WPIAL track preview: Laurel sprinter could make history with ‘quadruple-double’

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 | 12:10 AM

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Record breakers, repeat winners and rain?

Here are some storylines to follow when the WPIAL track and field individual championships are held Wednesday at Slippery Rock University.

The meet starts at 11 a.m.

Again and again and again … and again?

Laurel sprinter Tori Atkins can achieve a WPIAL first by winning both the 200- and 400-meter titles for the fourth year in a row.

If so, the senior will be in a class by herself.

No runner regardless of classification has accomplished that feat — winning a “quadruple-double” in the 200 and 400 meters — since the WPIAL started measuring races in meters almost 50 years ago. At last year’s championships, the Youngstown State recruit joined Farrell’s Jennifer Sims (1986-88) as the only WPIAL runners to win both events three years in a row.

This year, Atkins is favored to win both again.

Her 54.94-second qualifying mark in the 400 meters is nearly four seconds faster than her nearest competitor in Class 2A girls. Her 200-meter time (24.20) is more than a second faster than the field. She also holds the top time in the 100 meters (11.93) after finishing fifth in that event last year.

It’s possible she could break meet records in all three.

Last year she broke the 2A record in the 400 meters (55.54), a time she could improve upon. She might also challenge meet records in the 100 meters (11.95 by Washington’s Alyssa Wise in 2014) and the 200 meters (24.24 by Burrell’s Nicole Scherer in 2016).

All told, it could be a historic day for Atkins, who’s among 21 returning WPIAL champions who qualified for this year’s meet. They are:

• 3A boys: Woodland Hills’ Scoop Smith (100), Trinity’s Zachary Noble (pole vault) and Penn-Trafford’s Logan Kerstetter (javelin).

• 3A girls: Butler’s Aubrey Rock (pole vault) and Canon-McMillan’s Abby Tucker (javelin).

• 2A boys: Neighborhood Academy’s DeJuan Croumbles (100), Greensburg Central Catholic’s Jerry Davis (400), Mohawk’s Jaxon Schoedel (1,600 and 3,200), Quaker Valley’s Davin Gartley (110 hurdles), California’s Lee Qualk (long jump) and South Side’s Mateja Pavlovich (javelin).

• 2A girls: Atkins (200 and 400), Trinity Christian’s Eilidh Edgar (800), Mohawk’s Ellie Whippo (110 hurdles and 300 hurdles), Quaker Valley’s Mia Gartley (high jump) and Jay Olawaiye (triple jump), Carlynton’s Clare Ruffing (long jump), Freeport’s Mackenzie Magness (pole vault), Derry’s Sophia Mazzoni (javelin), Shenango’s Rachel Callahan (discus) and Anna McKinley (shot put).

A dashing dozen

Blink and you’ll miss the 100-meter dash.

In Class 3A boys, there are a dozen sprinters who’ve qualified with a time faster than 11 seconds. That’s up from a year ago, when there were nine sub-11 qualifiers.

The list includes Latrobe’s Preston Miller (10.74 seconds), New Castle’s Kaevon Gardner (10.74), West Mifflin’s Damarius Day (10.77), Woodland Hills’ Scoop Smith (10.78), Latrobe’s Adam Piper (10.82), Elizabeth Forward’s Connor Stokes (10.83), Pine-Richland’s Jay Timmons (10.90), Seneca Valley’s Noah Rieger (10.91), Butler’s Kevin Shriver (10.92), Gateway’s Jayden Stammer (10.93), Penn Hills’ Marcus Dorsey (10.97) and McKeesport’s Kemon Spell (10.98).

The field includes two sprinters who’ve already worn the label as the “Fastest Man in the WPIAL.” Smith, the defending WPIAL champion, won last year in 10.64 seconds. Gardner won the 2023 title in 10.70.

A class above

Derry thrower Sophia Mazzoni arrives at Slippery Rock as a reigning WPIAL javelin champion but not as a defending champion.

That’s because since Mazzoni won the Class 2A girls title last year, Derry moved up to Class 3A. She won’t get a chance to defend her 2A title, but the Auburn recruit is heavily favored to win another WPIAL gold medal.

Mazzoni’s qualifying distance of 160 feet, 10 inches is more than 16 feet better than anyone else in the field. Knoch senior Karlee Buterbaugh is the only competitor to reach 140 feet.

A year ago, Mazzoni broke the WPIAL Class 2A meet record with a winning throw of 159 feet. She later won a state title with a throw of 161-10.

However, the WPIAL Class 3A record is most likely out of reach. Connellsville’s Madison Wiltrout set that record with a 181-foot throw in 2015.

Meant to be broken

Seven WPIAL championship records were broken last year. Here are five more that might fall this time:

• Mohawk distance runner Jaxon Schoedel looks poised to crush his own Class 2A boys record in the 3,200 meters set last year at 9 minutes, 16.03 seconds. The senior’s qualifying time this year was 8:59.09.

• North Hills senior Kayden Lightner (1:51.29) has the top seed in the 800 meters for 3A boys. Moon’s Jacob Puhalla set the record at 1:51.49 in 2022.

• Freeport senior Michael Braun and Quaker Valley sophomore Jonah Montagnese might both challenge the 1,600-meter record in 2A boys. Braun qualified in 4:14.23 and Montagnese in 4:15.13. Both were faster than the meet record set by Beaver Falls’ Dominic Peretta (4:15.43) in 2015.

• Defending WPIAL champion Quaker Valley senior Davin Gartley could take a run at the meet record in the 110-meter hurdles. His personal best was a tenth of a second faster than the record (14.3 seconds) by OLSH’s Antonio Votour in 2023.

• California senior Lee Qualk is another defending champion who could break a meet record. His top long jump from this season (23 feet, 5½ inches) is a half-inch better than the meet record set by North Catholic’s Joseph Kearney in 2019.

Bring an umbrella

Weather was a factor a year ago and might be again.

The WPIAL meet was suspended because of thunderstorms last year, and everybody was sent home early. Teams returned the next day to complete the unfinished events.

This year’s forecast isn’t terrible but might have folks watching the skies again.

There is an 85% chance of precipitation with “a couple of showers and a thunderstorm in the afternoon,” according to AccuWeather. The forecast predicts a high temperature of 72 degrees and wind gusts of 30 mph.

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: Derry Area, Latrobe, Laurel, West Mifflin, Woodland Hills