CC runner makes it family fun
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
BELLWOOD -- Aiden Lechleitner trimmed nearly six seconds off his seed time to win the 800-meter run in a photo-finish ahead of Huntingdon's Tyler Rader Monday afternoon at the Bellwood-Antis Invitational.
But the Central Cambria junior, who won the race in 2:00.23, still has work to do if he doesn't want to be on the hook for a big meal at the end of the season.
"My brother (Adam) runs at IUP," Lechleitner said. "He was on the state championship team on the (3,200-meter relay) team last year, and he's really been my main motivation for running the 800. He finally got sub-two minutes at 1:59 at a big invite up at Bucknell, and he and I have a friendly battle going. If I get sub-two minutes by the end of the year, we have these big porterhouse steaks we're going to buy. If I don't break it, I have to buy them. If I do, he buys them."
Lechleitner was also part of Central Cambria's first-place 3,200-meter relay team and helped the Red Devils win the boys portion of the invitational, 134-75, over runner-up Bellwood-Antis.
He's looking forward to even better days, specifically one including a sub-two minute 800-meter run.
"I'm hoping," Lechleitner said. "I like it a little bit cooler than this, so I think by districts I think I can get it."
One runner at the Bellwood-Antis Invitational doesn't have districts to look forward to.
Edith Manfred, who competes for Grier School, which is not part of the PIAA, is ineligible to compete in the District 5 or 6 championships that many of Monday's winners will be contenders at, but that just makes afternoons like Monday's even more important to Manfred.
"These meets are super important to me," Manfred said. "I really think each one is a blessing, because I don't get that many opportunities. I really have to make the most of the ones that allow me in. Bellwood has always been super kind in letting me compete, even though some invites don't."
Manfred's winning time in the girls 3,200-meter run of 11:37.29 was more than 20 seconds faster than runner-up Morgan Hess of Juniata Valley, who is one of the top distance runners in District 6.
"It feels so amazing," Manfred said. "It makes it feel like all the work I have put in was put to good use. Every race is a reward, and this reward was especially pleasing. It means a lot. Even if no one sees the work you do, it really comes to fruition, and when it does, it's really special."
Defending District 5 champion Bedford topped defending District 6 champion Tyrone, 123-95, in the race for the girls team title. The Lady Bisons' Grace Sarver edged the Lady Eagles' Mackenzie Latchford in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, but Latchford looked good as she worked her way back from an injury.
"I pulled my left quad at the Bedford Invitational," Latchford said. "I definitely feel close to 100 percent. I had a season PR today in the 100 and am feeling pretty good. (Sarver) brings the best out of me. Makes me a little happier that she's in District 5, but she makes me better when I compete against her."
Latchford had two teammates win titles. Rebecca Lewis claimed the 400-meter dash, and Reagan Irons won the high jump.
"Reagan is a very mentally strong competitor," Tyrone coach Brad Kanuch said. "She can do anything she puts her mind to. She just has a different attitude. If you tell her to run through a wall, she'll do it. She's been great this year and has improved in every single one of her jumps."
Lydia Worthing helped the Bellwood-Antis girls finish third with a victory in the pole vault.
Sean Mallon (400-meter dash), Eli Plubell (shot put) and Hunter Shawley (300 hurdles) won events for the runner-up Blue Devil boys, who also thrilled what remained of the crowd when they closed the meet by holding off Central Cambria in the 1,600-meter relay for the last title of the night.
"Compared to last year, it's nice weather," Lovrich said. "This is one of the nicest days we have had. We had 535 athletes at this meet today, and it was just a great day with some really nice performances."
Lovrich has high hopes for Shawley, who qualified for states last season in the 300-meter hurdles.
"Hunter isn't to where he was at states last year, but he's definitely ahead of where he was last year at this time," Lovrich said. "The 300 is his best event, and he's part of our relays, and he's doing really well. I'm glad to see his hard work paying off for him."
Though they finished second in the 1,600-meter relay, the Red Devil boys won the 400- and 3200-meter relays, and Jonathan Wess captured a title in the 110 hurdles.
