May 26, 2006 By Jim Downey 3 min read

Laurel Highlands’ Jared Jodon hopes Saturday’s weather to be about 70 degrees with low humidity and a tailwind when he makes his run at a gold medal in the pole vault. The senior probably isn’t alone with the wishful weather forecast with the PIAA Individual Track & Field Championships beginning this morning at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.

The top eight finishers in each of the 18 events receive a medal.

Jodon is the top-seeded pole vaulter in Class AAA and is joined atop the list by teammate Breehana Jacobs in the 200. Jacobs is the defending gold medallist in the 100 and is seeded second in the event.

Jodon would hope for a dry day to vault since the competition was moved indoors last year after warm-ups. He finished tied for fourth with a vault of 14 feet, six inches, his entry vault this year, but the Virginia Tech recruit has higher aspirations in his final state meet.

“I want to jump 16-6, and from there I want to jump 17 feet,” said Jodon before Wednesday’s workout. “The (state meet record) is 16-1 and the best in Pennsylvania is 16-4. I want to be one of the best in the country.”

His gold medal-winning vault of 16 feet in the recent WPIAL Championships earned him a spot on the NFHS Honor Roll.

The competition will have familiar names with North Allegheny’s Sean Gil, WPIAL runner-up, and Pine-Richland’s Chris Spataro, the bronze medal winner, expected to push Jodon to new heights.

Jacobs’ winning time in the WPIAL 200 finals was 23.91 seconds, just .14 seconds off the PIAA mark set by Wickahickon’s Krista Simkins set in 2003.

Simkins edged Jacobs for the gold last year.

The Fillies’ Jessica Zavatchen, the only freshman in WPIAL finals, has the 11th-best jump at 5-2 entering the competition with the best jump being 5-8 coming into the state finals. She’ll be at it bright and early with a 9 a.m. start.

Fellow freshmen Meg Mahoney and Aleesha Washington will join senior Molly Macioce and Jacobs for a shot at a medal in the 400 relay. The quartet are seeded 17th with a time of 50.30, but had problems with handoffs in the finals.

Uniontown senior Courtney Sanner will be making her first trip to the state finals, and is seeded 10th in the javelin with a top throw of 120-10.

“I want to try to break my personal best again. If I can get a throw over 120-feet, I’d be satisfied,” Sanner said as she looked to the state meet after the WPIAL finals.

Waynesburg Central’s Jereme Yoders considers the discus his better event, but is actually seeded higher in the shot put.

He’s ninth in the shot put and 22nd in the discus.

Fellow senior Jake Raddish looks to finish his career with a medal and tie the school record of 6-6, which is the top jump coming into the state meet.

Waynesburg’s Morgan Bland (pole vault) and Keith Higginbotham (100) are in their first state finals.

Brownsville’s America Cardine will have her three events a bit more spaced out this time than at the WPIAL finals when she shared time on the track and long jump pit. The junior’s highest seed is 11th in the 300 intermediate hurdles. She will also compete in the 200 and long jump.

Other area athletes in the state meet includes Southmoreland’s Kevin Snyder (110 high hurdles) and 1,600 relay team of Audrey Graft, K.J. Richardson, Stephanie Wiltrout and Jamie Henry and Mount Pleasant’s Taylor Funk (100 high hurdles), Abbey Way (pole vault), Derek Auen (javelin) and Ian Wirth (pole vault).

The meet will be broadcast on PCN-TV.