Canon-Mac’s Rolek finishes as runner-up in pole vault
SHIPPENSBURG – Though Connor Rolek fell short of his ultimate goal of becoming a state champion, he did have a pretty cool moment inside the gymnasium at Shippensburg University on Friday.
With persistent rain showers forcing the pole vault portion of the PIAA Track and Field Championships indoors, Rolek was one fault away from being eliminated when the crowd that assembled inside started to clap in unison.
Rolek, a junior at Canon-McMillan, ran down with his pole and made a successful vault to clear 14-9 and ensure himself a top-three finish.
He ended up as the runner-up in the Class 3A final.
“It was pretty fun,” Rolek said. “It’s not the highest bar I’ve had in my life, but to do that with the clapping and everyone cheering was nice.”
Rolek was one of three vaulters to clear 14-9. Nobody was able to clear 15-3, so the scores reverted back to the previous round and Unionville’s Alex Undorf cleared 14-9 in two tries, compared to three for Rolek and Red Land’s Carson Huffman, so Undorf was the winner.
Rolek had cleared 15 feet in the past, so he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t do it again and become a state champion in his final PIAA meet.
“It wasn’t a bad day, but not a good day either,” Rolek said. “I’ve jumped a lot higher in my life and just couldn’t put it together today. It was just one of those days. It was a little bit different going inside. It took a long time to get started, but I can’t control that. Everybody here had to deal with it.”
This is Rolek’s final meet for Canon-McMillan because he’s headed to the Spire Academy in Ohio for his senior year.
Rolek attended a couple of indoor meets at SPIRE Academy and was intrigued by the school because the pole vault coach is former Olympic gold medalist Tim Mack.
“Tim has the credentials with the gold medal and is a great guy,” Rolek said. “I took a tour a few months ago and really enjoyed the school. It felt like an easy decision and I think it’ll help with recruiting. It’s tough leaving, because I love Pittsburgh, but it’s the right school for me.”
Belle Vernon’s Ryan Kent got off to a good start to the weekend, placing fifth in the Class 3A shot put with a throw. He’s seeded second in the discus, which is Saturday. Kent won WPIALs in shot put and discus.
Deakyn DeHoet won a pair of WPIAL Class 2A championships last week and has put himself in position to possibly win the state title in the 100 and 200.
DeHoet, a student at Jefferson-Morgan who runs in a co-op with Beth-Center, won his heat convincingly and finished with the fastest time in the 100 at 10.68. The next closest time was Quaker Valley’s Kieran Cain at 10.89.
Brookville’s Hayden Freeman was the top seed, but failed to qualify for the final, finishing ninth place.
Freeman and DeHoet tied for first place in the 200 during prelims at . Freeman will be in lane four and DeHoet in lane five for the final Saturday.
Charleroi junior Braedin Lunger earned a spot in the Class 2A 110 hurdle finals by edging WPIAL champ and Waynesburg freshman Nate Ricciuti in the first heat.
Lunger is seeded fourth in the final, while Ricciuti ended up 12th and did not qualify.
Fort Cherry’s WPIAL champion 400 boys relay team narrowly missed qualifying for the state final. The Rangers finished ninth in the prelims, .03 seconds behind Hughesville, which claimed the final spot.