Norwin teams, Hempfield throwers among athletes to beat as WCCA meet hits milestone

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 | 5:35 PM

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The Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association is celebrating its 100th boys track and field championship Thursday at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium.

The girls championship didn’t begin until 1980.

As part of the celebration, the WCCA has invited all past champions to the event for a social at 5 p.m. and hope they stick around to present this year’s winners their medals.

The field events begin at 2 p.m., and the running preliminary heats start at 3:15 p.m. for the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 110/110 hurdles. The 3,200-meter relays also will be held during that time.

The running finals are slated to begin at 6 p.m.

The Hempfield boys have won 30 county titles, and the girls have won 18 times. The 2022 team champions were the Hempfield boys (3A), Ligonier Valley boys (2A), Norwin girls (3A) and Greensburg Central Catholic girls (2A).

Hempfield senior Elizabeth Tapper was the only athlete to break a meet record in 2022 when she heaved the shot put 47 feet, 1.5 inches.

Some of the oldest records include Kiski Area’s Rich Scott in the triple jump (46-2.75 in 1975), Penn-Trafford’s Mike Buvalla in the high jump (6-8.5 in 1978), Hempfield’s Mark Algieri in the pole vault (15 feet in 1988) and Greensburg Central Catholic’s Colleen Rosensteel in the discus (159-1 in 1985).

Penn-Trafford coach Eric Reger said he’s excited to see how some of his athletes compete in the championship.

Senior Kate Schall recently ran a 59.4 in winning the 400 at the Slippery Rock Invitational. Amelia Barilla finished second in the 800.

Junior Matt Sarnowski won the discus with a throw of 155-7 and placed sixth in the javelin with a toss of 132-10. Jake McGhee finished seventh in the 800.

Sarnowski won’t be the favorite in the county meet. That honor goes to Hempfield junior Peyton Murray, who won the shot put and discus at the Butler Invitational.

“Our kids have put in a lot of hard work this season, and it’s nice to see their work pay off,” Reger said. “The boys qualified for the WPIAL championship for the first time since 2015 and second time in three decades. The girls had their first winning record in more than 20 years.”

Norwin, which defeated the Hempfield boys and girls on Tuesday, is the favorite.

Norwin coach Tim Van Horn said he wished the event wasn’t two days after the Hempfield meet. The WCCA meet was moved from Saturday back to Thursday this season.

The Knights girls are led by Hannah Shaw, who recently won the pole vault at Butler and the Lady Spartan invitationals; Ashley Laukus, who placed third in the high jump at Butler; Anne Czajkowski, who placed sixth in the 800; and hurdlers Casey Rose Colcombe and Belle Brozeski. Colcombe placed fifth in the 300 hurdles and seventh in the 100 hurdles, and Brozeski took eighth in the 300 hurdles.

The top boys from Norwin include Trey Huha, who placed third in the 200; Luke Denny, who placed fifth in the 400; Isaiah Kline, who was fifth in the high jump; and the 3,200 relay team, which placed eighth.

One of the top newcomers is Derry sophomore Sophia Mazzoni, who has the second-longest throw in the javelin in the state at 147 feet. She smashed the school record two weeks ago.

Tapper, who is recovering from a Lisfranc injury, earned field MVP honors at the Butler Invitational by breaking meet records in the shot put and the discus. She is the reigning WPIAL Class 3A and PIAA champion in both events.

WCCA meet records

Boys

100: Jeff Elam, Latrobe, 10.85 (2012)

200: Eudel Moret, Hempfield, 21.78 (2018)

400: Chandler Crusan, Hempfield, 49.21 (2012)

800: Nick Wagner, Penn-Trafford, 1:54.64 (2017)

1,600: Dave Farina, Norwin, 4:22.95 (2008)

3,200: Brent Kennedy, Kiski Area, 9:27.25 (2013)

110 hurdles: Jace Roundtree, Kiski Area, 14.51 (2016)

300 hurdles: Nick Spino, Jeannette, 39.14 (2008)

400 relay: Latrobe (J. Piper, Z. Williams, M. Carl and A. Fannie), 43.15 (2018)

1,600 relay: Latrobe (Z. Williams, M. Carl, H. Petrosky and Z. Carl), 3:24.30 (2017)

3,200 relay: Greensburg Salem (D. Binda, Cam Binda, M. Brown and F. King), 7:59.96 (2017)

Shot put: Daniel Norris, Hempfield, 62-4 (2021)

Discus: Max Adams, Hempfield, 186-4 (2013)

Javelin: Hayden Fox, Hempfield, 198-3 (2016)

Long jump: Matt Green, Belle Vernon, 23-4 (2010)

Triple jump: Rich Scott, Kiski Area, 46-2.75 (1975)

High jump: Mike Buvalla, Penn-Trafford, 6-8.5 (1978)

Pole vault: Mark Algieri, Hempfield, 15-0 (1988)

Girls

100: Jasmine Jones, Hempfield, 12.36 (2013)

200: Nicole Scherer, Burrell, 24.62 (2017)

400: Hanna Green, Latrobe, 57.05 (2013)

800: Shelby Hantz, Norwin, 2:13.75 (2008)

1,600: Natalie Bower, Latrobe, 5:02.09 (2009)

3,200: Natalie Bower, Latrobe, 11:07.71 (2009)

100 hurdles: Bailey Traczynski, Hempfield, 14.76 (2009)

300 hurdles: Maddy Mueseler, Latrobe, 42.84 (2015)

400 relay: Hempfield (B. Guy, M. Holmberg, G. Holmberg and J. Jones), 48.27 (2014).

1,600 relay: Latrobe (G. Wirick, A. Ramsey, L. Pynos and F. Mucci), 4:02.94 (2017).

3,200 relay: Norwin (J. Gigliotti, J. Kuhn, L. Kovach and S. Hantz), 9:26.87 (2009)

Shot put: Elizabeth Tapper, Hempfield, 47-1.5 (2022)

Discus: Colleen Rosensteel, Greensburg Central Catholic, 159-1 (1985)

Javelin: Felicia Reid, Kiski Area, 146-4 (2010)

Long jump: Maddie Holmberg, Hempfield, 18-11 (2012)

Triple jump: Julie Howard, Greensburg Salem, 38-8 (2016)

High jump: Kadey Donitzon, Mt. Pleasant, 5-7 (2014)

Pole vault: Larisa Debich, Hempfield, 12-9 (2012)

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: Derry Area, Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford