H.S. Extra: Franklin Co. stacked to take MPC track & field titles
Saturday's Mid Penn Conference track & field championships at Chambersburg Area Senior High School is projected to be a favorable day for Franklin County athletes - despite the likelihood of some unfavorable weather.
Area athletes have earned 44 top-10 seeds at the MPC championships, including 13 top-three placements and four No. 1 overall seeds.
The boys throwing events look to be the most successful for Franklin County athletes, as four of the top five seeds in the shot put, and three of the top five discus throwers are local throwers.
Chamberbsurg's Kelton Chastulik took top billing in the shot put, followed by Greencastle-Antrim's Campbell Parker and fellow Trojan Myles Braxton in the second and third seeds, respectively. Ranked fifth in the shot put is G-A's Jacob Hockman.
Moving over to the discus, Parker earned the No. 1 seed, followed by Chastulik in No. 2 and Hockman at No. 4. Shippesburg's Carter Van Scyoc is the second seed in the boys javelin.
Greencastle has a handful of athletes in contention for golds on Saturday, with emphasis on the throws. Along with Parker in the shot and discus, Jenay Faulkner earned the top seed in the girls shot put. G-A's Taryn Parks also secured the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the girls 1600 and 800, respectively.
Chambersburg's Reagan Winebrenner is ranked second in the girls discus and third in the shot put, while Trayton Barnette earned the No. 2 seed in the boys 300 hurdles.
James Buchanan's Jamal Riley secured the No. 3 seed in the boys 200.
The Mid Penn Conferencet track & field championships will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Chambersburg high school.
MAKING HISTORY: There's no question that the James Buchanan baseball team is in the midst of one of its best campaigns in its history - but we did a little digging, just to be sure.
According to Public Opinion records dating back to 1976, James Buchanan's 2017 regular season record of 15-4 is the best in school history, with what is expected to be a lengthy postseason journey still ahead.
The Rockets are ranked fourth in District 3 Class 4A at the conclusion of their regular season slate. The district cutoff is Wednesday, May 17 and postseason brackets will likely be released in the following days.
The Rockets compiled a 15-3 overall record in 1978 through the district semifinals. Just twice in James Buchanan history has the baseball team won more than 13 games.
DISTRICT RANKINGS: Just days before the District 3 cutoff, who Franklin County baseball teams look to move on to the postseason, as JB sits in fourth in 4A, and Greencastle-Antrim squeezing into the No. 13 spot in 5A with the top 14 making the cut.
In District 5 baseball, Southern Fulton is ranked second in 1A with one week remaining in the regular season, followed by Forbes Road at No. 7 of the eight-team bracket. McConnellsburg is ranked third in the 2A with the top four teams advancing to districts.
Chambersburg softball is ranked fifth in District 3 Class 6A, while Greencastle-Antrim is in seventh in the 5A bracket. The Shippensburg softball team is also in postseason contention in 5A as the No. 10 seed. In 4A the James Buchanan softball team is still ranked ninth as of Thursday, but the Rockets' most recent win over Littlestown had not been entered.
Fannett-Metal is the No. 2 squad in District 5 1A softball, while McConnellsburg moves up to No.7 of the eight-team bracket. Forbes Road fell from seven to nine last week with less than two weeks left before the district cutoff.