Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Hannah Falcione
School: Peters Township
Year: Senior
Sport: Track & Field
Falcione’s week: The senior punched her ticket to the WPIAL Individual Track & Field Championships, which are being held today at Baldwin High School, last Thursday at the WPIAL Class AAA Southern Qualifier at West Mifflin. Falcione took first in the long jump with a distance of 16-7 and second in the triple jump with 36-5. She also missed the cut in the 100-meter hurdles by finishing 10th.
“I ran my fastest hurdle race, but there were a lot of really good girls there,” Falcione said. “I was proud of that race. I felt pretty good about the jumps. I was able to focus and I thought my first triple jump was pretty good. It was a good day overall. The long jump wasn’t that great, but I was kind of tired.”
Getting up: Falcione’s bid to reach the PIAA Individual Track & Field Championships last spring took a hit in the 100 hurdles. A pretty big hit, actually.
As she sped through the race and seemed destined for a spot in Shippensburg, her shin caught the second-to-last hurdle, sending her to the ground and into another runner’s lane. Falcione was disqualified, but the impact it had on her in the jumps was devastating for assistant coach Kaye Gasper to watch.
With a large brush burn on her shin, Falcione took fifth in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump – missing the cut in both events.
Now that she only has the jumps to concentrate on today, Gasper believes a weight has been lifted off Falcione’s shoulders.
“We looked at it as her having to run the hurdle twice and take eight jumps,” Gasper said. “You could say it’s fortunate or unfortunate that she didn’t advance in the hurdles this year. She’s sort of relieved. She wanted to make it, but she knew she wouldn’t make states in the hurdles. Now she’ll have more rest and can focus on the jumps.”
Focus and rest are hard to come by for Falcione. After he first attempt in the triple jump last Thursday at West Mifflin, she hurried to the starting line to compete in the 100-meter hurdles. She came back to finish second in that event and won the long jump despite jumping more than four inches below her personal-best.
“It’s very stressful for me because running from one event to the other, I try to focus on one,” Falcione said. “When I do the hurdles, my stride is different. When I go over a jump, I try and hit the board. I’m used to it, but it sometimes throws me off when I have to hurry up and run over, and hurry up and run back. I’ve become used to it, but I need to focus on one event. If I focus on another one, I get messed up.”
Sprint: Falcione never considered a transition to the jumps, but when Gasper started to coach those events and the hurdles, she recruited the young sophomore to join her group.
Fast forward two years and Falcione, who plans to compete at Miami University (Ohio), has twice broken the school record in the triple jump and is closing in on the long jump record. All she’s concerned about is leaving Baldwin High School with a medal and a chance to compete for a state title.
“At this point in the season, I feel like I’m ready and I’m there,” Falcione said. “It’s just very exciting. This is going to be the opportunity to show what I’ve been training for. At the same time, it’s scary because this is my last chance to make it to states. I have a good feeling about it.”
Compiled by Lance Lysowski