Bethel Park sprinter shattering school records in breakout season

By: Ray Fisher
Saturday, April 22, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Bethel Park coach Mark Jacobs had high hopes for junior Artemis Conaboy in the outdoor track and field season.

“I have to say my expectations for this season have been blown out of the water because Artemis sprinted right past them,” Jacobs said. “I knew she had the ability to run the times she is running, but I have to admit I was not expecting them in the first two meets of the season.”

Conaboy has shattered two school records and is close to a third.

She broke a 49-year-old record in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 58.15 on April 1 at the Mt. Lebanon Invitational. Janice Irwin set the mark of 58.8 in 1974.

Two weeks later, Conaboy broke her own 400 record with a 57.71 time, good for second place at the TSTCA outdoor championships at West Mifflin.

On April 12 at a section meet against Mt. Lebanon and Thomas Jefferson, Conaboy broke the school record in the 100 with a sizzling 12.48 effort. The record was 12.54 established 30 years ago by Melanie Denson in 1993.

“I am so thankful and excited to have broken the records. It was an incredible feeling to know my hard work throughout the past few seasons has paid off so much,” Conaboy said. “My goals for the season are to get a higher placing at WPIALs this year and to qualify for states again.”

In that same April 12 meet, Conaboy ran the second-fastest 200 time in school history with her 25.84 performance. The record (25.74) was set by Toni Jackson 46 years ago in 1977.

“If you include indoor track, Artemis holds five school records (100, 400 outdoor and 200, 400 and 4-by-400 indoor),” Jacobs said. “Hopefully she can get the outdoor 200 and maybe the outdoor 4-by-400 this year too. She has the opportunity to hold seven school records.

“She will go down as probably the best (female) sprinter in school history and this is only her junior year.”

Conaboy combines her athletic talent with outstanding sprint speed and stamina. She is a two-sport standout for the Black Hawks, having played soccer her “whole life” and throughout her high school career.

“Artemis is an amazingly hard worker who is always striving to improve on her abilities,” Jacobs said. “She is also an excellent soccer player and team captain for both track and soccer. This is her second year as a captain of the track and field team.

“Being a two-year captain as a junior shows you the kind of person she is, not just a good runner. She has a great understanding of what it takes to be a great runner. She knows when it is time to push herself at practice and when it is time to back off and rest her body. That is rare for a young runner. She runs her races like an experienced veteran, yet she has only been concentrating on the 400 for a little over a year, so she is still new to the event.”

The Bethel Park coach raved about Conaboy’s competitive racing skills.

“Her ability to pick up the race strategies at this stage in her career continues to surprise and impress me,” Jacobs said. “We have a few more records and meet goals we hope to achieve this year, and I see no reason she cannot get those and other times I cannot even imagine.

“When she puts her mind to something, there is nothing she cannot achieve. It is not an easy thing to be good at all the sprints let alone be the record holder in most. That shows how amazing of a sprinter she is.”

Conaboy’s early success in the outdoor season actually began with her practice techniques during the indoor season.

“She and I talked during the indoor season that she would be able to run in the 58s in the 400 with how she was running during indoor,” Jacobs said. “We talked about how much she improved from indoor to outdoor last year and if she did similar, she had a shot at 58 seconds and maybe the school record. So I knew she could do it, just not the first race of the year.

“When she found out she got (the school record), you could see the joy and excitement take over. I knew that was her goal for the year and the fact she did it the first time she was on the track this outdoor season still blows me away.”

Adjustments quickly were made by Conaboy and her coach.

“We have to make some new goals,” Jacobs said. “Getting the 100-meter record was a pleasant surprise. We decided to have her run it just to work on her top speed with no expectations. It was not until the meet was over that we realized it was the school record. That’s the definition of a pleasant surprise.”

Conaboy has competed in outdoor track for three years and indoor track the past two seasons. Her favorite event is the 400.

“I love the length of the race and the how anyone can win and catch up at different points of the race,” she said.

Conaboy has a 4.5 weighted GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. At Bethel Park, she is vice president of Best Buddies, a club that aims to foster friendships between students with or without intellectual disabilities.

She also is a member of her school’s student government and Interact Club, which specializes in community service.

In her spare time, Conaboy works part time at the mall.

Lang wins TSTCA golds

Bethel Park’s Jenna Lang and the girls 1,600 relay team took first place at the TSTCA outdoor championships.

Lang, a junior, posted a time of 2:17.06 to win the girls 800-meter race. Conaboy, senior Lauren Heh, sophomore Sadie Orie and Lang clicked for a winning 3:59.37 time in the 1,600 relay.

Orie also placed seventh in 47.81 in the 300 hurdles.

Two other Bethel Park medalists in the girls competition were junior Julia Hoppe, who ended up fifth in the pole vault by clearing a height of 9 feet, and sophomore Ella Milliken, who tied for eighth in the discus with a toss of 99 feet.

For Bethel Park’s boys team, senior Jeremiah Hamilton led the way with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump (42-02).

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