From Mirror reports
As a sophomore, Altoona Area High School's Ryan Steinbugl finished seventh in the state in the Class AAA pole vault, but he missed out on a chance to improve on that last season when he was overcome by cramping calves at the District 6 championships.
Steinbugl is ready to head back to Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium with a vengeance.
Based on the 15-foot, 4-inch height he cleared at last week's 6-AAA meet, Steinbugl is the top seed in the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which will be held on Friday and Saturday. The seedings were announced via the PIAA website on Sunday afternoon and are compiled entirely on performances at the respective district meets; Steinbugl has achieved as high as 15-10 this spring.
Although the Mirror coverage area didn't produce as many top-eight - the achievement needed to medal - seeds as usual, Steinbugl was one of four local top-three seeds.
Bellwood-Antis' four-by-400-meter relay is ranked second in Class AA, just seven-tenths of a second off the pace of West Philadelphia Catholic. In addition, Blue Devil triple jumper Jeremy Claypoole is ranked second to Schuylkill Valley's Jared Horne after his personal-record of 45-8.25 at districts; the event is filled with area seeds, with Chestnut Ridge's Michael Young fourth and Cambria Heights' Zack Prohonic and Northern Bedford's Tayler Pressel tied in the eighth spot.
Ridge's Matt Dull, like his teammate Young, will be shooting to medal for the second straight year. Dull is seeded third in the Class AA 300 hurdles and also is 11th in the 110 hurdles.
Zach Pressel, Tayler's twin brother, also is going for a repeat medal and is seeded fourth in the Class AA high jump. Pressel's Northern Bedford teammate Justin Baker and Tyrone's Charles Wilson-Adams are part of a three-way tie for the seventh seed. Wilson-Adams has jumped 6-10 and 6-8 several times this year, which would put him in the mix for the gold medal.
Altoona's DeShae Lee is seeded in a 10-way tie for sixth in the high jump in Class AAA.
Bellwood could have two relay teams medal, as its 400 team is ranked sixth. Altoona's four-by-800 relay and Tyrone javelin thrower Corey Snyder are just outside the top eight, sitting in the ninth position in their respective events in Class AAA and AA.
The best opportunities for area medals on the girls side are in the Class AA 3200-meter run and the Class AA pole vault. Central Cambria's Alyssa Brandis is seeded fifth in the two-mile run, and Northern Bedford's Maria Snyder, while ranked 20th by her District 5 meet time, is the defending PIAA runner-up and has posted results that would figure to put her in the top three if she could match them.
Brandis also is part of an eighth-ranked Lady Red Devil four-by-800 relay.
Bedford's Carrie Baker and Everett's Keira Bair, meanwhile, are tied for sixth in the pole vault.
