Wednesday it was negative.

Yarnell had a false start in the 100-meter dash preliminaries, an event he almost certainly would have made the finals in and been in the hunt to at least reach a state qualifying standard.

“That was rough,” Yarnell said. “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t talk to anybody for a half hour. What it did was that it reset my mind. I am humble, and I didn’t really need to be humbled, but that was out of the ordinary for me. It was kind of a fluke.”

Thursday, the hush was much more positive and was followed by Yarnell being mobbed by most of the athletes and coaches on the track at Mansion Park — even from the Golden Tigers’ rival Altoona.

Altoona's Annalyse Yost won the AAA javelin throw with a distance of 133-10. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

It came when the final results of the 200-meter dash were posted and Yarnell officially edged former 200-meter PIAA champion Jesse Myers of State College, who holds the meet record in the event, 21.16 to 21.17.

“To have that happen to me (the false start), and then turn around and have this happen today — I don’t usually say anything about this, but I want this everywhere,” Yarnell said. “This kind of achievement is all because of Jesus. I haven’t talked about it enough in interviews, but because of Jesus, I’m allowed to do this. It’s not because of me. I am thankful for Jesus and being able to honor Him.”

Despite the photo finish, Yarnell said he knew he’d beaten Myers — an athlete he had lost to in “at least the last 35 times” they have competed.

“I kind of finished and looked to the left of me,” Yarnell said. “I knew I was ahead of him. It was so fun. I never thought I would beat him. Like I said, through Jesus is how this was possible. I prayed before the race, and look how powerful prayer can be.”

Yarnell said he had not beaten Myers since eighth grade. Once word got around, Yarnell was swarmed by friends and foes alike.

“Even (Altoona coach) Mike Adams congratulated me,” Yarnell said. “It’s really surreal. I’m enjoying the moment. I’m just so grateful, because everything Jesus gives you, He can take away. I’m just so thankful.”

Yarnell is hoping for an even better result at the PIAA meet.

“I’m shooting for 20.9 at the state meet,” Yarnell said. “When I’m at the state meet running against the best, I think you’ll see a sub-21 from me.”

Altoona’s Xavier Midder, who was among the first to congratulate Yarnell, won the long jump in 22 feet, 10.5 inches, just ahead of Bellefonte’s Zane Hummel at 22 feet, 10.25 inches. Altoona’s Branson Adams was fourth in 22-6 but reached the state qualifying standard.

He then broke his own meet and facility record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.04 seconds but was disappointed he didn’t get under 14 seconds.

“When you know how much you are capable of, it doesn’t really faze you,” Midder said. “My goals are a lot bigger than a lot of people’s out here. I work harder than everybody out here, so I have high expectations.”

Midder was also a member of Altoona’s second-place 400-meter relay team that finished in 42.36, meeting the state qualifying standard and meaning he will be going to states in four different events.

“I am proud I was able to PR this year,” Midder said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do that this year.”

Midder said his experience at the state meet should pay off this year.

“Now that I have actually matured and run my own race, I do think it will be good for me to be around faster runners (at states),” Midder said. “Trying to keep up means everyone sets PRs.”

In other boys competition, Altoona’s Colin Etters won the 400 in 49.16, edging Central Mountain’s Sam Wible, who finished in 49.42 and also qualified for states.

“I can’t say I thought I was going to get this, so it feels pretty good,” Etters said. “I split a pretty good time last week, so this was my goal going into this.”

As it was last year, the girls portion of the meet turned into a thriller between defending champion Altoona and State College.

In the end, the Lady Lions took advantage of every point they earned and came away with a 204-203 victory in the team race over the Lady Little Lions.

Much of that came as the result of several events in which Altoona took first and second place in extremely close races.

Altoona sophomore Ashlyn Noce edged Mary Stoltz, 2:16.25-2:16.29, in the 800-meter run, but both advanced to states by reaching the state qualifying standard.

Stoltz won the event last year.

“Today was a great experience, and now we get to go to states together,” Stoltz said. “It really pushed me, and I don’t think I could do any of this without her.”

The two walked to get their medals apart, but after both caught their breath, Stoltz went over and hugged Noce and congratulated her.

“It was a great experience, and it was nice to run my last district 800 with my best friend,” Noce said. “At first, it was tough. I wanted her to win, because it’s her senior year, and it’s her event, but afterward we were both happy. We both ran good times, and we get to run the state meet together. It was a good experience for both of us.”

Noce then went on to win the 3200 run in 10:55.71, a personal best.

“That’s something we definitely emphasize here. We preach team, even though it’s an individual sport,” Altoona coach Mike Adams said. “These girls are really tight. When they won districts last year, they came together and have kept that up this year. It’s always not only a competition with themselves, but it’s about cheering each other on. That’s brought them together. They push each other, but they love each other. When you have a teammate that’s really good, and you’re really good, you are going to bring each other along. That’s what has been happening.”

The same thing happened during the girls high jump.

Brionna Hudson set the meet record by clearing 5 feet, 9 inches in the high jump, and the girl that finished second, Triumph Kilmartin, was the person cheering the loudest. Kilmartin cleared 5-5 and reached the state qualifying standard.

“I don’t think of her as competition, I think of her as my teammate,” Kilmartin said. “I get so excited for her. She’s achieving things that look unachievable. I’m so proud of her. It brings me so much joy.”

Kilmartin is a senior, and Hudson is a freshman learning from her.

“It’s fun,” Hudson said. “She’s like my biggest supporter and is always out there encouraging me and helping me with my steps and cheering me on.”

Hudson was excited about breaking the meet record.

“I have been hoping for that number,” Hudson said. “I didn’t know if it would come today or at states, but I’m happy. It’s great. I’m really excited.”

In another close race, Hannah Owulade edged Alannah Irwin, 46.82-46.88, in the 300 hurdles.

“After being seventh in the 100 hurdles, I really wanted to pick myself up and do something good for myself,” Owulade said. “I made sure my head was in the game for the 300. Alannah and I were talking about how we had to do it for our team, being behind State College at the time.”

It was another case of both athletes helping each other.

“During practices, we’re always pushing each other,” Owulade said. “During our 300 workouts or 100 workouts, we’re always pushing each other and encouraging each other.”

Altoona’s Annalyse Yost won the District 6 title in the javelin with a throw of 133-10.

“I have been doing a lot of drills and focusing on footwork and all that,” Yost said. “More of that stuff than distances and how far I’m throwing. The weather was great today, and I had a good feeling. It feels great to be a district champion.”

Other PIAA qualifiers: Altoona’s Kihlee Noel threw the discus 120 feet, 1 inch to place third in the discus, but her distance reached the state qualifying standard. … Altoona’s girls 3200 relay team made it to states with a state-qualifying standard time of 9:23.05 despite finishing runner-up to State College’s team, which set the meet and Mansion Park record with a time of 9:17.67 — the 56th best time this year for girls in the United States. … Hollidaysburg’s Emily Clapper eclipsed the District 6 meet record in the 400 meter run with a time of 57.22 — the problem was that she was one of three girls who did it. Clapper settled for second behind champion and new record holder Kamryn Ross of Somerset, who finished in 56.48. Bellefonte’s Althea Helms was third in 57.38. All three reached the state qualifying standard. … Clapper was also runner-up in the long jump but reached the state qualifying standard in that event as well.

BOYS

TEAM RESULTS/KEY

1, State College (SC) 224; 2, Altoona (A) 150; 3, Mifflin County (MC) 75; 4, Hollidaysburg (H) 67; 5, Central Mountain (CM) 60; 6, Bellefonte (B) 54; 7, Somerset (S) 37; 8, Johnstown (J) 27.

INDIVIDUAL

100 dash: 1, Myers, SC, 10.75; 2, Bassett, SC, 11.18; 3, Lustig, SC, 11.46; 4, Durant, J, 11.51; 5, J. Reed, J, 11.55; 6, Dunmyer, S, 11.55; 7, Muth, H, 11.62; 8, Destefano, H, 11.63. 200 dash: 1, Yarnell, H, 21.16; 2, Myers, SC, 21.17; 3, Wible, SC, 22.71; 4, Etters, A, 22.78; 5, Lustig, SC, 22.79; 6, Smith-Kirk, B, 23.06; 7, Babcock, SC, 23.07; 8, Z. Reed, J, 24.36. 400 dash: 1, Etters, A, 49.16; 2, Wible, CM, 49.42; 3, Z. Reed, J, 50.45; 4, Baker, A, 51.87; 5, Speelman, S, 51.94; 6, Fritzsche, SC, 52.2; 7, Diven, MC, 53.12; 8, Neilson, SC, 53.31. 800 run: 1, Smith, MC, 1:50.61; 2, Coughlin, SC, 1:51.43 (SQ); 3, Kauffman, MC, 1:53.77 (SQ); 4, Caldwell, SC, 1:54.9 (SQ); 5, Fowler, SC, 1:55.97 (SQ); 6, Bossler, A, 1:58.2; 7, Van Egdom, A, 2:02.02; 8, Diaz, H, 2:02.24. 3200 run: *1, I. Opperman, SC, 9:10.23; 2, T. Opperman, SC, 9:19.41 (SQ); 3, Selber, SC, 9:23.33 (SQ); 4, Cubbison, MC, 9:29.38; 5, Williams, B, 9:52.73; 6, Gasper, B, 9:53.43; 7, Manfred, H, 9:56.87; 8, Aurand, MC, 10:02.5. 110 hurdles: *1, Midder, A, 14.04; 2, McNitt, MC, 15.59; 3, Pacifico, A, 15.7; 4, Thompson, S, 16.43; 5, Yarnell, SC, 16.73; 6, Kling, A, 17.2; 7, Langille, B, 17.82. 300 hurdles: 1, McNitt, MC, 40.29; 2, Ross, H, 41.03; 3, DiBuono, S, 41.07; 4, Pacifico, A, 41.48; 5, Kling, A, 42.3; 6, Langille, B, 43.12; 7, Money, SC, 43.51; 8, Yarnell, SC, 45.0.

