NTL TRACK & FIELD: WYALUSING'S HALEY CLAIMS 400 DISTRICT TITLE (2023-05-21)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
WILLIAMSPORT — Going into Saturday’s District IV Championships Wyalusing’s Olivia Haley was on the outside looking in when it came to getting a state berth. That all changed in one race as the junior won the 400 title with a season best 59.26.

“It feels really great,” Haley said about being a district champion. “It was scary coming into the meet, not running a sub-60, and obviously having (Towanda’s Anna Dunn) in front of me, but it feels really, really great.”

Last week at the NTL Championships Haley watched as Dunn pulled away in the last 100.

This week it was Haley finishing strong, going from the middle of the pack to the front in the final 150 meters.

“I thought I saw the girl behind me catching up, and I just had to try and gut it out at the end,” she explained.

Finishing strong was a point of emphasis for Haley this past week.

“I was working on my endurance for this past week,” she explained. “I was running a lot, finishing out strong.”

It was a photo finish - second place was just .09 behind Haley - but in the end the junior stood on top of the podium.

“It was very relieving,” said Haley. “I was very anxious about between making it and not making it, but I’m so thankful I was able to make it with my coaches and my teammates, and my family helping me.”

She medaled in the 100 (12.82) and the 200 (26.64), taking fifth and seventh.

Hannah Ely came close to making states again, taking third in the triple jump at 34-feet, 1 1/2-inches. She was second all the way until the final jumps when she got passed. 

Ely was also sixth in the high jump at 4-feet, 10-inches.

Kassandra Kerin took sixth in the 400 in 1:02.54, while Megan King was eighth in the 3200 in 12:35.34.

Anna Kipp was 14th in the triple jump in 32-feet, 3 1/2-inches, Treanna Nickeson was 17th in the 400 in 1:05.32, Emilee Otis was 16th in the javelin at 89-feet, 10-inches, Gabrielle Palfreyman took 18th in the shot put at 29-feet, 3-inches, Priscilla Newton was 19th in the pole vault at 7-feet, 6-inches, Kayla Beebe was 14th in the 1600 in 5:45.01, and 24th in the 800 at 2:39.45.

The Rams’ 4x100 was fifth in 41.24, while their 4x400 was 16th in 4:31.17.

For the boys Dylan Johns just missed states in the high jump, taking fourth in 6-feet, 1-inch. He just clipped the bar a few times at the state qualifying mark of 6-feet, 3-inches.

Jacob Palfreyman was eighth in the discus at 126-feet, 4-inches, Brody Fuhrey was 13th in the 800 in 2:03.83, Ayden Hunsinger took 19th in the triple jump in 36-feet, 10 1/2-inches, and Trennan Tewksbury was 15th in the 3200 at 10:36.97.

Ethan Lewis had a busy day, taking 14th in the triple jump at 37-feet, 8-inches, 14th in the pole vault at 11-feet, and 15th in the high jump at 5-feet, 5-inches.

Their 4x100 relay was ninth in 45.52, while their 4x400 was 16th in 3:45.48.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Wyalusing’s Olivia Haley out leans the field to win the 400…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING