Font ResizeWith the bar set at 5 feet, 4 inches in the girls' Class AAA high jump, the Dover senior rocked back and forth, made her approach and arced over the bar with ease.
Rowlands had cleared the same height last year at states, when she finished sixth. Now she could focus on her real goal: Clearing 5 feet, 6 inches, and thus notching a new personal record.
"I kind of relaxed because I knew I was on the medal stand," she said. "When I was jumping 5-06, I felt comfortable."
It showed.
Rowlands soared over that height, too, and used her personal-best jump to snatch a satisfying third-place finish at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.
"I just wanted to make sure I did better than the meet before," said Rowlands, who won the District 3 high jump championship last weekend with a height of -- what else? -- 5-04. "I just want to improve."
She did just that, becoming the first of three YAIAA athletes to medal Friday during Day 1 of the two-day event.
Bermudian Springs' Rachael Kotula took sixth place in the AA discus, while Delone Catholic's Kevin Brady finished fifth in the AA pole vault.
Rowlands displayed the same, graceful form Friday that has become her calling card. She doesn't have ideal height for a high-jumper -- she's 5-foot-3 -- but makes up for that in other areas.
"I think I have to work more on strengthening my
Pennridge's Annie Holland won the AAA high jump with a leap of 5-09, while Upper Dublin's Taylor Morgan cleared 5-07 to finish second.
Rowlands nearly one-upped herself on her third-and-final attempt at 5-07. She appeared to have enough height to get over, but clipped the bar on her decent.
"I saw the bar coming down," Rowlands said. "It was still up, and then it dropped."
Rowlands sat up on the landing mat after her final attempt and flashed a smile. Third-place would be plenty to suffice.
The Dover standout will try to provide an encore today: She's seeded third in the Class AAA triple jump.
"Hopefully I can finish third in that, too," Rowlands said.
Wanting more: Rachael Kotula felt a bit conflicted.
On one hand, the Bermudian Springs senior knew she could do better than the 119-04 throw she recorded Friday in the girls' Class AA discus.
Then again, she couldn't argue with the results. Kotula medaled for the second straight year in the discus, taking sixth place.
"I'm disappointed in my throw, but I'm ecstatic I got on the medal stand," said Kotula who took fifth in the event last year. "I can't complain, I just wish I'd gotten a better throw."
Kotula has a legitimate chance to medal in three different events. She is seeded eighth in the AA shot put and tenth in the javelin, both of which will take place today.
In last year's state javelin event, Kotula missed a finals spot by two inches.
"I want to try to PR in javelin," she said.
Three's a charm: It took three tries, but Kevin Brady accomplished his goal for Friday.
The Delone Catholic senior grabbed his first PIAA medal, finishing fifth in the AA pole vault with a height of 14-00.
Brady won a District 3 championship last weekend by hitting a personal-best 14-01. His goal Friday was to clear 14 feet.
On his third-and-final attempt at the height, Brady made it over with room to spare.
"It was a big relief," Brady said of his successful attempt. "I was going into this meet really expecting to jump 14 now that I got it last week."
Oh so close: A few local athletes finished just off the medal stand.
In the girls' AA long jump, Delone's Janice Erbe finished ninth with a distance of 17-01.25 (2.25 inches behind the eighth-place finisher). Her Squirettes teammate, Mariah Robertson, finished tenth.
In the girls' AAA shot put, Dallastown's Margo Britton also placed ninth with a distance of 38-04.5. She tied with the eighth-place finisher, Elizabethtown's Sarah Fairbanks, but Fairbanks won the tiebreaker.
Littlestown sophomore Alyssa Reichart, the District 3 Class AA high jump champion, settled for an 11th place tie in the event Friday (5-02). Meanwhile, Bermudian's Georgia Williams fell well short of defending her AA state pole vault championship. The Eagles senior finished in a tie for 23rd.
Setting the stage: No track event medals were handed out Friday, but a bevy of preliminary races set the field for today's finals.
Several YAIAA runners are threats to medal. Among them:
--- Erbe advanced to the finals of the AA 300 hurdles, meaning she is guaranteed a medal in the event. She and Robertson are both semifinalists in the 100 hurdles.
--- William Penn junior and newly crowned district champion Braheem Harvey advanced to the semifinals of the AAA 110 hurdles. Bermudian's Brett Warner also moved on in the AA 110 hurdles.
--- Central York sophomore Khaddisha Arnold, a surprise medalist in the AAA 100 meters last year, qualified for the semifinals of both the 100 and 200 meters.
The championships will resume at 9 a.m. today.
New state records:
In the boys' AA javelin, St. Pius X's Thomas Lang recorded a record toss of 213-10. The second-place finisher, Lancaster Catholic's Kyle Smith, also beat the previous AA state record (207-10) with a toss of 213-00.
In the girls' AA pole vault, Wilson Area's Allison Vanek bested a 10-year old state record by clearing 12-07.*And in the boys' AAA triple jump, Methacton's Carlton Lavong leaped a record 50 feet, 5 inches.
