York, PA - The Daily Record/Sunday News presents the 2012 YAIAA Division B Boys' Track and Field All-Stars:
  
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
   Alex Cooley, Eastern York, Jr.: Cooley rose to the occasion at the YAIAA championships, sprinting to a PR of 11.11 in the 100, which led him to the bronze medal.

Cooley's time qualified him for districts, and he clocked in at 11.27 to take seventh place.

Other season highlights included his winning run of 11.26 seconds in the 100 at the Dallastown Invitational.

  
ALL-STARS
   Mike LoPresti, Dover, Sr.: The versatile thrower had a busy day at the YAIAA meet, competing in all three events, setting a PR in all of them. LoPresti's best finish was fourth in the javelin with a toss of 157 feet, 7 inches. He was fifth in the shot put (48-2) and placed eighth in the discus (131-8). At districts, LoPresti was 13th in the shot with a throw of 47-31/2 and 16th in the javelin with a toss of 149-7.
   Alec McKee, Eastern York, Sr.: It was a busy day at the YAIAA meet for the hard-working McKee, who also competed in all three throwing events. McKee won the discus with a throw of 149-0, and then took second in the javelin with a PR of 167-5. He was 15th in the shot with a throw of 41-41/2. McKee picked a good day to get his PR at districts, tossing the discus 152-7 and claiming the bronze. At states, he was 17th with a toss of 146-0.
   Jihad Wade, Northeastern, Sr.: Wade ran a 23.43 in the 200 at the YAIAA meet, placing seventh, and earlier set a PR with a time of 23.38. He qualified for districts, but did not get out of the preliminaries.
   Anthony Vitacco, Northeastern, Sr.: The multi-talented Vitacco claimed the bronze in the javelin with a PR of 166-2 at the YAIAA meet, and also placed seventh in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 43.17. At districts, Vitacco tossed the javelin 157-0 to place 15th.
   Grant Shaffer, Susquehannock, Sr.: Shaffer cracked two minutes at the YAIAA meet with a time of 1:59.52 in the 800 to seize the silver medal, then set a PR at districts with a 1:59.44 time, placing 10th.
   Marcus Kinard, West York, Sr.: Kinard ran a 51.84 in the 400 at the league meet, good for fourth place, and followed that with a 15th-place finish at districts with a PR of 51.55.
   Austin Torres, York Suburban, Jr.: Torres tore through the field at the YAIAA meet, grabbing the silver in the 100 with a PR of 11.10. He came in sixth at districts with a time of 11.25.
   Jon Hutchinson, York Suburban, Sr.: The hurdler had an excellent day at the YAIAA meet, setting a PR of 40.52 in the 300 hurdles to claim the silver. He added a fourth-place finish in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.52. Hutchinson placed 13th in the 300 hurdles at districts in 40.79, and set a PR of 15.34 in the 110 hurdles during the preliminaries.
   Jake Kautz, Eastern York, Sr.: The triple jumper jumped 44-8 at the YAIAA meet and claimed the silver medal, qualifying for districts.
  
COACH OF THE YEAR
   Dave Wickenheiser, York Suburban: After 29 years of coaching at Suburban, 26 as the head coach, Wickenheiser has pretty much seen it all. This year he got to see his Trojans battle to a three-way tie for first place in the division with Eastern York and Northeastern, all of whom finished the season with a 5-1 record.

Suburban lost to Northeastern early in the season, 80-70, when both teams were battling some injury problems. The Trojans rebounded to beat Eastern late in the season by 13 points, and in between, the Golden Knights took down the Bobcats.

"We had a few key people out with injuries against Northeastern, but of course they did, too," Wickenheiser said. "I would never say we would have beaten them if they were there. We got those people back for the meet against Eastern and were able to win.

"The highlight for the boys came at the end of the season when we had a few sprinters that did really, really well," he added. "Our strength was definitely the sprints, which is not normal for us. We had five or six guys who could go under 12 seconds in the 100, which is unusual for Suburban. We are more known for our distance events."

Austin Torres tied the school record in the 100 at the league meet and placed second with a time of 11.10. At districts, the 400 relay team also tied a school record with a time of 43.71, which was good for ninth place.

The Trojans will lose some key contributors, such as thrower John Salcedo and middle distance runners Kyle Raudensky and Jordan Wissler, but Wickenheiser said he is excited about the potential for next season because many talented athletes will return.

Another senior that came up big was Jon Hutchinson, who was the Trojans' top hurdler. He also was a key factor in both relay races.