Burrell’s Sharrow redeems herself in 300 hurdles, advances to PIAA finals

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, May 24, 2019 | 6:05 PM

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SHIPPENSBURG — Burrell’s Kaylen Sharrow stumbled to the finish line last year at Seth Grove Stadium and then waited nervously, hoping to hear her named called for the 300-meter finals.

It wasn’t.

Now a senior, Sharrow finished the preliminary race cleanly Friday at the PIAA track and field championships, clearing the hurdle that tripped her last spring but again she had to wait.

This time, her name was called.

Sharrow placed third in her preliminary race — the first of four heats — and her 46.23-second time proved quick enough to earn her a spot in Saturday’s eight-person Class AA girls final. She placed seventh overall, one spot behind Deer Lakes senior Kiera Cutright (45.95), the WPIAL Class AA champion.

“Last year I hit this hurdle right here — that last hurdle — and I stumbled,” Sharrow said. “I didn’t fall, but a girl passed me and I didn’t make it to finals. I didn’t want that to happen again.”

The two-day state championships start with a day’s worth of preliminary races. The only medals awarded on the first day are for select field events.

So, for those running on the university’s track, advancing to Day 2 is the prize.

In the 300 hurdles, only the four heat winners and the next four fastest advanced, causing Sharrow a few moments of suspense as she iced her hamstrings. She also qualified in the 100-meter hurdles semifinals — an event she didn’t run in Shippensburg last year.

The 100 hurdles semifinals are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday with the finals at 12:15 p.m. The 300 hurdles finals are at 2:05 p.m.

Cutright finished sixth in the 300s last year.

Also among the Day 2 qualifiers was Deer Lakes’ Josh Yourish, who advanced in both the Class AA boys 800 meters and 1,600. Yourish ran 2:00.31 in the 800 and 4:27.55 in the 1,600.

Freeport’s Sidney Shemanski advanced to the girls Class AA 800 finals in 2:20.57. The junior placed second in the state last year (2:16.55).

The Burrell girls 400-meter relay qualified for the finals in 49.44 seconds.

In the girls 100 meters, Fox Chapel’s Kate Carnevale (12.41) advanced to the Class AAA semifinals, and Burrell’s Jocelyn Vickers (12.79) reached the Class AA semis.

Among the field events completed, Deer Lakes’ Mackenze Spence placed 14th in the Class AA girls discus (108-2) and teammate Kelli Galbraith was 17th in the girls long jump (16-¾).

Highlands’ C.J. Thimons, who was seeded 10th in the Class AA boys 800 meters, did not advance to the finals (2:00.78).

Sharrow placed second in her 100-meter hurdles heat at 15.95 seconds, earning her an automatic berth into Saturday’s semifinals. She finished behind Loyalsock Township’s Megan Kendall, who crossed in 15.10 seconds.

The top three finishers from each of the four 100-hurdles heats and the next four fastest times advanced to the semifinals. Sharrow’s preliminary time ties for 14th-best overall in the 16-person semifinal field, so she wasn’t quite ready to celebrate.

“I was happy I got second in my heat, I’m happy I advanced, but it wasn’t my best time,” said Sharrow, who ran a half-second faster last week to win the WPIAL title, “so I was in the middle about it.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands