By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
MOSCOW – District 2 is sending many well-established track and field athletes to Friday and Saturday’s Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships at Shippensburg University.
Northwest sophomore Hunter Gmiter does not have as lengthy a resume in the sport as some of the others making the trip.
Even Gmiter is surprised that he is part of the contingent from District 2.
Tied for the lowest seeding height of any of the entries at the district meet and one miss away from being eliminated without clearing a height, Gmiter gathered himself, stayed in the meet, then jumped higher than ever before on the way to the title and arguably the meet’s biggest upset.
“I was expecting something like sixth or seventh,” said Gmiter, who started the meet by missing two straight attempts at 5-5. “My (personal record) went up five inches.”
With his previous career-high of 5-6 exceeded, Gmiter kept going. He eventually was the only competitor to clear 5-11, earning the gold medal.
Of the other nine entries in the event, six were seeded above Gmiter for better regular-season performances and three came in with the same season-best height of 5-6.
After his district performance, Gmiter heads the Shippensburg still carrying the status of underdog, but in a different position than 11 days earlier.
The state entries include 11 jumpers who went higher than Gmiter in their district meets, 6 others who also cleared 5-11 and 7 who did not go that high.
