TRACK & FIELD: Good weather to welcome Mid Penn meet to Trojan Stadium

The Mid Penn Conference track & field championships, being held Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at Trojan Stadium, is kind of a chameleon of events.

Not every athlete and team approaches the league meet with the same intentions.

For the elite athletes, a chance to win a gold medal is high on the priority list. The top teams are also gunning for a league title, and their athletes will be trying to score as many points as possible.

Many other athletes are simply trying to better their previous best performances to either qualify for the District 3 meet next weekend or improve their seed for that meet.

And there is also a group of competitors who are just looking to enjoy their final competition of the season.

Fortunately, the weather forecast looks good – high 70s to low 80s and little chance of rain – so it should be a good day for athletes and spectators alike. It's the fourth straight season Trojan Stadium has played host to Mid Penns.

Bob Walker, Chambersburg's boys coach, said, "Track gets a transient crowd, because they'll come in watch an event or two, that maybe leave and come back later. You don't get too many who stay and watch every event.

"But we do seem to do pretty well at the gate for this meet, even though it never looks full. Just one time, I'd love to see the stands full. You just don't see that for track, except at states and sometimes at Franklin Field (for the Penn Relays)."

Admission is $8 for adults for all day.

Chambersburg, as well as the other area Mid Penn schools, does not appear to be in the running for the team crown, so the focus shifts to individuals.

Trojan girls coach Chris Monheim said, "Since we're not going after the team title this year, you need to take care of the individuals and focus on getting them ready for the postseason. Teams like Carlisle and State College have the talent to challenge for the team race, and there have been years we have, too. But if not, we like to get as many kids run in this meet as we can."

The top 40 individuals have qualified in each event for the Mid Penn meet, plus each team can enter a relay team.

Four area individuals come into the meet with No. 1 seeds – all are on the boys side and all but one are in the throwing events.

Senior Peter Hughey of James Buchanan has the top seed in the 400, with a time of 48.91. Last year, he won this meet in 48.89.

The other returning champion is Kelton Chastulik of Chambersburg in the shot put. The sophomore won with a throw of 46-11 last year; this year his best is 52-5.

The other top seeds are Trojan senior Nate Long in the javelin (182-1) and Greencastle-Antrim sophomore Campbell Parker in the discus (159-6). Chastulik is second in the discus at 156-0.

Area performers seeded No. 3 include Liam Okal of Greencastle (boys 100), Abby Yourkavitch of Chambersburg (girls 3,200), Waynesboro's Lilly Harnish (girls triple jump, and high jump), Erica Helm of Greencastle (girls high jump), Zach Greenawalt of Ship (boys pole vault), and Chambersburg's Kendall Keepler and Shippensburg's David Boarts (tied in boys high jump).

Yourkavitch is running only the 3,200 this weekend.

Monheim said, "Her 1,600 time of 5:12 will almost certainly be in the fast heat at districts, so she doesn't have to run that this week. Kaylee Mowery should be OK in the 3,200, so she's only in the 1,600 this week.

"In the sprints, Miana Harrison and Cirsten Kely have had great seasons, but hopefully they can drop a little this weekend to help their chances for districts. We're always trying to get our best kids into the fast heat at districts because it makes a big difference."

Several of the late events, including the last event, the 4x400 relay, may have a few Chambersburg athletes missing because Saturday is prom night.

Walker said, "We won't have our strongest 4x400 team there, and they might not be fast enough to get into districts. But it's up to the kids to decide which event to go to. It probably affects the girls more.

"We have a few distance runners and maybe the 800 relay team we think might have a chance to break out this week. We're trying to focus on sharpening technique and getting into a postseason mind set. It's different than the regular season."

Area Track & Field Bests

Through May 6

BOYS

100 — 1.Peter Hughey (James Buchanan) 10.7; 200 — 1.Hughey (JB) 22.2; 400 — 1.Hughey (JB) 48.91; 800 — 1.Tanner Amsley (Chambersburg) 2:01.73; 1,600 — 1.Chris Wurtz (Chbg) 4:32.1; 3,200 — 1.Gabriel Allgayer (Mercersburg Academy) 9:40.1; 110 hurdles — 1.Noah Shatzer (Chbg), Jordan Turner (Shippensburg) 16.2; 300 hurdles — 1.Turner (Ship) 40.71; 4x100 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Christian Ortiz, Kendall Keepler, Tyler Fritz, Kory Harris) 44.3; 4x400 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Caleb Thompson, Amsley, Kevin Madrigal, Alex Aquino-Flores) 3:30.5; 4x800 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Chris Wurtz, Kevin Madrigal, Quinn Mangan, Amsley) 8:09.12; Long jump — 1.Jake Russo (Chbg) 20-2; Triple jump — 1.Camry Huff (Waynesboro) 42-2; High jump — 1.Keepler (Chbg), David Boarts (Ship) 6-2; Pole vault — 1.Zach Greenawalt (Ship) 13-7; Shot put — 1.Kelton Chastulik (Chbg) 52-5; Discus — 1.Tom Peppernick (Fannett-Metal) 164-11; Javelin — 1.Nate Long (Chbg) 182-1.

GIRLS

100 — 1.Miana Harrison (Chbg) 12.3; 200 — 1.Cirsten Kelly (Chbg) 25.8; 400 — 1.McKenzie Gelvin (McConnellsburg) 59.72; 800 — 1.Gelvin (McC) 2:24.08; 1,600 — 1.Abby Yourkavitch (Chbg) 5:12.06; 3,200 — 1.Yourkavitch (Chbg) 11:21.3; 100 hurdles — 1.Purnell (Merc) 15.4; 300 hurdles — 1.Purnell (Merc) 44.65; 4x100 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Camryn Greenlee, Kelly, Rachael Berman, Harrison) 50.0; 4x400 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Kelly, Madison Swain, Berman, Harrison) 4:11.8; 4x800 relay — 1.Chambersburg (Kaylee Mowery, Cassie Essis, Cadie Kiser, Yourkavitch) 10:01.3; Long jump — 1.Erica Helm (G-A) 16-0; Triple jump — 1.Lilly Harnish (Way) 37-9.5; High jump — 1.Harnish (Way), Helm (G-A) 5-4; Pole vault — 1.Sammi Lowery (Chbg) 11-3; Shot put — 1.Isiuwa Oghagbon (Merc) 35-5; Discus — 1.Rachel Bartlett (G-A) 99-0; Javelin — 1.Keri Gearhart (G-A) 111-2.

Note — Leaders are compiled by Chambersburg boys coach Bob Walker.