Heavy rains that postponed the District 6 2A track and field championship meet for a day and lasted into the early afternoon on Wednesday didn’t play a factor as B-A runners and throwers placed, advanced, and qualified for the PIAA championships in high numbers.
It was day one out of two of the District 6 championships at Mansion Park in Altoona after day one got moved from Tuesday to Wednesday due to poor weather.
Sophomore Emma Taneyhill had a lot of success, winning the discus with a throw of 121-7. The throw broke a previous school record Taneyhill set earlier in the season. Taneyhill also met the PIAA state qualifying standard, though with an individual title a trip to the state meet was secured already.
Taneyhill said she was worried beforehand that wet conditions could hamper her throws, but it turned out to be a non-issue.
“Throwing in the rain can cause the disc and the circle to be slippery, and I didn’t want that to affect my throws, especially at Districts,” she said. “Thankfully the weather wasn’t bad and this wasn’t a struggle.”
Although she was seeded first, Taneyhill never expected to win by a wide margin. The next closest competitor was 16 feet off the lead.
“I went into the meet knowing I had a good chance of winning, but I was still scared of my other competitors catching up to me during my throws,” Taneyhill said.
Lady Devil coach Jennifer Soisson saidthe crowd gathered to watch the discus was in awe of Taneyhill’s throw.
“We all stood in silence watching it and everyone erupted in cheers when they announced her mark,” she said. “Emma is one of the hardest working athletes on the team. You will often find her practicing after practice has ended. Her technique in disc has really started to come together these last few weeks.”
Another Lady Blue Devil that qualified for states was freshman Ella Cherry, who placed third in long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 6 inches.
Other placement holders on the boys and girls side included sophomore Blake Pennington, who was 8th in the 1600m run and junior Jayce Quick, who was 5th in the discus.
There were more B-A athletes that qualified for day 2 of districts in their events. This list of qualifiers that will compete on Thursday include:
- Chloe Stoltzfus, 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles
- Cameron Nelson, 110m Hurdles
- Ella Cherry, 100m dash, 200m dash
- Avah Hassler, 400m dash
- Holden Schreier, 400m dash
- Ethan Shawley, 300m Hurdles
Cherry Will also compete in the triple jump, where she is a top-3 seed.
“We have a girl in every running event final today. The girls have worked hard this season and it’s nice for them to experience the rewards of their efforts,” Coach Soisson said.
