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May 30, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

SHIPPENSBURG — Emma Larkin and Deakyn DeHoet proved Saturday in the PIAA Track & Field Championships that athletes needing facilities to succeed in the sport is a myth.

Larkin, a Geibel Catholic junior, finished seventh in both the 400-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles in girls Class 2A action, while DeHoet, a junior from Jefferson-Morgan who competes for Beth-Center as part of a co-op, was fifth in the 100-meter dash in boys Class 2A competition at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.

Larkin has stated that she doesn’t work on technique for the hurdles, nor does she do speed work or any other preparation that track & field athletes normally complete, but she powered through in earning her first medals at the state meet.

“I didn’t feel as much pressure today because I knew as long as I didn’t get disqualified or have anything out of the ordinary, I would accomplish my goal of placing at states,” Larkin said. “My times weren’t the best, but I was able to beat at least one person in each race.”

Larkin ran a 59.93 in the 400 final and 49.77 in the 300 final, which were below her personal records (PR) in each event. She has a PR of 58.51 in the 400 and 46.15 in the 300 hurdles.

If Larkin met or exceeded her PR in both races, she would have placed fourth in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the 400.

In the majority of high school track & field meets, including the state meet, the 400 and 300 hurdles are contested back-to-back, which doesn’t allow for much time to recover if an athlete chooses to do both. Larkin didn’t have trouble running consecutive races on Friday in the preliminary round, but Saturday was a different story.

“Doing both events back-to-back was definitely a lot,” Larkin said. “The normal time is supposed to be 15 minutes, which still isn’t a lot, but I only had 12 today from event to event. I had about an hour break yesterday. I wasn’t able to get to my bag to get my stuff to recover. About all I got was water.”

Larkin inquired with PIAA officials if she could bring her bag back to the podium while waiting to receive her medal but to no avail.

“They told me that it would go quickly for the medal ceremony, but it went on pretty long with everyone wanting to get pictures and things like that,” Larkin said. “Regardless, it is a great feeling to earn state medals in two events, and I think I am going to stick with both events next year.”

Larkin is the second-leading scorer in the history of the Lady Gators’ basketball team, and has the potential to take over the top spot as a senior. She wants to play basketball at the next level, but she is still weighing her options regarding schools, and may even give track & field a try if the opportunity presents itself.

While Larkin may not have a home facility to compete and train at, DeHoet runs for a team that is his school’s rival, but the sportsmanship of track & field is much different than most sports.

DeHoet ran 11.17 for his fifth-place finish in the 100 final. He was the top placewinner among WPIAL athletes. DeHoet’s PR of 10.95 would have put him three spots higher on the podium, but he is happy with his performance.

“I felt like I had a pretty good start,” DeHoet said. “It was much better than yesterday. It feels great to place at states, and I definitely progressed throughout the year with starts and just learning about racing.

“Even though I am running for a team that is our rival in other sports, track is so much different than other sports. I play football, and there is a lot of trash talk there, but everyone in track is really encouraging. There really isn’t any trash talk.”

Waynesburg Central’s Mason Schroyer and Jackson Brunell placed 11th and 15th in the boys Class 2A pole vault. Schroyer jumped 13-0 and Brunell cleared 12-6. Both will return next season, as Schroyer is a junior and Brunell a freshman.