Apr 24, 2014 By Jim Downey, For The Greene County Messenger 3 min read

COAL CENTER — Although first-place finishes were few Thursday afternoon, athletes from Beth-Center, Brownsville, California, and Jefferson-Morgan filled the top four spots at the Section 6-AA Championships hosted by California Area High School.

Jefferson-Morgan’s Ian Wolfe won the shot put with a throw of 117-7, about a foot further than teammate Jake Earnest with Beth-Center’s Dan Smith third (114-½). California’s Gavin Anderson sped to the line to win the 100 in 11.62 seconds and helped the Trojans win the 400 relay in 46.49.

Brownsville’s Nick Despot had the best throw of the javelin, 157-10. Frazier’s duo of Matt Brown (157-6) and Drake Bucci (156-10½) weren’t far behind.

Despot was flipping between the high jump pit, where he finished second with a jump of 5-10 and the javelin.

“I was close to clearing 6 feet, but my foot hit on the second try,” said Despot. “My PR in the javelin is 162-feet, so it was up there. I’m trying to rest up my arm for Saturday.”

“Saturday” is the annual county meet at Connellsville.

“They all have tracks,” Despot said of the Class AAA schools in the county. “We don’t have that luxury. You want to beat them because they have a track.

“I want to jump 6 feet and throw the javelin 160 feet and finish in first place Saturday.”

Despot also had to adjust to the javelin runway.

“I had to prepare myself for the artificial runway. I used my basketball shoes. I wear football spikes to throw on grass. It gets it done,” said Despot.

Teammate Byron Mayers finished second in the 100 and fourth in the 200.

Jefferson-Morgan’s Micah Stanko had a solid performance with second-place finishes in the 200 (24.21) and 400 relay (46.98), and a third-place finish in the long jump (17-6) and 1,600 relay (3:59).

Coming up just short of qualifying for the state meet last year in the 200 has fueled Stanko’s season.

“I was sixth (in the 200) last year at Baldwin (in the WPIAL finals). It was rough,” said Stanko. “I want to break 23 (seconds). I’ve done it just once.

“Running the 400 has dropped my time a lot. That’s why I started running the 1,600 relay.”

California’s Cory Adams has the unusual event pairing of high jump and shot put. He finished second in the shot put (42-1½) and sixth in the high jump (5-2).

“Absolutely, they’re different,” Adams said of his two events. “It’s two completely different worlds. I enjoy both, but I’m much better in the shot put.

“My goal is 42-10 (the qualifying distance), but throwing 44 or 45 (feet) would be a dream.”

Teammate Devin Peterman ran two solid distance races, finishing second in both the 1,600 (4:54) and 3,200 (10:52).

Frazier distance runner Christian Katic had a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 1,600 (5:06) and 3,200 (11:12).

“I wanted to perform well. My time in the 1,600 wasn’t too bad. I was a little off my PR,” said Katic after completing the 3,200.

He used the section meet as preparation for Saturday’s county meet.

“This Saturday is the big race,” said Katic. “Getting under 5 (minutes) is the goal. It’s been a goal for awhile. It’s my favorite event.”

He’ll be among friendly competitors, as well.

“I run with them. We’re friends, not necessarily on the track. There’s a big pack, especially with Belle Vernon coming in. It will be a giant pack around 4:55 and the low 5s (minutes).

“It should be fun.”