May 24, 2018 3 min read

Personal records will be broken.

Medals will be handed out.

There are several local athletes who could challenge for the top spot on the awards stand when more than 2,500 competitors from across the state descend on Shippensburg University for the 2018 PIAA Track & Field Championships.

Here are five athletes to keep track of over the two-day event:

1. Daniel Layton, Waynesburg: A quick start for Layton propelled him to a gold medal in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.73) at the WPIAL championships last week. That was only slightly slower than his personal best, but Layton comes into the PIAA meet as the top seed in the event. Three of the top four seeds from Class AA are from the WPIAL, including Shawn Broadway of Derry and Sam Hartman of South Park. Layton also will compete in the pole vault.

2. Brenna Cavanaugh, Bentworth: Is a repeat possible for Cavanaugh in the 100-meter hurdles? Of course, but the Bentworth senior has to be hoping it will go much smoother than last year’s state meet, when she fell in the semifinals and had to pull off an unheard of victory from Lane 8 to win gold. Cavanaugh has to feel comfortable after crossing in 14.51 for a WPIAL title in Class AA, seven-tenths of a second faster than any other finalist, which defended her title at Baldwin. She is top seed in the hurdles, the No. 2 seed in the long jump and also qualified for the triple jump.

3. Will Behm, Waynesburg: Breaking the WPIAL Class AA pole vault record by one inch (14-10), Behm was happy but still knows the ceiling is high. Ranked second in the event behind Schuylkill Valley senior Joe Jardine (15-6), Behm said in the middle of the season he feels that he can eclipse the 15-6 mark. Jardine and Behm figured to go head-to-head with one another as no other competitor has cleared more than 13-6 entering today.

4. Rachel Helbling, South Fayette: The senior qualified for two events in Class AAA – the 200 dash and 400 dash – but is more comfortable running the 400, given her No. 2 seed in the event. Helbling, a Richmond recruit, put together a pair of strong performances in both at the WPIAL championships, finishing in second in the 400 dash (56.41) and third in the 200 dash (25.08). She has already seen her biggest competition in Avonworth’s Hunter Robinson, who won four WPIAL golds last week and has nine for her career.

5. Myckel Brown, Washington: All of this is new to Brown, the sport in general and making the trip to Shippensburg. It’s his first appearance at states after only starting to compete in the shot put as a junior. Despite being seeded fifth in Class AA, there isn’t much separation in the top several seeds. Top-seeded Alex Martin of Dock Mennonite Academy has a mark of 52-06. Brown has continued to improve on his personal bests by switching his approach from a glide to a quick shuffle. He comes in with a top distance of 49-11 1/2, which he threw at the WPIAL championships for first place.