Hampton boys show calm before storm at WPIAL track and field championships

By: John Grupp
Saturday, May 18, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The WPIAL track and field championships started about as well as could be expected for the Hampton boys.

Then things got crazy.

In the meet’s opening event, the Talbots’ 3,200 relay team took second in Class 3A with a near-school record time and qualified for the PIAA championships before Mother Nature took over May 15 at Slippery Rock University.

“I have never been in a meet like that,” Talbots coach Heather Dietz said. “It was a very wild experience.”

Thunder and lightning caused weather delays totaling more than four hours, including a three-and-a-half-hour stoppage midway through the day, prompting WPIAL officials to push back the conclusion of the meet by one day. The WPIALs concluded after deadline for this edition.

“It was really frustrating,” senior Jacob Bonnar said after the postponement. “I was prepared to run at like 7 o’clock. Then I got prepared to run at 10 o’clock. And now I need to get prepared for tomorrow (May 16).”

Bonnar, along with Christopher Belch, AJ Prodente and Dale Hall, was part of the 3,200 relay team that finished in 7 minutes, 57.85 seconds, nearly 10 seconds faster than their previous season-best time, and flirted with the school record (7:53) on the way to a silver medal. Seeded fifth, the Talbots placed behind only Butler (7:53.54) to secure a spot at the PIAA championships May 24-25 at Shippensburg.

“Hopefully, we can drop some time at states,” Bonnar said. “We are really excited. It’s one final race with all of the guys. We should be in the top heat at states, so that will drive us even more to go for it.”

Hall, one of the most decorated runners in program history, returned Friday and won the 800 in 1:52.72. He edged North Hills’ Kayden Lightner (1:53.13).

Hall also qualified for states in the 1,600 after placing sixth. The defending PIAA Class 3A 1,600 champion, Hall “tightened up” in the final lap and pulled back. He still ran fast enough to record a season-best time (4:13.16) and return to Shippensburg. Butler star Drew Griffith won the WPIAL title in 4:03.22.

“That last lap, he kind of tensed up a little bit and had to play it smart because he wasn’t feeling completely comfortable,” Dietz said of Hall. “He didn’t tweak anything. He just tightened up a little bit and made a smart decision to not overexert himself and potentially hurt himself.”

Hall was the overwhelming favorite in the 800 — his seed time of 1:52.28 was the second-fastest in the state this year — but the meet was delayed about 10 minutes before his race and eventually postponed Thursday.

“For me, that was a huge blessing that the Good Lord sent the thunderstorms he did,” Hall said. “I had been trying to scrap with (Butler’s) Drew Griffith (in the 1,600) and he kind of killed me. I was laying with my feet up a tree trying to rest when I heard that thunder and I yelled, ‘Yes,’ so loudly. The break was much needed for me. I think that gave me a bit of an advantage.”

Other runners who had their events pushed back one day were freshman Josh Wukitch (3,200), Bonnar (3,200), junior Kevyn Fish (girls 3,200), the boys 1,600 relay and Aquinas Academy’s No. 2-seeded senior Alexis Abbett (3,200).

“It was challenging for the kids to maintain that focus, but I have to say our kids were in really good spirits, even at the end of the night when it got canceled,” Dietz said. “I was proud of them for how they handled the situation.”

One year after Hampton won the WPIAL girls 3,200 relay, the new-look quartet of junior Abby Hall, sophomore Marissa Bigante and freshmen Claire McKinney and Rebekah Hall finished 16th in 10:10.48.

Sophomore Claire Hukriede, a last-minute entrant who barely made the WPIAL cut, placed 21st in the 200 with a personal-best time of 26.77.

Josh Wukitch, the only freshman in the 24-runner 1,600 field, took 11th with a personal-best time of 4:25.57 and teammate Belch was 19th (4:36.19).

Prodente outran his seed (16) by placing 12th in the 400 in 51.79. The senior was ready to take the track for his heat at about 3:30 p.m. when the first major storm arrived. He waited more than three hours to finally run.

“AJ’s race was probably one of the toughest,” Dietz said. “He came off that really big excitement qualifying for states (in the 3,200 relay) and then we had that big delay. I think it was really hard to get back in that mindset. But I think AJ did a great job and he ran well.”

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