A busy weekend that didn’t happen
As most of the reading public would be settling in to whatever has become its normal Sunday morning routine, I would’ve been somewhere between dragging my tired, old body out of bed to dragging my tired, old body up Interstate 40 East.
If anybody is kicking back with the Sunday paper and coffee around the time when I’d be wolfing down pizza and lemonade (because race day means calorie-free day!), then that’s a late morning routine I’m envious of.
I was to embark on what is believed to be my 25th Summit Challenge (per Jamie Brooks, who decided walking 3½ miles from Hopwood to the historic Summit Inn was a good idea) and my last race in my current age group this morning around 9:05.
The walk to the Summit was to be the cap of a whirlwind 24 hours for yours truly, starting with the annual FCCA Track & Field Championships at Connellsville Stadium on Saturday.
The meet was to start at 9 a.m., but I would’ve been there a little earlier for a doughnut and check in with the coaches. Then, a full day of watching the county’s finest run, jump and throw for a few hours.
Next, I would hightail myself back home to prep photos of athletes running, jumping and throwing, and compose a couple stories detailing how those young folks ran, jumped and threw.
My self-imposed deadline would likely elapse before I knew it, because I then would be hightailing up to Uniontown for early Summit Challenge packet pickup for myself and the rest of my clan to save time on race day.
Then, dart back home to get ready for Mass at 6 p.m. because I’d be traipsing up the side of a mountain Sunday morning when I’d normally be in church.
Then, most likely back to the laptop for a follow-up county meet notebook, maybe another photo or two and, probably, finishing up the results. Once Saturday’s responsibilities wrapped up, I’d wind down so I could get up at an unnatural hour of the day, at least for me, to prep for that wonderful walk up the Summit.
The extended forecast for Sunday morning was not promising, 50 degrees and an 88 percent chance of rain at the start and not improving through the rest of the morning.
Grandma, hopefully, would have opted out cheering on her grandchildren, so once less box to check off. Prepping for a race in the rain, well, it just isn’t fun. Hooking up with the my nephew Jason and niece Emily, who have a tendency to run a little late on race day, to distribute race bibs in the mass of humanity in the rain would add to the mayhem of the morning.
Then, the race, oh, the blessed race. I’ll just leave it at that.
And, there was a high probability I’d be writing up the story after walking the height of the Empire State Building over 3½ miles.
Pretty crazy schedule I’d annually have over this weekend of April. Given all that’s been going on, I wouldn’t have minded it one bit. (Well, walking in a 50-degree rain for around 45, 50 minutes I could do without, but I think you catch my drift.)
At least the weather turned out decent on Saturday. Started a bit foggy and damp, but warmed up nicely and the rain held off.
The county meet is a hectic day of being everywhere at the same time, but I really enjoy the meet. The county’s coaches — Laurel Highlands’ Bob Costello and Gerry Pegg, Brownsville’s Jim Barak, Connellsville’s Pat Mullaney, Uniontown’s Cedric Lloyd, Frazer’s Robb Acklin, Albert Gallatin’s Jeremy Keefer and Geibel Catholic’s A.J. Dynes — and their staffs put on a high-quality meet for the athletes, under the ever-vigilant and high-energy Mark John. I know I could always count on the Laurel Highlands athletic director to pick up my tab for lunch.
But, alas, no doughnuts, no free lunch, no skitting around from venue to venue around Connellsville Stadium. Perfect weather to run, jump and throw, all for naught.
Brownsville seniors Gionna Quarzo and Aniya Tarpley would’ve been ready to defend their county meet MVP titles. A new boys Track MVP would’ve been crowned with the graduation of Connellsville’s Bodee Stonebraker, but Brownsville senior Nick Seto would’ve attempted to jump his way to defend the Field MVP he shared with Frazier’s Julian Muccioli last year.
So, with no 2020 meet results to report, here’s the county meet winners from last year:
GIRLS
TEAM RESULTS: Connellsville 154, Brownsville 125, Laurel Highlands 121, Albert Gallatin 60, Frazier 55, Uniontown 20.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 100 High Hurdles: Neveah Hamborsky (Con) 17.65; 100: Skye Eicher (F) 12.56; 3,200 Relay: Connellsville 10:56.0; 1,600: Gionna Quarzo (B) 5:11.72; 400: Rachael Grimm (Con) 1:01.38; 400 Relay: Laurel Highlands 53.69; 300 Intermediate Hurdles: Emily Sanders (AG) 48.58; 800: Gionna Quarzo (B) 2:27.21; 200: Skye Eicher (F) 26.38; 3200: Gionna Quarzo (B) 11:01.96; 1,600 Relay: Connellsville 4:36.17; High Jump: Emma Seto (B) 4-10; Pole Vault: Sydney Dally (Con) 8-0; Long Jump: Aniya Tarpley (B) 15-0; Triple Jump: Aniya Tarpley (B) 32-7½; Shot Put: Emily Buwawa (LH) 34-10; Discus: Angel Buwawa (LH) 102-7; Javelin: Ellie Cook (Con) 111-3.
BOYS
TEAM RESULTS: Connellsville 198, Uniontown 140, Laurel Highlands 99, Frazier 38, Brownsville 37, Albert Gallatin 37.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: 110 High Hurdles: Iliesa Salauca (LH) 15.34; 100: Ahmad Hooper (U) 11.31; 3,200 relay: Uniontown 8:39.35; 1,600: Logan Maust (U) 4:55.47; 400: Kaleb Smouse (LH) 53.97; 400 Relay: Connellsville 44.86; 300 Intermediate Hurdles: Isaiah Melvin (U) 40.28; 800: Dominic Prestipino (Con) 2:05.93; 200: Bodee Stonebraker (Con) 23.50; 3200: Sam Killinger (U) 10:37.41; 1,600 Relay: Connellsville 3:39.10; High Jump: Jayden Thomas (U) 6-0; Pole Vault: Gabe Kemp (Con) 8-0; Long Jump: Julian Muccioli (F) 20-6¾; Triple Jump: Julian Muccioli (F) 42-11; Shot Put: Aden Bruich (Con) 47-11; Discus: Colby Davis (LH) 115-2; Javelin: Cameron Sapola (Con) 146-7.
Please know, the Herald-Standard sports department staff misses covering the area’s baseball, softball, tennis and track athletes, too. Though I must admit, I don’t mind not standing in the rain trying to take pictures and interviewing athletes, but, given all that’s going on, I think we’d happily suck it up, cover the camera, get out the rain gear and bring a dry pair of shoes.
Some day, maybe, we’ll be able to do so once again.
Jim Downey can be reached at jdowney@heraldstandard.com