Five things to watch at the PIAA Class AA girls track championships

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, May 24, 2019 | 11:33 AM

The PIAA track and field championships begin Friday at Seth Grove Stadium at Shippensburg. The two-day event concludes Saturday. There are numerous WPIAL athletes competing, and many are capable of bringing home medals. Here are things to look for in the Class AA girls meet:

Flying Falcon

Brownsville junior Gionna Quarzo is seeded No. 1 in the 3,200-meter run. Quarzo’s time of 10 minutes, 34.35 seconds is 38 seconds faster than the second seed. Quarzo is only three seconds shy of the PIAA record of 10:31.85 set by Central Cambria’s Carly Seymour in 2008.

Maura the Great

South Park senior and Auburn commit Maura Huwalt won the WPIAL Class AA shot put, discus and javelin throws for the second consecutive year. Now she eyes state gold. She’s the No. 1 seed in the javelin after a throw of 144 feet, 11 inches, but she is the No. 2 seed to Greenwood senior Mallory Kauffman. They are close in the shot put, but Kauffman has reached 160 feet in the discus.

Soaring Raider

Waynesburg sophomore Taylor Shriver is seeded No. 1 in the pole vault with a jump of 12 feet, 7 inches. But as she heads to Shippensburg, Shriver is looking to soar to new heights. Will she challenge the state championship record of 13-4 held by South Williamsport’s Katie Jones? She hopes so.

Super sophomore

Shady Side Academy sophomore Melissa Riggins could walk away with two gold medals this weekend. She is seeded No. 1 in the 800- and 1,600-meter races. Riggins won both at the WPIAL championships at Slippery Rock.

Leaping Bobcat

Beaver sophomore Emma Pavalek has cleared 5 feet, 6 inches this season in the high jump and is seeded No. 1 along with Elk County Catholic junior Taylor Newton. Can she do it again and win PIAA gold? She’ll answer that Friday morning.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Beaver, Brownsville, Shady Side Academy, South Park, Waynesburg