Prestipino, Kopich earn spots into WPIAL meet
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Frazier’s Skye Eicher (right) leads Brownsville’s Jamilah Copeland (center) and Connellsville’s Callie Cunningham to the finish line in the finals of the 100-meter dash at the FCCA Track & Field Championships held at Laurel Highlands. All three girls are scheduled to compete in the WPIAL Class AAA/AA Track & Field Championships at Baldwin High School on Thursday.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Belle Vernon’s Hunter Martin lands his triple jump attempt during the Section 2-AAA meet held at Connellsville on April 24. Martin is seeded third in the triple jump in the WPIAL Class AAA Track & Field Championships hosted by Baldwin High School on Thursday.
Brenna Cavanaugh, Skye Eicher, Gionna Quarzo, Daniel Jacobs, Hunter Martin and Brianna Spirnak were all assured of their berths into the WPIAL Class AAA/AA Track & Field Championships when the time to post a mark closed the morning of May 9.
That was not the case, however, for Connellsville’s Dom Prestipino and Laurel Highlands’ Brendan Kopich. Both runners were just on the outside of the top 24 when the final Class AAA performance list was published later in the day on May 9.
However, a berth for the final qualifying spot opened for both, allowing the Fayette County runners the opportunity to run in the district meet.
The top five finishers in Class AA and four in Class AAA automatically qualify for the PIAA Championships on Friday-Saturday, May 25-26, at Shippensburg University.
Those who finish in the top eight and outside the automatic qualifiers in the 18 events also earn a berth if the state qualifying time or mark is met.
Nearly 140 local male and female athletes and relay teams will compete over the 15 individual events and three relays in the two classifications.
The javelin competition is top-heavy with local throwers with a total of 25 boys and girls in the mix.
Elizabeth Forward’s Jacobs and Spirnak are the top seeds in Class AAA. Connellsville’s Cameron Sapola and Uniontown’s David Eitner are also among the top seeds in Class AAA.
Beth-Center’s Kennedy Kuhns is second-seeded and California’s Marissa Bitonti third in Class AA.
Led by Waynesburg Central’s Scott Benco as the third seed, half of the 16-boy field in Class AA is composed of local throwers.
Cavanaugh, a senior at Bentworth, posted the fastest time in Class AA in the 100 high hurdles by over a second as she looks to repeat as gold medalist.
Cavanaugh has the longest mark in the Class AA long jump entering the district championship in her attempt to repeat as champion. She sits second in triple jump, where she finished fifth last year.
Frazier’s Eicher, a sophomore, posted one of the fastest times in the girls Class AA 100-meter dash. The sophomore is also one of the top seeds in the 200.
Quarzo, a sophomore at Brownsville, looks to double in the Class AA distance races. She has by far the fastest time in the 3,200 this spring and one of the fastest in the 1,600.
The Waynesburg Central trio of Taylor Shriver, Will Behm and Daniel Layton look to keep the vaulting tradition alive for the program. Behm is seeded first in Class AA, the only vaulter in the classification to clear 15 feet. Layton and Shriver are seeded second.
Layton looks to double as the top seed in the 110 high hurdles.
Uniontown’s Maeve Carei is the second-seeded vaulter in Class AAA.
Belle Vernon freshman Grace Henderson will attempt to make her mark early as the second-seeded jumper in the Class AAA high jump.
Brownsville’s Nicholas Seto cracked 42 feet in the triple jump last month and the sophomore looks to improve on that third-seeded mark in the Class AA triple jump.
The Beth-Center duo of Ronald White and Jordan Blackburn are seeded second and fourth, respectively, in the Class AA discus.
Belle Vernon’s Martin, Laurel Highlands’ Iliesa Salauca and Elizabeth Forward’s Nick Hunnell are in the first heat of the Class AAA 110 high hurdles, increasing the odds of advancing at least one local hurdler in the finals.
Martin is also seeded third in the Class AAA triple jump.