Gelvin is area's biggest threat at District 5 meet

If McKenzie Gelvin doesn't get at least one trip to the top of the podium at the District 5 Track & Field Championships, it will have to involve some of biggest upsets in recent memory.

Gelvin is poised to take the gold medal in as many as four events at the championships, which will now be held at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Northern Bedford, and she certainly has the potential to break a few district records in the process.

Here's a breakdown of Gelvin's events, and just how impressive she is in them all:

• She's seeded first in the 400 with a seed time of 58.07. That time is more than two seconds ahead of the field, and is already faster than the district record of 58.21.
• In the 800, she ranks first with a seed time of 2:18.17. That mark puts her nearly eight seconds of anyone else in the event, and is more than three seconds better than the district record of 2:21.80.
• In the field, Gelvin is seeded first in the long jump, with her best mark at 16-9.5. That's eight inches farther than the second-seeded competitor.
• Finally, she is tied for the second seed in the 100 with a time of 12.84, which is just a tenth of a second behind top seed Ivie Morningstar of Tussey Mountain.

And if you think that maybe the Forbes Road junior, who runs for McConnellsburg, could potentially buckle under pressure, she's already proven that fear wrong.

Gelvin holds at least three school records, in the 400, 800 and 1,600, and she has broken several meet records this season. She broke the Tim Cook Invitational meet record in the 400, and most recently claimed that honor again when she won the 400 crown at the Inter-County Conference meet with a time of 59.18.

"When you come from such a small area, it's tough to get yourself out there," Gelvin said at the Shippensburg University Invitational. "I think my performance helps show that small schools have more than just average people."

Gelvin isn't the only area competitor who threatens to bring home gold. Fannett-Metal's Lizzie Peppernick is seeded first in the discus, and on the boys side, McConnellsburg's Chance Hawbaker holds the top spot in the 100, and Chase Varner, of Southern Fulton, is seeded first in the 800.