Citing ‘something to prove,’ Waynesburg’s Layton defends WPIAL hurdles title

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, May 16, 2019 | 4:45 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Waynesburg hurdler Daniel Layton tried not to think about his stressful week when standing at the starting line.

“I tried to block it out as much as I could,” Layton said, “but honestly it gave me a little bit more energy because now I had something to prove.”

Layton, who almost wasn’t allowed to compete in the 110-meter hurdles, defended his WPIAL Class AA title Thursday in the track and field championships at Slippery Rock University. He won in 14.58 seconds — more than a half-second faster than second place.

The senior’s saga started when he learned his father/coach Rick Layton had accidentally scratched him from the 110 hurdles while submitting online entries for the WPIAL championship.

Waynesburg asked the WPIAL to fix the mistake, but the WPIAL board declined the school’s request because it came after the deadline. Waynesburg then took Layton’s appeal to the PIAA which ruled Wednesday that he must be allowed to compete.

“It’s been a huge rollercoaster,” Daniel Layton said, “going from not even being in the race to having to go all the way to the state just to let me run. Winning feels like a huge win for me today.”

Layton also won the WPIAL Class AA pole vault title Thursday, but that also wasn’t without drama. During his warm up attempts, Layton dislocated his left shoulder.

“It popped back in, but it scared me,” Layton said. “It’s the first time that occurred. I wanted to go for the record of 15 feet, but I decided not to risk it because I have the state meet next week.”

Layton won the event at 13 feet, 6 inches. He made the height on his final jump after he missed on his first two attempts.

Check out highlights from the WPIAL track and field championships on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

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: Waynesburg