Lady Panther one of three who take home gold medals
Trending
By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
LOYSBURG -- In a meet highlighted by the Bedford boys staging a remarkable comeback to win the team title, 125-123.5, over Windber in the final two scored events, Northern Bedford had three District 5 Class 2A champions crowned Wednesday.
Mason Detterline won the triple jump, R.J. Gates claimed the 300-meter hurdles and Lizzie Long captured the girls discus title.
Long's title may have been the most unexpected, even by her, as she topped her personal best by a foot with a throw of 105 feet, 11 inches.
"I PR'd, and I'm pretty happy about that," Long said. "Honestly, I didn't think I could do it, but today I felt pretty good, and I'm glad I did it. I'm excited to go to Shippensburg, because I didn't think this would happen. I'm just going to enjoy the experience for this year, and maybe next year when I'm a senior, I can do even better."
Detterline, Gates and Long will compete at the PIAA championships in Shippensburg on May 27-28.
Gates was a full second ahead of runner-up Jacob Winck of Everett and third-place finisher A.J. Koontz of Bedford.
"I was completely nervous," Gates said. "Right off the start, I was taking it strong and around the turn I was OK, and really when I felt confident was coming around the final turn. I started to see everyone around me getting tired. That's when I took everything I had and put all my energy into the final stretch."
Having that energy stored up was all part of the plan for Gates.
"The way I do the 300, I sprint the first 100 meters over the second hurdle and then I go into a stride around the turn," Gates said. "It's almost a sprint, but it saves my energy for when I need it for that last push."
Gates, a senior, will now cap his high school career with an appearance at the PIAA championships, but he still has one goal left.
"It doesn't even feel real," Gates said. "This is what I have always wanted to do. My main goal is winning districts, but I still want the school record. I have to shave off three-tenths of a second. I think now that I have made it to states, I can use my competition to get that record."
Detterline, who finished third in both the high jump and long jump, was on the verge of not making a return trip to states.
"It was the same as last year. I left it until the last jump," Detterline said. "If I jumped farther, I went to states, if I didn't, I didn't qualify. I was pushed, but I got my best jump."
Detterline said the nerves actually helped him.
"It was a little nerve-racking, because I'm a senior and I'm wondering if I'm going to make states in an event," Detterline said. "I had two more, but they aren't my strongest event, so you know this is your best chance to get to states. It makes you really nervous, but the adrenaline got me going on that last jump."
He, too, is trying to make Northern Bedford history by breaking Blake Over's triple jump record. Over helped coach Detterline last year but is now the Central head track and field coach.
"A lot of my buddies go to Central," Detterline said. "They are always asking me if I'm going to beat Blake's record, because they are excited and want to tell him, but I still haven't gotten it. But states is the best place to get it."
Bedford capped a big comeback on Windber by earning a third-, fourth- and fifth-place finish in the shot put and winning the 1600 relay over the Ramblers in the night's final event.
The Bedford girls won the team title in easier fashion, 157-74, over runner-up Chestnut Ridge.
Chestnut Ridge's Ava Whysong had a spectacular meet and won district titles in the 3200, 1600 and 800 runs.
The boys 400-meter relay included a record-breaking performance by Bedford, which broke the 2005 Bedford team's record at the District 5 meet with a time of 43.22. Conemaugh Township and Windber, which finished second and third, respectively, both advanced to the PIAA championships by meeting the state qualifying standard.
Ethan Black of Conemaugh Township broke the District 5 record in the 100-meter dash that had been held since 1976 by Rick Hoffman of McConnellsburg and later broke Hoffman's 1977 record in the 200 dash with a time of 21.56.
BOYS
TEAM RESULTS/KEY
1, Bedford (B) 125; 2, Windber (W) 123.5; 3, Chestnut Ridge (CR) 75; 4, Everett (E) 57; 5, Northern Bedford (NB) 57; 6, Conemaugh Township (CT) 47.5; 7, Tussey Mountain (TM) 23; 8, Meyersdale (M) 19; 9, Southern Fulton (SF) 14; 10, Fannett-Metal (FM) 10; 11, Berlin Brothersvalley (BB) 8; T-12, McConnellsburg (M) 1; T-12, Rockwood (R) 1.
100 dash: 1, Black, CT, 10.63 (District 5 meet record); 2, Weber, B, 11.19 (SQ); 3, Gillis, TM, 11.32; 4, Shuster, W, 11.52; 5, Whysong, CR, 11.58; 6, Dom, W, 11.81. 200 dash: 1, Black, CT, 21.56 (District 5 meet record); 2, Weber, B, 22.55; 3, Wracher, B, 23.34; 4, Gunby, E, 23.59; 5, Johnson, CT, 24.36; 6, Ohler, M, 24.72. 400 dash: 1, Hillegass, CR, 51.92; 2, Hersch, M, 52.15; 3, Johnson, CT, 53.04; 4, Washington, B, 53.81; 5, Tomlinson, W, 53.96; 6, Little, CR, 54.60. 800 run: 1, Cessna, E, 1:59.88; 2, Golden, SF, 2:08.91; 3, Mills, E, 2:09.71; 4, Taylor, B, 2:10.19; 5, Gresh, B, 2:12.46; 6, Barkley, W, 2:12.46. 1600 run: 1, Bollman, CR, 4:40.17; 2, McKelvey, W, 4:44.86; 3, Golden, SF, 4:53.48; 4, Montgomery, BB, 4:55.22; 5, Myers, CR, 4:58.47; 6, Page, W, 5:02.85. 3200 run: 1, Bollman, CR, 9:58.21; 2, McKelvey, W, 10:32.65; 3, Scritchfield, B, 10:52.37; 4, Page, W, 11:01.97; 5, Myers, CR, 11:02.64; 6, Brubaker, W, 11:11.1. 110 hurdles: 1, Albright, CR, 15.5; 2, Winck, E, 17.07; 3, Gates, NB, 17.09; 4, Montgomery, BB, 17.97; 5, Koontz, B, 18.17; 6, Minahan, W, 19.16. 300 hurdles: 1, Gates, NB, 42.2; 2, Winck, E, 43.42; 3, Koontz, B, 43.89; 4, Klosky, W, 44.16; 5, Weist, TM, 44.91; 6, Dran, R, 46.85.
400 relay: 1, Bedford (Wigfield, Weber, Ressler, Wracher), 43.22 (District 5 meet record); 2, Conemaugh Township, 43.55 (SQ); 3, Windber, 43.84 (SQ); 4, Chestnut Ridge, 44.82; 5, Everett, 46.14; 6, Tussey Mountain, 46.25. 1600 relay: 1, Bedford (Washington, Taylor, Ressler, Weber), 3:32.21; 2, Windber, 3:33.36; 3, Everett, 3:34.7; 4, Meyersdale, 3:41.91; 5, Conemaugh Township, 3:43.44; 6, Chestnut Ridge, 3:45.07. 3200 relay: 1, Chestnut Ridge (Little, Hillegass, Moyer, Bollman), 8:22.35; 2, Windber, 9:00.27; 3, Bedford, 9:18.21; 4, Northern Bedford, 9:33.08; 5, Conemaugh Township, 9:47.12; 6, McConnellsburg, 9:59.53. High jump: 1, Charney, W, 6-3; 2, Pittman, NB, 6-0; 3, M. Detterline, NB, 5-10; 4, Derricott, CT, 5-8; 5, Gillis, TM, 5-8; 6, Hyltan, B, 5-6. Long jump: 1, Ressler, B, 20-6.5; 2, Shaffer, E, 19-4.5; 3, M. Detterline, NB, 19-2.75; 4, Dusack, W, 19-2.25; 5, Gillis, TM, 18-11; 6, Sotosky, CT, 18-9.5. Triple jump: 1, M. Detterline, NB, 43-2; 2, Charney, W, 42-5.5; 3, Ressler, B, 40-9; 4, Shaffer, E, 40-5.5; 5, Washington, B, 39-9.5; 6, Whysong, CR, 39-2. Shot put: 1, Flori, W, 52-3; 2, Klosky, W, 48-2; 3, Vent, B, 44-10; 4, Becker, B, 44-2.5; 5, Weyandt, B, 43-10.75; 6, Ritchey, TM, 40-11. Discus: 1, Klosky, W, 143-0; 2, Bifano, W, 142-4; 3, Vent, B, 138-9; 4, Whetstone, B, 130-2; 5, Byer, CT, 115-9; 6, Sosak, TM, 114-6. Javelin: 1, Miller, B, 156-6; 2, Bifano, W, 156-5; 3, Hetz, M, 145-1; 4, Moore, CR, 138-3; 5, Weist, TM, 136-9; 6, T. Yokum, E, 136-0. Pole vault: 1, Warren, FM, 11-6; 2, Albright, CR, 11-6; 3, Husick, TM, 11-0; 4, A. Detterline, NB, 11-0; 5, Kane, B, 10-6; T-6, Robinson, CT, 9-6; T-6, Debias, W, 9-6.
GIRLS
TEAM RESULTS/KEY
1, Bedford (B) 157; 2, Chestnut Ridge (CR) 74; 3, Conemaugh Township (CT) 71.5; 4, Windber (W) 49; 5, McConnellsburg (M) 46; 6, Everett (E) 38.5; 7, Berlin Brothersvalley (BB) 37; 8, Meyersdale (M) 30; 9, Northern Bedford (NB) 24; 10, Shade (S) 10; 11, Southern Fulton (SF) 8; T-12, Tussey Mountain (TM) 6; T-12, Rockwood (R) 6.
