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Raiders’ Layton, Fowler soar to WPIAL gold

By Jim Downey, For The Greene County Messenger 2 min read
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Waynesburg CentralĢƵ Andrew Layton soars over the bar on his way to winning the Class AA pole vault in WednesdayĢƵ WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University. (Photo by Jim Downey)

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Waynesburg CentralĢƵ Dawson Fowler won the gold medal in the Class AA triple jump in WednesdayĢƵ WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University. FowlerĢƵ winning jump was 42-4¾. (Photo by Jim Downey)

SLIPPERY ROCK — Waynesburg CentralĢƵ Andrew Layton waited awhile before he competed, but it wasn’t a bother because he out-vaulted the Class AA competition last Wednesday afternoon in WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University.

Teammate Dawson Fowler passed on a possible second medal, but the sacrifice was worth it because it led to a gold medal in the triple jump.

Layton cleared 14-6 to keep the pole vault gold medal in the family.

“ItĢƵ amazing. I’m on equal footing with my brother,” said Layton, adding with a smile, “I’ll get (his brotherĢƵ mark) next year.”

Layton opened at a conservative height.

“I came in at 12 feet, really low. I was pretty clean,” said Layton. “I nearly got 15 feet. I blew right through it.”

Fowler was competing in the javelin and triple jump at the same time. He qualified for the javelin in ninth place, but opted out of the finals to focus on the triple jump.

“I passed on the javelin finals. I was seeded No. 1 in the triple jump. I just wanted to get in the top five in the javelin.”

Fowler hit his gold medal-winning jump on his sixth and final attempt, clearing 42-4¾. He tied with WashingtonĢƵ Davoun Fuse, so the second-best jump broke the tie with FowlerĢƵ effort of 41-11.

“We were tied so they went off the second-best jump,” explained Fowler.

Fowler paid the price for running between events.

“It was crazy. My legs were worn out,” said Fowler.

West GreeneĢƵ Colin Brady placed fourth in the Class AA 100 with a time of 11.42 seconds for a berth into the state meet.

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