By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
SHIPPENSBURG – Periodic updates from Saturday’s action in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3A Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
TENTH UPDATE
With three medalists, the Berwick girls were the highest scoring of the District 2 teams, coming in tied for 20th out of 84 Class 3A girls teams that scored points.
The Lady Bulldogs had 11 points.
Central Bucks West won the title with 53. Hempfield was second with 31 and South Fayette third with 25.
State College won the boys championship with 36. Butler beat out Cumberland Valley for second, 30-25.
NINTH UPDATE
The last result is in.
Trenton Zavada from Wilkes-Barre Area was part of a 7-way tie for 13th out of 23 pole vaulters. He cleared 13-0.
EIGHTH UPDATE
Dallas won its heat in the 1600-meter relay to close the girls portion of competition for District 2.
The Mountaineers were in the heat with slowest one-third of the field and wound up placing 15th of 24 overall in a time of 4:06.71.
Despite tough conditions, the team of Calli Ogurkis, Elizabeth Viglone, Sophia Filali and Alondra Church came in almost a second faster than the time Dallas posted while winning the District 2 title 12 days earlier. That allowed the Mountaineers to finish ahead of four teams that had run faster in districts and therefore came in seeded higher.
The Wallenpaupack boys did not win the first heat of the 1600 relay, but finished two spots higher, coming in 13th of 24 in 3:29.05 with a team of James Carrubba, Hunter Vargo, Mason Clark and Thomas Principe.
The last event, the boys pole vault, which was held inside, finished up, not long ago, but official results are not yet available.
The Lackawanna Track Conference was shut out in the medal hunt in Class 3A.
Other results from late in the meet:
Wallenpaupack’s Anastasia Ioppolo was 13th of 25 in the triple jump with 16-11 ½.
Peter Federici from Dallas was 17th of 24 in 40.83 and Giavanni Innamorati from Pittston Area was 19th of 24 in 48.28 while competing in the boys and girls 300 hurdles.
Tyler Petty from Abington Heights and Jillian Bonczewski from Wyoming Valley West were each 20th of 26 in their 800-meter races. He finished in 2:00.96. She ran a time of 2:25.41.
Hazleton Area’s Ashley Bueso was 20th of 23 in the shot put with 33-1½.
MORE: We’ll have more updates to this blog before wrapping up coverage from Shippensburg, then additional stories as we continue to recap the events of the championship weekend.
SEVENTH UPDATE
District 2 has its first state champion of the day and second of the weekend.
Abbey Hengst from Hazleton Area led three Wyoming Valley Conference girls to medal in the Class 3A javelin, winning with a throw of 135-6.
Berwick’s Renny Murphy was third with 131-11 and teammate Allie Melchiorre was eighth with 125-7.
Holy Redeemer’s Justice Shoats won the Class 2A boys triple jump state title Friday.
Much more on this still to come.
SIXTH UPDATE
Delaware Valley’s Taliyah Booker had the lead late in the girls 400-meter dash before falling.
Booker, who has battled leg problems this season, was struggling and her lead was dwindling when she tightened up and went down. She got up and limped to the finish line, last in her heat and 31st of 32 entries in 1:03.24.
Alondra Church from Dallas also ran in the last heat with the fastest qualifiers, but that heat produced just three of the eight medalists. Church finished 16th overall and sixth in the heat in 59.22.
The Wyoming Valley West boys 400 relay team of Donte Rhodes, Jeremiah Williams, Jack Gorham and Mason Mendygral finished in 44.09 to place 14th out of 25.
FIFTH UPDATE
While the afternoon field event sessions continue, District 2 athletes continue to find competition tough in Class 3A on the track.
All remaining races are finals.
The latest results:
Michael McCann from Dallas was 23rd with a time of 4:31.85 and Caleb Kenyon from North Pocono was 25th of 28 in 4:38.76.
Pittston Area’s girls 400 relay team was 26th of 31 in 51.45.
FOURTH UPDATE
District 2 had two medalists in the high jump.
Berwick’s Taylor Woodeschick, who finished fifth, and Hanover Area’s Isabella Popson, who was eighth, each took advantage of qualifying by meeting the minimum state standard while finishing second and third at the district meet.
Woodeschick, who got into Shippensburg just before midnight Friday after graduating from Berwick earlier in the evening, cleared 5-3. Popson made it over 5-2.
District 2 champion Fatikha Tiktova was part of a 10-way tie for 10th at 5-0.
Alondra Church from Dallas missed the finals by one place and one-hundredth of a second in 25.39.
Just like the high jump, District 2 had three entries in the girls 200.
Honesdale’s Rachel Collins was 12th in 25.61 and Tunkhannock’s Jessica Cervenak was 15th in 25.70.
More results:
Hazleton Area’s Isabella Colyer was part of a three-way tie for ninth in the pole vault at 11-0.
Colin Kravitz from North Pocono was 12th of 25 in the boys 200 in 22.32.
Wyoming Valley West’s Cole Gorham was 12th of 24 in the shot put with 50-0 ¾ while his brother, Jack Gorham, was 16th of 25 in 20-7¼.
Nanticoke’s Sophia Lukowski was 18th of 23 in the discus with 98-6.
Jean Portes from Hazleton Area was 20th out of 25 in the 110-meter high hurdles in exactly 16 seconds. Results were delayed while one competitor was given another chance to run a time unopposed after being interfered with in his heat.
Pittston Area’s Aria Messner was 24th of 27 in the triple jump. Her best jump was 32-9 ½.
Scranton Prep’s Rita Collins was 25th of 26 in the 1600 in 5:26.09.
THIRD UPDATE
Tunkhannock’s Matthew Prebola gives District 2 its first medalist of the day, finishing second in the javelin with a throw of 195-5.
Collin Burkhart from Nazareth, seeded second to Prebola coming in, won in 208-6.
The event was conducted in cool, windy, occasionally rainy conditions.
“It was a little bit tougher of a day, but I wasn’t too worried about it,” said Prebola, who threw more than 215 feet in all six tries at the District 2 championships. “What I threw today, I’ll take it.
“I want to give Collin Burkhart a big shout out. He’s an amazing thrower and a great competitor.”
Prebola, among the top high school javelin throwers in the nation, was the only junior among the top four finishers.
“I was a little disappointed, but I wasn’t too mad,” Prebola said. “With all the weather and stuff, at the end of the day, I gave it everything I had and that’s how I finished.”
The North Pocono boys won the slower heat of the 3200 relay, but fell short of a medal. The Trojans beat three of the times from the faster heat, but needed to beat five and had to settle for 10th out of 24 in 8:04.93.
Pittston Area’s Giavanna Innamorati placed 14th out of 24 in 100-meter hurdles qualifying with a time of 15.84.
Tunkhannock’s Jessica Cervenak was 15th of 23 in the 100 in 12.79.
Mason Mendygral from Wyoming Valley West was 20th of 27 in the boys 100 in 11.36.
The Crestwood girls 3200 relay placed 22nd of 23 teams with a time of 10:36.41.
SECOND UPDATE
The first track finals of the day are complete.
North Pocono’s Caleb Kenyon finished 12th of 27 in the 3200-meter run in 9:27.34.
Crestwood’s Molly DeMarzo was 20th of 27 in the girls race in 11:29.22.
Track qualifying is continuing in the hurdles.
Long jump and javelin, where boys are competing first, are among the field events underway outdoors.
More about District 2’s javelin thrower, including Tunkhannock’s Matthew Prebola, can be found at: https://nepasportsnation.com/javelin-throwers-lead-district-2-contingent/.
FIRST UPDATE
These are still the state outdoor championships, but the high jump and pole vault have been moved indoors for safety reasons.
Some field events got underway as scheduled at 9.
The girls 3200-meter run is about to start on the track just a few minutes late in a light rain.
It should also be mentioned that the temperature is 49 degrees, with a predicted high of 51 and winds steadily above 10 miles per hour.
More about Crestwood’s Molly DeMarzo, the first District 2 runner on the track here: https://nepasportsnation.com/demarzo-wins-alone-with-teammates/.
INITIAL REPORT
Updates will be provided from onsite at Shippensburg throughout the day with action scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Rain is expected to be a factor on and off throughout the meet. It rained most of the night since starting late in Friday’s Class 2A championships, but is expected to lighten up and stop at times during the hours that the meet is scheduled to be conducted.
District 2 has its champions entered in every event, plus additional qualifiers who met the state standards. Here is where today’s competitors are seeded:
BOYS
| Event | Athlete | Team | Performance | Rank |
| 3200 relay | North Pocono | 8:13.39 | 21st of 24 | |
| 110 high hurdles | Jean Portes | Hazleton Area | 15.53 | 22nd of 25 |
| 100 | Mason Mendygral | Wyoming Valley West | 11.44 | 28th of 29 |
| 1600 | Michael McCann | Dallas | 4:21.32 | 17th of 30 |
| 1600 | Caleb Kenyon | North Pocono | 4:21.52 | 19th of 30 |
| 400 relay | Wyoming Valley West | 43.69 | 21st of 25 | |
| 400 | Colin Kravitz | North Pocono | 49.82 | 15th of 24 |
| 300 hurdles | Peter Federici | Dallas | 41.01 | 21st of 25 |
| 800 | Tyler Petty | Abington Heights | 1:58.65 | 22nd of 26 |
| 200 | Colin Kravitz | North Pocono | 22.58 | 21st of 25 |
| 3200 | Caleb Kenyon | North Pocono | 9:53.12 | 27th of 28 |
| 1600 relay | Wallenpaupack | 3:30.22 | 20th of 24 | |
| High jump | Le’Jean Berry | Wilkes-Barre Area | 6-5 | 4-way tie 3rd of 24 |
| Pole vault | Trenton Zavada | Wilkes-Barre Area | 12-3 | 24th of 24 |
| Long jump | Jack Gorham | Wyoming Valley West | 21-8¼ | 18th of 25 |
| Triple jump | Matthew Cusatis | Hazleton Area | 45-1 | 13th of 24 |
| Shot put | Cole Gorham | Wyoming Valley West | 55-7 | 6th of 24 |
| Discus | Cole Gorham | Wyoming Valley West | 173-2 | 2nd of 26 |
| Discus | Chris Kryeski | North Pocono | 169-4 | 5th of 26 |
| Javelin | Matthew Prebola | Tunkhannock | 222-2 | 1st of 23 |
GIRLS
| Event | Athlete | Team | Performance | Rank |
| 3200 relay | Crestwood | 9:59.93 | 19th of 23 | |
| 100 hurdles | Giavanna Innamorati | Pittston Area | 15.60 | 14th of 24 |
| 100 | Jessica Cervenak | Tunkhannock | 12.34 | 6th of 24 |
| 1600 | Rita Collins | Scranton Prep | 5:18.07 | 23rd of 28 |
| 400 relay | Pittston Area | 50.06 | 25th of 31 | |
| 400 | Taliyah Booker | Delaware Valley | 55.86 | 2nd of 33 |
| 400 | Alondra Church | Dallas | 56.95 | 5th of 33 |
| 300 hurdles | Giavanna Innamorati | Pittston Area | 47.19 | 20th of 24 |
| 800 | Jillian Bonczewski | Wyoming Valley West | 2:23.33 | 23rd of 26 |
| 200 | Alondra Church | Dallas | 25.25 | 5th of 28 |
| 200 | Rachel Collins | Honesdale | 25.53 | 14th of 28 |
| 200 | Jessica Cervenak | Tunkhannock | 25.61 | 15th of 28 |
| 3200 | Molly DeMarzo | Crestwood | 11:30.28 | 21st of 27 |
| 1600 relay | Dallas | 4:07.51 | 19th of 24 | |
| High jump | Fatikha Tiktova | Wyoming Valley West | 5-5 | 8-way tie 1st of 27 |
| High jump | Taylor Woodeschick | Berwick | 5-3 | 9-way tie 9th of 27 |
| Pole vault | Isabella Colyer | Hazleton Area | 11-0 | 9th of 22 |
| Long jump | Anastasia Ioppolo | Wallenpaupack | 17-3 | 16th of 25 |
| Triple jump | Aria Messner | Pittston Area | 35-3 | 22nd of 27 |
| Shot put | Ashley Bueso | Hazleton Area | 36-10¼ | 13th of 23 |
| Discus | Sophia Lukowski | Nanticoke | 118-7 | 13th of 23 |
| Javelin | Renny Murphy | Berwick | 145-7 | 1st of 26 |
| Javelin | Abbey Hengst | Hazleton Area | 137-0 | 2nd of 26 |
| Javelin | Ashley Melchiorre | Berwick | 134-4 | 4th of 26 |
MORE
For earlier related coverage, check out the following.
Friday’s PIAA Class 2A Championships: https://nepasportsnation.com/piaa-class-2a-track-and-field-championships-blog/
District 2 Class 3A Girls Championships: https://nepasportsnation.com/church-leads-dallas-to-title-dv-star-sprints-into-record-book/.
District 2 Class 3A Boys Championships: https://nepasportsnation.com/kravitz-kenyon-lead-title-by-host-trojans/.
District 2 Class 3A Photo Gallery: https://nepasportsnation.com/district-2-class-3a-track-photo-gallery/.
