The first day of the PIAA State Track & Field Championships had its highs and its lows for the LebCo athletes who competed. The key thing to remember is that all of the athletes who made it to States are already among the best that you will find anywhere.
With that being said, there were several noteworthy moments on Friday, with the two biggest being Annville-Cleona’s Noah Gunderson (High Jump) and Palmyra’s Mason Bucks (Palmyra) earning silver medals for their outstanding performances. Five other performances have qualified our local athletes for Saturday’s Finals, which guarantees them a medal if they can successfully complete the event. One of them, Kaddel Howard (Cedar Crest) has the #1 seed going into the final race of the 400m.
In 2022, there were a total of six medals won by LebCo athletes, with the highest being the 5th place medal won by Gunderson. LebCo’s delegation will win at least seven medals in 2023, without considering that there are several additional events tomorrow.
Below, those who qualified for the Finals are highlighted in orange. The athletes highlighted in green are those who have already received their medals.
For more, check out our PIAA State Track & Field Championships: LebCo Preview
For a full schedule of when LebCo’s athletes will compete tomorrow, check out PIAA Track & Field Championships: LebCo Schedule
Be sure to check back for all the latest and if you can, tune into the meet being broadcast live on PCN.
Day 1 Results
1600m – AA Boys
25th Landon Hostetter (Annville-Cleona) – 4:34.81
This was a PR for Hostetter, 6.3 seconds faster than his previous best time.
Entry: 4:41.03, #28 seed
Pole Vault – AAA Girls
12th Jacey Hentz (ELCO) – 11’3”
Entry: 11’6”, #12 seed
19th Carissa Bender (ELCO) – NH
Entry: 12’0”, #4 seed
100m Prelims – AA Girls
18th Miracle Hershey (Annville-Cleona) – 12.71
Entry: 12.63, #15 seed
100m Prelims – AAA Boys
4th Gabe Lewis (Cedar Crest) – 10.67
Entry: 10.78, #9 seed
*Finals will take place on Saturday @ 10:35 am
110m High Hurdles Prelims – AAA Boys
8th Tyler Burgess (Palmyra) – 14.70
Entry: 14.59, #9 seed
*Finals will take place on Saturday @ 10:15 am
4x100m Prelims – AA Girls
16th Annville-Cleona (Miracle Hershey, Audrey Sider, Kaylyn Stokes, Kendall Cooper) – 50.39
Entry: 50.43, #14 seed
4x100m Prelims – AAA Boys
3rd Cedar Crest (Leo Tirado, Kyle Rauchut, Nick Garman, Gabe Lewis) – 42.01
Since they were 2nd in their heat, they will receive the #6 seed that will impact lane assignment.
Entry: 41.92, #3 seed
*Finals will take place on Saturday @ 12:35 pm
High Jump – AA Boys
2nd Noah Gunderson (Annville-Cleona) – 6’5”
The winning jump was 6’8”.
Entry: 6’7”, #2 seed
Triple Jump – AAA Girls
22nd Zariyah Whigham (Lebanon) – 34’6.75”
Entry: 37’1.75″, #11 seed
Pole Vault – AAA Boys
2nd Mason Bucks (Palmyra) – 15’6”
1st place was also a 15’6”, so a tiebreaker was used.
Entry: 14’3”, #8 seed
400m Prelims – AAA Girls
1st Kaddel Howard (Cedar Crest) – 54.64
The next fastest time was a 55.32.
Entry: 54.68, #1 seed
*Finals will take place on Saturday @ 1:10 pm
300m IM Hurdles Prelims – AAA Boys
6th Tyler Burgess (Palmyra) – 39.88
Entry: 39.17, #4 seed
4x400m Prelims – AAA Boys
23rd Cedar Crest (Nick Garman [48.65], Jeremiah Santiago [57.37], Ethan Heisey [52.56], Kyle Rauchut [49.89]) – 3:28.45
This lineup subbed Jeremiah Santiago for Gabe Lewis following Lewis qualifying for the 100m Finals
Entry: 3:24.65, #16 seed
Click here to access the official full results.
