Track and Field Roundup

NBC BOYS

Northern Bedford’s boys’ track and field squad added to its impressive 2019 resume with a runner-up finish at the PIAA District 5 Championship Meet held on May 15 on the NBC track.

The Panthers scored 84 points, 15 behind District 5 champion Bedford and two points ahead of Chestnut Ridge to claim second place in the team race.

“I did not anticipate us finishing that high,” NBC head coach Jeff Batzel said. “I had us around 70 points and third or fourth overall, which means we had a lot of athletes score higher than their seedings which is a great way to finish the season.”

Ian Zimmerman won the district title in the 1600-meter run, running a 4:37.16.

“Ian will be in the mix at states,” Batzel said. “He’ll have to break his school record again to get on the medal stand, but he’s very capable of that.”

Zimmerman also anchored the Panthers champion 4x800 relay team. Josh Strayer, Caleb Diehl and Ian Sherlock teamed with Zimmerman to run an 8:33.00.

“This is a talented group. It’s rare to have four guys at a small school like ours to win a relay and qualify for states. They have the potential to break the school record and make the state finals race in Shippensburg (May 24-25),” Batzel said.

Zimmerman (800) and Sherlock (3200) along with Brady Clark (pole vault) also claimed second place silver medals in their events.

“Brady Clark (pole vault) and Tavian Walter (triple jump, fourth place) exceeded their personal bests by significant margins in claiming their medals. They are classic examples of how we climbed into second place as a team,” Batzel said.

Batzel also heaped praise on freshman hurdler RJ Gates.

“What a great season he had. Who would’ve anticipated him finishing third (300s) and fifth (110 Highs) in the hurdles this year?” Batzel saids.

Cadin Ebersole, the sophomore sprinter, claimed three medals as he finished fourth in the 100 and 200 dashes and anchored the third-place 4x100 relay team that included Clark, Lucas Heck and Griffin Keller.

Also medaling was Conner Laird in the 3200-meter run (fifth), Clark in the 200 dash (third) and the 4x400 relay team of Diehl, Heck, Zimmerman and Case Donaldson (third).

Zimmerman and the 3200-meter relay team will run at the state meet in the preliminary round beginning Friday morning. The finals are Saturday at Shippensburg University.

NBC Girls

McKenzie Troutman was the shining star for the NBC Lady Panther track and field squad at the May 15 District 5 meet.

The senior pole vaulter finished her career with a gold medal in her specialty, clearing 8-6. Teammate and fellow senior Cameron Pressel cleared 8-0 to finish tied for third in the same event.

“Those two have had outstanding careers in the Pole vault and will be missed greatly,” NB coach Jeff Batzel said.

Other than at the pole vault pit it was a rough day for the Lady Panthers as they could only muster a fifth-place finish out of the 4x100 relay team. That team of Aylisa Morral, Mara Laird, Courtney Morris and Paige Snider ran their season best time of 54.12.

Mara Laird missed by 1/100th of a second, qualifying for the 200-meter finals in what was a day of many near misses for the Lady Panthers. Abby Fink, Paige Snider and Syd Coffey narrowly missed scoring in their jumping events as well.

“We will miss the seniors who have contributed so much to the program and we’ll regroup next year with a solid group of returnees with an eye on improving,” Batzel said.

CENTRAL

The District 6 Championships were held on May 15 at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium and a number of Dragons and Lady Dragons placed among the top eight in their events.

Jarod Dick highlighted the day for Central as he placed third overall in the discus with a throw of 130-09, qualifying him for a spot at the state championships this Friday at Shippensburg.

Ellen Kennedy took fourth place in the pole vault and Alyssa Bartley sixth in the 200-meter sprint. Both girls joined Lauren Crilly and Emma Lingenfelter in the 4x400 relay as they placed eighth.

In addition to Dick, the boys’ 4x400 relay team also placed eighth. Members of the team were Josh Biesinger, Parker Gregg, WT Davis and Colby Liebal.

“It was a great opportunity to see the competition that is throughout the district,” Central coach Kayla Wheland said. “We had some excellent performances but it was tough to finish among the leaders. Jarod had a special day and has a unique opportunity to compete among the elite this weekend.

“Overall, we had a young group of boys and girls this year and hopefully the experiences of this season will benefit us next year.”