WPIAL team track semifinals
Scotties trounce Planets, Bucs ALVERTON – So many times a track meet comes down to the second and third place scoring to determine the winner of a dual or triangular meet.
The Southmoreland boys had no need for non-first place finishes Wednesday because the Scotties took more than enough first place finishes against Mars and Chartiers-Houston to easily advance through the WPIAL Class AA Team Playoff semifinals at Southmoreland.
The scores were almost identical with the Scotties easily defeating Mars, 116-34, and soundly beating Chartiers-Houston, 119-31.
Southmoreland grabbed 16 of 18 first place finishes from the Planets and 14 and a tie from the Buccaneers. The Scotties defeated both teams in 14 of the events, including 10 of the 11 events on the track.
The results surprised Southmoreland boys coach Bill Schrecengost a bit because the scouting reports had him figuring the Scotties scoring around 100 points.
“I thought we’d score 100,” Schrecengost said. “We’ve been waiting for some competition to perform against and today we let it all out.”
Despite the lopsided scores, Schrecengost maintains his squad has yet to reach its peak.
“We’re still working towards peaking at the right times. They’re all capable of doing better under competitive circumstances.”
Schrecengost had stellar performances from those athletes he has counted upon all season, especially on the track. Tommy Brittain was part of 20 points by winning the 1,600 (4:55) and 800 (2:05.2) and anchoring the 3,200 and 1,600 relays.
B.J. Hall had strong performances in both the 110 high (16.8) and 300 intermediate (43.2) hurdles. The 400 relay team of Brian Connors, Caleb Shively, Jon Sebek and Tim Fratto sped around the track to the tune of a new school record, 44.8 seconds.
Fratto also had a hand in 20 points with individual wins in the 100 (11.5), long jump (20-0) and triple jump (40-9).
The Scotties were inexperienced in the throws coming into the season, but Jeff Leonard, Duane Frund and Steve Weimer accounted for 18 points against Mars and 12 points against Chartiers-Houston.
Leonard threw the shot put 37-6 and hurled the discus 111-7 while Weimer had the top javelin throw of 159 feet, 7 inches.
With Scotties sliding through the semifinals, Schrecengost and the Scotties now have their eyes trained on winning the Class AA Team Championship, a title that alluded them last year when they were runner-up to Freedom.
“Our goal all season long is to not fall short again. We’re pretty sure of a couple of teams. The team to beat is Freedom,” Schrecengost said of next week’s championship.
“Freedom has some very fast kids. They’re tough to beat in the sprints. They overwhelm you with speed and they have at least one thrower in one event that is excellent.”
The finals will be a quadrangular meet with the four semifinal winners advancing to a yet to be determined site on Thursday, May 9. Competing against three other teams permits Schrecengost and his coaching staff to keep athletes in events they’re used to competing in.
“There are some moves you can make. Fortunately, we have enough depth to move people around if we have to.”
The Scotties will have a chance to shine as individuals on Tuesday, May 7 when Southmoreland travels to Mars for the WPIAL Class AA Individual regional qualifier.