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7 individuals qualify for states on Day 1 of districts

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Runners fire out of their starting blocks for the girls Class AA 100 preliminaries in the District 4 track and field meet at Williamsport on Thursday.

Kamryn Snyder spoke Thursday between sniffles, the result of a flu which left her less than 100 percent for the District 4 track and field championships.

She gingerly climbed off the top step of the podium after receiving her gold medal for winning the girls Class AAA shot put. She’s been slightly hobbled since dislocating her knee about a month ago.

The Milton junior was nowhere near top form at Williamsport’s STA Stadium yesterday, but she found the strength to hit the winning throw on her final throw to capture her first district championship and earn her second consecutive trip to the state meet.

“I was fighting my mental game,” Snyder said. “I knew I was sick and I dislocated my knee about a month ago. After the first couple throws, I was discouraged. But on that last throw, I had nothing to lose so I just popped it out there.”

Snyder was one of three area girls to win a district championship on the first day of the two-day meet. Milton teammate Leah Bergey won the Class AAA high jump and Loyalsock’s Hailey Zurich won the Class AA long jump. Also earning spots in the state meet on the girls side were Lewisburg’s Maddy Downs (Class AA discus), Loyalsock’s Sophia Gardner (Class AA long jump) and both Lewisburg’s and Warrior Run’s 3,200 relay teams.

On the boys side, Williamsport’s Allen Taylor won the Class AAA triple jump to qualify for states, but he plans on scratching from the state meet to focus on the hurdles. Montoursville’s Gavin Livermore (Class AA javelin) and the Warrior Run and Lewisburg 3,200 relay teams also qualified for states.

It’s hard to fault Snyder if she didn’t seem too enthusiastic following her first district title. She’s been through a lot in the last month and wasn’t sure how she’d perform as she battles the flu. But she promised afterward she was excited and is hoping to be healthy for next week’s state meet in Shippensburg.

“With my knee and being sick, I was worried this wouldn’t happen,” Snyder said.

About a month ago she stepped on the toe board at Mount Carmel during the Breslin Invitational and her right knee bent awkwardly backward. Snyder initially thought she had tore her ACL, as did her doctors. But an MRI show no structural damage.

Snyder has been participating in physical therapy to help strengthen the knee. She said she doesn’t feel any pain when she throws the shot, but her biggest battle is worrying she’s going to step on the toe board again and potentially injure herself even more.

“I’ve been knocking down that physical therapy, but it’s tough,” Snyder said. “It doesn’t hurt, but I’m scared I’ll do it again. It’s tough to get out of my mind.”

And after a shaky start Thursday, her best throw was 35 feet, 4 1/2 inches heading into her final throw. Selinsgrove’s Ashley Gaugler had been the event’s leader since the second round of prelims when she hit a leading mark of 35-6 1/4.

Finally, on her last throw of the event, Snyder put aside the flu and the gimpy knee and hit the winning throw of 36-8 to win her first district title. As a freshman she was fourth at districts, and last year she finished second.

“This gives me a lot of confidence,” Snyder said. “Hopefully I won’t be sick next week for states.”

Bergey had already cleared 5-1 in the high jump, along with Selinsgrove’s Madison Stebila, leaving her at a crossroads in the high jump. Her best mark of the year coming into Thursday was 5-2 over a month ago at the Jim Taylor High School Classic at Susquehanna. She had stagnated at 5-1 since then.

So for her to win the Class AAA high jump last night, she had to set a new personal record. Bergey did just that, clearing 5-3 on her second attempt to win the event.

“I’ve been practicing my approach and all the little steps to get a higher jump,” said Bergey, who is also the top seed in the 100 and 300 hurdles. “I could tell it was a good jump. Even the approach felt a lot better and a lot smoother.”

Taylor didn’t particularly want to participate in the triple jump Thursday evening, especially since he hasn’t competed in the event since April 23. But in order to help chase the team title, Taylor, who was the top seed in the triple jump, competed and won.

The sophomore couldn’t believe after so much time off he was able to hit a winning jump of 42-8.

“We’re a young team and I think it would say a lot if we’re able to win districts this year,” Taylor said. “I know this isn’t my best chance to win at states so I’m going to focus on the hurdles. It was something I could do for the team and to make my coach happy.”

Livermore has been able to sense a big throw was coming in recent weeks. Everything has started to click for the sophomore. It clicked in a big way yesterday as he hit a personal best throw of 175-6 to finish second in the Class AA javelin and earn his first trip to states.

Livermore bested his seed by more than 9 feet. Central Columbia’s Cole Heintzelman won with a thrown of 180-5.

“That 175, I could feel everything working together and it felt amazing,” Livermore said. “I knew this was possible. I told myself and everybody else told me it’s possible. Coach (Eli Skinner) asked me what do you want out of this, and I said I want to go to states. Being a sophomore, it’s just crazy. I don’t have words.”

CLASS AA GIRLS

(*-denotes state qualifier; #-denotes meet record)

3,200 relay final: 1, Mount Carmel, 9:40.39*; 2, Warrior Run (Kylee Brouse, Alanna Ranck, Mya Shoemaker, Lauren Trapani), 9:40.89*; 3, Lewisburg (Maggie Daly, Selena Permyashkin, Chloe Michaels, Anna Batkowski), 9:45.77*; 4, Mount Carmel (Alivia McDonald, Kenna Mensinger, Raya Pauling, Lily Saul), 10:10.86; 5, Loyalsock, 10:12.72; 6, Troy, 10:13.44; 7, Central Columbia, 10:26.78; 8, Southern Columbia, 10:31.45.

100 finalists: 1, Alexa Rine, Millville; 2, Hailey Zurich, Loyalsock; 3, Charlotte Neylon, Loyalsock; 4, Lily Leh, Bloomsburg; 5, Sophia Gardner, Loyalsock; 6, Kassidy Beinlich, Sullivan County; 7, Rilee McMahan, Central Columbia; 8, Annaliese Getola, Troy.

100 hurdles finalists: 1, Megan Kendall, Loyalsock; 2, Ariana Gambrell, Athens; 3, Kari Cambria, Southern Columbia; 4, Claire Miller, Williamson; 5, Lylah Oswald, Wyalusing; 6, Claudia Morris, Mount Carmel; 7, Julia Boyle, Sayre; 8, Anna Ensminger, Troy.

Discus: 1, DaniRae Ren, Mount Carmel, 102-1*; 2, Maddy Downs, Lewisburg, 100-10*; 3, Kaitlyn Dawes, Montoursville, 96-4; 4, Olivia Bart, Athens, 94-3; 5, Karlee Wallis, Hughesville, 93-7; 6, Faith Laudermilch, Wyalusing, 93-6; 7, Morgan Mill, Troy, 92-5; 8, Paige Howell, Northeast Bradford, 89-0.

Long jump: 1, Hailey Zurich, Loyalsock, 17-6 1/4*; 2, Sophia Gardner, Loyalsock, 17-5 1/2*; 3, Dahlia Hosey, Wellsboro, 16-5 1/2; 4, Ariana Gambrell, Athens, 16-2 1/2; 5, Charlotte Neylon, Loyalsock, 16-2 1/4; 6, Blessing Laudermilch, Wyalusing, 15-8 1/2; 7, Jessica Umpstead, Montgomery, 15-7 1/2; 8, Jackie Stokes, Meadowbrook Christian, 15-3 1/2.

CLASS AAA GIRLS

(*-denotes state qualifier; #-denotes meet record)

3,200 relay final: 1, Shikellamy, 9:36.35*#; 2, Williamsport (Katie Brue, Ellie Fisher, Kanina Lattie, Lydia Smith), 9:53.78; 3, Jersey Shore (Carli McConnell, Abby Gerst, Lydia Kirkendall, Aubrey Sechrist), 9:59.19; 4, Danville, 10:04.23; 5, Selinsgrove, 10:16.07; 6, Milton (Alexis Beaver, Katelyn Zimmerman, Leah Walter, Riley Murray), 10:26.49.

100 finalists: 1, Katie Penman, Williamsport; 2, Megan Hoffman, Selinsgrove; 3, Jordan Moten, Shikellamy; 4, Janae Bergey, Milton; 5, Julia Laubach, Mifflinburg; 6, Taylor Fleming, Jersey Shore; 7, Madeline Shaffer, Williamsport; 8, Linae Williams, Danville.

100 hurdles finalists: 1, Leah Bergey, Milton (set meet record in 15.22); 2, Madison Williard, Selinsgrove; 3, Jessica Robinson, Williamsport; 4, Mackenzie Good, Shikellamy; 5, Chloe Yoder, Shamokin; 6, Julia Minnicks, Danville; 7, Kassie Gelnett, Selinsgrove; 8, Kylie Roup, Milton.

Shot put: 1, Kamryn Snyder, Milton, 36-8*; 2, Ashley Gaugler, Selinsrove, 35-6 1/4; 3, Kaytlyn Reite, Shikellamy, 34-10; 4, Lynzee Ruhl, Mifflinburg, 33-10 1/2; 5, Kinsey Metzger, Selinsgrove, 33-9; 6, Samiyah Little, Williamsport, 33-6.

Triple jump: 1, Madison Williard, Selinsgrove, 35-10 1/4; 2, Mia Peifer, Shikellamy, 33-9 1/2; 3, Brooke Snyder, Shikellamy, 33-7 3/4; 4, Madison Stebila, Selinsgrove, 32-11 3/4; 5, Hannah Doll, Selisngrove, 32-9 1/2; 6, Maya Trump, Williamsport, 32-5.

