5 Things to Watch during this week’s track and field competitions

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 7:33 PM

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The high school track and field season is about to wrap up. The WPIAL team competition is Monday at Peters Township, and the WPIAL individual championships are May 16 at Slippery Rock.

Because the WPIAL eliminated the area qualifiers in Class AAA and Class AA and takes the top 24 competitors or relay teams in Class AAA and top 16 in Class AA to the championship, those qualifiers have been replaced by “last chance” meets.

They represent the final opportunity for athletes to qualify for the championship. Here are five things to look for this week:

North Allegheny rules

North Allegheny has won 23 WPIAL Class AAA titles between the boys (13) and girls (10) teams. The Butler girls have won the most team titles (12) and are the returning champions. North Allegheny is the returning boys champion.

Repeats are very possible

Repeat winners at the WPIAL team championship are likely. In the history of the team championship, which began in 1984, 35 titles teams have been repeated. The North Allegheny and Hempfield girls are the only teams to win five consecutive times. The Butler and Norwin girls have won four consecutive each. The North Allegheny boys have won four consecutive times twice, and the Butler boys have won four consecutive in Class AAA.

The Quaker Valley girls won four consecutive times in Class AA.

Last chance meets

According to PaMileSplit.com, there are five last-chance meets scheduled for Tuesday. They are at Norwin, West Mifflin, Deer Lakes, Shenango and Montour. There are 39 teams scheduled to attend the West Mifflin meet and 20 at Norwin. While many of the top competitors in each event probably won’t compete, the athletes and relay teams on the bubble will be looking to qualify for WPIALs. The meets are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

New homes for the championships

The WPIAL decided to move the WPIAL team and individual championships away from Baldwin. The team championship was at Baldwin the past 10 years and the individual championships the past 25.

The team final was moved to Peters Township and the individual championships Slippery Rock. WPIAL officials said Slippery Rock was the only location that could handle the individual event other than Baldwin.

Keep an eye on

Here are some of the competitors who lead the WPIAL in multiple events, according to the most recent heat sheets:

Hempfield senior Mackenna Orie (shot put and discus) and Greensburg Salem senior Cam Binda (1,600 and 3,200) in Class AAA. In Class AA, South Park senior Maura Huwalt (shot put, discus and javelin) and sophomore Maddie Raymond (100 and 200), Brownsville junior Gionna Quarzo (1,600 and 3,200), Aliquippa senior M.J. Devonshire (100 and 200), and Waynesburg senior Daniel Layton (110 hurdles and pole vault).

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.