Steady, heavy rains forced the postponement of the District 6 2A championship track and field meet on Tuesday, but B-A coaches feel it was a change for the best.
The District 6 website reported that, due to heavy, all-day rain, the championship meet was postponed one day until Wednesday and Thursday.
“Though rain is is expected the rest of the week, it should not be a total wash out as it looks for tomorrow. Tuesday’s times and schedule will be on Wednesday. Wednesday’s times and schedule will be on Thursday,” said District 6 Chairman Phil Riccio.
Heavy rains fell all day on Tuesday, lasting through the evening and night hours.
Blue Devil coach Nick Lovrich said that kind of weather could certainly affect results, especially the ability of some athletes to hit qualifying times for the PIAA championship.
“I hope the next few days are good so our athletes have their best outing of the year,” said Coach Lovrich.
There are a lot of B-A athletics who have a lot of going on these next days, running in multiple events with championships and PIAA qualification on the line. Some of those include freshman Ella Cherry, who could advance in four different events (100, 200, long and triple jumps); senior Ava Hassler, who is one of the top seeds in the 400; senior Cayden Pellegrine, and junior Jace Quick, who both have a shot at advancement in multiple field events; sophomore Avey Powers in the long jump; and sophomore Olivia Rishell and Ava Worthing, who will battle it out for the top spot in the pole vault.
For a full list of District 6 entries in every event, as well as rankings, click here.
“I feel better about it (switching days) because the weather will hopefully be a little better, so I think everyone will perform better,” said Cherry, who enters this meet as the 3rd seed in long jump, and 4th in the 100 meter dash.
Lady Blue Devils Coach Jenn Soisson is on the same page with Coach Lovrich, feeling happy that the meet was postponed.
“We’re thankful they made the decision to postpone before practice so we could adjust our training plans for the week,” said Soisson.
At stake in all of it is a trip to the PIAA state championship meet next Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University, which means Blue Devil athletics have some pressure to face, bad weather or not.
“From a coaching perspective, we teach our athletes that there are many factors out of our control, but it’s how we respond to those challenges that defines our success,” said Coach Soisson.