100 dash: 1, Hostetter, CT, 12.76; 2, Sarver, B, 12.96; 3, Slezak, CT, 13.37; 4, Sipes, B, 13.45; 5, Imler, NB, 13.49; 6, Zovorotny, B, 13.67. 200 dash: 1, Slezak, CT, 26.47; 2, Sarver, B, 26.94; 3, Hostetter, CT, 27.08; 4, McAllister, B, 28.64; 5, Ashkettle, SF, 29.07; 6, Rigo, M, 29.26. 400 dash: 1, Bozovich, S, 1:00.13; 2, Lippincott, B, 1:01.57; 3, Sechler, BB, 1:02.2; 4, Toki, W, 1:02.66; 5, Ashkettle, SF, 1:04.18; 6, Speigle, CT, 1:04.91. 800 run: 1, Whysong, CR, 2:23.28; 2, Eshelman, B, 2:26.74; 3, Twigg, E, 2:36.14; 4, Weaverling, B, 2:39.06; 5, Sayler, M, 2:40.02; 6, Hershberger, NB, 2:42.76. 1600 run: 1, Whysong, CR, 5:26.23; 2, Twigg, E, 5:49.44; 3, Weaverling, B, 5:53.12; 4, Hershberger, NB, 5:53.86; 5, Dibert, B, 6:13.28; 6, VanGilder, BB, 6:17.3. 3200 run: 1, Whysong, CR, 13:00.06; 2, Dibert, B, 13:25.13; 3, Bako, M, 13:58.12; 4, Earley, M, 14:05.48; 5, Lang, B, 14:05.75; 6, VanGilder, BB, 14:06.23. 100 hurdles: 1, Becker, B, 16.18; 2, Glenn, M, 17.34; 3, Wheatley, R, 17.45; 4, Roman, CT, 17.65; 5, Faupel, CR, 17.81; 6, Ickes, BB, 17.83. 300 hurdles: 1, Becker, B, 47.91; 2, Dodson, CR, 50.79; 3, Glenn, M, 50.85; 4, Tokarsky, W, 51.8; 5, Ickes, BB, 52.21; 6, Richardson, B, 52.95.
400 relay: 1, Conemaugh Township (Slezak, Speigle, Zwick, Hostetter), 50.29; 2, Bedford, 50.36; 3, McConnellsburg, 53.13; 4, Everett, 53.44; 5, Berlin Brothersvalley, 55.53; 6, Northern Bedford, 55.83. 1600 relay: 1, Bedford (Becker, Eshelman, Sarver, Lippincott), 4:13.42; 2, Windber, 4:23.26; 3, Conemaugh Township, 4:31.02; 4, Everett, 4:34.56; 5, Berlin Brothersvalley, 4:36.02; 6, McConnellsburg, 4:38.97. 3200 relay: 1, Bedford (Eshelman, Weaverling, Dibert, Lippincott), 10:50.54; 2, Windber, 11:03.93; 3, Conemaugh Township, 11:29.75; 4, McConnellsburg, 11:44.67; 5, Northern Bedford, 11:57.38. High jump: 1, Lippincott, B, 5-2; 2, A. Yokum, E, 5-0; 3, Brubaker, W, 5-0; 4, Brandhuber, M, 4-10; 5, Helsel, NB, 4-8; T-6, Roles, CT, 4-8; T-6, S. Yokum, E, 4-8. Long jump: 1, Hillegass, CR, 16-10; 2, Brubaker, W, 16-1.25; 3, S. Yokum, E, 15-8; 4, Beck, B, 15-5.25; 5, Roman, CT, 15-4; 6, Brandhuber, M, 14-11. Triple jump: 1, Hillegass, CR, 35-7; 2, Brubaker, W, 34-8; 3, Beck, B, 33-0.5; 4, Sechler, BB, 32-1.5; 5, A. Yokum, E, 32-0; 6, Edwards, B, 31-2. Shot put: 1, Emerick, M, 36-2; 2, Martz, B, 33-2.25; 3, Truax, M, 32-7.5; 4, Sexton, SF, 31-4; 5, Lasure, M, 30-11.75; 6, Long, NB, 30-11.5. Discus: 1, Long, NB, 105-11; 2, Emerick, M, 101-1; 3, Martz, B, 94-3; 4, Claycomb, CR, 90-1; 5, Cullen, CT, 88-6; 6, Helsel, NB, 85-7. Javelin: 1, Bosch, CR, 131-10; 2, Martz, B, 102-8; 3, Brandhuber, M, 100-3; 4, Boring, CT, 98-0; 5, Sipes, B, 92-7; 6, Cullen, CT, 92-3. Pole vault: 1, Fairman, BB, 8-0; 2, Miller, BB, 8-0; 3, Horton, TM, 8-0; T-4, Ciarimboli, CT, 7-6; T-4, Hill, W, 7-6; 6, Rigo, M, 7-6.