California’s Qualk repeats as long jump champion; Mount Pleasant’s Garn wins 200
SLIPPERY ROCK — One was expected … the other … not so much, but California’s Lee Qualk and Mount Pleasant’s Jarett Garn will take the gold.
Qualk entered Wednesday’s WPIAL Individual Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University as the top seed and defending champion in the boys long jump in Class 2A, while Garn was the sixth seed in the boys 200-meter dash in Class 2A.
Qualk did what was expected with a winning jump of 22-08. Despite the victory, the senior wasn’t entirely pleased with his performance.
“I just tried to carry the same energy I had at Baldwin into this meet,” Qualk said. “All in all, I actually wasn’t feeling that great about my jumps. I was behind the board a little bit. There is a lot of room for improvement, but I still can’t be upset about what I did.”
Garn was second in the 200 last season, but the senior won the title in a time of 22.55. He ran a season-best 22.44 in the semifinals to qualify for the final with the top time. Garn has a personal record (PR) of 22.35 in the event.
“I was definitely excited for this year,” Garn said. “Last year, I got second place by like .01 seconds. To come back this year and get it was definitely exciting. I was able to catch up and be even with the guy in lane five on the corner.
“At that point, I was a little bit ahead, but the last 90 meters of the race, we were back and forth. I was able to get a tiny-bit ahead in the last 10 meters for the win.”
Qualk didn’t have a state meet to remember last year, but is eager for a return trip to Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium next Friday. The Class 2A boys long jump competition gets underway at 9 a.m.
“A spot on the podium would be a satisfying finish to my high school career,” Qualk said.
Despite being the defending champion in the long jump, Qualk wasn’t an overwhelming topic of discussion amid the top jumpers in the state early in the season, which could be attributed to competing in Class 2A, although his marks were there.
The narrative changed when he jumped a PR of 23-5.50 to win the 51st Baldwin Invitational on May 2. Qualk edged two Class 3A competitors in North Allegheny’s Nicholas Humphries (23-3) and Penn Hills’ Ronald Porter (22-11.50).
Porter won the Class 3A competition in 22-08.50 and Humphries was third in 21-11.50.
“Winning the long jump at Baldwin really boosted my confidence,” Qualk said. “The biggest thing that I did this year that I definitely didn’t do last year was lifting three days a week.
“I started to do that around January or February. I would get up at 5:15 in the morning and go lift under 7:20, then I would shower and be in school by 7:40. I did that Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and that’s something I didn’t do last year, and that really gave me a boost.”
Garn looks forward to competing next weekend at Seth Grove Stadium. The preliminaries of the 200-meter dash in all classifications are scheduled to begin Friday at 3 p.m. The finals will be contested Saturday at 3 p.m.
“I think the experience of competing last year at the state meet will help,” Garn said. “Nobody got near their top times last year. I don’t see myself winning the state title, but that would definitely be awesome. There are going to be a lot of great athletes there that are running like 22 seconds. I will take anything on the podium.”
Following high school, Garn will attend Saint Vincent College to study aviation and become an airline pilot. He will play football for the Bearcats, and possibly compete in track & field.