NTL TRACK & FIELD: TOWANDA 4X400 ENDS SEASON WITH SIXTH PLACE FINISH AT STATES (2023-05-27)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
SHIPPENSBURG — For the Towanda girls’ 4x400 relay, the fact that they ended up on the podium was what mattered most. With three seniors it was an emotional afternoon once they got their sixth place medals, finishing in 4:05.70 during the PIAA Track and Field Championships Saturday.

“I couldn’t be more thankful to have that in my high school memories,” said second leg Eliza Fowler. “To be able to look back on it and say, ‘we did that together as a team.’ I’m never going to forget it.”

The field was a little faster than last year when they took fourth running a second ahead of this year’s group.

Still, they performed well as Kelsea Allen-Smith led off with a 1:00.7 first leg. Fowler ran 1:00.2, Kelci Carle ran a 1:04.4 third leg, and Anna Dunn finished things up with a 59.9.

“I’m so happy,” Dunn said about getting that medal. “This is what I wanted the entire year, and I’m really glad that I got to do it with my friends one last time.”

For Carle, this is her first state medal.

“I’m glad I could end my career here running in the state finals,” she remarked.

Her teammates were glad that she could step up and fill Porschia Bennett’s spot in the relay. 

“We didn’t think it was going to be easy, but I can’t be more thankful that Kelci is on the team with us,” said Fowler. “She’s more than filled the spot. She’s just given us everything she’s had, and I’m so thankful for that.”

Allen-Smith led things off in lane eighth, but didn’t let being on the outside deter her.

“It is the death lane,” she remarked. “I was very nervous, but I just knew if I came out hard, and ran really hard around the corners it would come to benefit me in the end a little bit.”

She ran a strong first leg, handing off to Fowler with the leaders.

“It gave me so much motivation to keep where I was,” Fowler said. “I knew she ran so hard to get there, I just wanted to do it for her.”

Fowler was in second at one point, but it was a glut again when she had to hand off to Carle.

“Mine an Eliza’s was very horrible,” remarked Carle. “A girl literally ran in front of her and tripped Eliza.”

“It was chaotic,” added Fowler. “I got really scared for a second there, but Kelci got the baton, and she took off. I had full confidence that she was going to do what she needed to do.”

Carle ran in the chase pack, and handed off to Dunn in sixth.

“I know she can keep what she had,” said Carle.

Dunn gave fifth place a hard run, but ultimately held off Kate Moncavage from Southern Columbia for sixth.

“I’m really glad that we’re where we were last year,” she said.

While her three teammates are graduating, Dunn still has two more years left to pick up more hardware.

“It definitely motivates me to next (make the 400 finals) next year because I want to try and get on a state medal year year,” said Dunn. “That means the 400 is really my only option for the next two years to get a medal.”

As for her teammates, they couldn’t have asked for a better send-off.

“I’m super proud of us,” said Allen-Smith. “We couldn’t do it without our coaches and our family, and everything.”

Towanda’s Logan Lambert finished up his career by jumping in the Class AA boys’ triple jump Saturday morning.

He took 15th with a jump of 41-feet, 7-inches. His first two jumps were under 40-feet, but managed to go out on a high note, hitting the 41-footer on his final leap.

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PHOTO CAPTION: Towanda’s Kelsea Allen-Smith hands off to teammate Eliza Fowler…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING