Wash High’s Asbury wins double gold in Class 2A
SLIPPERY ROCK – Canon-McMillan’s Colton Dean and Washington’s Dane Asbury stick to track and field when it comes to sports.
The majority of athletes compete to keep themselves in shape for other sports or just for fun, but that is not the case for the Big Macs sophomore and Little Prexies junior.
That focus paid off Wednesday in the WPIAL Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University’s Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, as Asbury won gold in the 100 and 200 in Class 2A, and Dean broke the tape in 200 in Class 3A.
Asbury won the 100 in 10.75 and the 200 in 22.04, while Dean crossed the finish line in 21.68.
“My hamstring didn’t feel that good, but I felt like I finished well down the stretch,” Asbury said. “The goal is always to win, but I am looking to break my PR (personal record).”
Asbury bested teammate Ruben Gordon (10.94) in the 100.
Asbury and Gordon teamed with Elijah Thomas and Zxavian Willis to finish third in the 400 relay and qualify for states in a time of 43.26.
Gordon finished second in the long jump at 21-4 1/2. He will make the trip to Shippensburg.
“I felt like I got out of the blocks really well,” Asbury said. “I qualified for states last year in the 400 relay, so it feels really good to go in an individual event. It feels good to qualify in two individual races and one relay.”
Dean said he was in third place heading towards the straightaway in the 200 before shifting into fifth gear down the stretch.
“I felt good off the blocks and started to really pick it up at the 100-meter mark,” Dean said. “I think that was the best race out of the day. There were for guys in the 21s. It was a PR (personal record) for me. I am excited to let it go at states.”
Dean qualified for states in the 300 hurdles (2nd-39.55) and the long jump (3rd-21-09 1/4).
Waynesburg’s Andrew Layton has been wearing a walking boot since the fall because of a stress fracture suffered while playing soccer for the Raiders, but he was able to win his second straight district title in the Class 2A pole vault with a height of 14-9.
The senior was going for the district record of 14-10, which was set by Waynesburg graduate Will Behm in 2018, but came up short. Layton is looking to win a state title in his fourth and final attempt after finishing as runner-up the last three seasons.
“I was hoping to get the WPIAL record, but I was happy to win for a second-straight year,” Layton said. “It was also great to vault here (at Slippery Rock) because I will be continuing my college career at this school. I just have to suck it up and go.”
South Fayette’s boys 3,200 relay team of Roman Galioto, Alaa-Eddine Guetari, Tim Danziger and Jake Borgesi set a blistering pace in winning the Class 3A title in 7:57.22.
Galioto, who ran the opening leg of the race, took the lead with about 150 meters to go before handing off to Guetari.
“I have always been leadoff for this team, and it is just a comfortable position for me,” Galioto said. “I wanted to go with 300 to go, but I just thought in my mind what Coach (Jon) Winans told me before, ‘To try and be as patient as possible,’ so I would definitely give some of my success to his advice.”
Danziger said he was confident the Lions would cross the finish line first if he maintained the lead as the third leg.
“I knew if I handed it off to Jake (Borgesi) in first, he would be able to get the win,” Danziger said. “I was hurting in the last 200 meters, but I knew if I got it to him, he would be able to bring it home for us.”
Borgesi, a senior, ran his first lap (400 meters) in 53 seconds and ran a split of 1:56.
“I kept thinking about my teammates the whole team during the race,” Borgesi said. “I would have never forgiven myself if I didn’t close it for them.”
Galiato was sixth in the 800, but hit the state-qualifying standard time of 1:57 in running a 1:56.90.
California’s Tanner Pierce won the Class 2A shot put with personal-best throw of 50 feet.
“I have to thank my throwing coach for all the help he has given me,” Pierce said. “I changed my technique from the glide to the spin, and it helped a lot. Perfecting that was a little hard, but once I got that down, it just felt a lot smoother and worked out in the end.”
Ringgold’s Ryan Pajak finished second in the 1,600 and 3,200, but lost to another top distance runner in the state in Butler’s Drew Griffith. The Ram junior will be at states in both events.
Burgettstown’s Sondre Lundy qualified for states in the Class 2A 300 and 110 hurdles. The senior was second in the 300s at 40.22 and third in the 110s at 15.23. Teammate Zack Schrockman is headed to states after finishing third in the high jump (5-11).
Canon-McMillan’s Louis Liberatore is headed to states after finishing third in the Class 3A javelin with a toss of 163-9. The Big Macs’ Jake Egizio qualified in the 200 (5th-22.28). Teammate Austyn Winkleblech was second in the 100 (10.73) and will make the trip to Shippensburg.
Peters Township’s Brett Kroboth is headed to states in the 1,600 (7th-4:17.93) and 3,200 (4th-9:31.69).
Waynesburg’s Breydon Woods qualified in the 200 (5th-22.89).