Three area athletes earn top seeds in WPIAL Track & Field Championships
Jim Downey
California’s Lee Qualk will be looking for back-to-back WPIAL championships, while Beth-Center’s Deakyn DeHoet and Southmoreland’s Megan Mehall are seeking their first when they compete in the WPIAL Individual Track & Field Championships on Wednesday at Slippery Rock University’s William C. Lennox Track.
Qualk, a senior, won the boys long jump in Class 2A last year. He enters this year as the No. 1 seed after jumping 23-5.50 to win the Baldwin Invitational on May 2.
Qualk has also qualified for the district meet in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.23, which puts him as the 13th seed. Qualk qualified for the state championships last year after meeting the state-qualifying-standard in the 100.
DeHoet, a junior who attends Jefferson-Morgan High School where he plays baseball, competed for the Bulldogs this year because the Rockets don’t have a track & field program.
DeHoet has made the most of his first season in track & field, as he qualified as the top seed in the boys 200-meter dash in Class 2A with a time of 22.28. DeHoet is the second seed in the 100 at 10.95.
Beth-Center qualified for the 1,600-meter relay, which is an event DeHoet has run this season.
Mehall ran a season-best time of 2:15.60 to earn the top seed in the girls 800-meter run in Class 2A. The junior was second in the WPIAL and sixth in the state last year.
The top 24 performances in each event in Class 3A (boys and girls) this season earned a spot in the WPIAL championships. In Class 2A, the top 16 were awarded a berth in the District 7 meet.
The top five finishers in each event in Class 2A (boys and girls) and the top four in Class 3A (boys and girls) will qualify for the state meet on May 23 and 24 at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.
The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth finishers in Class 3A can qualify for states if they meet the state-qualifying-standard in their respective events. The sixth, seventh and eighth place winners in Class 2A will also advance to the state meet if they hit the state-qualifying standard.
The standards differ across all four divisions, with Class 3A usually demanding higher standards in boys or girls.
Laurel Highlands will be well represented in Class 3A on the girls side with four individual qualifiers and one relay team in seven events.
Diondra Brown will compete in the 400-meter dash and long jump at Slippery Rock. Brown qualified for the state meet in the 400 last season. She is the 10th seed in the 400 after posting a season-best time of 58.98. She is the No. 5 seed in the long jump at 17-11.5.
Neela Hill earned the ninth seed in the high jump at 5-3.
Isabella Baker is seeded 13th in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:22.62 and 22nd in the 800 at 2:24.89.
The Fillies’ Shayla Dues is the 14th seed in the 100 hurdles (15.68).
Laurel Highlands’ 3,200 relay team grabbed the last spot in Class 3A after running a season-best 10:22.61.
The Mustangs have two boys competing in four events in Class 3A, as Matt Schwertfeger earned a spot in the 1,600 and 3,200. The senior’s time of 4:18.16 in the 1,600 puts him as the No. 5 seed. He ran a 9:50.06 in the 3,200, and will be the 19th seed.
Teammate Grant Brambley is seeded 11th in the javelin (163-2) and pole vault (13-10).
Uniontown’s Grace Trimmer earned the fifth seed in the girls 3,200 in Class 3A with a time of 11:02.66.
The Red Raiders’ Cooper Gilleland earned a berth in the district meet with a season-best time of 4:34.45 in the boys 1,600. He will be the 24th seed.
Albert Gallatin’s Mia Medved is the 22nd seed in the girls 1,600 in Class 3A with a time of 5:32.59.
Geibel Catholic’s Emma Larkin is the third seed in two events in Class 2A, as she ran season-bests of 46.75 in the 300 hurdles and 58.67 in the 400-meter dash.
Brownsville freshman Aijanae Foster is the second seed in the girls high jump in Class 2A at 5-6.5. Foster is a member of the Lady Falcons’ 400-meter relay team that earned the eighth seed in 44.47. Jersey Feick-White, Ta’Veonna Harris and Amya Wilson have been the normal quartet in the event.
Brownsville’s Alexa Lewandowsky qualified as the ninth seed in the discus at 106-10. Teammate Caitlin Miske is 12th in the triple jump (34-1).
Levi Grogan will represent the Falcons after qualifying as the 10th seed in the long jump (21-3) in Class 2A. Grogan is also part of Brownsville’s 400-relay team that made the cut.
Frazier’s Elisabeth Keaton is the 14th seed in the triple jump (33-9) in Class 2A.
Connellsville’s Glen Strickler is the eighth seed in the shot put at 47-9. Teammate Zachary Franks has qualified for the pole vault as the 12th seed. He has a season-best of 13-10. The Falcons compete in Class 3A.
Madelynn Johnson will represent the Lady Falcons in Class 3A as the 11th seed in the discus (113-5). Teammate Sophia Morrison is the 19th seed in the 100 hurdles at 16.23.
Belle Vernon’s Ryan Kent qualified in all three throwing events in Class 3A. The junior is the fifth seed in the discus (155-3), seventh in the shot put (47-10) and ninth in the javelin (165-3). Kent qualified for states last year in the discus.
The Lady Leopards’ Brooklyn Steeber qualified in the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200 in Class 3A. Teammates Courtney Martin (100 hurdles) and Skylar Salay (javelin) also earned a spot in the district meet.
California’s Carter Kent (800, 1,600), Christian Ross (javelin/triple jump), Andrew Typovsky (javelin), Landon Abercrombie (javelin), Niamh McClaffin (1,600), Alan Dennis (200) and its 400 relay team have qualified for the WPIAL meet.
The Lady Trojans’ Ella Neil (high jump), Hayley Gibson (shot put) and Ella Fike (100 hurdles) earned berths in Wednesday’s competition.
Waynesburg Central’s Zack Andrews (110/300 hurdles), Landon Darr (300 hurdles), Caden Fowler (discus), Mason Schroyer (pole vault), Jackson Brunell (pole vault) and Duncan Barto (shot put) qualified in Class 2A.
The Lady Raiders’ Emily Bochna (high jump), Jaden Tretinik (javelin) and Madison Blair (pole vault) had a season-best distance in the top 16 in Class 2A.
Mount Pleasant’s Jarett Garn (100/200), Damien Ohler (800), Bryson Bankosh (high/long jump), Aiden Johnson (long/triple jump), Gage Sowers (pole vault) and its 1,600 relay team will compete at Slippery Rock University.
The Lady Vikings’ Rylin Buhosh is the 11th seed in the 400-meter dash in girls Class 2A in 1:00.89. Mount Pleasant’s 3,200 relay team is the ninth seed with a time of 10:53.16.
Southmoreland’s Addie Billheimer (shot put), Kate Campbell (800), Morgan Riddle (triple jump) and Olivia Aumer (discus) have qualified for the district meet.