Laurel Highlands girls capture county meet, field and track MVP awards
Laurel Highlands came away from the FCCA Track & Field Championships with a trifecta Saturday with the host team winning both MVP awards as well as the team title. Maressa Guynn won her third Field MVP, Jordyn Hartsek her first Track MVP, and the Fillies repeated as county team champions. Guynn nearly mirrored the performance of Connellsville’s Rodney Richter, the boys’ MVP, by winning the shot put (37-8) and discus (123-3), but did him one place better by finishing second in the javelin behind the Fillies’ Demi Phillipy.
“I wanted to get firsts and get the job done, and leave my last year with the MVP,” said Guynn, who scored 28 points. “I could do better, but it’s tough to work on all three events.”
Although the Fillies will be in the team semifinals on Wednesday, the county meet is the beginning of the individual post-season. Because of the strain on her arm, Guynn threw the javelin for the final time Saturday.
“It helps to drop one event. The body can’t physically take all three,” said Guynn.
Hartsek won her MVP with one individual first place (1,600), a second (3,200), a third (800), and running the second leg of the victorious 3,200 relay for 241/2 points. She made a move in the final 200 meters of the 1,600 that O’Neil wasn’t able to counter, but the Uniontown senior came back to win the 3,200.
“I was hoping to win the 800,” said Hartsek, who was third behind Uniontown’s Jordan Crutchman and teammate Brandi Liptock. “As long as I get a first, second or third, I’m happy. My goal was to win the MVP.
“The heat was tough. The times were slower.”
The Fillies swept the relays, and Amanda Parker had a rare performance by running in all three victorious relays.
Laurel Highlands won the team title with 227 points, and did so with more than a few first-place finishes.
Aleesha Washington won the 100 (12.2) and 200 (26.6). Lauren Shull was first in the 100 high hurdles (15.7) and finished second to Uniontown’s Dara Reeves in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Brooks Burns cleared 5 feet to win the high jump.
Uniontown’s Annabel Mosco set the county meet record with her winning jump of 17-41/2 in the long jump. The Lady Raiders’ Lyndsey Jesko won the pole vault and Reeves outleapt Mosco in the triple jump. Crutchman’s winning time in the 800 was 2:31.7 and O’Neil crossed the finish line in the 3,200 in 12:21.6.
Albert Gallatin’s Jordan Reagan won the 400 (1:02.0), was third in the 100, and second in the 200.