Mighty Mustangs
Laurel Highlands’ Brown, Schwertfeger win track, overall MVP awards
In what was likely their last meet this season on the track at Mustang Field, the Laurel Highlands duo of junior Diondra Brown and senior Matt Schwertfeger dominated the competition on their way to winning the Track and Overall MVP awards Saturday afternoon in the Fayette County Coaches Association Track & Field Championships.
Brown won her second straight FCCA MVP after crossing the finish line first in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, and was the anchor leg on the winning 1,600-meter relay team. Brown won the 100 in 13.06, the 200 in 27.20, the 400 in 1:02.18, and the Fillies earned the title in the 1,600 relay in a time of 4:34.02.
The rainy and windy weather wasn’t conducive for PRs (personal records), but Brown was able to get the job done. She didn’t PR in any of her events, but ran a season-best in the 400.
“It was definitely my goal to get MVP,” Brown said. “I won it last year, so it was nice to win it again. My times were OK today. They were definitely not my best. It was really cold today.
“I am still trying to work on the 400 because I made states in the 400 last year. I think I am going to try and do all three events (in the postseason), but I think the 400 is my best one right now.”
Brown’s performance provided Laurel Highlands with 32.5 of the Fillies’ 167.33 team points for the team title over Connellsville (124.33) and Uniontown (92).
Brown, and her teammates, will turn their attention to the WPIAL Class 3A Girls Track & Field Team Championships, which begin Tuesday with the semifinals at Norwin. LH won the Section 2-3A team title last week.
“It is definitely exciting to win the team title in back-to-back years in the section and county meet,” Brown said. “I am looking forward to the team playoffs, and I hope I can lower some of my times there.”
Brown’s teammate, Shayla Dues, scored 30 team points in winning the 100 and 300 hurdles in 15.69 and 52.17, and finishing second to Brown in the 200 with a PR of 27.75. Dues broke her PR in the 100 hurdles. She ran the second leg of the Fillies’ 400-relay team that finished second to the Brownsville quartet of Jersey Feick-White, Ta’Veonna Harris, Aijanae Foster and Amya Wilson. The Lady Falcons won the race in 52.41. LH crossed the finish line in 54.68.
The Lady Red Raiders’ Grace Trimmer won the 1,600 in 5:23.68 and the 3,200 in 11:44.33. Laurel Highlands’ Isabella Baker won the 800 in 2:27.65, and was the anchor leg in the victorious 3,200 relay team of Taylor Schwertfeger, Bethany Byrne and Alexandra Mattey.
Schwertfeger, Baker, Byrne and Brown won the 1,600 relay in 4:34.02.
Matt Schwertfeger ran the distance gauntlet with victories in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. He was the anchor leg on the Mustangs’ 1,600 relay team that finished four.
Schwertfeger won the 1,600 in 4:36.75 before competing in three of the last four track events, which is quite a chore that doesn’t allow for much rest. He crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 2:03.32 in the 800 and took the 3,200 in 10:09.08.
If Schwertfeger was tired following the 3,200, he didn’t show it in the 1,600 relay, as he ran his split in 54.59.
“I didn’t feel fantastic,” said Schwertfeger in regards to running a leg of the 1,600 relay.
Uniontown’s Ethan Syner, who came in second with a time of 10:24.20, led the second and third laps of the 3,200 before Schwertfeger came on strong with roughly 1,700 meters to go. The Red Raiders’ Cooper Gilleland was second to Schwertfeger in the 800 at 2:07.81, and the 1,600 at 4:39.35.
“I really wasn’t expecting that,” said Schwertfeger in reference to Syner’s early move in the 3,200. “After the first mile, I just decided to go. I have raced him (Syner) a lot in cross country. The 800 and 1,600 were close races. Today wasn’t a day for PRs.”
Laurel Highlands finished third in the team standings with 102 points behind Connellsville (122) and Belle Vernon (104).
The Mustangs will compete in the Baldwin Invitational this Friday before the last-chance meet at West Mifflin on May 9 in gearing up for the WPIAL championships on May 14 at Slippery Rock University.
Schwertfeger plans on competing in the 800 and 1,600 the remainder of the season.
“I am kind of done doing the quadruple for these races,” Schwertfeger said. “I am going to focus on my individual races now. The past four or five weeks, I have kind of been just racing into shape, so now, with all these section meets being over, I’ll start getting some specific workouts in and fine tuning everything.”
The Leopards don’t have a track & field facility Kole Doppelheuer is also a member of the baseball team at Belle Vernon, but the senior four-sport athlete didn’t mind in winning the 100 and 200 in times of 11.45 and 23.16. He ran a leg of the Leopards’ 400 relay team that crossed the finish line first in 45.65.
Falcon senior Derek Routzahn broke his PRs in the 110 and 300 hurdles with victories in 16.79 and 44.95.
Calvary Chapel Christian’s Stephen Chapley won the 400 in a PR of 52.37.
Uniontown won the 3,200 relay, as Cooper Gilleland, Syner, Donte Rugola and Logan Davis teamed up to run a season-best 8:51.74.
Albert Gallatin won the 1,600 relay in a season-best time of 3:46.08.