Raiders sweep opening Section 6-AA meet
WAYNESBURG — The Waynesburg Central boys were just too deep for the other three schools in the Section 6-AA opener Tuesday afternoon, as the Raiders swept past Jefferson-Morgan (108-41), Beth-Center (101-48), and West Greene (115-36).
Beth-Center defeated Jefferson-Morgan, 71-64, while the Rockets salvaged a split with an 87-43 win against West Greene.
The Raiders’ Ben Bumgarner had a productive day with first-place finishes in the 800 (2:10) and 3,200 (10:24), but was expecting better times based on his recent indoor season.
“I’ve been doing a lot of mileage. (His time of 2:10 in the 800) is really slow. I have a lot of rust to shake off. I haven’t done any speed work in awhile,” explained Bumgarner after the 800. “The 3,200 is going to be like a tempo run. Hopefully, I’ll keep a 5:20 pace. I want to be consistent.”
Bumgarner had a lot of help on both the track and in the field.
Cade Rush won the 1,600 (5:02), holding off Jefferson-Morgan’s Aaron Mylan, who cramped up in the third lap. Mitch Warman won the shot put (42-3) and Will Behm took the pole vault (10 feet). The Raiders swept most of the events against the visiting three teams.
Beth-Center sprinter Ben Sterling had a strong opening day, taking both the 100 (11.30) and 200 (23.70). The junior had an excellent jump out of the blocks in the 100.
“I started pretty good today. Getting out the blocks is important. I watch the official during the hurdles and get his timing,” said Sterling. “I was trying to get my best time (in the 100). My best time before was 11.48 and I ran 11.30 today.”
Sterling has his goals set on the WPIAL finals in mid-May at Baldwin.
“If I can get into the low 11s (11 seconds) or high 10s (10 seconds), I have a pretty good shot in the WPIALs,” said Sterling. “I prefer the 100 to the 200. It’s an endurance thing.”
Teammate Michael Elliott won the 110 high hurdles in 18.52 seconds and the 300 intermediate in 46.05 seconds. Andrew White defeated the field in the javelin (118-3), as did Jordan Blackburn in the discus (107-0).
Jefferson-Morgan’s Nick Teegarden, under new coach Ron Headlee, was pleased with his day. He was second to Sterling in the 100, anchored the Rockets’ winning 400 relay and had a good 200.
“We just wanted to do the best we could do. This is the first time we’ve been on a track since our school doesn’t have a track,” said Teegarden. “We just wanted to see what we could do. I just want to prove yourself and make it to the end.
“I wanted to post a time and then get better. My key is to get out of the blocks good and get a good start. Then, you’ll get a good finish.”