Juniors step to head of the class
I tried to stop at a donut shop at 8 a.m. on a weekday.
Bad idea.
I left my hotel room in Carlisle for the PIAA Track and Field Championships Friday, the day we were transported back to December, wearing shorts and a polo.
Worse idea, though fortunately I’ve learned to keep long sleeves and pants in the car.
I asked the waitress at my hotel restaurant – again, talking Central Pennsylvania here – to turn on the Penguins game, and … you get the point.
When it comes to massive events like the one our track athletes traveled to over the weekend, experience is key.
Here in Washington and Greene counties, we have plenty of it.
And we’ll have a scary amount next year.
Three athletes spent Saturday night likely staring at and rubbing their first-place medals, something Fort Cherry’s Jenna Lucas (javelin), California’s Kailyn Clancy (shot put) and Washington’s Alyssa Wise (100- and 200-meter dashes) have an excellent chance at winning again next spring.
The one over-arching storyline to take out of this weekend’s happenings: This area is loaded with junior talent.
That’s true not only among the winners, but we’ll also get to see the development of Washington’s Quorteze Levy (hurdles, 400 and 800 relays) and Shai McKenzie (sprints, shot put and 400 relay), as well as Fort Cherry’s Zak Dysert, a junior who missed medaling in the Class AA discus by two inches.
Still not convinced?
Chartiers-Houston’s Addy Knetzer finished eighth in the shot put, and she’s only a junior. Fort Cherry’s Brelan Skinner and South Fayette’s Natalie Hilton – you might remember that last name – were also here, gaining valuable experience.
Wise jousted with Vincentian’s Ally Bartoszewicz and Lanae Newsome while winning the 100 and 200 dashes, later explaining that cutting her teeth at Shippensburg’s Seth Grove Stadium as a sophomore – learning to hold back a bit for the finals – led to this.
“Coming from my experience last year and freshman year, I knew what to expect in the prelims and try to save myself for the finals,” Wise said.
Think she won’t learn more after this year? If nothing else, she’ll know not to bring loose papers to the World’s Windiest City.
Lucas was perhaps the most comical – and, if you’re an opposing thrower, the intimidating – of all the juniors.
Despite not seriously throwing the discus before this season, Lucas quickly gained huge chunks of ground by perfecting technique and finished eighth.
Lucas even went so far as to apologize to Tamaqua Area’s Christine Streisel.
Second to Jessie Merckle in the javelin last season, many pegged Streisel to finally win the event again as a senior after taking home gold as a sophomore.
But Lucas, who has hit 150-2 this season, threw 147-01 to Streisel’s 144-11.
“I’ve been thinking about her since the beginning of the year,” Lucas said of Streisel. “I knew she’d be a lot of competition. I know she’s a senior and wants to go for it. I thought I would have a chance. I’m so happy that I pulled it off.
“I feel bad that she’s a senior and everything, and she really wanted it. She’ll have a really good future ahead of her.”
So, too, will many of our local track athletes who made a weekend in chilly, windy Shippensburg an awful lot of fun.
Jason Mackey can be reached at jmackey@observer-reporter.com.