Allle-Kiski athletes overcome delay at WPIAL track championships

By: Michael Love
Thursday, May 16, 2024 | 9:33 PM

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Normally, Michael Braun would’ve had about three hours in between WPIAL runs in the 1,600 meters and the 3,200.

But this time, the Freeport junior’s distance events were separated by about 15 hours.

Braun and many other individuals and relays waited a day to finish out their events at the WPIAL track and field championships at Slippery Rock University.

Rain, thunder and lightning caused several delays Wednesday and ultimately forced Slippery Rock and the WPIAL to postpone some events to Thursday.

When Braun ran his 3,200, he was going after a second straight WPIAL Class 2A title.

While he didn’t achieve a personal best or defend his crown, his time of 9 minutes, 27.58 seconds for second place was 11 seconds better than third.

But the event belonged to Jaxon Schoedel.

The Mohawk junior set a meet record with a winning time of 9:16.03.

He and Braun were next to each other until about a lap and a half left when Schoedel broke free and cruised to the win.

“I felt it a little bit coming back from yesterday and also having that really long day,” Braun said. “I had a little bit of tendinitis in my (left) knee, and that flared up. It really showed in the second mile.”

Braun gave kudos to Schoedel for finishing the 3,200 in impressive fashion. Schoedel also won the 1,600 on Wednesday (4:26.74).

The first event on the track Thursday was the Class 2A boys 800 run, and Deer Lakes’ Zach Kruse, running in his final WPIAL meet, moved up one spot from fifth last year to fourth Thursday with a time of 1:57.70.

It was ever so slightly up from his 1:57.58 set prior to WPIALs last year.

The top five finishers for the Class 2A boys, top six for the Class 2A girls and top four for the Class 3A boys and girls earned automatic bids to states.

Also, those who met or surpassed PIAA state-qualifying standards and finished eighth or better in their event also earned at-large berths to states in Shippensburg on May 24-25.

One of the biggest movers throughout the two days of competition was Fox Chapel junior Anna Kinter in the Class 3A girls long jump.

Seeded tied for 24th with a season-best 16 feet, 8½ inches, Kinter surpassed that mark by more than a foot to 17-11. Her third-place finish was not only an automatic qualifier for states, but the distance surpassed the state-qualifying standard by two inches.

“I didn’t expect that at all, really, but I am really happy about it,” Kinter said. “I had some good jumps this season but didn’t get any marks. So I am glad I got a good mark today.

“I felt great today, and the good weather really helped.”

Kinter said a goal for states is to challenge the 18-foot mark.

“I am just going to continue what I’ve been doing in practice, and hopefully what I can improve on will help me at states,” she said.

It was a banner day for Alle-Kiski Valley athletes Wednesday led by three champions and eight runner-up finishes.

Plum junior Gabrielle Layne, who finished second Wednesday in the 100 dash, came back Thursday and set a school record (25.40) in the 200 dash to take fourth.

“I was a little tight in my legs from yesterday after running four times,” Layne said. “But I got the school record, I PR’d, and I got to states. I am not mad about my performance.”

Knoch senior Ava Santora picked up her second personal-best time in as many days. Thursday, it was the 3,200 run where she placed third with a time of 11:32.25. She bumped up from the sixth seed and knocked more than four seconds from her seed time.

“The result was definitely better than how I felt,” said Santora, who also finished runner-up in the 1,600 meters Wednesday in 5:16.16.

“I was definitely tired from yesterday, and the delay was mentally draining. Today, it was a little more of a mental-toughness race. I just felt it all in my legs. I was more nervous for this race than yesterday’s race.”

The Riverview girls 1,600 relay of juniors Katerina Tsambis and Cailey Trosch and seniors Lola Abraham and Jonisha Carlino broke a 44-year-old school record with their fifth-place time of 4:09.49.

The place finish was automatic for states, but the quartet, the same four from last year’s fifth-place team, was short of the PIAA time standards (4:08.75).

Riverview came in seeded third and knocked 3.19 seconds off its seed time (4:13.08) and was six seconds faster than at WPIALs last year.

The previous 1,600 relay school record was a 4:12.02.

“I didn’t know how many people were in front of me. All I knew was that I had to go for my team,” said Carlino, the relay’s anchor.

“This feels so great, because we had been trying so hard to get under that record. We had been running 4:13s the past three meets that we ran. Every time we ran a 4:13, it was upsetting. But it also was motivating. We got it today, and it was so exciting.”

Not too far behind Riverview was Freeport’s Pavana Bhat, Mackenzie Kirsch, Mackenzie Magness and Erin Schaeffer, who claimed an automatic bid to states with a sixth-place time of 4:09.68.

The Riverview teams cheered on junior Micah Ivy, who qualified for states on time in the Class 2A boys 800 with a personal-best 1:58.48.

Fox Chapel senior Rowan Gwin will run at states in the Class 3A boys 3,200 after taking fourth in a time of 9:12.37.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport