PIAA track and field: Final jump, unexpected medal, team title for two
Dallastown's Michael Scott really wanted to break his own school record Saturday in the PIAA Class 3A boys' long jump.
He came in as the fifth seed with a school record jump of 22-11. He nearly hit that, but came up a bit short. His effort of 22-9.75 on his fifth attempt was good for state bronze.
"I knew there was going to be a lot of good competition, that there would be a lot of people jumping above me," Scott said. "But I knew I was gonna come here to compete. I feel like I did a good job."
He had a little added incentive. Even though he's a junior, he expects this was his last track season. He's still fielding Division I football offers, but plans to enroll in January to get a jump start.
Scott, who most recently met with Arizona State coaches including former Steeler Hines Ward, was glad to get Saturday's heat instead of the rain and chill of last week's district meet.
"I like these conditions," he said. "I would rather be hot than cold. I just kept the umbrella handy for shade."
Who are you calling a slow heat?
Dallastown's Class 3A girls' 4x800 relay members knew they could do better than their District 3 meet time of 9:30.83. That time was the second-fastest among the 15 relays in their heat, but well off Upper Dublin's top time of 9:03.16.
The 30 teams in the race are divided into two sections by time, with the fastest 15 teams going in the second section.
The Wildcats were in the first section.
They followed their seeding and finished second in their section. But they all ran PRs and dropped 9 seconds as a team.
"Our coach told us before the race that one or teams always come out of the slow heat and medal," anchor Natalie Good said.
On Saturday, it was two teams. Manheim Township, which dropped a whopping 22 seconds off their seed time to finish third overall and Dallastown, which finished fifth in 9:21.12.
And since they ran in the first section, they had to wait through the second to learn if they would medal.
"It was really stressful watching the fast heat," said Morgan Good, who ran the second leg.
The girls said there was a lot of pacing and then a lot of cheering after they learned where they placed.
"We wanted to leave with no regrets," leadoff runner Addison Emenheiser said.
"We all wanted to run under a 9:26, and we did that," said Neila Granger, who ran the third leg. "We all ran our best times."
Golden day: Bermudian Springs' Lily Carlson successfully defends PIAA Class 2A pole vault title
What a career: Laila Campbell wraps up her high school career with a gold, silver in last PIAA meet
Super sophomore: Spring Grove's Ella Bahn snares silver, 2 golds in Day 2 action at PIAA championships
Team of two claim team title
Spring Grove's Laila Campbell and Ella Bahn joked at last year's PIAA meet that they wanted to put a relay together for this year's meet in order to have a shot at the state team title.
Last year they finished with 34 points with three gold medals and one fourth place.
The senior and sophomore found some talented freshmen to run with them this year, and they found their groove at the district meet. They finished third to qualify for the state meet, but they couldn't hang with the top relay teams and didn't make the final. No final, no relay points.
You would think that took away the Rockets' chance of a team title. But no.
Bahn won gold in the high jump and 300 hurdles and silver in the 100 hurdles. Campbell won silver in the 100 meters and gold in the 200 meters to finish with 46 points. That was 13 points better than runner-up Cheltenham.
The team title was pretty much a done deal before Campbell claimed her fourth 200-meter title, but that win certainly gave the Rockets some cushion.
"Well that's exciting," Campbell said after learning of the team title. "We could pull it out with just us. That's really awesome."
Other finishers
Bermudian Springs' Alison Watts placed seventh in the 2A triple jump with a 37-4.25.
Bermudian's Aaron Weigle placed sixth in the 3A discus with a throw of 164-10. York County Tech's Pearce Allyene was eighth with a throw of 163-1.
Top team scores
Girls' Class 2A: 1. West Catholic, 36; 2. Warrior Run, 32; 3. Winchester Thurston, 29; 4. Central Columbia, 23; 5. Shady Side Academy, 22. Others: 16. Bermudian Springs, 16.
Boys' Class 2A: 1. Slippery Rock Area, 41; 2. Penn Cambria, 25; 3. Notre Dame Green Pond, 22; 3. Meyersdale, Area, 22; 5. Danville Area, 21; 5. Mount Carmel Area, 21.
Girls' Class 3A: 1. Spring Grove, 46; 2. Cheltenham, 33; 3. Chester, 30; 4. Haverford Township, 29; 5. Mount Lebanon, 24. Others: 54. Dallastown, 4.
Boys' Class 3A: 1. Coatesville, 27; 2. Butler, 26; 3. Palmyra, 26, Imhotep Charter, 25; 5. Strath Haven 20. Others: 46. Dallastown, 6; 66. Bermudian Springs, 3; 72. South Western, 2; 82. York County Tech, 1.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PIAA track and field: Final jump, unexpected medal, team title for two
