The B-A girls track team capped the season with a second placed finish at the District 6 2A championship meet Thursday, missing out on the overall championship just by 7 points.
The Lady Blue Devils finished with a score of 85 while Richland with a score of 92. The meet was held at Mansion Park in Altoona and started a day late after the weather postponed it on Tuesday.
B-A’s girls crowned 2 champions over the 2-day event, sending 4 individuals and 2 relay teams to the PIAA championship.
“We were happy with the second place finish this year. There are many talented teams in our district and so many variables that we never know what to expect,” said Lady Devil coach Jennifer Soisson. “Things don’t always go as planned, and a few girls were disappointed with their performances, but they rallied and put their best effort into the next event. They’ve had a phenomenal season and it was exciting to see their hard work pay off at Districts.”
The B-A boys track team placed 14th and had one qualifier for the PIAA meet – senior Holden Schreier in the 400.
Freshman Ella Cherry, who has been outstanding throughout her debut season, won the triple jump Thursday with a leap of 36 feet, 8 3/4 inches.
She had already broken B-A’s school record in the event several times this season.
“I am very happy about my performance in the triple jump,” said Ella. “It was the most exciting part of Districts.”
Cherry placed in the top 3 in three events. She was also second in the 100 (12.85) and second in the 200 (26.24).
Cherry had already qualified in the long jump on day one after placing third.
“I can say that I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s exciting qualifying for states in every event,” Ella said. “I never thought I would accomplish going in all four events.”
Coach Soisson credited Ella’s competitiveness for her success.
“Ella is such a strong competitor and was excited to face the top sprinters and jumpers,” she said.
Another qualifier from Thursday was senior Ava Hassler, who finished 3rd in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:01.02.
“Avah Hassler doesn’t have much time between the 400 relay before she runs the 400m dash,” Coach Soisson said. “She was rushed to get to the start of the 400 finals, but pulled through to qualify for states. She just missed qualifying last year so she wasn’t going to let anything get in her way this year.”
Sophomore Ava Worthing made it in the pole vault with a third-place finish, just ahead of teammate Olivia Rishell.
Emma Taneyhill had qualified for states on the first day by getting 1st in discus.
Two out of three Lady Devil relay teams also qualified for states, and both of them broke school records. The 4×800 squad of Blake Pennington, Julie Kraft, Alexis Wagner and Marissa Cacciotti, finished third in 9:55.06, shattering a B-A record from 1997 that was held by Holly Young, Emily Imler, Carrie Ayers, and Courtney McCellan (9:58.04).
The team had been peaking at the right time, Coach Soisson said.
“The 3200 relay team had some huge breakthroughs these past few weeks. Their 10:04 performance at the Mountain Lion Classic two weeks ago inspired them to really test their limits at districts,” Coach Soisson said.
The 4×100 team also placed third and also broke the previous school recorded. The team of Chloe Stoltzfus, Hassler, Avey Powers, and Addison Pluebell combined to finish in 51.12 seconds, just nudging ahead of the previous record set in 2006. That team of Lauren Leap, Lauren Carter, Erica Greene, and Ashley Mueller ran a 51.14.
