C-M’s Taylor is track MVP at Washington-Greene meet
CANNONSBURG – Aaron Taylor sat on the turf in a small piece of shade with his legs crossed and an ice bag placed atop his head.
He was trying to do anything he could to cool down after a blazing run in the final leg for Canon-McMillan’s 1,600-meter boys relay team that led them to victory.
“I was definitely spent,” Taylor said. “Including the prelims I ran five races.”
The exhaustion was well worth it for Taylor, who won three events and was named the track MVP at the Washington-Greene County track and field meet Friday at AHN Field in Canonsburg.
Washington’s Tyler Crawford was the field MVP and Braden Berdar of Trinity was the overall MVP by scoring points in both the track and field events. Crawford won the triple jump. Berdar was the winner in the high and long jumps.
Taylor swept the hurdle events to go along with the win in the 1,600 relay. He nearly went 4-for-4 for the second year in a row, but Beth-Center’s Deakyn DeHoet beat him to the line in the 200 dash.
Coming off breaking Olympian and former North Allegheny standout Ayden Owens’ record in the 300 hurdles at the Butler Invitational Saturday, Taylor put forth another strong outing on Friday.
“It felt really good,” Taylor said. “I felt like I had to prove that I could do it again here after last weekend. Obviously Ayden Owens is an amazing athlete and to have a record he used to hold is amazing.”
Taylor, a Villanova recruit, is the defending WPIAL champion in the 300 hurdles and state runner-up. He was strong in both hurdle events Friday posting a 14.25 in the 110 and , but his most impressive feat may have been as the anchor of the 1,600 relay. He took the baton in third place and by the 200-meter mark he had raced into first and ended up crossing the line over two seconds ahead of everyone.
“It was the last race, so I wanted to leave everything out there,” Taylor said. “I wanted to win it for my team. I got out there and passed them at the 200 mark and just kept going.”
DeHoet prevented a perfect day for Taylor. He edged him in 200 finishing at 21.82 to Taylor’s 22.34.
Taylor had just run the 300 hurdles prior to the 200 and said he hadn’t fully recovered yet, but DeHoet deserved the win.
“He’s a great runner,” Taylor said. “There wasn’t as much time between events as I felt like there was last year. It was hotter and I was spent. I ran a solid race, but he just beat me.”
DeHoet was also victorious in the 100 dash for the second year in a row. He posted a 11.11 to edge out Fort Cherry’s Eli Salvini, who finished at 11.39.
He said he didn’t get the best start in the 100, but was still able to come out on top.
“I was focused on sinking my heels and was late to react to the gun,” DeHoet said. “The top end (speed) carried me. I knew I was fine, because I was right in their pocket on the start and I usually take off by 40 or 50 meters and get out in front of everyone.”
DeHoet is a student at Jefferson-Morgan, but is a co-op with Beth-Center for track. He also plays on the Jefferson-Morgan baseball team in the spring.
California’s Carter Kent won for the second year in a row, but this time it was in a different event. He topped the 1,600 after winning the 800 a year ago.
He was planning to do both events this year, but decided to scratch from the 800 even though he was the top seed.
“After the 1,600 with the heat out here I wasn’t trying to push myself like that today,” Kent said. “I have back-to-back meets on Monday (Mid-Mon Valley Invitational) and Tuesday (WPIAL team playoffs), so I wanted to save my legs for those.”
The 1,600 has been an elusive title for Kent, a junior, but he got it in his third try, finishing with a time of 4:32.89, nearly three seconds ahead of second place Colton Silvestri.
“I took second in (the 1,600) in back-to-back years, so it was nice to win it,” Kent said. “I felt good out there, so I decided to go for it. I’m really happy about it and it gives me a big confidence booster going into some of big invitationals coming up. I missed states in the 1,600 by a half second last year. That was a tough ride home, so I’m hoping to get there this year.”
With Kent out for the 800, Canon-McMillan’s Digby Bedner took full advantage. The senior won it with a time of 2:06.84. Bedner was also part of two relay victories for Canon-McMillan.
The Big Macs swept all four relay races.
Bedner did not participate in track as a junior, but is glad he decided to come back for his final year.
“I stayed hydrated and I just kept telling myself that I could get it done and to stick with it,” Bedner said. It was hot today, so I was glad I was able to overcome it.”
Other individual winners were: Canon-McMillan’s Owen Rojahn (one mile), Chartiers-Houston’s Josh Spencer (400) and Burgettstown’s Max Maltony (3,200), Waynesburg’s Jackson Brunell (pole vault), Canon-McMillan’s Max Gastavo (shot put), California’s Carter Kent (discus), and Canon-McMillan’s Brayden Dexter (javelin).