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Two weeks ago three students from Bellwood-Antis went to Shippensburg for the PIAA track and field championships: Alexis Gerwert for pole vault, Clay Engle for triple jump, and Jarrett Taneyhill for javelin.

Clay Engle was ranked 8th but finished fourth to earn a place on the medal platform.

For his efforts, he has been selected as the BluePrint’s Athlete of the Week for the second time this year.

After three years of hard work and dedication, Engle made the best out of his experience at states.

“The last jump, people started to clap. I got a burst of adrenaline and busted out my best jump,” said Clay. “The atmosphere was crazy, there was a lot of people, and everyone around was an amazing athlete.”

Clay knows that hard work is what got him to where he is now.

“I work hard and stay dedicated to everything I do and the hard work pays off,” said Engle.

2011 B-A grad Brian Leap, who won a Big 10 championship in the triple jump last spring, has played a big part in helping Clay reach his full potential and has helped clay get better.

“He has helped me so much, he is an amazing jumper,” said Clay. “He has showed me little things that have helped me improve by a foot or two, I’m so thankful that we have him here to work with us.”

Seeing as Engle is a social butterfly, it is only fitting that his favorite part about track and field is ‘the freedom to walk around and talk and have a good time’.