5 things to watch at Saturday’s PIAA boys track and field championships

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, May 25, 2019 | 9:06 AM

Purchase Photo Options

It’s Day 2 of the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg’s Seth Grove Stadium. WPIAL athletes had a rare Day 1, as no boys claimed gold medals. That should change Saturday. Here are five things to watch at the Class AAA and AA boys championships:

Tiger power

The first event of the day, the 3,200-meter run, could be dominated by the WPIAL in Class AAA. The top five times are owned by runners from District 7. Heading the list is North Allegheny senior Zach Kinne (9:13.47) and junior Daniel McGoey (9:18.11). Following them are Greensburg Salem senior Cam Binda (9:19.52), Mars junior Zach Leachman (9:21.36) and Fox Chapel junior Christian Fitch (9:21.36).

Looking for another

Mt. Lebanon junior Patrick Anderson was the PIAA Class AAA cross country champion back in the fall. He has the fastest time in the 1,600 heading into the finals in a loaded race. The top runners in this race are only separated by a few seconds.

Can Marshall do it?

East Allegheny senior Khyree Marshall watched his sister, C-Keiyah, finish second in the Class AA long jump on Friday. He comes into Saturday’s Class AA triple jump seeded third with a jump of 44 feet, 10 ¾ inches. Keystone senior Brody Coleman and McGuffey junior C.J. Cole both have surpassed 45 feet this season.

Luck of the Irish

Baldwin senior Brendan O’Malley was the WPIAL champion in Class AAA in the long jump with a leap of 23-2 ¼. He is seeded No. 2 behind Lampeter Strasburg senior Ezra Mellinger, who jumped 23-9 at the PIAA District 3 championship. O’Malley has marks beyond 24 feet this season.

Run Jared run

Hempfield senior Jared Bannon will have a busy Day 2. Bannon is in the Class AAA 110-meter hurdles semifinals at 10 a.m. If he makes the finals, he’ll run again around 12:25 p.m. He’ll then compete in the 200 finals at 2:45 p.m. Bannon had the fastest hurdles time coming into the meet (14.11).

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.

Tags: Baldwin, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Mars, McGuffey, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny