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DeLattre saves best for last

PIAA Track and Field Championships

Photo for the Mirror by Derrick Cleveland Caden DeLattre of Hollidaysburg competes in the 3A boys triple jump. He set a personal record in the event and ended up with a sixth-place medal.

SHIPPENSBURG — A pair of local sophomores got their PIAA track and field legacies started with their first medals Friday afternoon at Seth Grove Stadium at Shippensburg University, and a senior captured his first of what he hopes will be three medals to close out his high school career.

Hollidaysburg’s Caden DeLattre, who won the District 6 Class 3A triple jump with what was his personal best and a school record at the time, broke that mark by 3 inches with a distance of 45 feet, 9.25 inches and finished sixth in the state in the 3A classification.

“I’m happy with it,” DeLattre said. “My goal was to be top five. I was seeded seventh coming in, so I wanted to move up a little, and I did do that.”

Chambersburg’s J.J. Kelly won the event with a leap of 48-1, but DeLattre nearly wasn’t around to see that performance.

“I barely made the finals,” DeLattre said. “I was the last one in, and then my last three jumps were a lot better.”

DeLattre is hoping his distance continues to improve as it did during his sophomore year.

“This was a great experience with a great group of guys,” DeLattre said. “I’m only a sophomore, so I have some time to get better. Most of these guys are seniors and juniors, so hopefully I can move up in the future.”

Another sophomore making his PIAA debut was Penn Cambria’s Carter McDermott, who faced the added pressure of coming into the Class 2A long jump as the top seed.

McDermott, who also broke several Penn Cambria school records and the long jump record at the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference meet, fouled on two of his three attempts in the finals and finished eighth with a jump of 21-4. Hickory’s Luca Bertolasio won the event with a leap of 23-11.

“My coach, Lauren Michina, wasn’t here today because of work, so that might have been a factor as to my steps being off,” McDermott said. “It was also my first time and states, and I’m obviously nervous. I have never seen bleachers full like this before, but this is something to build off of.”

Still, McDermott appreciated that he wasn’t heading home empty-handed.

“It feels good to still medal,” McDermott said. “I’m only a sophomore, and there’s a bunch of seniors up there. They won’t be here next year. Hopefully, I can come back and redeem myself a little bit.”

McDermott is assured of another medal Saturday as his Penn Cambria 1600 relay team finished fourth in qualifying with a time of 3 minutes, 26.25 seconds, just ahead of fifth-place Central Cambria in 3:26.78. Both teams will decide medal positions in the final Saturday.

Altoona senior Ethan Stroup won’t be back at Shippensburg next year and is hoping to make the most of his final weekend as a high school athlete.

He got things started Friday by winning a fifth-place medal in the shot put with a throw of 53 feet and will throw the discus and javelin on Saturday. Cumberland Valley’s Wade Shomper won the event with a throw of 59-9.75.

“I came up here and wanted to medal, and that’s what I was focused on,” Stroup said. “The distance wasn’t there today, but you can’t always have your best. I’m just happy with the medal.”

Though winning one medal might alleviate some of the pressure, Stroup said he remains focused on finishing strong.

“It’s a good start, and I have my foot in the water,” Stroup said. “I have javelin in the morning and disc in the afternoon. I’m really looking forward to competing and trying to get two more medals. I’m not done yet.”

Hunter Shawley of Bellwood-Antis assured himself of a medal on Saturday by qualifying for the finals in the 300-meter hurdles with a sixth-place time of 39.85.

Notable finishers

n Altoona’s Ty Friedenberger was 22nd in the 3A 100 dash preliminaries and did not qualify for the finals. He was 22nd in the 200 dash in 22.99.

n Central Cambria’s Jameson O’Brien finished 19th in the 2A 100 dash preliminaries in 11.49 and did not qualify for the finals. He finished 22nd in the 200 dash in 23.4.

n Jon Wess of Central Cambria tripped on the final hurdle during his 2A 110 hurdle preliminary run and he finished in 16.05, good for 11th, but he did not advance to today’s final. Teammate Ben Grata finished 12th in 16.06 and also did not qualify. Bellwood-Antis’ Shawley was 18th in 16.43.

n Sean Mallon of Bellwood-Antis finished 16th in the 2A 400 dash preliminaries in 51.75 and did not qualify for finals. Penn Cambria’s Josh Stolarski was 20th in 52.23.

n Central’s Kade Rhule finished 21st in the 2A javelin with a throw of 113-10.

n Central Cambria’s 400 relay team of Nolan Wyrwas, Hobbs Dill, Jace Koss and O’Brien finished 13th in the 2A preliminaries in 43.91 and did not qualify for the finals. Bellwood-Antis’ team of Danny Weeden, Mallon, Shawley and Cooper Keen also did not qualify and finished 25th in 45.71. That same Bellwood team finished 21st in the 1600 relay in 3:38.93 and did not advance.

n Penn Cambria’s Trenten Murphy was 13th in the 2A discus with a throw of 133-10, and Central Cambria’s Will Westrick finished right behind him with an effort of 131-9.

n Andre Marinak of Penn Cambria ended up 17th in the 2A 300 hurdles preliminary competition in 42.52. R.J. Gates of Northern Bedford was 19th in 42.91, but neither qualified for the finals.

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