Tyrone's Keegan Gwinn won the javelin by more than 11 feet.
"Keegan has come a long way," Kanuch said. "Last year was his first doing track. I think his best last year was 129, and he came out with goals this year of making states. I think that's a realistic goal for him. He keeps throwing better each week, and he's becoming very consistent."
On the boys side, Bedford's Zach Vent (thrower) and Ethan Weber (runner) and Bald Eagle Area's Owen Irvin (jumper) won outstanding performer awards.
Bedford's Sarver (runner), Huntingdon's Hayden Mark (jumper) and BEA's Abigail Hoover (thrower) won girls awards.
BOYS
TEAM STANDINGS/KEY
1, Central Cambria (CC) 134; 2, Bellwood-Antis (BA) 75; 3, Bedford (B) 69; T-4, Huntingdon (H) 40; T-4, Tyrone (T) 40; 6, Penns Valley (PV) 35; 7, Bald Eagle Area (BEA) 27; 8, Southern Huntingdon (SH) 21; 9, Central (C) 20; 10, Tussey Mountain (TM) 18; 11, Philipsburg-Osceola (PO) 16; 12, Saint Joseph's (SJ) 13; T-13, United (U) 10; T-13, Shaler 10; 15, Cambria Heights (CH); 16, Northern Cambria (NC) 8; 17, West Branch (WB) 7; 18, Mount Union (MU) 6.
100 dash: 1, Weber, B, 11.16; 2, Buonaccorsi, H, 11.18; 3, Gillis, TM, 11.31; 4, Wyrwas, CC, 11.44; 5, Yingling, C, 11.55; 6, Adams, CC, 11.59. 200 dash: 1, Weber, B, 22.61; 2, Buonaccorsi, H, 22.92; 3, O'Brien, CC, 23.11; 4, Mallon, BA, 23.42; T-5, Good, PV, 22.63; T-5, Gillis, TM, 23.63. 400 dash: 1, Mallon, BA, 51.87; 2, Keen, BA, 52.6; 3, Good, PV, 53.12; 4, Little, PO, 53.63; 5, Contorchick, CC, 54.02; 6, Miller, T, 54.46. 800 run: 1, Lechleitner, CC, 2:00.23; 2, Rader, H, 2:00.86; 3, Simander, SJ, 2:03.07; 4, Detwiler, T, 2:04.2; 5, Reynolds, SJ, 2:06.92; 6, Eckenrode, CH, 2:09.05. 1600 run: 1, Repko, Shaler, 4:44.88; 2, George, CC, 4:47.35; 3, Kuntz, CC, 4:49.09; 4, Fink, T, 4:51.73; 5, Erwin, SH, 4:53.09; 6, Reamer, PV, 4:57.23. 3200 run: 1, Muckey, PO, 10:02.18; 2, George, CC, 10:31.18; 3, Reamer, PV, 10:35.51; 4, Kuntz, CC, 10:41.18; 5, Henning, U, 10:45.46; 6, Scritchfield, B, 10:54.46. 110 hurdles: 1, Wess, CC, 15.33; 2, Grata, CC, 15.73; 3, Shawley, BA, 16.01; 4, Horton, C, 16.68; 5, Bainey, WB, 17.42; 6, Jackson, T, 17.46. 300 hurdles: 1, Shawley, BA, 41.49; 2, Winter, SH, 42.31; 3, Grata, CC, 42.71; 4, Ohomoto-Frederick, SJ, 44.25; 5, Jackson, T, 44.36; 6, Bainey, WB, 44.49.
400 relay: 1, Central Cambria (Wyrwas, Dill, Koss, O'Brien), 43.94; 2, Bedford, 44.22; 3, Bellwood-Antis, 44.69; 4, Penns Valley, 44.87; 5, Central, 46.77; 6, Tussey Mountain, 47.89. 1600 relay: 1, Bellwood-Antis (Weeden, Shawley, Mallon, Keen), 3:33.13; 2, Central Cambria, 3:33.63; 3, Bedford, 3:34.45; 4, Tyrone, 3:39.3; 5, Central, 3:45.73; 6, Southern Huntingdon, 3:46.81. 3200 relay: 1, Central Cambria (Roberts, Kuntz, Morgan, Lechleitner), 8:32.55; 2, Tyrone, 8:41.76; 3, Huntingdon, 8:50.86; 4, West Branch, 8:51.32; 5, Southern Huntingdon, 8:53.6; 6, Saint Joseph's, 9:01.38. High jump: 1, Wiser, H, 5-10; 2, Braucht, PV, 5-10; 3, Lingenfelter, C, 5-8; 4, Hyltan, B, 5-6; 5, Johnson, T, 5-6; 6, Shanafelt, BA, 5-6. Long jump: 1, Irvin, BEA, 20-6; 2, Braucht, PV, 19-5; 3, Reck, MU, 19-1.5; 4, Johnson, T, 19-0.5; 5, Ressler, B, 18-9; 6, Trybus, CH, 18-5.5. Triple jump: 1, Ressler, B, 40-9.5; 2, Roberts, CC, 38-11; 3, Irvin, BEA, 38-9; 4, Andrews, BA, 38-8.5; 5, Winter, SH, 38-8; 6, Wess, CC, 38-3. Shot put: 1, Plubell, BA, 44-6.5; 2, Kubat, CC, 43-10; 3, Becker, B, 43-4.5; 4, Vent, B, 42-3; 5, Bellomo, CC, 41-11; 6, Yochem, TM, 40-8.5. Discus: 1, Westrick, CC, 130-0; 2, Shutty, NC, 121-3; 3, Horvath, CH, 118-9; 4, Vent, B, 117-4; 5, Albright, C, 114-0; 6, Jodon, BEA, 113-6. Javelin: 1, Gwinn, T, 156-0; 2, Weist, TM, 144-3; 3, Nearhood, SH, 143-8; 4, Miller, B, 141-4; 5, Rhule, C, 140-9; 6, Hite, CH, 139-2. Pole vault: 1, Taylor, BEA, 13-0; 2, Blankenbicker, U, 13-0; 3, Andrews, BA, 12-6; 4, Roberts, CC, 12-0; 5, Reese, PO, 11-6; 6, Harding, TM, 11-6.
GIRLS
TEAM STANDINGS/KEY
1, Bedford (B) 123; 2, Tyrone (T) 95; 3, Bellwood-Antis (BA) 61; 4, Juniata Valley (JV) 59; 5, Huntingdon (H) 49; 6, Penns Valley (PV) 31; 7, Bald Eagle Area (BEA) 29; 8, Central (C) 26; 9, Philipsburg-Osceola (PO) 13; 10, Mount Union (MU) 12; T-11, Grier 10; T-11, Northern Cambria (NC) 10; 13, United (U) 9; T-14, Cambria Heights (CH) 8; T-14, West Branch (WB) 8; 16, Southern Huntingdon (SH) 7; 17, Saint Joseph's (SJ) 5; 18, Tussey Mountain (TM) 3.
100 dash: 1, Sarver, B, 12.79; 2, Latchford, T, 12.93; 3, Hopsicker, JV, 13.16; 4, Brower, JV, 13.19; 5, Sipes, B, 13.45; 6, Burkey, CH, 13.55. 200 dash: 1, Sarver, B, 26.73; 2, Latchford, T, 26.92; 3, Brower, JV, 27.54; 4, Hopsicker, JV, 28.22; 5, Decker, C, 28.73; 6, Barger, PO, 28.75. 400 dash: 1, Lewis, T, 1:01.14; 2, Stitzer, PV, 1:01.69; 3, Lippincott, B, 1:01.96; 4, Vance, T, 1:02.86; 5, Franks, BEA, 1:04.16; 6, McCrum, JV, 1:05.18. 800 run: 1, Stitzer, PV, 2:24.33; 2, Eshelman, B, 2:27.08; 3, McCrum, JV, 2:34.17; 4, Miller, NC, 2:38.35; 5, McMath, SH, 2:39.78; 6, Wright, SJ, 2:40.89. 1600 run: 1, Hess, JV, 5:22.35; 2, Lovrich, BA, 5:29.28; 3, Miller, NC, 5:35.09; 4, Stitzer, PV, 5:36.88; 5, Durn, PV, 5:40.34; 6, Weaverling, B, 5:47.11. 3200 run: 1, Manfred, Grier, 11:37.29; 2, Hess, JV, 12:00.09; 3, Lovrich, BA, 12:39.33; 4, Fisher, SJ, 12:59.52; 5, Dibert, B, 13:25.86; 6, Timko, PO, 13:47.35. 100 hurdles: 1, Becker, B, 16.52; 2, Decker, C, 17.07; 3, Skopic, MU, 17.25; 4, Nelson, BA, 17.27; 5, Toth, T, 17.29; 6, Covert, SH, 17.86. 300 hurdles: 1, Becker, B, 47.18; 2, Decker, C, 50.29; 3, Skopic, MU, 50.91; 4, Nelson, BA, 51.27; 5, Covert, SH, 52.01; 6, Kensinger, BA, 52.29.
400 relay: 1, Bedford (Sipes, Becker, Beck, Sarver), 51.37; 2, Tyrone, 52.37; 3, Huntingdon, 52.5; 4, Central, 54.17; 5, Bellwood-Antis, 54.81; 6, Cambria Heights, 54.96. 1600 relay: 1, Bedford (Becker, Eshelman, Sarver, Lippincott), 4:13.18; 2, Juniata Valley, 4:23.96; 3, Tyrone, 4:29.66; 4, Penns Valley, 4:33.01; 5, Bellwood-Antis, 4:37.73; 6, Central, 4:40.44. 3200 relay: 1, Bedford (Eshelman, Dibert, Weaverling, Lippincott), 10:57.24; 2, Bellwood-Antis, 11:16.71; 3, Philipsburg-Osceola, 11:27.33; 4, United, 11:31.71; 5, Southern Huntingdon, 11:32.73; 6, Cambria Heights, 12:07.71. High jump: 1, Irons, T, 5-2; 2, Saltsgiver, T, 4-10; 3, Lippincott, B, 4-10; T-4, Mark, H, 4-8; T-4, Upcraft, PV, 4-8; 6, Kirsch, CH, 4-8. Long jump: 1, Mark, H, 16-8; 2, Latchford, T, 16-0; 3, Irons, T, 15-8; 4, Hopsicker, JV, 15-6; 5, Beck, B, 15-4; 6, Edwards, B, 14-9. Triple jump: 1, Mark, H, 36-1; 2, Irons, T, 33-11; 3, Saltsgiver, T, 33-4; 4, Beck, B, 32-6; 5, Edwards, B, 31-6; 6, Zinobile, JV, 31-5. Shot put: 1, Martz, B, 32-4; 2, Partner, BA, 31-7; 3, Hoover, BEA, 30-8.5; 4, Easterling, CH, 30-2; 5, Vroman, PO, 29-11; 6, Mack, U, 29-8.5. Discus: 1, Hoover, BEA, 96-5.5; 2, Martz, B, 94-7.5; 3, Troup, H, 92-5; 4, Miller, U, 91-11; 5, Cowder, WB, 91-7.5; 6, Snyder, BEA, 90-1. Javelin: 1, Hoover, BEA, 118-10; 2, McCaulsky, BA, 106-11; 3, Croyle, WB, 106-8; T-4, Houck, T, 97-2; T-4, Butler, PO, 97-2; 6, Reese, T, 95-1. Pole vault: 1, Worthing, BA, 9-9; 2, Beatty, H, 9-9; 3, Rolley, H, 9-9; T-4, Nagy, C, 8-3; T-4, Horton, TM, 8-3; 6, Boone, JV, 8-3.