Mar 27, 2003 By Jim Downey 4 min read

The opening Section 5-AA triangular at Chartiers-Houston was a long, hectic Wednesday for visiting Brownsville and Beth-Center, but it gave the two teams an opportunity to work on a track for one of the few times to date. The Brownsville boys earned a split on the day, defeating Beth-Center (73-56) while losing a 77-64 decision to the Bucs. The Bulldogs in turn lost to the host team, 851/2-361/2.

The Beth-Center girls opened with a pair of victories by defeating Brownsville, 83-58, and Chartiers-Houston, 77-60. Brownsville lost its second meet of the day to the Lady Bucs, 81-69.

Brownsville boys coach Larry Cash was pleased with the Falcons first day. He received strong performances from the quartet of Joe Cardine, Doug Patterson, Josh Crable, and Barry Davies, a group he will count on heavily this season.

Cardine won both hurdles for the Falcons and ran the lead leg of the winning 400 relay. Patterson was a false start in the 100, but the state finalist in the long jump did the job early with wins in both the long and triple jumps.

Crable was the top man in the 1,600 (4:59) as well as in the 800. Davies won both the shot put and discus.

“Josh, Doug and Joe are our leaders. They set a good example. Barry Davies will be strong in the throws,” Cash said.

“We’ll be very strong in the running events. We won 11 first places against Chartiers-Houston, but were swept in the high jump and pole vault. These are events we have work on. We can afford losses in some areas, but not in others.”

The goal entering the 2003 season was a playoff berth, but that might be in danger with the opening day loss.

“Our goal was at least second place, but Washington will be tough. I’m also hoping to take more than one boy to states this year,” Cash said.

Beth-Center coach Ed Woods approach before the season was to improve on his known quantities and develop others around them.

“We’re getting a lot of boys out. The goal is to get ready for qualifiers, get them into shape,” Woods said. “We will put the kids were they can be the most productive. We have a lot of freshmen. We’re trying to find a place for them.”

George Hilverding qualified for the state meet in the 800 after placing fourth in the WPIAL and will look to repeat that performance. Aaron Beck advanced to the WPIAL finals in the 1,600, and will be the Bulldogs’ go-to guy in the distances.

The Lady Falcons hope to build off of last fall’s successful cross country season and coach Robb Rhoades sees the distance depth as the cornerstone.

Jill McClelland, Amber and Jenna Jackson, Julie Kromer and Angela Fraley are seasoned veterans and showed early season form in the triangular. The 3,200 and 1,600 relay teams anchored by most of those athletes swept the day.

Jill McClelland was strong in the 800 and Jenna Jackson won the 300 intermediate hurdles. Samantha Pancrantz defeated the Chartiers-Houston throwers in the shot put and discus.

“We’ve doubled the size and strength of our team. We have a strong and youthful group,” Rhoades said. “We have a lot of goal-setting.”

The coaching staff has been bolstered by the addition of Violet Michaux, a state champion jumper three years ago for the Lady Falcons.

“We have more depth in our staff. The Pancrantz girls are a couple of girls to watch. Nikki Williams in the high jump is phenomenal. She’s young and hungry with a lot of charisma,” Rhoades said. “Amber Jackson went to states in cross country and we hope to build off of that.”

Woods and the Brownsville staff share a common problem, no track facility to call their own. Despite the setback, Woods has a group he believes will be competitive in the section.

The Lady Bulldogs have a couple of top-flight throwers in Danielle Hutchinson and Samantha Slagle. Both have medalled in the WPIAL Championships. Jen Carroll gives the Beth-Center a strong sprinter and Rebecca White is a good distance runner.

“We think we can do some things in our section. Jocelyn Dickey and Sarah Sckena have promising track careers. Our goal is to get as many through the championships as possible,” Woods said.