High jump: 1, Leah Bergey, Milton, 5-3*; 2, Madison Stebila, Selinsgrove, 5-1; 3, Lydia Smith, Williamsport, 4-11; 4, Veronica Sander, Jersey Shore, 4-11; 5, Zoe Betz, Shikellamy, 4-9; t-6, Summer Smerlick, Shikellamy, 4-7; t-6, Jessa Paczkos, Shamokin, 4-7; t-6, Hannah Grove, Selinsgrove, 4-7.

CLASS AA BOYS

(*-denotes state qualifier; #-denotes meet record)

3,200 relay final: 1, Mount Carmel, 8:02.44*; 2, Warrior Run (Caden Dufrene, Tyrese Hazzoum, Addison Magyar, Damein Moser), 8:03.43*; 3, Lewisburg (Calvin Bailey, Elijah Adams, Peter Lantz, James Koconis), 8:03.94*; 4, Central Columbia, 8:09.07*; 5, Wyalusing, 8:09.55*; 6, South Williamsport (Tayge Molino, Ethan Laudenslager, Quaid Molino, Port Habalar), 8:17.50; 7, Milton (Tanner Walter, Colton Loreman, Kellan Guinn-Bailey, Nathan Barnett), 8:21.32; 8, Loyalsock (Alejandro Quintana, Andres Quintana, Alex Reed, Dominic Jennings), 8:36.45.

100 finalists: 1, Julian Fleming, Southern Columbia; 2, Jacob Reeder, Montoursville; 3, Damian Hudson, Athens; 4, Hunter Coulter, Bloomsburg; 5, Owen Keister, Milton; 6, Jared Verse, Central Columbia; 7, Tanner Karycki, Mount Carmel; 8, Silas Wagaman, Wellsboro.

110 hurdles finalists: 1, Kameron Schreffler, Lewisburg; 2, Jake Rose, Southern Columbia; 3, Zach Bedell, Lewisburg; 4, Kenley Caputo, Milton; 5, Ian Huntginton, Central Columbia; 6, Nate Snyder, Central Columbia; 7, John Schrader, Towanda; 8, Dustin Hagin, Troy.

Javelin: 1, Cole Heintzelman, Central Columbia, 180-5*; 2, Gavin Livermore, Montoursville, 175-6*; 3, Nate Crowl, Southern Columbia, 174-8; 4, Trae Devlin, Central Columbia, 168-0; 5, Stone Hollenbach, Southern Columbia, 163-1; 6, Dylan Farronato, Lewisburg, 155-10; 7, Tim Mong, Milton, 149-11; 8, William McGinley, Bloomsburg, 144-8.

Long jump: 1, Juian Fleming, Southern Columbia, 22-5 1/2*; 2, Benjamin Gambrell IV, Athens, 21-11*; 3, Darren Baidoo, Lewisburg, 21-2 3/4; 4, Alex Sabo, Lewisburg, 21-0 1/2; 5, Sean Campbell, Towanda, 20-5 3/4; 6, Dominic Caputo, Montoursville, 20-1 3/4; 7, Osiris Hemphill, Bloomsburg, 19-10 1/2; 8, Qamar Yasin-Bradley, Milton, 19-8 3/4.

CLASS AAA BOYS

(*-denotes state qualifier; #-denotes meet record)

3,200 relay final: 1, Shikellamy, 8:13.53*; 2, Shamokin, 8:16.90; 3, Danville, 8:19.74; 4, Williamsport (Logan Hall, Gavin Furey, Owen Mahon, J. Henry Lyon), 8:25.09; 5, Selinsrove, 8:43.18; 6, Jersey Shore, 8:53.17.

100 finalists: 1, Eric Zimmerman, Mifflinburg; 2, Lucas Tilford, Shikellamy; 3, Joe Folk, Shikellamy; 4, Gavin Colescott, Shikellamy; 5, Peyton Persing, Danville; 6, Matt Schiccatano, Shamokin; 7, Ry’Meer Brown, Williamsport; 8, Dean Hollenbach, Selinsgrove.

110 hurdles finalists: 1, Allen Taylor, Williamsport; 2, Marshall Buggy, Shamokin; 3, Ethan Williams, Williamsport; 4, Cameron Leib, Shikellamy; 5, Brandon Zimmerman, Danville; 6, Gray Catherman, Selinsgrove; 7, Ezra Miller, Jersey Shore; 8, Cole Catherman, Selinsgrove.

Triple jump: 1, Allen Taylor, Williamsport, 42-8; 2, Thor Britton, Selinsgrove, 42-2 3/4; 3, Jagger Dressler, Danville, 42-1 3/4; 4, Billy Delbaugh, Shamokin, 41-7; 5, Gray Catherman, Selinsgrove, 41-2 1/4; 6, Ayden Bradley, Williamsport, 40-2.

High jump: 1, Joey Masser, Shamokin, 6-3*; 2, Jaron Clark, Selinsgrove, 6-1; 3, Dante Colon, Mifflinburg, 5-11; 4, Jordan Hollenbach, Shikellamy, 5-11; 5, Thor Britton, Selinsgrove, 5-11; 6, Mavin James, Danville, 5-11.

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