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She’s a freshman … Trinity’s Sammel finishes 2nd in Class 3A high jump at state meet

By Jonathan Guth 6 min read
article image - Jonathan Guth/Observer-Reporter
Trinity freshman Ella Sammel clears the bar at 5-4 in the Class 3A girls high jump Saturday morning during the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. Sammel finished with a best jump of 5-6 to place second in the state.

SHIPPENSBURG — The chant of “he or she’s a freshman” is not normally used at track & field events, plus it is generally repeated by student sections to heckle the opposition.

Spectators of the girls high jump in Class 3A at the PIAA Track & Field Championships Saturday morning at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium were not chanting, but the mention of Trinity’s Ella Sammel followed quickly by, “she’s a freshman,” was repeated more than once.

Sammel cleared 5-6 on her third and final attempt before bowing out at 5-7.

Spring Grove sophomore Ella Bahn won the competition after clearing the bar on her first attempt at 5-7.

Sammel’s jump was not only a personal record (PR) but a school record in the event.

“I was able to get my PR today and I came in as the 22nd seed, so it was nice to do that,” Sammel said. “I had another coach (former Trinity high jumper Michael McClelland) come in and he helped me with my steps because before, even at WPIALs, they were really inconsistent and never really felt right. I think that is really what helped push me to 5-6. The steps are the most important in high jump if you want to succeed at this level. A good vertical can only help you so much.”

Sammel, who also plays volleyball for the Hillers, is eager to return next year and get one step higher on the podium.

She discovered she had a solid vertical jump, which led to her start in the high jump while competing in seventh and eighth grade on the junior high team.

Fort Cherry junior Jonah Pfender placed fifth in the boys shot put in Class 2A with a throw of 52-2.75, which beat his PR.

“This was my first time at the state meet, so it is really nice to place,” Pfender said. “I did the discus yesterday, but I didn’t get the results I really wanted. I just had to reset my mind today and move on to the next event.

“The shot put is definitely my main event, but I am going to work on my discus in the offseason, too, so I can improve on both.”

Pfender also plays football, and was glad to see his gridiron teammates, Shane Cornali and Matt Sieg, win the 400-meter relay with Dylan Wudkwych and Tegan Henke.

Pfender plays left guard, nose tackle and defensive end for the Rangers in the fall, and while he will be training for another trip to the state title game, Pfender wants to be on top of the podium this time next year.

“I will take tomorrow off and start the work on Monday to become a state champion,” Pfender said. “That was totally awesome (seeing his teammates win a state title). I know last night, that group of people, they didn’t mess around. They didn’t stay up late and they came here for a business trip, and it was all about winning for them.”

Burgettstown’s Peyton Mermon placed fifth in the 400 in Class 2A girls with a time of 57.76. Mermon, a junior, admitted to not feeling as much pressure Saturday as opposed to Friday due to the fact that she knew she just needed to finish to medal as the top eight finalists are guaranteed a spot on the podium unless that can’t compete or are disqualified.

“I was way more nervous yesterday than today because I knew today I could only go up,” Mermon said. “I was second in my heat yesterday, and I was in the first heat, so I had to wait for all the heats after me and I was like, ‘Oh, God.'”

Mermon was able to break her PR to earn her first medal at the state meet.

Fort Cherry’s 1,600-meter relay team of Ava Menzies, Raney Staub, Jazlyn Martino and Bella Bianchini placed seventh in Class 2A girls with a time of 4:04.81.

Emotions were high, as seniors Menzies and Staub raced their last time with Bianchini and Martino.

“I was in lane seven to start the race, and that’s a hard lane to be in to start in, but it definitely helped me push myself more because I knew I was going to be in a not-so-great lane,” Menzies said. “I think as a team, we’ve really come a long way this season. I wish I could run with them next year, and I am really going to miss these girls and my team.”

Menzies placed in the 200 with a time of 26.60, which doesn’t provide a long rest time between events, as the 1,600 relay comes up quickly, but she didn’t want to let that deter her from running a solid opening leg.

“I had been doing the 200, 4×400 and back-to-back events earlier in the season, so I was definitely more used to it,” Menzies said. “I knew I had to cool down quick and get ready because I wanted to run for them (her teammates), and I’m here for them. I just wanted to have a really good last race as a senior with my favorite teammates.”

Menzies also plays basketball and is valedictorian of her class. She will continue her academic and athletic careers at Pitt-Johnstown.

Emily Frankovich, who was just shy of placing in the 1,600-meter run on Friday in ninth, was able to earn a medal, as she teamed with Staub, Martino and Bianchini to earn seventh place in the 3,200 relay in 9:49.57.

“It is hard to hear our splits here, but I felt like we all did pretty good because we had a good time,” Staub said. “We can usually hear our coach (Ben Maxin) because he’s pretty loud, but we really fed off the energy of the crowd. I ran the opening leg, so it was important to get a good start.

“We knew that if we finished our section in the top eight, we would have had a good shot at placing because we were in the second section of timed finals, and that is where the teams that were seeded higher are placed.

“I have been waiting three years to do this because I broke my foot my sophomore year and didn’t qualify last year, so it’s really emotional because we finally got a medal.”

Staub will attend Kent State and plans to study sports medicine, but Saturday was the conclusion of her track & field career.

The Rangers hadn’t placed in relay events at states in the program’s history, but won three sets of medals on Saturday.

Fort Cherry girls accomplished another historic feat this season in finishing second in the WPIAL team championships despite giving up nine points due to not having any pole vaulters.

Canon-McMillan’s Rose Kuchera finished her high school career with a seventh-place finish in the Class 3A girls long jump with a leap of 18-2. Kuchera will continue her academic and track & field careers at Duquesne University.

South Fayette’s Olivia Renk was seventh in the Class 3A girls 200 in 12.28.

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