LOYSBURG - As Chestnut Ridge junior hurdler Matt Dull was summing up his performance in the District 5 Track and Field Championships Friday at Northern Bedford High School's Panther Community Stadium, he repeated one phrase again and again.
"I'm really happy,'' was Dull's familiar refrain.
And he certainly had every reason to be, after qualifying for next weekend's PIAA Class AA state meet in two events, winning the 300 hurdles in a near-district record time of 39.50, and taking second place in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.01.
Article Photos
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Chestnut Ridge’s Matt Dull leads the 110 hurdles as Berlin’s Dalton Magruder tumbles.
Dull's performance led the Mirror coverage area boys contingent at the District 5 meet. He was the area's only boys double-winner.
Tussey Mountain senior Chris Foore (1,600 run), Bedford senior Collin Coffield (3,200 run), Northern Bedford sophomore Zach Pressel (high jump), Chestnut Ridge junior Michael Young (triple jump), and Northern Bedford junior Quinton Hixson (shot put) are all advancing to the state meet at Shippensburg University next Friday and Saturday as District 5 champions in their respective individual events.
Northern Bedford's 3,200 relay team of junior Matt Brown, senior Ross Hershberger, senior Josh Doverspike, and junior Mikal Brown took first place in District 5 with a time of 8:33.35. Joining them at states next weekend will be Bedford junior Josh Wakefield, a district runner-up in the 300 hurdles whose finishing time of 40.59 in that event was good enough to satisfy the state-qualifying requirement.
Northern Bedford sophomore Trenton Barnes will also be going to states in the 200 dash. Barnes finished second in that event with a time of 23.02, but he will move on to states because the District 5 champion in that event, Berlin Brothersvalley senior Ian Sayler with a 22.9, also qualified for states in three other events and decided to scratch out of the 200 for the state meet.
Dull's time of 39.50 in the 300 hurdles narrowly missed matching the District 5 mark of 39.00 set by Bedford's Bill Ford back in 1989.
"I felt really strong going into the turn,'' Dull said. "I wanted to beat the district record, but I missed that by five-tenths of a second. I'm really happy.''
Dull grinded out his state-qualifying berth in the 110 hurdles. His time of 15.01 there was second to Berlin's Alex Will (14.99), but beat the state-qualifying time of 15.35.
"I didn't know if I could make it in the 110,'' Dull said. "But I pulled it out.''
Ridge coach Bob McVicker said that Dull possesses an admirable work ethic.
"He's a tremendous worker,'' McVicker said. "You won't see another person on any team outwork him.''
Dull's Ridge teammate, Young, who won the triple jump with a leap of 45-4, also credited hard work for his success.
"I finished second in this last year at districts,'' Young said. "This year, I'm relieved that all the hard work I did all this season paid off today.''
Bedford's Coffield kicked things into gear in the final stages of the 3200 run to win that event in 10:25.28.
"I usually don't have anything left at the end of the race, but today was different,'' he said. "I really wanted it. This year is my last.''
Tussey's Foore won the 1600 run in 4:36.93, and will also be celebrating the end of his senior season at the state meet.
"I knew it would be a good race,'' Foore said of Friday's competition. "I knew that I had to give it my best shot in the last 100 meters.''
Northern Bedford's Pressel won the high jump with a 6-4, and the Black Panthers' Hixson was first in the shot put with a toss of 46-6.
"I felt pretty good going up today,'' Pressel said. "It feels pretty good going to states. I hope to get my personal best of 6-6 down there.''
Hixson is hoping to cap off a tremendous junior year in athletics with a state track medal. He was a second-team all-state defensive lineman in football, a seventh-place Class AA state medalist in wrestling and a district champ in the shot put.
"I'm hoping for a better throw at states,'' Hixson said. "I performed well today, but I scratched on a couple of my throws. I need to keep them in bounds.''
Northern Bedford's 3,200 relay team of Matt Brown, Hershberger, Doverspike, and Mikal Brown has been making steady progress all season, according to Panthers coach Jeff Batzel.
"I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I thought they had a shot to win today,'' Batzel said. "They're a very competitive group that balances one another out very well. They've made a big improvement as a team since the start of the season.''
Bedford's Wakefield was thrilled to beat the state qualifying time of 40.80 in the 300 hurdles. He finished second in the event with a 40.59.
"I was so relieved to find out that I was under the state qualifying time,'' he said. "That was my goal today, and finding out that I got it was great.''
Meet notes: Berlin won the boys team championship with 107 points. Northern Bedford was second with 87 .... Bedford had the first runner cross the finish line in the 1600 relay, but its team was disqualified because of what the officials ruled was a lane infraction on the handoff at the start of the second lap. Fannett-Metal wound up winning the event.
KEY, TEAM SCORING: 1, BB-Berlin Brothersvalley, 107; 2, NB-Northern Bedford, 87; 3, CR-Chestnut Ridge, 75; 4, SF-Southern Fulton, 55; 5, BED-Bedford, 47; 6, TM-Tussey Mountain, 35; 7, MB-McConnellsburg, 35; 8 (tie), FM-Fannett-Metal and W-Windber, 25; 10 (tie), E-Everett and SH-Shade, 22; 12, MY-Meyersdale, 16; 13, SO-Somerset, 8.
