Alle-Kiski sends plenty of track athletes to PIAAs

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 | 5:34 PM

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Deer Lakes senior Carson McCoy doesn’t have to wait long to run at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University.

He will be on the track at 9 a.m. Friday morning in defense of his Class 2A boys 1,600-meter title.

It is the first of many events on the track and in the field as the Alle-Kiski Valley will be well represented both Friday and Saturday.

McCoy won gold in the 1,600 last year in a time of 4 minutes, 16.48 seconds, edging Schuylkill Valley’s Luke Seymour (4:17.03) at the finish.

Seymour, also a senior, is the top seed going in Friday as he ran a 4:16.53 to win the District 3 title. McCoy was 10 seconds slower (4:23.18) at WPIALs than his personal best in the 1,600, but it still was enough to capture WPIAL gold. He is seeded second.

“It’s going to be a pretty competitive race,” McCoy said. “I hope to run my best race and see what happens.”

He also is looking for big things in the 800 where he is the top seed after running to a WPIAL-championship time of 1:56.34. The 800 is Saturday at 1:55 p.m.

Injury last year prevented McCoy from doing well in the 800 at WPIALs, and he missed out on the chance to run it at states.

McCoy, in addition to his individual pursuits, will join teammates Nathan Buechel, Aidan Herman and Fletcher Hammond in the 1,600 relay. The quartet finished the WPIAL meet in a big way with a WPIAL title and a school record of 3:28.08, and it is seeded second.

The 1,600 relay is the final event of the two days and will be run at approximately 3 p.m.

Riverview junior Amberson Bauer is in medal contention in the 800 after his runner-up finish to McCoy at WPIALs. He ran a 1:58.82 at WPIALs, and the time places him as the fifth seed for Saturday’s race.

Apollo-Ridge senior Greg Klingensmith, a William & Mary football recruit, finished second in the Class 2A discus at WPIALs (152 feet, 4 inches) and is seeded fifth in the event Friday at 12:30 p.m.

Last year, Klingensmith finished 16th at states with a top throw of 135-7, down more than 21 feet from his personal best 156-9 recorded at WPIALs a week earlier.

“I am very excited for redemption,” Klingensmith said. “Last year (at states) was not the best for me, but I am excited to get to Shippensburg, compete to my best ability, and just have fun.”

The Riverview boys 3,200 relay of Bauer, seniors Ty Laughlin and Parker Steele, and freshman Chris Barnes made a run at defending its 2021 WPIAL title, but the quartet had to settle for second at 8:19.79, three seconds off the school record set at states last year (eighth place, 8:16.58).

The relay is seeded seventh for its race Saturday at 10:45 a.m.

“Hopefully, we can place pretty high and break that record,” Barnes said.

The Burrell girls 3,200 relay of juniors Kadi Bauer and Brynn Leiner, sophomore Grace Nesko and senior Isabella Leger is seeded 14th and hopes to go under 10 minutes after a school-record time of 10:02.41 to take third in Class 2A at WPIALs.

“It’s kind of amazing to see where we started at the beginning of the season, running just under 11 minutes, to running a 10:02 (at WPIALs),” Leger said.

“It was a great way to end my career at WPIALs, and now we’re on to states to see if we can go faster. It will be a lot of fun to see what we can do against the best (3,200 relay) teams in the state.”

Kiski Area sophomore Eliza Miller will make her second trip to states and first in an individual event as she will run the Class 3A girls 1,600. She finished eighth at WPIALs, but her time of 5:06.40 met the state qualifying standard.

The event was fast throughout the state as 23 of the 30 who are entered met the qualifying standard of 5:10 at their district meets. Miller is seeded 19th.

Riverview junior John Patsey will compete at states for the first time. He is seeded 17th in the 300 hurdles after finishing third at WPIALs (41.99).

Others ready to make the trip to the PIAA championships in Class 2A are Herman in the boys 800 run (16th seed, 2:00.63); the Burrell boys 3,200 relay of Damian Barr, Billy Kowalkowski, Luke Guerrini, and Ethan Croushore (17th, 8:31.54); Apollo-Ridge’s Gavin McCall in the triple jump (21st, 41-1½); the Riverview boys 1,600 relay of Bauer, Patsey, Micah Black and Jack Betler (23rd, 3:34.78); and Burrell’s Kayden Ireland in the boys 200 dash (28th, 23.41).

In Class 3A, Freeport junior Isaac Wetzel is set for the boys 300 hurdles (19th, 41.01).

The Pennsylvania Cable Network will have live and taped coverage of the PIAA track and field championships Saturday.

Live coverage includes the track finals from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and there will be recorded coverage of the 1,600 run (8 a.m.) and select field events.

For more information, go to pcntv.com/trackandfield/.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Kiski Area, Riverview