Earlier today, the Varsity blog posted a look back at the District 10 Class AAA track and field championships.
Now, it’s time to take a look ahead to some of the premier showdowns waiting at Saturday’s District 10 Class AA championships at Hickory’s Hornet Stadium.
Remember, fans who can’t attend Saturday’s meet can get updates throughout the day on the Varsity blog and on Twitter at Twitter.com/ETNreisenweber.
Click below to read more:
Class AA preview: (Try this link to the AA performance lists.)
• High jump heaven: The Class AA boys field is loaded with superb high jumpers. Top-seeded Jeremy Jancso of West Middlesex is coming off a meet-record effort of 6 feet 8 inches at last Saturday’s Mercer County championships. That’s a state-champion caliber height.
However, Jancso will have plenty of competition, starting with the defending champion, John Mudrey of Hickory. Mudrey won with a leap of 6-6 in 2011, and he enters this year’s meet with a top jump of 6-6. Sharon’s Johnathan Jacoway is also a top contender with a high jump of 6-6. Jacoway, the defending champion in the triple jump, is the top seed in that event with a 45-2 ¼. Northwestern’s Kyle McKeen is right behind at 45-1. Jancso, meanwhile, is also seeded No. 1 in the long jump (22-9).
• 800 is enough: The girls 800 meters could end up being a race to remember. The multi-talented Marina Wareham of Kennedy Catholic is looking to cap a four-year title sweep in that event. However, she enters Saturday’s meet as the No. 2 seed with a time of 2 minutes, 19.48 seconds. The top seed is Hickory star Morgan Richards, the 2011 Erie Times-News Female Track Athlete of the Year. Richards has a seed time of 2:19.00.
If both Richards and Wareham run the 800, it could be quite a spectacle. However, Richards also is top-seeded by a wide margin in both the 1,600 (5:01.19) and 3,200 (11:11.83). As a result, she might decide to scratch in the 800 to keep her legs fresh for the two distance events. Wareham, meanwhile, also is the top seed in the 400 with a time of 58.44.
• Sprinters on your marks: One of the most awaited head-to-head matchups could come in the 100 meters, where Hickory junior DeShawn Coleman (10.84) and West Middlesex junior Clay Allen (10.94) are the top two seeds. Allen is the defending champ in both the 100 (10.80) and 200 (22.07). However, he didn’t compete last week when Coleman swept both sprints at the Mercer County meet. Plenty of eyes will be on both sprinters when they’re in the blocks. By the way, Allen is the top seed in the 200 (22.18).
• Distance dominance: So far, District 10’s cross country champions are 2-for-2 in the 3,200 at the D-10 championships. Class AAA cross country champion Dan Jaskowak of Grove City won the 3,200 meters at Wednesday’s AAA track meet. In the Class AAA girls 3,200, McDowell’s Kelsey Swantek, a freshman, completed her sweep by winning the event after taking the AAA cross country title in the fall.
In Saturday’s Class AA championships, both AA cross country champions are heavy favorites in the 3,200. Three-time boys cross country champion Nate Tallada of Saegertown comes in with a time of 9:42.13, more than 21 seconds faster than the No. 2 seed. Hickory’s Morgan Richards has a top time of 11:11.83, which is almost 30 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.
• Anyone’s race: Several girls seem to have a shot at the Class AA 100-meter gold medal. Villa Maria’s Shamieia Roberts is the No. 1 seed (12.60), but she’s followed closely, in order, by Slippery Rock’s Megan Stephenson (12.64), Greenville’s Rebekah Petty (12.70) and Union City’s Eve Gardner (12.77). How tight is the field? Last year’s champion, Wilmington’s Alexis King, won with a 12.63. She’s seeded seventh this year with a 12.94, but she still should be considered a top contender.
• Pole vault logjam: Another close competition figures to be the boys pole vault where three athletes have cleared 13 feet 6 inches and three more have cleared 13-0. Defending champion Luke Patten of West Middlesex is one of the vaulters with a seed height of 13-6, which matches his winning effort from 2011. Fairview’s Joseph Kocan and Reynolds’ Alex Gilgore also enter the meet with a 13-6 effort. Tied at 13-0 are Hickory’s Craig Belko, General McLane’s Aidan Graham and Fairview’s Damion Owens. This competition will come down to which athlete can keep his form under high pressure.
• Throwing giants: Wilmington’s John Yohman is one of the premier throwers in the state, but last year he finished second in D-10 to Hickory standout Matt Bell in both the shot put and discus. This year, Bell again is seeded first in the shot (61-4) and discus (172-10), and Yohman is No. 2 in both events at 59-11 ¼ and 167-9, respectively. It will be interesting to see if Yohman can pull off the upset against Bell, who’s had a truly dominant season.
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