400 relay: 1, State College (Babcock, Myers, Lustig, Bassett), 41.99; 2, Altoona (Adams, Layton, Etters, Midder), 42.36 (SQ); 3, Johnstown, 43.15; 4, Bellefonte, 43.42; 5, Hollidaysburg, 44.33; 6, Somerset, 44.87; 7, Mifflin County, 45.34; 8, Central Mountain, 45.73. 1600 relay: 1, State College (Caldwell, Coughlin, Bradbury, Myers), 3:20.46; 2, Hollidaysburg, 3:26.38; 3, Altoona, 3:27.07; 4, Bellefonte, 3:31.38; 5, Mifflin County, 3:33.3; 6, Central Mountain, 3:38.56. 3200 relay: *1, State College (Coughlin, Fowler, Fritzsche, Bradbury), 7:45.11; 2, Mifflin County, 7:56.18; 3, Altoona, 8:17.74; 4, Hollidaysburg, 8:42.57; 5, Central Mountain, 9:20.83; 6, Somerset, 9:32.2. High jump: 1, Bodner, SC, 5-11; 2, Newman, CM, 5-9; 3, Adams, A, 5-9; 4, Warren, CM, 5-9; 5, Carr, J, 5-7; 6, Wunder, CM, 5-7; 7, Spielvogel, SC, 5-5; 8, . Long jump: 1, Midder, A, 22-10.5; 2, Hummel, B, 22-10.25 (SQ); 3, Bassett, SC, 22-9 (SQ); 4, Adams, A, 22-6 (SQ); 5, Smith-Kirk, B, 21-7; 6, Dunmyer, S, 21-0; 7, Brinker, CM, 20-8; 8, Newman, CM, 20-2.25. Discus: 1, Haas, SC, 167-8; 2, Bottorf, CM, 150-4; 3, Maines, H, 144-7; 4, Harrington, A, 136-2; 5, Pak-Blyzniuk, SC, 135-3; 6, Solbakken, SC, 131-11; 7, White, H, 129-0; 8, Gaffney, H, 124-4. Javelin: 1, Haas, SC, 200-9; 2, Smith, SC, 170-11; 3, Bell, MC, 164-9; 4, Hughes, CM, 159-10; 5, Gaffney, H, 158-4; 6, Harrington, A, 157-10; 7, Halterman, B, 156-3; 8, Herr, A, 153-0. Pole vault: 1, Bell, SC, 14-9; 2, Lutz, A, 13-9; 3, Wolfe, A, 12-3; 4, Stevenson-Peck, SC, 11-9; 5, Cousey, A, 11-9; 6, Mokluk, B, 11-3; 7, Garwood, S, 10-9; 8, ElBayly, S, 9-9.

GIRLS

TEAM RESULTS/KEY

1, Altoona (A) 204; 2, State College (SC) 203; 3, Hollidaysburg (H) 79; 4, Somerset (S) 70; 5, Central Mountain (CM) 56; 6, Bellefonte (B) 49; 7, Mifflin County (MC) 26; 8, Johnstown (J) 7.

INDIVIDUAL

100 dash: 1, Ross, S, 12.42; 2, Kocher, SC, 12.56; 3, Frazier, H, 12.63; 4, Helms, B, 12.84; 5, Peachey, SC, 12.98; 6, Seider, SC, 13.02; 7, Smith, S, 13.12; 8, Bartley, A, 13.42. 200 dash: *1, Kocher, SC, 25.05; 2, Ross, S, 25.37; 3, Plowman, CM, 26.38; 4, Frazier, H, 26.39; 5, Peachey, SC, 26.58; 6, Himmelwright, A, 26.83; 7, Weaver, A, 26.84; 8, Moschgat, H, 27.66. 400 dash: *1, Ross, S, 56.48; 2, Clapper, H, 57.22 (SQ); 3, Helms, B, 57.38 (SQ); 4, Weaver, A, 1:00.01; 5, Himmelwright, A, 1:00.77; 6, Bartley, A, 1:02.59; 7, Miller, B, 1:03.2; 8, Wilson, SC, 1:03.29. 800 run: 1, Noce, A, 2:16.25; 2, Stoltz, A, 2:16.29 (SQ); 3, Younkin, SC, 2:16.71 (SQ); 4, Fry, B, 2:17.12 (SQ); 5, Adams, A, 2:23.25; 6, Keohane, CM, 2:23.45; 7, Shellenberger, SC, 2:24.86; 8, Kratzer, MC, 2:26.31. 3200 run: 1, Noce, A, 10:55.71; 2, Jackson, SC, 11:01.16; 3, Fisher, S, 11:01.42; 4, Frank, SC, 11:50.93; 5, Bigger, SC, 11:56.51; 6, Luke, A, 12:09.39; 7, Coffey, MC, 12:13.75; 8, Jolley, B, 12:14.27. 100 hurdles: 1, Owens, CM, 16.28; 2, Wiseman, CM, 16.42; 3, Hall, CM, 16.63; 4, Irwin, A, 16.64; 5, Steiner, H, 16.7; 6, Craft, SC, 16.71; 7, Owulade, A, 16.88; 8, Housley, S, 17.18. 300 hurdles: 1, Owulade, A, 46.82; 2, Irwin, A, 46.88; 3, Wiseman, CM, 49.04; 4, Steiner, H, 49.27; 5, Defelice, SC, 50.81; 6, Embser, SC, 51.79; 7, Owens, CM, 52.71; 8, Riden, MC, 53.92.

400 relay: *1, State College (Peachey, Kocher, Seider, Abdullah), 48.54; 2, Altoona, 49.61; 3, Central Mountain, 50.61; 4, Somerset, 51.12; 5, Hollidaysburg, 51.96; 6, Bellefonte, 52.63; 7, Mifflin County, 53.02. 1600 relay: 1, State College (Jackson, Younkin, Peachey, Kocher), 3:59.89; 2, Altoona, 4:01.89; 3, Hollidaysburg, 4:03.1; 4, Bellefonte, 4:07.07; 5, Central Mountain, 4:17.34; 6, Mifflin County, 4:29.77; 7, Somerset, 5:08.2. 3200 relay: *1, State College (Jackson, Wadhia, Bigger, Younkin), 9:17.67; 2, Altoona (Stoltz, Adams, Snare, Noce), 9:23.05 (SQ); 3, Hollidaysburg, 10:04.33; 4, Mifflin County, 11:12.82; 5, Somerset, 12:17.14. High jump: *1, Hudson, A, 5-9; 2, Kilmartin, A, 5-5 (SQ); 3, Younkin, SC, 5-3 (SQ); 4, Lear, A, 5-1; 5, I. Basenback, H, 4-11; 6, Williams, H, 4-9; 7, Downing, CM, 4-9; 8, A. Basenback, H, 4-9. Long jump: *1, Abdullah, SC, 19-5.25; 2, Clapper, H, 17-9.75 (SQ); 3, Sekhon, SC, 17-8.5; 4, Long, A, 17-6; 5, Owulade, A, 16-8; 6, Lear, A, 16-4.75; 7, McGriff, SC, 16-1.25; 8, Chestney, H, 15-5.25. Discus: 1, Lipski, SC, 124-9; 2, Tate, SC, 124-6 (SQ); 3, Noel, A, 120-1 (SQ); 4, Cavanaugh, MC, 89-10; 5, Ward, J, 89-4; 6, Yost, A, 85-10; 7, Kurcin, J, 82-10; 8, Palilla, A, 82-4. Javelin: 1, Yost, A, 133-10; 2, Miller, B, 124-6; 3, Kelly, A, 123-0; 4, Muriceak, H, 104-1; 5, Banker, SC, 100-8; 6, Knisely, S, 99-1; 7, Capone, H, 97-5; 8, Castillo, 92-6.

*Meet records; SQ–Advanced to state meet through qualifying standard