weather cooperates.
AAA Girls
Defending 200 champ Krista Simkins of Wissahickon is out of the 200 after scratching from the final at the District 1 meet. She is in the 100, but will face defending champ Jannea Bridgeford of Upper Darby, who has been having an incredible season, along with Great Valley junior Janessa Murphy. Bridgeford should be the favorite in the 200 as well. In the hurdles, Sha-Tira Snell of Penn Hills is among the contenders at both distances. In the 100, Kate Noonan-Sessa of Owen J. Roberts will give her a run, and in the 3/4-lap version, it will be two juniors, Chanel Williams of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and Cumberland Valley's Kristen Jones.
The 400 should be incredible entertaining, as two seniors, Ashley Hodge, Carlisle, and Erica Moody, Oakland Catholic, try to hold off a very strong and competitive challenger, Katie Orchowski of Upper Saint Clair. Caitlin Klaas of Hatboro was beaten at District by sophomore Serita Lachesis of Wissahickon. If either of those two falter, watch of Quakertown's Megan Hutchinson and Henderson's Melissa Ferry. (Sorry, this one is District 1 this year.) The two Haverford entries, Fiana York and Adriana Boyle, are running like it's their last chance, and could contend.
In the 1600, the fight will be for second place. Lauretta Dezubay of Freedom, a junior, won the event in 2003, and probably will in 2005. But the 4:49.85 posted by Frances Koons of Allentown Central Catholic is in another zip code. Dezubay will have her hands full in the 3200 against fellow junior Katie Thaeder of Unionville, who is having a monster season, and Hamburg's Adriene Beltz and Chamberburg's Kylee Schuler, both seniors. This one could be very fast.
Upper Darby is the defending 4x100 champs, and with Bridgeford at anchor, have a good chance to return. They'll face stiff competition from Penn Hills, McKeesport, Lower Merion and Strath Haven. The 4x400 is open this year after the departure of Tiffany Abney. Pickem'&everyone is in the same range. But if Simkins is even somewhat healthy, you'd have to give it to Wissahickon. Others, should they falter, include General McLane, McDowell, Henderson, Conestoga, Strath Haven, Owen J. Roberts, and North Allegheny. Hatboro-Horsham looked like they were on cruise at the District 1 champs in the 4x800. They were just two seconds off their winning time of 2003, and should repeat. But if all four legs of Haverford run to potential, it could be a great final 200 meters.
There are three girls at 5-06 in the High Jump. Nicole Smith of McDowell has a ton of other events. Soph star Rachel Gehret will also be competing in the Triple Jump. Only Kristin Johnson, a Somerset junior, will be totally fresh for the High Jump. The 5-06 was a 4" PR in two jumps over ten minutes at the District 6 AAA meet last week. A Regan will win the Pole Vault. Courtney, the Princeton-bound senior, is back over 12', and in that vicinity, anything can happen. Younger sister Lindsay, the Penn Relays champ, cleared 13' for the second time this spring at her District meet. She's gunning for the US sophomore class record of 13-4. She already owns the frosh class record of 12-03.25. Her 13-2 earlier in the month is her PR. One of the other events that Nicole Smith will be competing in is the Long Jump, where she is the favorite with a seed of 18-10.75. Meredith Ryan of Strath Haven could challenge. Bradford sophomore Erin Hannon is the Triple Jump favorite. She has gone an inch more than her seed of 37-09.50. Brianna Flagg of Harrisburg is out there in the Shot Put, having hoisted the ball 44' this season. Coatesville junior Tayvon Gray should take the Discus. And defending Javelin champ Ruby Radocaj, a Williamsport senior, threw 154-03 to win at the Penn Relays. Ringgold's Bev Rogers hopes to challenge.
AAA Boys
The boy's 1600 in 2003 saw the emergence of Manheim Township's Craig Miller, who set a US freshman class record of 4:14.26 in the finals. He ran a 4:14.59 last week to get here. Twin brother Brad was just behind him. Pacing shouldn't be a problem, as West Mifflin senior Mike Booth, who shocked the Baldwin Invitational crowd with a 4:07.71 win over Ian Fitzgerald a few weeks ago, will be out to add a state championship to his resume. Fitzgerald, the North Hills senior and defending 3200 champ who won this year's Penn Relays 3000, is the hands on favorite in the eight-lapper. He ran 9:04.45 at WPIALs, and is probably thinking about Mike Connelly's (Upper Perkiomen) 1983 8:58.9 state record.
In the sprints, North Hills' Andrew Johnson is the defending champ. He'll be pushed by Phoenixville senior Quenton Boyer, last year's 2nd place finisher, Knowledge Timmons, a William Penn (York) junior, Bensalem's John Thompson, and Bethel Park's Robert Staten. Timmons is the defending 200 champ, and will face Boyer, and Henderson's Tracy Robinson. The 400 is wide open with top contenders including Andre Burton, Tennent; Javan Carter, Susquehanna; David Potts, Harrisburg; and Henderson's Robinson. The 110 Hurdles have Ben Maljovec of Warren and Tom Dance of Erie Cathedral Prep facing off against Chichester sophomore Carrington Queen, who was dominant at District 1. In the 300 Hurdles, defending champ Phil Atkinson didn't move on at District.
There's been a lot of chatter about (from) the 4x100. I'd suggest standing back from the track, because it'll be a vacuum after these guys go by. West Mifflin has the best time in the state. They think it's their year. We think Cedar Crest, Henderson and William Penn will have a lot to say about it. Glen Mills ran well at District 1, and they have a 4x400 that could sneak up on Central Dauphin East and Harrisburg. Racing against each other (and Lewisburg's time) will be Central Dauphin, North Penn, and a host of great squads under 7:59, including Upper Merion, Carlisle, North Allegheny, General McLane, Manheim Twp., Upper Dublin, Easton, Council Rock North, Butler, and defending champs, Cumberland Valley.
Pete Harbegger, Cedar Crest, is the top seed in the Long Jump. Look for Shawn Smith of Wilson to challenge. In the Triple Jump, Darnell Johnson, a Gettysburg junior, is the top seed. North Penn's Dan Jacques has gone 47-04 this season. Just as with the girls, the Pole Vault competition is for 2nd. The difference between 15' and 16' feet is miles in this event. Andrew Rademacher, the Hickory senior, will be looking for the 16-09 state record set in 1990 by Jim Corse of Susquehanna Community. Too bad Auston Papay and Ryan Whiting, the Central Dauphin junior, can't go head-to-head. But Whiting has the top throws in the state in both the Shot (65-00) and Discus (194-03). He'll be impossible to stop.
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