Clancy wins gold in shot put
California’s Kailyn Clancy was frustrated she wasn’t able to post a throw in Friday’s Class AA discus, but the junior funneled her disappointed into a gold-medal performance in the Class AA shot put Saturday on the second day of the PIAA Track & Field Championships held at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
All that stood in the way of Uniontown’s Julie Friend not making the medals stand twice was about three seconds as the senior tried to double in the Class AAA distance races.
Clancy hit her gold medal throw of 40-11½ in the preliminary round, with her other throws around her best, but far short of the 43 feet thrown in the WPIAL finals.
“I’m not happy with the distance, but I’m happy that I won,” said Clancy. “I wanted 43 (feet), like at the WPIALs.”
Clancy won WPIAL gold in both the shot put and discus. Although she favors the shot put, she was not happy with the way the discus competition panned out on the cold, damp, windy Friday morning.
“With the wind, I throw closer to the side and it went out of sector,” Clancy said of all three of her preliminary throws. “I definitely wanted gold (in the shot put) to make up for it.”
Clancy finished second last year as a sophomore, a beneficial experience as she entered this year’s state meet.
“The experience from last year helped, knowing how it goes,” said Clancy.
Clancy scored 10 team points to allow the Lady Trojans to finish in a three-way tie for 25th in Class AA.
Friend’s mad dash to the finish in the morning session’s Class AAA 3,200 final fell two seconds short, as the senior just missed the medals podium in ninth place with a time of 10:52.78.
Upper St. Clair’s Beth Erlanger held off the Lady Raider distance specialist for eighth place in 10:50.63. Unionville’s Courtney Smith finished first in 10:24.06. She led a strong field that featured five runs that made the NFHS Honor Roll, as well as the top 21 girls meeting the state qualifying standard.
Friend returned for the afternoon session in the Class AAA 1,600 finals. She finished ninth again, completing the four-lap race in 5:06.14, just steps behind Unionville’s Olivia Young in eighth with a time of 5:05.16.
Friend qualified for the 1,600 finals on time Friday afternoon, securing the third of four spots in 5:01.62. Based on her finish in the WPIAL finals, Friend was seeded 16th entering the prelims.
Shaler’s Brianna Schwartz finished first in 4:50.05.
Although she missed the awards podium, Friend, according to coach Matt Girod, was excited with her performances.
“She was smiling from ear-to-ear. She was thrilled. Julie was most happy with her time in the 3,200. It’s her favorite event,” Girod said of Friend’s 3,200 run. “She had us all amazed. We were thrilled with her 2-mile. She was incredible, actually.”
Girod described how the 3,200 played out.
“She started with the head pack, but they pulled away around the third lap,” explained Girod. “Julie was around 15th after the first mile, but she made a good move on Lap 5. That last lap was all guts.
“It was a close ninth place. I think she was kicking stronger at the end.”
Girod then explained how the 1,600 unfolded.
“Julie’s time doesn’t reflect how she ran the race. It was very windy (around the 200-meter mark). It was hard on all the runners,” said Girod. “The 1,600 was tougher because of the wind, and fatigue set in except for maybe the top two girls.”
As for Friday’s qualifying run in the 1,600, Girod added, “Julie ran the perfect race. That the best time she had since last year’s WPIAL finals.”
Girod lauded not only his distance star’s performances, but also those of other WPIAL athletes.
“Julie had PRs (personal bests) in two out of three races. That’s hard for a distance runner to do,” said Girod. “The WPIAL athletes impressed me. The Hempfield girls won the 400 relay and the Fox Chapel boy (Ethan Martin) won the 3,200. They made our region look good.”
Waynesburg Central senior Richelle Tharp just missed the finals in the Class AA javelin, finishing 10th with a throw of 118-4. The top nine places advanced to the final round.
Tharp fell short of her state-qualifying throw of 127 feet. The senior was fourth among WPIAL throwers.
Fort Cherry’s Jenna Lucas led the District 7 contingent by taking the gold medal with a throw of 147-1. She was one of three throwers to earn a spot on the NFHS Honor Roll and one of seven to meet the state-qualifying standard.
Brownsville’s Maris Seto’s ambitious weekend came to a close Saturday morning in the Class AA triple jump. The freshman finished 21st overall with a jump of 33-4, four inches short of her finish in the WPIAL finals. Seto had the second-best finish among District 7 jumpers.
Seto had difficulty getting situated in the triple jump.
“I wasn’t on the board on my last two attempts. My steps were off,” said Seto.
Her first state meet was an eye-opening experience, but an experience Seto wants to repeat in the future.
“It changed my whole view for next year. I know what to do,” said Seto, who plans to attend high jump camps this summer. “It’s pushing me forward to make me do better. I want to stay in all three (jumping events) for all four years.”
Brookvilles Lanae Newsome finished first with a jump of 39-6¾.