WCCA meet to test Derry track and field athletes

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, April 26, 2018 | 6:48 PM

Derry's boys and girls track and field teams just completed the regular season by winning a second consecutive section title.

While that was a goal, the Trojans are eager to compete Saturday at the 96th annual Westmoreland County Coaches' Association championships at Latrobe's Memorial Stadium. This is the 39th season for the girls meet.

Field events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and the running finals around 12:45 p.m.

The Trojans want to see how they rate against the larger schools in the county. The meet draws athletes from the 18 high schools.

Senior Shawn Broadway is the returning champ in the 300-meter hurdles, and he placed second in the 110 hurdles.

“I'm looking forward to improving myself against some talented individuals,” Broadway said. “I know what to expect.”

Broadway competed at the Butler Invitational last Friday, and finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles. He expects to be pushed Saturday by Belle Vernon junior Hunter Martin, the returning 110 hurdles champion. He finished third in the 300 hurdles.

“I just want to work on things to make me better,” Broadway said. “It's been a cool season winning another section title, and hopefully we'll do better in the team tournament.”

Derry senior Will Huss competes in the sprints. He said an injury to his brother (Justin) will hurt the sprint relay team, but he's still hoping to place in the top eight in his individual events.

“Justin was a big part of the relay team,” Will Huss said. “He ran in the 50s, and that will be tough to replace.”

Hempfield senior Eudel Moreta is the returning 100- and 200-meter dash champion. Valley's Darius Johnson is the other returning double winner. He won the high jump and long jump last year.

The Derry teams finished off their 9-0 seasons Tuesday by defeating East Allegheny.

“The goal heading into the season was to compete for another section title, but to actually see it come to fruition is something special,” coach Mark Curcio said. “Everyone says that it takes a team to win a championship, and when it comes to this one, that's 100 percent the case.”

The Derry girls did it with a small roster. There are 16 athletes, and only 14 competed against East Allegheny. There are no seniors on the team, which features 12 freshmen and sophomores.

Sophomore Danielle Mullen was one of the top contributors in the sprints.

“It's really cool winning the section again,” Mullen said. “We had a lot of new faces step up.”

She mentioned her 400-meter relay team of Madison Clayton and the Perry twins (Leah and Tara) as key contributors.

“Everyone helped us win,” Mullen said. “Competing against the larger schools on Saturday will be a little nerve-racking. I'll just try to do my best because it will help me later in the season.”

Both teams will compete against Mohawk and host Waynesburg in the first round of the WPIAL tournament at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The Derry boys finished third at the WPIAL Class AA finals last season.

“The boys were led by a handful of seniors (this season), including Will Huss, Broadway, Elias Kott, Seth Eaglehouse, Austin Miller and Chris Reich,” Curcio said. “They learned a lot from the seniors last year and truly stepped up to become leaders this season, especially Will and Shawn. I just want the seniors to end on a good note.”

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Derry Area