Most of the track and field records at Bellwood-Antis have been standing for 20 years or more. The last school record to get broken was the 3200 meter run by Lexi Lovrich in 2023.
That means breaking a school record is an accomplishment that the track and field team rarely sees.
However, in the past week, two separate school records have been beaten twice by two different athletes.
Sophomore Emma Taneyhill and freshman Ella Cherry broke a couple of records that date back a quarter of a century. Emma bested B-A’s discuss record, while Cherry broke the record in the triple jump.
On Thursday April, 17 Emma broke the girls discus record with a throw of 115 feet even. At the same meet, Emma tossed a 112-foot throw. Both of these throws broke the previous record set in 2002 by Elizabeth Burns, with a throw of 111’4.
Emma breaking the school record was no shock to the head coach of the girls track and field team, Jen Soisson. Coach Soisson noted Emma’s additional hard work after practice and her dedication as the leading factors that propelled her towards this milestone.
Emma’s field coach happens to be her older brother, 2017 B-A grad Jarrett Taneyhill. He also spoke of Emma putting in the work.
“Emma is extremely dedicated to throwing and has put a lot of extra time in to develop her technique. I believe that she has proven to herself that with hard work and dedication, she can accomplish big goals,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of her and feel very lucky to have her as my sister.”
Jarret himself is second all time at BAHS in the javelin throw and threw in college at Lehigh university.
Only a sophomore, Emma has the rest of this season and two more seasons to keep breaking her own record over and over again.
Ella Cherry was the other athlete to break a school record in the past week. Ella broke the girls triple jump record on Thursday and surpassed the new mark at a meet on April 22. On the April 17, Ella jumped 36’ 6.5 to break the previous school record of 36’1.5. The previous record holder, Randi Baker had established the record jump in 1999. However, Ella was not done. On Tuesday April 22, in a meet at Penns Valley, Ella would come out and break her own triple jump record again, with a jump of 36’ 7.5.
“It felt really good and it made me feel accomplished for all of my hard work,” said Cherry.
Coach Soisson credited Ella’s work as a champion gymnast for helping her in a bounding event like the triple jump. Ella is a high level gymnast at LTD in Altoona.
“She seeks feedback and applies it. She enjoys competing and pushing herself, which is positive for the team overall. Ella is a team player and is always willing to fill in where needed,” said Coach Soisson.
Only a freshman, she will, like Emma, have many more opportunities to break her own record again and again.
