Fore the third time in a week B-A’s girls track and field team went head-to-head with Tyrone at a high-level invitational when the teams crossed paths Tuesday at Saint Francis University for the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship meet.
And for the second time the Lady Devils pulled off a major championship victory, outdistancing the Lady Eagles 77-72 in the final team standings. Tyrone actually finished fourth after Hollidaysburg and Bellefonte tied for second with 76.25 points apiece.
It all bodes well for the Lady Devils, who are now squarely focused on the District 6 2A championship meet, which will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday at Mansion Park.
For the Lady Devils this is their first ever LHAC Championship, and it was a pleasant surprise for Coach Jennifer Soisson.
“I did not expect to win it because Bellefonte has an incredible team this year with so much depth,” she said. “We won the dual meet with them in the regular season, but we had the full roster and could earn seconds and thirds to add to the score. The LHAC is highly competitive with the large schools and talented smaller schools, so even without the win it was a great day to face some of the top athletes in our area.”
B-A crowned two individual champions and received points in 14 of 18 events, with a number of athletes achieving personal best times and distances.
The two individual champions for Bellwood were Ella Cherry in triple jump and Emma Taneyhill in discus. Cherry jumped a 39-0.25, breaking her previous school record and setting her up at No. 2 in the sate in triple jump
Cherry also placed 2nd in the 100m dash and long jump, and was part of the girls 4×100 relay team that also broke the school record with a time of 50.42. The team consisted of Cherry, Addison Pluebell, Chloe Stoltzfus and Avey Powers.
Taneyhill not only placed 1st in discus with a throw of 134-08 but finished 6th in shot put with a throw of 33-05. Also contributing in the field was Ava Worthing, who placed 7th in Javelin
Powers also placed 5th in triple and 6th in long jump; Stoltzfus also placed 8th in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.
The girls 4×800 relay team placed 3rd with a time of 9:58. The team consisted of Lexi Wagner, Julie Kraft, Blake Pennington and Marissa Cacciotti. Pennington also placed 7th in the 1600m run. Olivia Rishel was also a third in Pole Vault with a jump of 10’3, Hailey Loupe also placed 7th in Pole Vault.
MOUNTAIN LION CLASSIC
Just a few days before the LHACs, B-A’s girls finished in second at the Mountain Lion Classic, just one point behind champion Tyrone.
Taneyhill and Cherry both placed first, with Taneyhill again placing first in discus and Cherry winning the triple jump. Cherry also placed 2nd in long jump. Sophia Pullara placed 2nd in high jump. Avey Powers placed 3rd in triple jump.
Olivia Rishel was 4th in the pole vault, and Chloe Stoltzfus was 5th in the 300 hurdles. B-A also received points from Julie Kraft in the 800 (6th) and Blake Pennington in the 1600 (5th).
To top off the dominant performance, Cherry finished 3rd in the 100m.
Two girls received awards for their outstanding performance: Chole Stoltzfus received the Blair County Outstanding Performer Award and Cherry was named the Outstanding 2A Performer at the meet.
Those finishes for the Lady Blue Devils set up a must-see matchup against Tyrone in the District championships next week.
“The team has a good relationship with Tyrone, and both teams enjoy pushing each other at meets,” Coach Soisson said.
