May 18, 2007 By Dave Stofcheck 4 min read

WHITEHALL – The WPIAL said goodbye to Breehana Jacobs Thursday, waving adios to the Laurel Highlands’ senior as she left everyone in her dust. But before Jacobs sped off into the sunset, she passed a torch to teammate Aleesha Washington, who may be the WPIAL’s next speedster in-the-making.

Washington didn’t challenge Jacobs for the 100-meter title, but she did the next best thing, grabbing a silver medal in the event and in the process, qualifying for the PIAA championships.

Laurel Highlands had two more state qualifiers – Casey Conn and Demi Phillipy – come out of Thursday’s meet. Conn capped her WPIAL career with a bronze medal in the pole vault, while Phillipy, a sophomore, finished fourth in the javelin.

Conn’s performance was especially impressive, considering she tore her left quadriceps in early January and was forced into six weeks of therapy just to get ready for her final season.

“To come here and qualify for the states, especially after being hurt earlier this year, is pretty ridiculous,” Conn said, still giddy after receiving her medal.

Uniontown’s Brea Belt saw her high school career end, but not before she grabbed two more medals, a sixth place in the long jump and a seventh place in the triple jump.

If Thursday’s results are a barometer of things to come, Washington may be Jacobs’ heir apparent.

“She can definitely be successful,” Jacobs said. “She has all the talent in the world. All she has to do is come in and work hard. If she wants it she can have it.”

Washington, a sophomore, won the silver medal with a time of 12.56, which was just fast enough to edge Woodland Hills’ Cambrya Jones, who finished at 12.57.

The finish also means Washington will compete next weekend at Shippensburg. The top-four places and ties automatically received berths in the PIAA finals.

“My big goal today was I just wanted to qualify for states,” Washington said.

Washington has been pushed all season by Jacobs, and vice versa. The two have developed a friendly rivalry, and the results were evident no place more than atop the medals stand Thursday.

“We push each other a lot at practice,” Jacobs said. “There were times we didn’t get along, but we worked through it. We push each other to run our best. She’s happy for me and I’m happy for her.

“When we’re at practice, we don’t want to get beat by each other. It’s helped me a lot. When somebody is good and she’s behind me, I don’t want her to pass me.”

Washington won’t have to worry about running in Jacobs’ shadow much longer. The two could possibly wind up running against each other next week at the state meet, but that’s the last time, at least at the high-school level, that the pair will be trying to one-up one another.

“Everybody constantly calls me the ‘next Breehana’, but I’m just Aleesha Washington,” Washington said.

Conn topped out at 11 feet, which was actually the same height as Norwin’s Amanda Ponsonby. But Ponsoby received the silver medal because she won a tiebreaker, reaching 11 feet with fewer misses.

A year ago, Conn qualified for the WPIAL finals, but didn’t medal. She began working with West Virginia University girls pole vault coach Tim Sullivan in late November, which she credits with her improved performance.

“I wasn’t too bummed out last year when I didn’t make it to states because I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Conn said. “But Tim has really helped me out. I really wanted to hit 11-6, but I knew what I had to go out and do to reach states and I’m really glad I did it.”

Derry’s Amanda Palenchar won the event with a height of 11-3.

Phillipy’s best throw of six wound up 126-4, and she was the youngest competitor to medal in the top 5. Her winning mark came on her second throw in the preliminary round.

“I really wanted to break the school record, but I didn’t do that,” Phillipy said. “But I am still looking forward to states. I really am thankful I made it here, but I do feel I could have done a little better.”

Kiska Area’s Leah Ulizio won the event with a toss of 139 feet.

Belt capped her high school career by winning her fourth and fifth medals Thursday. In the long jump, she wound up sixth with a mark of 16-61/4, and in the triple jump, she finished with a distance of 35-31/2.

“I’m very disappointed and upset,” Belt said. “I was tired after the preliminaries (long jump) and barely made it to the finals. But it’s been a fun four years.”