After a successful Friday that witnessed two LebCo athletes earning silver medals (Noah Gunderson & Mason Bucks), the PIAA State Track & Field Championships concluded on Saturday, with our local athletes having a huge impact on the day. Seven individuals and two relay teams had medal worthy performances. When all was said and done, Annville-Cleona, Cedar Crest, ELCO, Lebanon, and Palmyra could each celebrate at least one medal winning performance.
The day was headlined by Cedar Crest Kaddel Howard’s dominate win in the 400m in which she ran a 53.50, the 2nd fastest time run in the nation by a freshman this season. Her outdoor gold medal will pair well with her indoor gold earned earlier this year. She became only the second female State champion in the history of Cedar Crest Track & Field. This was Howard’s second medal on the day, as she anchored the 4x800m team moving them from 11th to 7th after her teammates Eliana Schneider, Lizzie Lowe, and a determined Grace Tadajweski set the table with praiseworthy performances.
While Howard is proving to be a generational talent worth watching, there were several other impressive performances on the day with three local athletes winning two medals. Cedar Crest senior Gabe Lewis took 6th in the 100m and then ran an impressive anchor leg of the 4 x 100m to cross the line in 3rd place. Leo Tirado, Kyle Rauchut, and Nick Garman joined Lewis on the podium as they accepted their bronze medals. Their time of 41.89 also set a new Lancaster Lebanon League record.
Joining Lewis in walking away with multiple medals were ELCO’s Samantha Nelson and Palmyra’s Tyler Burgess. The senior Nelson finished 8th in the Discus, then came back in the afternoon to win a 4th place medal in the Javelin. The sophomore Burgess was awarded a 7th place medal in the 110m High Hurdles and then finished 6th in the 300m IM Hurdles.
Lebanon’s Mileyska Calderon, the senior Long Jumper who trained all year without a pit, improved upon her school record of 18’1” that won her the Black Knight Invitational. On Saturday, her top jump measured 18’3.25”, which earned her a 4th place medal.
The eleven medals won by our local athletes at the 2023 PIAA State Championship is an indication of the level of talent that we have in Lebanon County. In case anyone is wondering, the number of medals this year nearly doubles the six that were won by county athletes in 2022. The highest finish a season ago was a 5th place finish by Noah Gunderson. This year, the medal haul included a gold (Howard), two silvers (Gunderson & Bucks), and a bronze (Cedar Crest Boys 4x100m). In fact, the total number of points won by our athletes this year was 53 points compared to the 14 that were amassed last year.
Below are the results from the 2nd day of the State Championship Meet. The athletes highlighted in green are those that put forth medal winning performances.
For more details on the PIAA State Championship Meet, check out Jeff Falk’s coverage: Gold Standard: At State Meet, No One can Catch Kaddel Howard
To access LebCo results from Friday, check out PIAA Track & Field Championships, Day 1: LebCo Results
Day 2 Results
3200m – AA Girls
17th Mackenzie Stellmach (Annville-Cleona) – 12:11.78
Entry: 12:02.55, #20 seed
3200m – AA Boys
23rd Landon Hostetter (Annville-Cleona) – 9:49.17
Entry: 9:48.79, #21 seed
110m High Hurdles Finals – AAA Boys
7th Tyler Burgess (Palmyra) – 14.63
Burgess, a sophomore, was only 1/2 underclassmen in the Finals.
Entry: 14.59 – #9 seed / Prelims: 14.70, #8 seed
Tyler Burgess of Palmyra placed 7th in the 3A 110 hurdles in 14.63. @palmyrathletics pic.twitter.com/LmaYw8oEWa
— Tom De Martini (@TomDeMartini1) May 27, 2023
100m Finals – AAA Boys
6th Gabe Lewis (Cedar Crest) – 10.84
This is Lewis’s 2nd medal in this event. In 2022, he finished 7th with a time of 11.20.
Entry: 10.78, #9 seed / Prelims: 10.67, #4 seed
Gabe Lewis runs 10.84 to finish 6th in the State Finals of the 100M dash! Let’s Go 💯 pic.twitter.com/VkYKtenW3O
— Coach Bare (@coach_bare) May 27, 2023
4x800m – Girls AA
19th Annville-Cleona (Nory Mitchell [2:30.31], Grace Francis [2:33.17], Megan Brophy [2:34.62], Mackenzie Stellmach [2:35.77]) – 10:13.86
4x800m – Girls AAA
7th Cedar Crest (Eliana Schneider [2:21.04], Lizzie Lowe [2:21.49], Grace Tadajewski [2:24.24], Kaddel Howard [2:14.78]) – 9:21.54
Entry: 9:31.94, #11 seed
Cedar Crest Girls 4x800M (Howard, Lowe, Schneider, Tadajweski) runs a school record 9:21.54 to finish 7th in the State! Let’s Go 💯 pic.twitter.com/axhmjqzXJw
— Coach Bare (@coach_bare) May 27, 2023
4x100m Finals– AAA Boys
3rd Cedar Crest (Leo Tirado, Kyle Rauchut, Nick Garman, Gabe Lewis) – 41.89
Entry: 41.92, #3 seed / Prelims: 42.01, #6 seed, 3rd fastest
As the Cedar Crest Boys 4x100M prepared for the State Final, the coaching staff challenged them 1 last time to be historically significant. We told them “Go set a new L-L League record!” The record was 41.90 (McCaskey-2009). The team ran 41.89, a new L-L League record 💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/lbOkB2agjh
— Coach Bare (@coach_bare) May 27, 2023
400m Finals – AAA Girls
1st Kaddel Howard (Cedar Crest) – 53.50
2nd place finished with a 54.88. The freshman also won indoor gold in this event.
Entry: 54.68, #1 seed / Prelims: 54.64, #1 seed
Here are Cedar Crest Track & Field’s two female State Champions – Kaddel Howard (400M – 2023) & Coach Wendy Barrett (1600M & 3200M – 1986). Howard’s 400M time (53.50) is PA #1 & USA #2 freshman girl! pic.twitter.com/5nAbn48YDA
— Coach Bare (@coach_bare) May 27, 2023
300m IM Hurdles Finals – AAA Boys
6th Tyler Burgess (Palmyra) – 38.95
This was a career best time for Burgess.
Entry: 39.17, #4 seed / Prelims: 39.88, #6 seed
High Jump – AAA Girls
11th Eliana Schneider (Cedar Crest) – 5’2”
Entry: 5’4”, #4 seed (tied)
20th Lydia Stoner (Palmyra) – 5’0”
Entry: 5’2”, #11 seed (tied)
Long Jump – AAA Girls
4th Mileyska Calderon (Lebanon) – 18’3.25”
The mark set a new Lebanon HS record, breaking her own previous record of 18’1”
Entry: 17’7.5”, #19 seed
13th Jacey Hentz (ELCO) – 17’3”
Entry: 17’7.25”, #21 seed
Very proud of Mileyska’s State medal and new school record today! Super deserving and hard working young lady! Added a few pics of her main practice facilities this season. 🌲🌲🌲 pic.twitter.com/wDZEecOYeg
— Cedars XC (@cedarsxc) May 27, 2023
Discus – AAA Girls
8th Samantha Nelson (ELCO) – 118’4”
Between prelims & finals, Nelson only had one throw where she did not foul. That one throw earned her a medal.
Entry: 124’, #8 seed
Javelin – AAA Girls
4th Samantha Nelson (ELCO) – 132’8”
Entry: 126’6”, #9 seed
18th Sofie Price (Palmyra) – 108’10”
Entry: 124’9” – #12 seed
19th Olivia Appleby (Palmyra) – 108’9”
Entry: 122’6”, #16 seed
Congrats to Samantha Nelson for closing out her Raider athletic career with 2 – 3A PIAA medals! Sam took 4th in javelin 132-8 (school record) and 8th in the discus (118-4). We are proud of Sam and our PIAA qualifiers! #ElcoExcellence @ELCORaiderFB @ELCOSupt @LebCoSports1 🔵🟡 pic.twitter.com/70qm8XJ9SD
— ELCO Athletics (@ELCOAthletics) May 27, 2023
Click here to access the LebCo Results from Friday.
Click here to access the official full results.
One Final Note: This was Annville-Cleona’s Coach Sue Felty’s last meet, as she heads into retirement. This was a timely exit after leading the Girls team to the District 3 title, much like she had done as senior during the 1986 season. Best of luck, Coach!
What a beautiful day for a state championship track meet! A final farewell – such fond memories! ❤️#blessed @acxcdutchmen @ac_principal @ACDutchmenPride @AnnvilleCleona pic.twitter.com/nmSkf8duGv
— Sue Felty (@FeltySue) May 27, 2023
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