Shady Side Academy has big day at track championships
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Friday, May 25, 2018 | 11:00 PM
The Shady Side Academy track team had some strong performances at the WPIAL Class AA track and field championships on Thursday at Baldwin.
Dino Tomlin won the 300 hurdles, breaking a school record, and finished second in the 100-meter dash. He also finished fourth in the 110 high hurdles and was part of the 400 relay team that qualified for states with a fifth-place finish. Other members of the team are Zeke Roberts, Skyy Moore and Brendan Gaffney.
Adan Lauer finished 13th in the 3,200, and Leo Liu came in eighth in the 3,200 and 15th in the 1,600.
For the girls, Melissa Riggins brought home two gold medals as she won the 800 and 1,600, breaking school records in both events. The 3,200 relay team of Hannah Steffey, Krystyna Rytel, Jeanne Lauer and Riggins also finished first and broke their own school record, and Lindsey Grune came in second in the high jump.
The girls 1,600 relay team ran their best time of the year and finished 10th. Members of the team are Steffey, Aya Youssef, Sophia McMahon and alternates Jordyn Harris and Gabby White. Lauer finished 12th in the 800.
“I've only been coaching at SSA for five years,” boys coach Adam Janosko said, “but (WPIALs) was one of my most memorable coaching experiences. Girls coach (Paul) Bodnarchuk shares this sentiment, and he has been around much longer. To have four WPIAL champions and this many athletes on the medal stand is something that I'll remember and cherish.
“From the moment I saw Melissa run, I knew that an athlete like her would come along only once or twice in a career.”
Janosko also was thrilled with Tomlin's performance at the WPIAL meet, along with the boys sprint relay.
“Dino asked me late in the season what it would take to get the boys relay team to states. I told him the handoffs have to be perfect. At Baldwin, the handoffs looked good, and we won our heat. When the results came out, I was jumping up and down. We made states by five hundredths of a second.
“He is such a competitor. I knew he wanted to win that 100 meter so badly. He came up a bit short, and he was ticked. He gets better and stronger when he's ticked. I call him ‘The Hulk.' He ran the 300 hurdles with a chip on his shoulder and broke his own personal record by two seconds.”
Marty Stewart is a freelance writer.
Tags: Shady Side Academy
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