Central PA will be looking to bring home a lot of hardware in the throws, including multiple gold medals. Wyomissing will be looking to capture 20 team points in the discus and shot put from standout J’ven Williams. The junior is already committed to PSU for football and has expressed interest in competing for the Nittany Lions in track and field. He’s been getting closer to the 200-foot mark in the discus throughout this season. Will he get beyond that mark this weekend??
Event by event previews of local athletes competing this weekend are highlighted below.
Shot Put
AA Girls
Saturday 9:00am
Homer Center’s Justley Sharp (jr) has positioned herself firmly as the #2 seed following her PR throw of 44-2 from the District 6 Championships. She has consistently been throwing 40 to 41 foot bombs all season and seems set for a big performance on Saturday. Sasha Garnett (Richland) and Emily Jackson (River Valley) are just sophomores, but both are seeded within medal position. A throw in/around 37-feet could have them on the awards stand.
AAA Girls
Friday 9:00am
Annika Ermold (sr, Governor Mifflin) and Ericka Jackson (jr, Harrisburg) separated themselves from the District 3 pack early last weekend. They have been the top Central PA class AAA throwers this season and both appear to be locked in for medals on Friday. Ermold has been battling an injured ankle for the 2nd half of the season, but fought through the pain to win her 2nd consecutive district shot put title last weekend. Both Ermold and Jackson have season best throws over 40-feet.
AA Boys
Saturday 12:30pm
Central PA could bring home 4 medals in this one. J’ven Williams (jr, Wyomissing) has thrown over 61-feet on the season. I don’t know if the state record of 64-10.75 is in danger this year, but nothing J’ven does will surprise me anymore. The kid is an outstanding competitor. Brady Mider (Berks Catholic) is the top sophomore thrower in the state. He has shown that he performs best in big competitions. Another PR this weekend is very possible. Alex Kyle (sr, Mount Union) took home the District 6 title with a PR throw of 51-8. He is the 5th seed. Alex Witmer (jr, Berks Catholic) could capture a 2nd medal in the event for the Saints. He has improved dramatically throughout the season and is coming off a massive PR of 49-10.25 from districts.
AAA Boys
Friday 12:30pm
The glide is not dead!! Wade Shomper (sr, Cumberland Valley) enters the class AAA shot put with a 3-foot advantage over the field. He has “glided” to throws over 60 feet all season long. If he does it again on Friday he should be golden! Cumberland Valley could contend for the overall team title and ten points in this event would be big. Ethan Stroup (sr, Altoona) has a season best throw of 56-6.5 and should be looking for a top 3 performance. He, like Shomper, has been incredibly consistent in the event all season long. Penn Manor’s Jaryd Kleinhaus (sr) has thrown 51-4.5 on the season. He too could end up on the medal stand.
Discus
AA Girls
Friday 9:00am
Fresh off her District 6 title and new PR throw of 142-01, Justley Sharp enters states as the #1 seed. Sharp should expect good competition out of Emma Callahan and Sydney Hale. Both have thrown over 134-feet on the season and enter as the #2 and #3 seeds. Emma Deyarmin (jr Schuylkill Valley) just nipped Isabelle Roes (sr, Trinity) for the District 3 title while also setting a new PR of 118-01. Roes has a season best and PR toss of 121-7 from the Mid-Penn Championships.
AAA Girls
Saturday 9:00am
The AAA discus is loaded with talent from Central PA. 7 local athletes have legitimate chances of earning a state medal.
Ericka Jackson placed 2nd in the shot put last weekend by just a quarter of an inch. She made sure not to let it be so close in the discus, winning the District 3 title by 25-feet and setting a big PR of 148-3. Jackson will face stiff competition from Elizabeth Tapper. Tapper won the District 7 title with a throw of 147-7, but she has a season best of 163-9. Ella Lucas (jr, Warwick) placed 3rd at districts, but owns the #3 best throw in the state this season of 145-10. Kylynn McIntire (sr, Red Lion) and Annika Ermold did not PR at districts, but have season best throws that rank them amongst the states best. McIntire has thrown 129-11 and Ermold has hit 127-1 this season. Mechanicsburg’s Maria Clark responded great in the discus at districts after failing to secure a legal throw in the shot the day before. Her PR is 124-9. Amya Sopp (so, East Pennsboro) also has a PR of 124-9. She placed 6th at districts, but hit the state qualifying standard of 118-0 to gain entry into the meet. Same is true for Lauren Bellows (sr, Cumberland Valley) who placed 7th, but hit a new PR of 118-0 to achieve qualification. Each of these ladies will contend for a spot on the medal stand.
AA Boys
Friday 12:30pm
J’ven Williams will look to get his weekend party started in the discus on Friday morning. Based on season best throws, Williams enters the competition with a 12+ foot advantage over Shanango’s Will Patton (189-1 to 176-8). Will Williams break the 200-ft mark? Brady Mider owns a season and personal best throw of 150-9. Another throw of 150+ feet and he should bring home 2 state medals. Alex Polenik (Penns Manor) is one of the state’s top ranked freshman in the discus. He enters as the #11 seed and could sneak into the medals.
AAA Boys
Saturday 12:30pm
Anthony Smith (sr Shippensburg) had a breakout performance at the District 3 Championships. He unleashed a monster PR of 164-7 to win the district title and he enters states as the top seed. This event is wide open and you can ignore the seed marks from the district championships. 12 guys in this field have throw 155-ft or further on the year. Here is a look at the top 5 performers from Central PA on the season:
Any one of these guys (⬆️) could win the title!
Javelin
AA Girls
Friday 12:30pm
Lauren Akers (so, Kutztown) and Abigail Hoover (jr, Bald Eagle) are the top local competitors qualified in the javelin. Akers has a season best throw of 122-11 and Hoover has a season best throw of 118-10. Anything over 120-feet on Friday should give them a shot at a state medal.
AAA Girls
Saturday 12:30pm
Kaylla Williams (sr, Harrisburg) threw her state leading 146-9 in winning the District 3 title last weekend. In fact, the top 3 entrants all threw season bests in winning their respective district titles last week. Maggie Swarr (jr, Lampeter Strasburg) owns a season best throw of 130-1; Ericka Jackson’s season best is 129-5; and Maddie Knier (jr, Manheim Central) hit her season best 126-10 at districts. Sofie Price (fr, Palmyra) has the 3rd best throw in the state by a freshman this season (#1 in class AAA).
AA Boys
Friday 9:00am
Anything over 160-feet could win a state medal. All 5 of our local athletes have a shot at that number. Josh Lehman (sr, West Shore Christian) owns a season best performance of 169-2. Vincenzo Scott (sr, Purchase Line) owns a season best of 166-3.
AAA Boys
Saturday 9:00am
Josiah Sechler (jr, Mifflin County) and Ethan Stroup (sr, Altoona) have been the best, and most consistent javelin throwers in Central PA this season. Both set season and personal best throws at the Distrcit 6 Championship. Stroup could medal in all three throwing disciplines. Sechler could also medal in the long jump. Keep and eye on Jeremiah Hargrove (so, Carlisle) and Ahren Stauffer (sr, Central Dauphin). Both have been coming on strong of late.
