Westmoreland track and field notebook: Penn-Trafford’s Sarnowski, Hempfield’s Murray jockey for best

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, April 18, 2024 | 9:07 PM

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When Penn-Trafford senior Matt Sarnowski won the discus Saturday at the Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational with a personal record of 179 feet, 3 inches, he defeated Hempfield senior Peyton Murray, the reigning PIAA and WPIAL Class 3A champion.

Sarnowski got to hold the best throw in the state for two days before Murray, a Notre Dame commit, launched a season-best 180-3.

But Thursday Sarnowski vaulted back over Murray, throwing 185-3.

“Peyton and Matt are going to continue to battle the rest of the season,” Hempfield throwing coach and Peyton’s dad Dave Murray said. “I look for both to have big seasons.”

Another local thrower with the best throw in the state is Derry junior Sophia Mazzoni. Her best is 156-10. She consistently throws in the 150s.

“I’ve leveled out right now, but I’m expecting bigger throws to come,” Mazzoni said. “I’m looking forward to throwing at Butler on Friday.”

Warriors win

Penn-Trafford boys track team hopes winning the Wildcat Invitational on Saturday helps propel them to a second consecutive trip to the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.

The Warriors edged Hempfield, 81-77. Penn-Trafford needed to beat the Spartans again Thursday to reach the playoffs, winning 76-74.

At the invitational, the Warriors got first-place medals from Sarnowski (discus), Logan Kerstetter (javelin), Ekoulus Lett (110 hurdles) and the 1,600-meter relay team of Jake McGhee, Aidon Lett, Ekoulus Lett and Michael Cheplick.

Others scoring points and contributing to the win included Thomas Cheplick III and Dallas Oxendine.

The girls placed fourth with 43 points behind Hempfield 146, Morgantown, W.Va. 81 and Latrobe 77.

Vienna Kearns placed second in the 200 and 400, Amelia Barilla placed second in the 800 and fourth in the 1,600 and the 1,600 relay team of Barilla, Oliva Weishaar, Hanna Weishaar and Kearns placed second.

Hannah Weishaar placed sixth in the 400, Mackenzie Furnish fifth in the high jump and Sara Andreani fourth in the triple jump.

Derry, GCC split

The meet between Derry and Greensburg Central Catholic got a little spirited Wednesday.

When the smoke cleared, the Derry girls (7-0) were one step closer to winning their third consecutive section title, defeating the Centurions, 97-46. The Trojans defeated Mt. Pleasant and Ligonier Valley to clinch the section title.

The Centurion boys (5-0), the defending Class 2A champions, were a little too strong for the Trojans (4-1), winning 112-38.

Derry (6-1) beat Mt. Pleasant and Ligonier Valley on Thursday to clinch its first playoff spot since 2018.

The 1,600 relay team of Ricky Daniels, Stanley Rajkovich, Tim Miller and Gage Gess pulled out a huge win.

Busy weekend

Things kick off Friday with the 59th annual Butler Invitational, where 94 teams are scheduled to compete. Action begins 11 a.m.

Some of the top teams entered include Butler, Norwin, South Fayette, Seneca Valley, Penn-Trafford, North Allegheny, Peters Township, Mt. Lebanon and Winchester Thurston.

Action continues Saturday with the 97th Roddick High School Invitational at Shippensburg University, where Hempfield, Laurel Highlands and Peters Township will compete against 107 teams.

Shippensburg is the site of the PIAA championships.

There are 30 schools entered in the Slippery Rock University High School Invitational. Slippery Rock is the site of the WPIAL championships.

The Washington-Greene County Track Championship will be Saturday at Peters Township.

The annual Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association Invitational is scheduled for April 25 at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. It will be the 101st boys meet and 44th girls meet.

WPIAL’s best

At each event, the athlete with the top time or distance in the state is listed, followed by the top three athletes in the WPIAL. For WPIAL athletes, state rank is listed in parentheses. Times and distances are what have been reported to PennTrackXC MileSplit by April 17.

Boys individuals

100: Jesse Myers, State College, 10:5. 1. (6) William Smith, Woodland Hills, 10.72; 2. (8) Colton Dean, Canon-McMillan, 10.78; 3. (29) Kenny Lewis, Gateway, 10.94.

200: Jesse Myers, State College, 21.21. 1.(6) Colton Dean, Canon-McMillan, 21.79; 2. (21) Matt Nguyen, Mt. Lebanon, 22.21; 3. (30) William Smith, Woodland Hills, 22.21.

400: Jayden Horton-Mims, Imhotep Charter, 46.52. 1 (31) Kayden Lightner, North Hills, 50.39; 2 (32) Eryk Ralston, Franklin Regional, 50.42; 3. (33) Luke Denny, Norwin, 50.53.

800: Nick Steinfeldt, Downingtown East, 1:55.14. 1 (5) Patrick Burgos, Elizabeth Forward, 1:56.50; 2. (13) Tim Danziger, South Fayette, 1:57.43; 3. (25) Matt Schwertfeger, Laurel Highlands, 1:58.51.

1,600: Nick Steinfeldt, Downingtown East, 4:15.42. 1. (22) Patrick Burgos, Elizabeth Forward, 4:23.86; 2. Mihael Braun, Freeport, 4:24.61; 3. (45) Kayden Lightner, North Hills, 4:26.65.

3,200: 1. Drew Griffith, Butler, 8:37.43; 2. Ryan Pajak, Ringgold, 8:38.02; 3. Jack Bertram, North Allegheny, 8:56.99.

110 hurdles: Tyler Burgess, Palmyra, 14.17. 1. (13) Luke Cramer, Mt. Lebanon, 14.83; 2. (22) Achan Green, Penn Hills, 15.05; 3. (41) Michael Gimigliano, South Fayette, 15.34.

300 hurdles: Andrew Beers, Parkland, 37.66. 1. (8) Aaron Taylor, Canon-McMillan, 39.55; 2 (13) Kyler Matson, Seneca Valley, 39.79; 3. (18) Michael Gimigliano, South Fayette, 40.06.

400 relay: Coatesville, 41.56. 1 (7) Butler, 42.73; 2. (12) North Allegheny, 43.04; 3. (17) Gateway, 43.20.

1,600 relay: Coatesville, 3:17.37. 1. (21) Seneca Valley, 3:28.15; 2 (29) North Allegheny, 3:28.86; 3. (33) Butler, 3:29.82.

3,200 relay: Souderton, 8:02.68. 1. (8) Seneca Valley, 8:09.41; 2. (16) Hampton, 8:12.64; 3. (18) North Allegheny, 8:13.09.

Discus: 1. Matthew Sarnowski, Penn-Trafford, 185-7; 2. Peyton Murray, Hempfield, 180-3; 3. (16) Nicholas Rohal, Connellsville, 154-11.

Shot put: Brady Mider, Berks Catholic, 61-1. 1. (5) Peyton Murray, Hempfield, 59-1; 2. (10) Jaden Kirkwood, New Castle, 56-2 ½; 3. (15) Dino Nadarevic, Gateway, 54-11.

Javelin: Bronson Krainak, Danville, 211-8. 1. (8) Ryan Beam, Pine-Richland, 178-10; 2. (10) Louis Liberatore, Canon-McMillan, 177-5; 3. (13) Reston Lehman, Peters Township, 175-11.

High jump: J.J. Kelly, Chambersburg, 6-8. 1. (8) Emery Moye, Pine-Richland, 6-5; 2. (14) Gunner Perez, Franklin Regional, 6-4 ¼; 3. (15) Zack Schrockman, Burgettstown; Braylon Littlejohn, Butler; Orein McBridge-Cager, Butler and E.J. Divito, Eden Christian, 6-4.

Long jump: Jayden Ekoko, Easton Area, 24-0. 1. (10) Tucker Jeremias, Avonworth/Northgate, 22-4 ¼; 2 (24) Marcus Toto, Baldwin, 21-11 ½; 3. (31) Xavier Thomas, Central Catholic, 21-9.

Triple jump: J.J. Kelly, Chambersburg, 47-7 ½. 1. (5) Luke Cramer, Mt. Lebanon, 45-9 ¼; 2. (10) Kyrell Harris, New Castle, 45-1; 3. Xavier Thomas, Central Catholic, 44-6.

Pole vault: Breckin Swope, East Pennsboro, 16-0.. 1. (9) Nicholas Puskar, Norwin, 14-3; 2.. (22) Jake Jones, Pine-Richland, 13-7; 3. (23) Zach Duckworth, North Allegheny and Zachary Noble, 13-6.

Girls individuals

100: Avery Lewis, Friends Central, 11.51. 1. (17) Tori Atkins, Laurel, 12.41; 2 (24): Hayzes Robinson, Avonworth/Northgate, 12.47; 3. (28) Paige Malley, Peters Township, 12.49.

200: Katelyn Schuman, Villa Joseph Marie, 22.32. 1. (6) Tori Atkins, aurel, 24.97; 2. (9) Oliva Renk, South Fayette, 25.16; 3. (24) Melani Schmidt, Norwin, 25.62.

400: Kaddel Howard, Cedar Crest, 55.09. 1. (8) Mackenzie Winning, North Allegheny, 57.52; 2 (9) Tori Atkins, Laurel, 57.55; 3. (17) Isabella Costa, North Allegheny 58.23.

800: Olivia Cieslak, Haverford Township, 2:04.77. 1. (22) Eliza Miller, Kiski Area, 2:19.67; 2. (25) Annie Czajkowski, Norwin, 2:19.86; 3. (40) Meagan McKenna, PetersTownship, 2:21.03.

1,600: Olivia Cieslak, Haverford Township, 4:42.72. 1. (5) Grace Fritzman, West Allegheny, 5:02.39; 2. (11) Gracie Plastino, North Catholic, 5:08.08; 3 (20) Meagan McKenna, Peters Township, 5:09.76.

3,200: Baylee Espinosa, Lewisburg, 10:40.01. 1. (2) Chelsea Hartman, Shady Side Academy, 10:47.24; 2. (7) Grace Senneway, Peters Township, 11:07.39; 3. (9) Lyla Brew, Moon Area, 11:07.90.

100 hurdles: Michelle Korsah, Cheltenham, 14.48. 1. (5) Megan Cain, Mt. Lebanon, 15.03; 2. (7) Delaney Schumaker, South Fayette, and Rose Kuchera, Canon-McMillan, 15.10.

300 hurdles: Victoria Angelo, Pennridge, 44.36. 1. (2) Delaney Schumaker, South Fayette, 44.46; 2. (5) Lauren Bowden, Butler, 45.13; 3. (11) Megan Cain, Mt. Lebanon, 45.82.

400 relay: Cheltenham, 47.95. 1. (14) Mt. Lebanon, 49.72; 2. (17) Penn Hills, 49.87; 3. (18) Woodland Hills, 49.89.

1,600 relay: Penn Charter, 3:52.38. 1. (11) Butler, 4:03.44; 2. (12) Norwin, 4:04.07; 3. (17) South Fayette, 4:06.5.

3,200 relay: Saint Marys Area, 9:28.13. 1. (3) North Allegheny, 9:35.87; 2. (5) Seneca Valley, 9:40.36; 3. (21) North Catholic, 9:55.80.

Discus: Margaret Bila, Lancaster Catholic, 134-4. 1. (3) Maddie Talley, Hempfield Area, 127-4;2. (5) Marlo Cyanovich, Montour, 126-3 ½’ 3. (17) Katherine Dolinski, Hempfield Area, 114-0.

Shot put: Sasha Garnett, Richland, 44-8. 1. (7) Maggie Clair, Canon-McMillan, 38-4; 2 (10) Katherone Dolinski, Hempfield Area, 38-2 ½’ 3. (11) Mikayla Anderson, Beaver Falls, 38-1.

Javelin: 1. Sophia Mazzoni, Derry, 156-10. 2. (10) Liy Shahan, Belle Vernon, 126-10; 3. 12) Jayla Antomachi, Shaler, 125-8.

High jump: Milena Sciullo, Grove City, 5-6. 1. (10) Oumou Thiero, Quaker Valley, and Ava Koski, Neshannock, 5-3. 3. (17) Gianna DeVito, Kiski Area, and Grace Iwig, Hempfield Area, 5-2 ¼.

Long jump: Ava Gregorio, George School, 20-1 ½. 1. (4) Daphne Flerl, North Catholic, 18-7 ¼; 2. (10) Isabella Costa, North Allegheny, 18-2; 3 (12) Aubrey Rock, Butler, 18-0 ¼.

Triple jump: Destin Smith, Souderton, 40-7. 1. (4) Jordynn Carter, Carlynton, 37-11; 2. (9) Rose Kusharea, Canon-McMillan, 37-4; 3. (13) Kara Fennell, Knoch, 37-1.

Pole vault: Lilyana Carlson, Bermudian Springs, 13-1. 1. (2) Grace Iwig, Hempfield Area, 12-6; 2. (3) Lindsay Breneman, North Allegheny, 12-3; 3. (7) Sophie Aglietti, North Allegheny, 11-9.

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.