Mears captures pair of medals
SHIPPENSBURG – Never at a loss for words, Waynesburg Central’s Derek Mears was at the top of his game at the PIAA Individual Track and Field Championships, both in the throwing pit as well as in post-competition interviews. After narrowly missing a medal in the boys Class AA shot put last year, Mears brought home a sixth-place medal in style Friday. He then capped a strong weekend Saturday by placing fifth in the boys Class AA discus.
Despite only having two throws that counted, Mears saved his best for last when he broke good friend Lanfer Simpson’s school record in the shot put. Simpson threw 53-1/4 in last year’s state meet for the silver medal, but Mears bettered the mark to 53-61/2. Shuylkill Valley’s Dane Miller won the gold medal with a throw of 611/4.
“All the competition had to come out my senior year. I felt kind of pumped up. I felt good in warm-ups,” said Mears, whose previous best was 52-2. “Lanfer said he’d be mad if I didn’t break his record. It was a big throw. I was overwhelmed with the school record.”
Mears continued the momentum into the discus. His throw of 149-6 was three inches out of fourth place and a foot from third place after entering the finals in fourth place.
“I didn’t feel right in the circle. I guess I was trying to think too much. It’s disappointing that I know I can throw farther,” the WPIAL gold medallist in both the shot put and discus said. “I was fine in warm-ups. It was some little thing I couldn’t pick up on. Whatever it was it was the difference between third and fifth.”
Mears had mixed feelings about his final high competition, adding, “It’s kind of a bittersweet thing. I had fun. It’s a nice ending to a new beginning.”
Connellsville’s Clint Richter advanced to the PIAA Championships last year as a junior and was just hoping to advance to the finals in the boys Class AAA discus. The Falcon senior did himself one better by coming home in eighth place after a throw of 159-6 Friday.
“I just wanted to make the finals. I didn’t think I’d win a medal,” a pleased Richter said. “It’s a big improvement from the WPIAL Championships. I had no scratches on any throws.
“I wanted to break the school record really bad, but I got into a slump during the season and it threw me off. I’m happy I got a medal. I didn’t expect one.”
Brownsville’s Doug Patterson finished third at the WPIAL Championships, but beat out the other District 7 hopefuls by placing fifth in the Class AA boys long jump Saturday morning. The junior wasted no time, hitting his best jump of the day of 21-feet on his first attempt of the preliminary round.
Though fifth overall, Patterson was real close to the top. The Falcon jumper was less than five inches out of second place.
“I was in first place coming into the finals. I was excited. I wanted to finish first. I was looking for 22-feet,” Patterson said. “This was the best jumping day of the season. I wasn’t nervous.
“The jumping pit was perfect. The atmosphere here is much better. All these people pushing you to do your best.”
Southmoreland’s Tom Brittain squeezed through the boys Class AA 1,600 qualifier Friday, then gave it all he had to finish eighth in the finals Saturday.
Brittain kept pace with the main body of the field, but a pack of five broke free in the third lap. He tried to hold on to seventh in the final 100 meters, but was caught by Mercyhurt Prep’s Sean McCullough at the tape. Brittain’s time of 4:26.66 was only .08 seconds behind McCullough.
“The first two laps took a lot out of me. I began to fall back, but I wanted to stay in the top eight. The top runners took the kick out of me,” said Brittain, who finished fifth last year and sixth in 1999. “I was nervous. This was my last race in high school and I wanted to make a strong showing.
“This is the best time of the three races. This is the strongest field I’ve seen. It was a fun time. Unfortunately, I didn’t work out how I planned.”
Southmoreland’s Tim Fratto and Beth-Center’s George Hilverding were unable to make the final round. Fratto, a sophomore, finished 13th in his first trip to the state meet in the boys Class AA triple jump with a best effort of 40-101/4. Hilverding finished 13th in the boys Class AA 400 in his first PIAA Championship with a personal best time of 2:03.19.