Altoona senior Xavier Midder won a bronze medal in the Class 3A triple jump, and Portage senior Bode Layo placed fourth in the Class 2A high jump — but if both had reached the numbers they had set for their goal on Friday they could have been state champions.

“It was really disappointing,” Midder said. “When you have PRs that are so great, it gets to a point where you don’t jump or run as fast as your PR, and you feel so slow.”

Midder finished third with a distance of 45 feet, 10.25 inches, which he achieved on his third jump in the preliminary round.

His final triple jump was a monster one, but he was called for a foul that led him to scream in frustration.

Portage’s Bode Layo cleared 6 feet, 4 inches on Friday in the high jump at states. Mirror photo by Michael Boytim

“It was there,” Midder said. “It was probably mid-47 or 48. It would have gotten me first place, but it is what it is.”

Just minutes after being rushed over to the medal stand to receive his third-place prize, Midder had to compete in his 110-meter hurdle preliminary. As he prepared to run it, a heavy downpour covered Seth Grove Stadium.

Midder finished 13th in the qualifying in 14.73 seconds, after running it in 14.04 at districts, and missed the final.

“You can’t even blame the climate,” Midder said. “My coach tells me about this. Everyone at the meet is running in the same weather, so you can’t blame anything on the climate. It was just me. I thought I was in the right mental state. I tried to get back up after the triple jump and tried to go after it, but I just have to accept it.”

Midder, who is still relatively new to track and field after picking it up following his move to Altoona, will continue his quest to master the sport right where he left off on Friday — at Shippensburg, where he wants to study business and compete in track.

He will compete in the long jump on Saturday, but wanted to make it clear that while he was disappointed, he’s still happy the sport is now part of his life.

“I am grateful I was able to run track and field,” Midder said. “It is what it is.”

Layo also came into the meet with big goals after starting his season by clearing 6 feet, 5 inches in the high jump and setting a Portage record and far exceeding his performances as a junior when he did not qualify for the PIAA meet.

“It feels good to go from not coming here at all to coming here and winning a medal,” Layo said. “But I didn’t reach where I wanted to reach. My goal was 6-6, which won the meet, so it would have been nice to get that, but I’m happy with a medal.”

Layo cleared 6 feet, 3 inches before stalling at 6 feet, 4 inches. He cleared 5-10, 6-0, 6-2 and 6-3 in one jump.

“I just nipped (the bar) on my last two attempts,” Layo said. “My second time, I nipped it with my butt, and on my third attempt, I just nipped it with my heel. I should have cleared that bar, but you can’t make it over every time.”

Layo will also continue his track and field career — choosing that sport over football and basketball — at California University of Pennsylvania, because he said track is “easier on the body.”

On the track Friday, Hollidaysburg senior Isaac Yarnell won his heat of the 200-meter dash trials, locking up a spot in Saturday’s final and guaranteeing himself a medal with a time of 21.74 seconds.

“It feels good to get this out of the way,” Yarnell said. “When I was coming off 80 meters, and once I saw no one was right behind me, I just wanted to win and get to tomorrow’s final.”

Yarnell ran against a strong wind on Friday.

“It wasn’t as big of a concern,” Yarnell said. “I just knew I was going to be slow. It’s just an aspect of the sport, and you just can’t let it get to your head no matter what the conditions are.”

Yarnell’s top competition over his high school career has been State College’s Jesse Myers, who also won his heat.

Yarnell said their were pros and cons to not running against Myers in the prelim.

“It’s easier to win (my heat), but I know I’m not going to PR without him to push me,” Yarnell said.

Myers, a previous state champion in the 200, will be running with him on Saturday. Yarnell topped him for the District 6 title last week by one-hundredth of a second.

“I’m going for top three,” Yarnell said. “Silver, gold? Something like that. If I can put together the race that I did at districts, I have a shot to do that. I’m shooting for gold though.”

Earlier in the meet, Mifflin County junior Carter Smith won the state championship in the 3A 1600-meter run with a time of 4:01.54, which is a top-10 time in the country this year.

Other area results: Penn Cambria’s Blake Lilly finished 16th in the 2A javelin with a throw of 151 feet, 9 inches. He narrowly missed the finals in the long jump with a 10th-place distance of 21 feet, 5 inches. The distance to reach finals was just 21 feet, 5.5 inches. Bishop Carroll’s Eli Cunningham was 17th with a top jump of 20 feet, 11 inches. … Central Cambria’s Dom Kuntz was 31st in the 2A 1600-meter run with a time of 4:35.75. … Tyrone’s Drew Irons was 25th in 2A 200 dash qualifying in 23.76 seconds and did not reach the finals. … Bellwood-Antis senior Holden Schreier was 28th in the 2A 400 dash preliminaries in 52.63, and in 3A, Altoona’s Colin Etters finished 23rd in 50.47 seconds. … Central finished 31st in 45.19 seconds and did not qualify for the finals in the 2A 400 relay, and Altoona finished 25th in 43.59 seconds and did not qualify for the 3A 400 relay. … The Scarlet Dragons were 13th in the 2A 1600 relay prelims with a time of 3:31.29, and Tyrone finished 25th in 3:36.2.