A final look back at the track season that never happened
Memorial Day weekend not only designates the unofficial beginning of summer, but it’s also the time the PIAA holds its annual state track & field meet at Shippensburg University.
I attended my first state meet in 1996 and have only missed one in the years that have followed. That is, until 2020.
It was an awkward feeling not traipsing around the grounds of Seth Grove Stadium for a couple days, keeping tabs on the area’s local athletes. A lot of miles, a lot of hours, lots of photos, some improper nutrition, not enough sleep and avoiding the deadly steeplechase rail along the track were the norm of the whirlwind two days, but, hey, once a year, it was worth the effort.
Brownsville senior Gionna Quarzo didn’t run early in the morning on that Saturday over Memorial Day weekend, but she would’ve been the odds-on favorite to lower her state-record time and win her third Class AA gold medal in the 3,200. The fun count would’ve been how many runners she’d lap in the eight-lap race. Now mind you, these are the best the state has to offer and it’s intriguing just how great some athletes are to lap other runners or win by a large margin of time, distance or height.
Plus, the opportunity was lost to hand over the baton to the next Quarzo, JoJo, a freshman.
Waynesburg Central’s Taylor Shriver finished third in the state in the pole vault last year after breaking the WPIAL mark held by former Raider great Marissa Kalsey and entered the 2020 season after a strong indoor season.
The list of girls seeking a return trip to the state championship included seniors, Belle Vernon’s Hannah Seitzinger (10, 400) and Brownsville’s Jamilah Copeland (22, 200) and Aniya Tarpley (10, triple jump); juniors, Belle Vernon’s Casey Weightman (14, javelin), Southmoreland’s Makayla Slack (12, 100) and California’s Makayla Boda (10, 300 intermediate hurdles); and West Greene sophomore Brooke Barner (20, 100).
Local senior boys who participated in the PIAA Championships last year included seniors, Elizabeth Forward’s Stephen Frost (19, 800) and the Warriors’ 3,200 relay (18), Yough’s Josh O’Bradovich (21, high jump), Uniontown’s Isaiah Melvin (T-13, high jump), Connellsville’s Aden Bruich (19, shot put), and Belle Vernon’s Ryan Marek (19, discus); and juniors, Yough’s Hunter Bakewell (16, javelin) and Elizabeth Forward’s Chase Whatton (21, javelin).
Those are just the athletes who qualified last year. There were a number of kids who were close in 2019, plus those counting on a strong spring season to finally earn that elusive berth into the final meet of the season.
Oh well, here’s hoping for a return trip to Shippensburg in May 2021!