North Catholic sprinter Trevor Paschall’s season in question after WPIAL championship injury

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, May 19, 2022 | 12:45 AM

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North Catholic’s Trevor Paschall is usually sprinting around the WPIAL track championships faster than most anybody, but Wednesday he accepted help from a teammate just to walk.

The senior sprinted 100 meters in 10.87 seconds to defend his WPIAL Class 2A title, but he grabbed at his right hamstring after feeling pain. Paschall was the defending WPIAL champion in the 100, 200 and 400, and the state champion in the 200.

Now, he’s worried his season is over.

“The start was great. I felt strong out of the blocks,” Paschall said. “Coming down the last 50 meters, I felt strong. Hamstring was a little tight but I wasn’t too worried about it. I was just happy, feeling I’ve got this race in the bag.

“I pulled up a little bit, felt a pop and just went down.”

Paschall took a seat atop the podium when medals were awarded. He said he didn’t know if the injury was a pull or a strain, so his next step will be a trip to the doctor.

The PIAA championships are May 27-28.

A year ago, he won the 200 meters in Shippensburg and placed second in the 400. So, his injury might remove one of the state’s leading contenders from the meet.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to run at states,” he said. “So as of right now, I think that’s how my season ended. That’s not how I wanted to go out.”

The North Carolina recruit entered the WPIAL meet as the favorite in all three sprints. His teammate, Luke Mager, won the 200 meters, and Riverside’s Alden Wetzel won the 400.

“I got a gold medal,” Paschall said, still wearing his 100-meter medal. “At the end of the day, I know what I’m capable of, even though I don’t get to defend the rest of my titles.”

The weather was rainy and cool with temperatures in the 50s, but Paschall didn’t blame his injury on the elements. He pointed out that he ran in the rain and won the 100 meters at the Baldwin Invitational a few weeks ago.

“I’m used to it,” he said. “We’ve had a kind of rough season with the cold and the rain. I don’t think it was the weather.”

North Catholic also was the defending WPIAL champion in the 400-meter relay but still qualified for states without Paschall in his familiar anchor role.

“My boys still got fifth place,” he said. “I would have hoped the outcome would have been a little different with me on that team, but they looked good and I’m proud of them.”

Paschall’s immediate plans were simple.

“Rest and recover,” he said. “If I’m feeling good, I’ll run the 100 at states. If not, if it’s a roadblock, I know where I’m ending up next season. I’ll focus on getting better and getting healthy.”

As the WPIAL meet moved along, both teammates and competitors stopped to offer Paschall their well wishes.

“It’s really awesome to know all of these people are supporting me, saying they’re praying for me,” he said. “It makes me feel really good.”

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???? Nijhay Burt, @SteelValleySD (11.30)
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— WPIAL (@wpial7) May 18, 2022

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.

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