Work under way for new field turf at North East's Ted Miller Stadium

NORTH EAST — Noah Crozier was victorious and conflicted after last weekend’s track and field meet at McDowell.

Although the North East high jumper still has several weeks left in an already successful season, he’ll compete no more at his home facility.

Crozier, at 6-foot-4, won the boys high jump during Joe Sanford’s McDowell Invitational. The 22-team track and field meet took place at Gus Anderson Field.

The meet also was held days after construction began on field turf installation for North East’s Ted Miller Stadium. The project, with an estimated cost of $3.5 million, is scheduled to conclude by mid-August, athletic director Brian Dewey said.

While the project is great news for the underclassmen on North East’s 2024 roster, its start time was a bittersweet one for Crozier.

Not only is it disrupting a season that saw him clear 6-9 during an April 19 meet at Butler, but he’ll be newly graduated when it’s finally used.

“It kind of (stinks) I can’t practice on the track,” he said. “I have (to practice) in the parking lot. We have gone to Harbor Creek on our own to jump a few times, so that’s been nice.”

Crozier will formally jump at Harbor Creek on Saturday. This season’s North East Invitational will take place there because of the construction.

Action in and around the Huskies’ Paul J. Weitz Stadium begins at 9:30 a.m.

It’s possible Crozier could be the boys high jump champ for three meets held there. He cleared 6-5 for first place in the Harbor Creek Invitational on April 20.

The Huskies also will host the Erie County Classic on May 9.

More: Vote in the latest Erie County high school Athlete of the Week polls: April 29-May 1

Other amenities

The North East School District hired Keystone Sports Construction to handle its stadium renovations. The Chester County company also handled Seneca’s field turf installation in 2020.

Keystone’s work, though, won’t end with a new playing surface for the Grapepickers’ football team.

“We’ll have a new eight-lane track and new LED lights,” Dewey said. “We’re also resurfacing the area east of the stadium so we can move the throwing events closer to the stadium.”

Crozier is among North East’s current field athletes who have improvised ways to practice on campus. The Pickers’ high jumpers have set up a bar and landing pad on a parking lot. Their long and triple jumpers have used a sand volleyball court as a landing area.

As for North East’s runners and pole vaulters, Dewey thanked Harbor Creek for allowing them use of Weitz Stadium for practice between now and the May 18 District 10 meet at Slippery Rock University.

North East’s transition to field turf means Union City, Girard and Northwestern will be the only remaining Erie County high schools with grass fields for their main athletic facility at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.

More: Goodbye, grass surface. North East's Ted Miller Stadium to have field turf installed

Mike Copper has worked for the Erie Times-News editorial department since 1997 and full time for its sports department since 2004. He was the sports editor for the former Titusville Herald from 1991-93.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Field turf work forces site switch for North East Invitational