100 dash: 1, Sayler, BB, 11.08; 2, Barnes, NB, 11.43; 3, Kephart, SH, 11.47; 4, May, CR, 11.62; 5, Frankenberry, CR, 11.69; 6, Shaw, SF, 11.86.
200 dash: 1, Sayler, BB, 22.90; 2, Barnes, NB, 23.02; 3, Dull, CR, 23.71; 4, Kephart, SH, 24.01; 5, Bl. Rhoat, E, 24.37; 6, Evans, BED, 24.78.
400 dash: 1, I. Will, BB, 50.91; 2, Ashkettle, SF, 50.93; 3, Williams, SF, 51.55; 4, Evans, BED, 52.70; 5, Mi. Brown, NB, 53.24; 6, Hockenberry, FM, 53.26.
800 run: 1, White, FM, 2:03.49; 2, I. Will, BB, 2:05.26; 3, Foore, TM, 2:06.19; 4, Kirk, SF, 2:06.74; 5, Gipe, W, 2:07.01; 6, Hershberger, NB, 2:08.72.
1600 run: 1, Foore, TM, 4:36.93; 2, Wilt, SH, 4:37.28; 3, Toddie, CR, 4:41.15; 4, Kirk, SF, 4:47.71; 5, Coffield, BED, 4:48.88; 6, Miller, E, 4:53.34.
3200 run: 1, Coffield, BED, 10:25.28; 2, Foore, TM, 10:25.58; 3, Farnan, CR, 10:30.48; 4, Day, MY, 10:32.12; 5, Voight, SF, 10:39.11; 6, Kleinsasser, E, 10:45.23.
110 hurdles: 1, A. Will, BB, 14.99; n 2, Dull, CR, 15.01; 3, Starr, TM, 15.60; 4, Wakefield, BED, 16.21; 5, Edwards, MY, 16.34.
300 hurdles: 1, Dull, CR, 39.50; n 2, Wakefield, BED, 40.59; 3, Magruder, BB, 42.57; 4, Arnold, BED, 42.67; 5, Shetler, W, 43.47; 6, Edwards, MY, 43.53.
400 relay: 1, Berlin Brothersvalley (Magruder, I. Will, A. Will, Sayler), 44.62; 2, Everett, 45.45; 3, Chestnut Ridge, 45.65; 4, Northern Bedford, 45.82; 5, Shade, 46.03; 6, Southern Fulton, 46.45.s
1600 relay: 1, Fannett-Metal (Hockenberry, Yeager, White, Bannister), 3:33.87; 2, Northern Bedford, 3:34.75; 3, Southern Fulton, 3:35.32; 4, Berlin Brothersvalley, 3:40.25; 5, Somerset, 3:44.05; 6, Shade, 3:44.19.
3200 relay: 1, Northern Bedford (Doverspike, Ma. Brown, Hershberger, Mi. Brown), 8:33.35; 2, Chestnut Ridge, 8:35.69; 3, Windber, 8:36.38; 4, Fannett-Metal, 8:46.78; 5, Somerset, 8:47.79; 6, Berlin Brothersvalley, 8:59.54.
High jump: 1, Z. Pressel, NB, 6-4; 2, A. Will, BB, 6-2; 3, Baker, NB, 5-10; 4, Stockwell, BB, 5-8; 5, Stroup, BED, 5-8; 6, Stenger, W, 5-8.
Long jump: 1, Sayler, BB, 21-9; 2, Young, CR, 20-2; 3, Ashkettle, SF, 19-10; 4, Z. Pressel, NB, 19-8; 5, Blough, W, 19-7; 6, Kephart, SH, 19-1.
Triple jump: 1, Young, CR, 45-4; 2, Pileski, W, 42-9; 3, Ashkettle, SF, 42-0; 4, T. Pressel, NB, 41-3; 5, Starr, TM, 39-4; 6, Moser, MY, 39-3.
Shot put: 1, Hixson, NB, 46-6; 2, Banks, MB, 45-9; 3, Stoeckle, MB, 44-11; 4, Kerr, MY, 44-0; 5, Buck, SO, 43-2; 6, Keebaugh, SF, 41-3.
Discus: 1, Banks, MB, 161-0; 2, Stoeckle, MB, 141-7; 3, Davis, BED, 131-3; 4, Hixson, NB, 125-2; 5, Rush, E, 125-1; 6, Stultz, CR, 120-5.
Javelin: 1, Meyer, SF, 159-6; 2, Schmit, E, 156-8; 3, DeMoss, BED, 156-3; 4, Yachere, MY, 153-5; 5, Buck, SM, 148-9; 6, Hess, MB, 138-7.
Pole vault: 1, Romesberg, BB, 13-6; 2, Beck, NB, 12-6; 3, Dull, BB, 12-6; 4, Tallyen, W, 12-0; 5, Whitesel, MB, 11-6; 6, Runk, TM, 11-6.
n - advanced to PIAA Championships by meeting state-qualifying standard
