3 WPIAL indoor track athletes earn 1st-team PTFCA all-state honors

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, March 8, 2020 | 3:10 PM

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Indiana’s Kendall Branan, North Allegheny’s Casey Burton and Shaler’s Cam Mbalo earned first-team all-state indoor track honors from the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association.

All three WPIAL athletes won state titles last weekend at the PTFCA indoor championships. Mbalo won the boys triple jump, Branan won the boys 800 meters and Burton won the girls long jump.

Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson earned second-team honors in the boys 3,000 meters and third-team for the boys mile. Beaver’s Emma Pavelek (girls high jump) and Bethel Park’s Emily Carter (girls 3,000) also earned second-team honors.

Carter received honorable mention in the girls mile along with Hempfield’s Isabella Gera (girls shot put), Obama Academy’s Leslie Manson (girls triple jump) and Mars’ Zachary Leachman (boys 3,000).

2020 PTFCA All-State Teams

Boys Athlete of the Year

Salim Epps, Saint Joseph’s Prep

Girls Athlete of the Year

Marlee Starliper, Northern

Boys Coach of the Year

Curtis Cockenberg, Saint Joseph’s Prep

Girls Coach of the Year

Brandon Shell, Friends’ Central

First-team boys

60 meters: Shawn Brown, Central Dauphin East

60 hurdles: Kevin Thomas, Haverford School

200: Donovan Sanders, Girard College

400: Salim Epps, Saint Joseph’s Prep

800: Kendall Branan, Indiana

Mile: Garrett Baublitz, Juniata

3,000: Colton Sands, Penns Valley

800 relay: Upper Darby

1,600 relay: Saint Joseph’s Prep

3,200 relay: State College

Distance medley relay: Hatboro Horsham

Shot put: Jeff Kline, Fleetwood

High jump: Logan Pfister, Chestnut Ridge

Pole vault: John Franco, Council Rock South

Long jump: Jaden Price-Whitehead, Upper Dublin

Triple jump: Cam Mbalo, Shaler

First-team girls

60 meters: Meghan Quinn, Warwick

60 hurdles: Taleea Buxton, Bishop McDevitt

200: Talitha Diggs, Saucon Valley

400: Talitha Diggs, Saucon Valley

800: Keara Seasholtz, Radnor

Mile: Marlee Starliper, Northern

3,000 : Marlee Starliper, Northern

800 relay: Chester

1,600 Relay: Neumann Goretti

3,200 Relay: Neumann Goretti

Distance medley relay: Friends’ Central

Shot put: Maria Deaviz, Souderton

High jump: Brianna Smith, Cheltenham

Pole vault: Sydney Horn, Manheim Township

Long jump: Casey Burton, North Allegheny

Triple jump: Tesia Thomas, West York

Complete boys all-state selections

Complete girls all-state selections

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: Beaver, Bethel Park, Indiana, Mars, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, Obama Academy, Shaler