NTL TRACK & FIELD: PIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW FOR NTL ATHLETES (2021-05-26)

Northern Tier Sports Report
It’s looking more and more like Friday is going to be wet for area track and field athletes at the PIAA Championships. Even so, it also looks like the event will go on as scheduled, meaning whoever handles the adversity best will have an advantage over the rest of the field.

GIRLS

High Jump - 9 a.m.

There are only two NTL girls in the Class AA field, but they both have a good chance as medaling high, if not standing on top of the podium.

And, lucky for them, as of Wednesday even it looks like most of the rain will hold off for their event, or, at least the heavy stuff will.

Towanda’s Porschia Bennett comes in as the top seed a 5-feet, 6-inches, sharing it with Richland’s Tierney Beebout. Bennett is the only one in the field who has gone 5-feet, 7-inches this year.

Williamson’s Charlize Slusser is seeded right behind them as the lone jumper at 5-feet, 4-inches. However, there are seven other athletes at 5-feet, 2-inches, including South Williamsport’s Brooklyn Lentz.

One jumper to watch, despite only clearing 5-feet at her district championships, is Slippery Rock’s Gianna Bedel. Bedel went 5-feet, 6-inches a few weeks ago.

Whether it rains or not, it had will be cool - high in the low 60s, with overcast skies - so not ideal jumping weather. That means a lot of misses, so that means being clean will be even more of an advantage than normal.

Bennett was clean right up through 5-feet, 6-inches at districts, so that bodes well for her. Slusser had one miss at 5-feet, 4-inches, but was clean up through to there.

BOYS

3200 - 9 a.m.

The weather may not be ideal for jumpers, but it’s perfect for distance runners, so long as the wind doesn’t pick up.

That’s good news for NP-Mansfield’s Noah Shedden, who is seeded at 10:10.85. He will start on the outside.

Only six runners hit state qualifying time at their district meets - East Juniata’s Logan Strawser included - with the eighth fastest seed time less than 20 seconds ahead of Shedden.

That means medaling isn’t that far outside of the realm of possibility, should Shedden run his best, but he has a lot of runners between him, and the eighth seed to get to.

Either way, look for him to improve upon his performance at districts.

110 High Hurdles - 9:30 a.m.

It might be a chilly morning, but there’s a good chance the rain will hold off for the high hurdle preliminaries. That means Troy’s Dustin Hagin (15.44) should have decent conditions to try, and make the finals.

He comes in as the fourth seed, and will be running in the fifth lane in the first heat. Right next to him is the runner to edged him out by .01 at districts, Montgomery’s Ben Robinson (15.43).

If that doesn’t give him extra motivation to win the heat, then the fact that only winners are automatic qualifiers for the finals later that day, should. After the three heat champions will be the next five fastest times.

Only four runners ran state qualifying times at their district meet, three of them from District IV. 

Southern Columbia’s Jake Rose (14.10) is far, and away the top seed, and will be in heat three. Punxsutawney’s Tyler Elliott (15.31) is the top seed in the second heat.

Other hurdles to watch are Juniata Valley’s Jefferson Hill (15.52) in the third heat, as he’s run a 15.17 this year. 

With eight going through to the finals, just making the finals is enough to earn a medal, as long as the runner doesn’t disqualify themselves. 

The finals are slated to go off at noon.

1600 - 12:25 p.m.

This is when the showers could turn to a rain storm, so the milers are likely to get pretty wet.

Williamson’s Owen Cummings (4:34.25) is in the first heat, and is the only freshman in the field. It will be difficult to medal from there, as the top runners from districts will be in the second heat. 

Also, the field is deep, with 16 runners having hit state qualifying standards last week.

Regardless of how Cummings does, though, the future looks bright.

4x100 Relay - 12:50

Wellsboro will be in the first of three heats, running in lane three. Their seed time of 44.69 gives them a chance to win their heat, but it will be tough to get on the medal stand, with the two faster heats coming after them.

Richland (44.58) is the top seed in Wellsboro’s heat.

There are 12 teams in total that hit the state qualifying standard, with District IV’s Southern Columbia (42.51) the top seed.

However, the Hornets were able to buck expectations by taking second at the District IV Championships coming out of lane seven, and, with the rain making the baton awfully wet, anything is possible.

800 - 2:20 p.m.

The half-milers may be swimming as much as running at this point in the day. The rain is slated to be in full swing by 2 p.m., making this a tough one for the 800 runners.

Williamson’s Seth Neal is seeded at 2:02.84 in the first of two heats. The top time in his heat is Dock Mennonite’s Stanley Saint-Fleur at 2:01.78.

All of the fastest runners will be in the second heat, including the seven runners who hit state qualifying time. 

However, if Neal wins his heat, there’s a chance he could sneak on to the podium if the times in the second heat are slow.

Long Jump - 9 a.m.

Wyalusing’s Kashawn Cameron is the fifth seed at 21-feet, 11-inches going into the long jump. There are 26 jumpers, so it may be a while before Cameron jumps, but he should miss the worst of the weather.

Cameron boasts the longest jump of the year in Class AA - 22-feet, 8 1/2-inches - with the top seed, East Allegheny’s Amaryeh Lucky at 22-feet, 4 3/4-inches.

Including Cameron there are six jumpers who’ve broken 22-feet this year in the field, making it crowded at the top. In fact, 17 jumpers hit the state standard of 21-feet, 6-inches at their district meets, meaning there is a lot of athletes grouped together.

An inch here, an inch there - either in the pit, or off the board - could mean the difference between a high medal, or being off the podium.

Cameron, though, is positioned well, not only to medal, but to challenge for the title. And next year looks bright, too, as he’s the only underclassmen in the top nine.

Discus - 9 a.m.

The first of Athens’ Asher Ellis’s two throws on the day.

He hit the state standard in this event, but so did 18 other throwers, making it crowded at the top. Going in Ellis is seeded 16th at 149-feet, 10-inches. However, the eighth seed is less than four feet ahead of him, putting closer to the medals than he initially appears.

He’ll probably have to get a new personal best to get into the finals, but once there, anything can happen. 

Also, he should be helped by the fact that the heavy rains won’t be until the afternoon.

Javelin - noon

Asher is seeded a little higher here, despite not hitting the state standard at districts. His mark of 174-feet, 8-inches puts him seventh going in, with only four athletes having hit the state standard at their district meets.

Top seed Scranton Prep’s Thomas Dickinson is the runaway favorite at 192-feet, 7-inches, but second seed is just 179-feet, 6-inches, less than five feet ahead of Ellis.

By the time he throws in the second flight, and in the finals, should he make them, the rain will be coming down hard, making it tough for all the competitors.

If he gets anywhere around 170-feet that may be enough to get on the medal stand in those conditions.

High Jump - noon

Grady Cobb (5-feet, 11-inches) is seeded dead center in the field - 13th out of 15 - with 6-feet, 2-inches the eighth seed mark.

Rain affects vertical jumps the most - high jump, and pole vault - so that could even the playing field. The top seed, Littlestown’s Dante Elliott at 6-feet, 6-inches, will likely have a hard time getting there in a downpour.

If Cobb can have a repeat performance from districts, that could give him a shot at getting on the medal stand. He advanced by being fairly clean, despite tying four other jumpers at districts. Being clean will be even more important in a weather affected event.

And even if he can’t medal, with just six underclassmen jumpers ahead of him, it puts him in good position to medal next season.

- -

The Championships will start at 9 a.m. on Friday for Class AA, and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday for Class AAA.

Expect temperatures in the low 60s, winds just under 10 mph, and wet weather beginning around 11 a.m., with the heavy stuff starting sometime after 1 p.m.

Of course, forecasts can change; maybe the athletes get lucky and the rain trends later and later, not starting until the afternoon, and missing the downpours completely. It could also start sooner, and pour the entire time.

Also keep an eye for possible changes - there’s not much they can do with a championship invitational like this, but they may try.

No matter what, though, with several athletes in contention for medals, and state titles, one way or another, it should be a state championship to remember.