The culmination of years of hard work will be showcased at Shippensburg University this weekend. Pennsylvania is one of the premier states in the entire country for track and field and you can expect over 10,000 spectators in attendance for the event. Some changes have been made to the schedule in 2022. For one, there will no longer be sprint semi-finals. Athletes will need to qualify for finals out of one preliminary round. Secondly, there will be no trials for the 800m, 1600m, and 4x800m relays. The 1600m, one of the premier events each year at this event has been moved to 9:00am Saturday and will be run as a final with there likely being 2 heats per classification.
Let’s take a look at our Central PA athletes so have qualified to compete in the 2022 PIAA Track and Field Championships this Friday and Saturday on the campus of Shippensburg University.
100m
Schedule (AA Girls-AAA Girls-AA Boys-AAABoys)
Friday 10:00am – prelims
Saturday 10:35am – finals
AA Girls
BCIAA competitors Ella Ahner (sr, Tulpehocken) and Alexis Hardy (fr, Wyomissing) will both be battling for top 3 finishes in class AA. Ashlyn Pannebaker (sr, Juniata) and Mackenzie Latchford (sr, Tyrone) could also find themselves on the award stand come Saturday. It appears as though half of the 8 qualifying spots into finals could be wide open.
AAA Girls
Laila Campbell (so, Spring Grove) has been breaking records all season. It’s only fitting she ends her sophomore season by breaking the PIAA Championship Meet Record of 11.64. District 3 has 5 girls ranked in the top 8, including the top 3 overall. Add Somerset and Hailey Rios (sr) into the mix (District 5 team, but qualify into states by competing in the District 6 Champs) and Central PA athletes hold the top 5 overall seeds entering this weekend! Soleil Morrison (jr, Hershey) has been getting faster each week of the season and just ran an 11.91 PR this past weekend. How fast will she go this weekend??
AA Boys
Evan McCracken (so, Richland) and James Buonaccorsi (sr, Huntingdon) will both look to advance out of prelims into finals. McCracken took home the District 6 title and could push for a top 3 finish on the award’s stand.
AAA Boys
Abraham Sloboh (so, Milton Hershey) has been one of the breakout stars of 2022. He may have the best top end speed in the state. If he gets out of the blocks well he could be your 100m and 200m state champion. Justin Cook (sr, Harrisburg) and Gabe Lewis (jr, Cedar Crest) have both run 10.80 or faster on the season and are in good position to advance to finals.
200m
Schedule (AA Girls-AAA Girls-AA Boys-AAABoys)
Friday 2:30pm – prelims
Saturday 2:30pm – finals
AA Girls
Ella Ahner (sr, Tulpehocken) will be looking for her 2nd medal of the weekend in the AA girl’s 200m dash. She is the 7 seed, but is only .07 out of 3rd. Don’t be surprised to see another of our CPAR athletes finish with a medal around her neck. This is a closely matched field.
AAA Girls
State record watch 2.0 in the girls AAA 200m dash. Laila Campbell and company ran into a strong headwind in the 200m finals at the District 3 meet. Hailey Rios, Kamyah Wright (jr, JP McCaskey), and Jillian Sydnor (jr, Shippensburg) have all run sub-25 this season and could be in line for state medals. Freshmen Jaylynn Dorsey (Susquehanna Township) and Sierra Hess (Governor Mifflin) have set themselves up well for the future by qualifying into this championship event.
AA Boys
Sophomore Evan McCracken (Richland) may give Central PA its best bet for a medal in this one. He’s entered as the #11 seed.
AAA Boys
The 200m may be Sloboh‘s best event. He ran a blazing 21.33 at the Mid-Penn meet before running 21.53 into a headwind in the District 3 200m final. Justin Cook and Dallastown’s Kristian Phennicie (sr) could also challenge for the state title. Phennicie won the state crown last season in 21.62. This could be one of the most exciting races of the weekend!
400m
Schedule (AA Girls-AAA Girls-AA Boys-AAABoys)
Friday 1:00pm – prelims
Saturday 1:10pm – finals
AA Girls
Cadi Hoke (jr, Wyomissing) split 57.7 on the Spartans 4x400m relay at districts. This was needed for them to advance to states in the event as they dropped the baton during the first exchange and found themselves at the back of the pack. She should get into finals if she can run under 59-seconds in the open 400m. Frances Maury (so, Trinity) had a nice PR at districts. If she continues her peak this weekend she could surprise the field.
AAA Girls
How good was 400m running in Central PA this year? 3 of the top 4, 4 of the top 7, and 5 of the top 10 seeds are from District 3. Jillian Sydnor has been on a tear in recent weeks. She won both the Mid-Penn Conference and District 3 titles over the past 2 weekends and has lowered her PR to 55.67. Cumberland Valley’s Riley Ebersole (jr) and Mia Boardman (sr) will be looking to join Sydnor at sub-56s this weekend. Jianna Long (so, Ephrata), Lucie De Syon (jr, JP McCaskey), and Soleil Morrison (jr, Hershey) could also end up on the medal stand.
AA Boys
Jake Brungard (sr, Camp Hill) defeated Alex Mitchell (sr, Harrisburg Christian) by .01 seconds to claim the Distrcit 3 title. It was arguably the race of the day and places Brungard and Mitchell as the top 2 seeds entering the 400m prelims on Friday. We are likely looking at another showdown between the two for the state title on Saturday. Joshua Sterner (jr, Brandywine Heights) ran a new PR at Districts and is in position to claim a state medal as well. He will also represent Brandywine Heights on their 4x400m relay team.
District 3 AA Boys 400m final (VIDEO)
AAA Boys
Future teammates and roommates at Saint Josephs University, Luke Noss (sr, Cumberland Valley) and Darren Cammauf (sr, Manheim Township), have one more showdown before heading off to college. Both are focusing all of their individual efforts into the 400m after both ran prelims, semis, and finals in the 200m at Districts. Fresher legs could lead them both to sub-48s performances and challenge #1 overall seed Lebron Bessick (sr) of Coatesville. Wilson’s Jonathen Tamayo (sr) has been slowly shaving time off his PR. If he can dip below 49s in prelims he could sneak into finals.
