Somerset athletes have success at LHAC track and field championships
LORETTO — You don’t get to become a dynasty without being able to overcome a little adversity here and there.
The Somerset Area High School girls’ 4x100 meter relay knows all about that.
The Golden Eagles entered the Laurel Highlands Conference Track and Field Championships looking to continue what is approaching a half-decade of dominance in the event. However, when Josie Smith became ill during the day, they had to turn to reserve Abby Ledney.
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No problem. It just made things more dramatic.
“We had our alternate come in and we still won. I was happy with that,” Somerset junior sprinter Kamryn Ross said.
Another win in the girls’ 400 relay was one of the highlights of a spectacular day for the Somerset at St. Francis University’s DeGol Field on Tuesday.
Ross did just what she’s been doing all year, sweeping the 100- and 200-meter dashes along with anchoring the 4x100 team to gold. Meanwhile, freshman distance runner Emily Fisher won a silver medal, a bronze medal and took fourth in another event, while sophomore Eve Housley captured two bronze medals and broke her personal record by a foot in taking fifth in the long jump.
“These girls have been doing great. They’re just having an overall great day,” Somerset girls coach Melissa Wilson said.
With Ledney filling in for Smith, the Golden Eagles were out of their element when Ross took the baton for the last leg. She overtook Tyrone’s Bree Paul, though, and kept Somerset’s streak of wins in the event alive.
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“We’re usually not trailing. I just knew that I had to kick it into full gear and catch her,” Ross said.
The winning time was 50.24 seconds, not close to the Golden Eagles’ best, but still about three-tenths of a second better than second place.
“In a sense, there’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also nice," Ross said. "We’re keeping our legacy going. We haven’t lost an LHAC 100 relay in I think five years. It’s exciting.”
Ross turned in a time of 26.15 in the 200 and 12.64 in the 100 to win both of those finals.
Her result at the longer distance was her fastest of the season.
“I was happy with that,” Ross said.
Teammate Abby Urban, who rounded out the relay quartet along with Rihanna Hillegass, finished three spots behind Ross in the 100, where her time was 12.93.
Ross has turned out to be a worthy heir to the recent line of standout Lady Eagle sprinters, which has included the likes of Hailey Rios and Sydney Rush.
“With her work ethic, she’s definitely capable,” Wilson said. “She puts in the time in the offseason and with Dave Polcha year-round in the weightroom.
Ross was Somerset’s only winner, but not its only noteworthy performer.
Fisher ran a 5:19.87 1600 to claim a silver medal in the event. She finished 6 seconds back of top-seeded Bedford freshman Chloe May.
“That felt really good,” Fisher said. “I’ve only beaten Natalia (Marvidas of Richland) like one other time, so that felt really good.”
The Somerset freshmen ended her first conference championship meet by receiving a bronze medal for an 11:52.39 in the 3200 run.
In between, Fisher scored a fourth-place finish in the 800, her time 2:28.66.
“I’ve been trying to break 2:30 in the mile all year, and I did it today. I work out pretty hard, and sometimes I have to sacrifices races (in meets with less recovery time),” Fisher said.
Two Golden Eagles finished in the top five in the 100 hurdles ‒ Housley took third place with a time of 16.37, while Hillegass placed fifth with a 16.83.
It was one of two bronze medals for Housley, who also was third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 49.86. In addition, Housley placed fifth with a 17-foot, 3.25-inch long jump.
While it might seem either one of the hurdle races would have been Tuesday’s highlight for Housley, it actually was the latter event.
“I PR’d by quite a bit. I did a lot better than normal. My PR coming in was 16-3,” said Housley, who was seeded 15th in the long jump. “I felt pretty good. I definitely did better than usual. The competition was definitely better, so, to win, you have to do better.”
Urban was sixth in the 200 with a time of 26.83.
On the boys’ side, Maverick Swank took third in the triple jump, leaping 43 feet, 1 inch. Swank also was seventh in the long jump, where he missed 20 feet by a quarter inch.
Caleb Platt tossed the javelin 144-7, which was good for fourth place.
Alex Smith posted the best time in the preliminaries in a loaded boys’ 100-meter field, 11.33. However, he couldn’t duplicate it in the finals, where three opponents eclipsed his time; he finished fifth with an 11.44.
Smith also took sixth in the 200 dash with a time of 23.88.
In the boys’ discus, Tucker Mostoller came in fifth with a throw of 118-3.
The Golden Eagles also were sixth in the 4x100 with a time of 45.28.
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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset relay earns gold; athletes fare well at LHAC championships
