Apollo-Ridge’s Jaden McCray, Freeport’s Mackenzie Magness among A-K Valley champs at WPIAL meet

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | 8:58 PM

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Apollo-Ridge junior Jaden McCray earned a fifth-place medal in the javelin at last year’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships. That came with an automatic trip to states.

But in his return to WPIALs on Wednesday at Slippery Rock University, McCray was shooting for more.

And more is what he got.

McCray had a top attempt of 164 feet on the second of his three throws in the finals. That distance bested the field and put him at the top of the podium.

“I saw I was the third seed, and second was only a foot in front of me,” McCray said. “First (seed) was a 176. If someone has a bad day, and you show up and throw well, anything can happen. I felt amazing out there. I knew what I had to fix going into the finals, and it really worked for me. I knew I could hit it.”

Riverview senior Matt Orbin, seeded fourth coming in, rose up to take silver with a top throw of 160-10.

“This was my first year at WPIALs. I didn’t really know what to expect,” Orbin said. “I was just excited to be here, and I got second place. Now, going to states. I am going to miss a few days of school, and I am really looking forward to being up there with my friends. It’s awesome. I’m really happy.”

The top five finishers in each Class 2A event qualified automatically for the PIAA championships set for May 24-25 at Shippensburg. Those who finished sixth through eighth and met the state qualifying standard for their event also earned a berth to the state meet.

Freeport sophomore Mackenzie Magness came in as the top seed in her defense of her Class 2A girls pole vault title.

She left no doubt in claiming her second WPIAL gold medal in as many attempts as she vaulted to a personal-best of 12-4, an inch better than her previous best set this season and also nearly 2 feet better than runner-up Aurea Hickenbooth from Freedom.

After she got her 12-4, she went after the WPIAL record of 12-7. She tried a couple of times for 12-8 but fell just short each time.

“I gave (the record) a good shot, but I am just so happy that I was able to get a personal best and defend my title,” Magness said.

Magness added a fifth in the long jump (17-8³⁄₄) and seventh in the triple jump (35-9¹⁄₄). Her triple jump distance met the state qualifying standard.

She also helped the 1,600-meter relay (4 minutes, 8.67 seconds) take fifth and make it to states.

“It was such a great day,” Magness said. “To get four medals and help my teammates get to states, too, it is such an amazing feeling.”

Freeport senior Michael Braun, a Penn State commit, picked up two more WPIAL silver medals. He earned his second straight runner-up finish in the 1,600 with a time of 4:12.67, nearly 17 seconds better than his time at WPIALs last year.

Braun then ran a 9:23.52 in the 3,200 run, 4 seconds faster than his time last year.

“I felt pretty good in the mile, but I got stuck leading it, which makes it difficult,” Braun said. “I ran well in the mile, not so much in the two mile. The heat was getting to me, and I was getting tired. At states, I will have a day in between my races instead of two hours. Hopefully, the two mile will be better next week, but the mile is my main priority right now.”

Class 3A

Fox Chapel junior Claire Conti came close to taking WPIAL gold last year in the Class 3A girls discus.

She placed second at the 2024 meet with a best throw of 119 feet, 2 inches.

This time around, Conti wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best.

Coming into the meet with a personal-best of 126-9 recorded at the Pine-Richand Invitational earlier this month, she threw 10 feet better Wednesday (137-0) and claimed the title by 12 feet over runner-up Audrey Maxwell from North Allegheny.

Conti qualified for the discus finals on her third and final throw of the preliminaries. She fouled on her first two attempts.

“Going into the third throw to try and make it to the finals was the most stress I ever felt in my life,” Conti said. “I had to calm down, breathe and be in the moment.”

Conti also captured a bronze medal in the shot put with a distance of 37-10¹⁄₂, bettering her previous season best of 37-6 from a meet last month at North Allegheny and also her 34-11¹⁄₂ in taking ninth at last year’s WPIAL meet.

She will throw at states in two events for the first time.

The top four finishers in each Class 3A event automatically qualified for the state meet. Those who finished fifth through eighth and also met the state qualifying standard earned a berth to states.

Plum senior and Pitt commit Gabrielle Layne hoped for WPIAL gold in her final appearance at Slippery Rock.

But in the end, she had to settle for silver in the 100 and 200 dashes by the closest of margins.

Seeded second in the 100 with a season-best 12.11, Layne crossed the finish line in the finals in 12.35, 10 one-hundredths of a second behind champion Sadie Tomczyk from Upper St. Clair.

It was closer heartbreak for Layne in the 200 dash.

The No. 1 seed coming in with a top time of 24.68, Layne’s finals time was slightly elevated at 25.14. In one of Wednesday’s closest finishes on the track, Tomczyk edged Layne at the line by one-hundredth of a second.

“I wasn’t really happy with how I ran,” Layne said. “I knew that coming into this, my hamstring was probably going to be my biggest competitor. It’s been bothering me throughout the season. But I came out here (Wednesday) and pushed through and ran five times.

“At this point, I just want to rehab and get my hamstring stronger for next week at states. States is the bigger picture for me, and I am definitely looking to lower my times in both events.”

Fox Chapel senior Ethan Vaughan ran 6 seconds faster than his previous personal best in the 3,200. Vaughan, the 2024 WPIAL Class 3A cross country champion, had recorded a time of 9:29.42 from this year’s Butler Invitational, but he lowered that to 9:23.38 on Wednesday and placed second overall.

North Allegheny’s Jack Bertram won the 3,200 title with a top time of 9:16.98.

Knoch senior Karlee Buterbaugh, a Marshall commit, bettered her seed distance (144-4) in the javelin. Her best attempt of 148-9 on Wednesday earned her a second WPIAL silver medal in as many seasons.

It also was a big jump from last year’s WPIAL performance of 125-10.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Knoch, Plum