Lady Falcons one win away from WPIAL playoff berth
Uniontown's Micah Martin lead the field in the 110-meter hurtles during their meet with Connellsville at Bill Power Stadium in Uniontown.
Connellsville's Courtney Fox clears the bar during the pole vault against Uniontown at Bill Power Stadium in Uniontown Thursday.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.com
Tiarra Taylor ran the last leg of the 400-meter relay helping Connellsville win the event during its meet with Uniontown at Bill Power Stadium in Uniontown Thursday.
When Tiarra Taylor and her fellow seniors were freshman, victories were few and far between for the Connellsville girls track & field team.
Those woeful days have turned completely around for the Lady Falcons, who are now one victory away from clinching second place in Section 2-AAA after defeating Uniontown on the road Thursday, 92½-57½.
Taylor helped lead that surge against the Lady Raiders, who were a bit understaffed with supreme distance runner Julie Friend on the sidelines, nursing a leg injury. Taylor won the 100 (12.93) and long jump (16-5), finished second to Micah Martin in the triple jump, and anchored Connellsville’s 400 relay team to victory in 53.42 seconds.
“It means a lot,” Taylor said of the victory that boosted the Lady Falcons to 4-1 in the section. “We want to go to the playoffs really bad.
“I think (making the playoffs) gives us more confidence.”
Connellsville’s section finale is next Thursday at Albert Gallatin, and the county meet quickly follows on Saturday at Laurel Highlands.
Ashton Grimm, a sophomore, has been a part of the turnaround for the Lady Falcons. She overcame a poor start to finish second to Taylor in the 100, ran the second leg of the victorious 400 relay, just missed her PR in winning the 200 (27.3), and ran the opening leg of the winning 1,600 relay.
“It was quiet on the bus on the way here. We knew we had to win this meet if we wanted to go to the playoffs,” described Grimm. “We were focused (on the meet).”
Grimm was recovering from an ACL injury last spring, so her times were a bit skewed. She is pleased with the progress she has made to date.
“My times are improving as the season (progresses),” said Grimm. “My goal is to run 25 (seconds) in the 200, but I want to hit the low 26s if possible.”
Taylor and Grimm had a lot of company crossing the line first.
Brittany Craig bore down in the final 100 meters to win the 1,600 in 6:10.22. Lauren Harvey breezed along the track to finish first in the 400 (1:02.26), and then later anchored the 1,600 relay team of Grimm, Bella Sigado and Anna Polyblank to victory in 4:29.07.
Haley Lowry had a couple of first-place finishes in the throws, winning the shot put (31-8) and discus (82-3). Courtney Fox cleared 7-6 to win the pole vault. The 3,200 relay team of Maria Merendino, Emma Bell, Craig and Harvey opened by winning in 10:50.36.
Martin was the big point-getter for the Lady Raiders, winning the 100 high hurdles (16.54), 300 intermediate hurdles (51.24), and triple jump (34-½).
Tori Campbell (javelin, 101-5), Violet Kern (3,200, 14:01.86), and Jade Bellotti (800, 2:36.77) also had first-place finishes.
Nicole Bell rounded out the top finishes for Uniontown after she won the high jump after a jump of 4-10. Bell came close to clearing 5 feet on her first attempt.
“I feel a lot better compared to last week,” Said Bell, who set her PR of 5-2 a couple weeks ago and has her sights on 5-6. “I cleared 5 feet once last year as a freshman, and I cleared 5-2 this year.
“I know I can do it. That’s the motivation to clear the height.”
Uniontown (3-1, 3-1) closes the season with a road meet at Albert Gallatin next Tuesday before hosting Laurel Highlands two days later.