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Loyalsock’s Idris Ali wins state gold in triple jump by hitting PR

CHRIS MANNING/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Idris Ali competes in the triple jump during Friday's PIAA Class AA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. Ali hit a PR in the event to win state gold.

SHIPPENSBURG — Idris Ali tripled jumped for the first time in his career on May 4. He won a state championship in the triple jump on May 28.

Let that sink in for a moment.

How does that happen?

“I have no idea,” Ali said with a smile.

Regardless of how it happened, it did happen. Ali set a PR by more than a foot Friday at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships to shock a field in which he was the 11th seed. His jump of 45 feet, 2 1/2 inches was 5 feet farther than his first career jump at an innocuous dual meet against Bloomsburg just 24 days prior.

CHRIS MANNING/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Hughesville’s Logan Long runs the first leg of the boys 3,200 relay at Shippensburg University. The Spartans relay team consisting of Long, Kenny Draper, Morgan Gavitt and Hunter Foust finished third.

The state championship came on a busy day for Ali as the state meet was condensed to one day for both Class AA and AAA. The Class AAA meet will run today at Shippensburg University. Ali put 12 jumps on his legs — six in the triple jump, and six more in the long jump to take third — and finished with a 50-second final-lap split to help the Lancers’ 1,600 relay team finish third.

Area boys won six state medals Friday. Ali had a hand in three of them.

The Hughesville 3,200 relay team of Logan Long, Kenny Draper, Morgan Gavitt and Hunter Foust finished third in 8 minutes, 7.14 seconds. South Williamsport’s team of Evan Laudenslager, Hayden Swinehart, Port Habalar and Quaid Molino was sixth in the 3,200 relay in 8:12.28. And Montoursville’s Brayden McKibben matched his PR in the pole vault at 13 feet to tie for fifth place.

But it was Ali’s day which was so jaw-dropping. Not just because he had been triple jumping for less than a month, but because the senior is in his first year competing in track and field.

“I always told my coaches maybe I should have done this since ninth grade,” Ali said. “But I can’t do anything about it now. I’m just happy I was able to come here and win.”

CHRIS MANNING/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Idris Ali competes in the long jump at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships at Shippensburg,

Ali has spent his senior year at Loyalsock doing nothing but winning. He was the state’s Class AAA player of the year as he guided the Lancers to the first state basketball championship in school history. Just two months later, he earned another gold medal, this one individually.

It speaks to just how talented an athlete Ali is. But it also speaks to just how quick a learner he can be.

His first long jump of the year was just over 19-4. His best mark Friday was the best he’s recorded. And he almost didn’t get the chance to make that jump.

Ali was seeded eighth of nine jumpers in the finals as he and fellow District 4 jumper Kashawn Cameron of Wyalusing squeaked into the finals. But Ali made the most of his second opportunity. On his fifth jump he broke the 21-foot barrier, which put him in position to win a medal.

It was a jump which helped relax Ali. And on his final jump, he popped out of the sand pit quickly to go hear his distance knowing he had hit the board perfectly and hit a big jump. He was just a quarter-inch behind Riverside’s Brandon Reed for second place, and he was one of only three jumpers to jump as far as 21-9.

“I knew it was the last jump and I had to give it my all,” Ali said. “I thought I was doing that every time, but it came together this time and ended up being my best jump.”

Ali’s foray into the triple jump was born out of the idea he was competing in only three events and needed one more to do. So he decided to give it a try. From that first jump, his coaches told him with a little bit of practice he could be pretty good in the event.

But never during this season has he put so many jumps on his legs in such a short amount of time. After hopping off the podium from receiving his long jump medal, he had to run to the triple jump pit to get in his run-throughs. He made sure his legs stayed loose by working through his drills and his warm-up.

His first jump of the day improved his PR by since inches to 44-6. It was in that moment he thought he could go even farther. The leader of the event was at 44-11 and Ali thought for sure he had 45 feet in him. So he went for it.

From there, all Ali could do was wait. He did his best to try an expand the lead, but it didn’t matter. Nobody caught him.

Ali bested Youngsville’s Jake Hogg who finished second with a mark of 44-11. Cranberry’s Cameron Russell was third at 44-8.

“It’s pretty crazy, especially in track because there’s only two classes. It’s really hard just to get to states. But to win it? I’m really appreciative of that,” Ali said. “I know people back home are going to be proud. I’m proud of myself and my family is proud. It’s really crazy.”

Hughesville’s third-place finish in the 3,200 relay was far less of a surprise than Ali’s day. Getting onto the podium at Shippensburg was exactly the goal the Spartans’ group had in mind when the day started.

The four members of the 3,200 relay were the top four runners for the Spartans when they won a District 4 team title and finished fourth at the state cross country meet in the fall. The four saved their best runs for the right time.

Kenny Draper put together the kind of split the team needed, and three of their 800 splits came in under 2:02.

“We’ve been on Kenny all year to get fast, and at the right time, he pulled it out,” Gavitt said. “We knew Kenny had it in the tank. He was running 2:08 the first few meets and we told him we believed in him and we knew we were going to get it out of him. We were just really happy to get it (Friday).”

The Spartans have blossomed in recent weeks, in part, because they’ve finally had some competition to run against. They were pushed at the District 4 meet last week by South Williamsport and by Williamsport at the league meet two weeks ago.

In that time, Hughesville’s best time has dropped from 8:22 to 8:13 to 8:09 before finally finishing at 8:07.14 Friday.

“We knew we could do this,” Gavitt said. “We were all a bunch of freshmen when we said we’re going to get on the podium at states. It doesn’t matter when or how, but we’re going to get on the podium.”

They were joined on the podium by that same South Williamsport team which pushed them a week ago. The Mounties ran four-tenths faster Friday than they did at the district meet a week ago. The team was a mishmash of distance runners in Habalar and Laudenslager, an 800-meter specialist in Molino (who finished 10th in the open 800) and a sprinter in Swinehart who found his stride in the relay.

“We maybe were hoping to place a little higher and run a littler faster, but sixth place in the state? I’ll take that,” Molino said. “The last three weeks we’ve been practicing and working out together and we built some confidence and it showed.”

BOYS

TEAM RESULTS: 1. Southern, 62; 2. Scranton Preparatory, 26; 3. Riverside, 25.50; 4. Wilmington, 24; 5. Grove City, 23.50; 6. Loyalsock, 22; 7. Deer Lakes, 20; 8. Wyomissing, 19.

3,200: 1. L. Miller, Jenkintown, 9:18.91; 2. C. Hine, Holy Redeemer, 9:21.05; 3. Grechanyy, Fairview, 9:26.09; 4. Pennington, North East, 9:28.28; 5. K. Jumper, Holy Cross, 9:31.45; 6. A. Gargani, Lansdale Catholic, 9:31.85; 7. McLaughlin, Punxsutawney, 9:36.28; 7. L. Strawser, East Juniata, 9:40.30.

3,200 relay: 1. Oley Valley (Bolig, Lefko, Grim, Sarge), 8:20.88; 2. Ellwood City (Curran, Brooks, Spadafore, Schweiger), 8:33.95; 3. Pen Argyl (N. DeBellis, R. DeBellis, Stocker, Deremer), 8:36.53; 4. Punxsutawney (McLaughlin, Groce, Surkala, Momyer), 8:37.94; 5. Penn Cambria (Lee, Stolarski, Michina, Paterson), 8:41.87; 6. Brookville (Kramer, McMaster, Gill, Doolittle), 8:48.59; 7. New Brighton (Whalen, Mengel, Hyziak, Fasick), 8:50.96; 8. NE Bradford (Gates, Laird, Strayer, Imes), 9:09.81.

110 hurdles: 1. Rose, Southern, 14.10; 2. Britten, Trinity, 15.16; 3. J. Hill, Juniata Valley, 15.33; 4. Elliott, Punxsutawney, 15.38; 5. Hagin, Troy, 15.46; 6. Barger, Titusville, 15.53; 7. Oliphant, Riverside, 15.62; 8. Levander, Richland, 15.71.

100: B. Wisloski, Southern, 10.81; 2. Fellin, Marian Catholic, 10.85; 3. Montgomery, Scranton Prep, 11.00; 4. Rossman, Deer Lakes, 11.01; 5. Jackson, West Catholic, 11.02; 6. Buckley, Dunmore, 11.03; 7. Cruz, Calvary Christian, 11.04; 8. Black, Conemaugh Township, 11.16.

1.600: 1. Buckner, Fairview, 4:26.30; 2. Zimmerman, Northern Bradford, 4:28.69; 3. Smigo, Palisades, 4:31.56; 4. Moore, Lancaster Catholic, 4:32.60; 5. Gargani, Lansdale Catholic, 4:33.14; 6. Buzard, Keystone, 4:35.27; 7. Cummings, Williamson, 4:35.49; 8. Branley, Wyoming, 4:36.63.

400 relay; 1. Southern (Garcia, Rose, Davis, Wislkoski), 42.59; 2. Conwell-Egan (Majors, Cooper, Johnson, Haynesworth IV), 43.01; 3. Wilmington (Sturgeon, Susen, Edwards, Miller), 43.68; 4. Washington (Dunn, GOrdon, Fuse, Asbury), 43.75; 5. Aliquippa (Thornton, Clark, Lindsey, Redd), 43.82; 6. Motivation (Duncan, Beckwith, Louineus, David), 43.84; 7. Marian Catholic (Fenstermaker, Malarkey, Chelak, Fellin), 43.90; 8. Brookville (Geer, Krug, MacBeth, Miner), 44.16.

400: 1. Saint-Fleur, Dock Mennonite, 48.63; 2. Paschall, North Catholic, 48.69; 3. Garcia, Southern, 50.27; 4. DeYoung, Berks Catholic, 50.65; 5. White, BIshop McDevitt, 50.66; 6. Hanyesworth, Conwell-Egan, 50.75; 7. Moore, Southern Huntingdon, 50.83; 8. Kerner, North East, 51.04.

300 hurdles: 1. Rose, Southern, 39.22; 2. Levander, Richland, 39.70; 3. Elliott, Punsutawney, 40.25; 4. Tate, West Middlesex, 40.83; 5. Warren, New Hope, 40.87; 6. Shawley, Bellwood Antis, 40.92; 7. Ford, Bedford, 41.20; 8. Sciandra, Wyoming, 41.27.

800: 1. Belczyk, Riverside, 1:53.97; 2. Frazier, Hickory, 1:54.82; 3. Nichols, Grove City, 1:55.21; 4. Fluharty, Riverside, 1:55.57; 5. Seymour, Schuylkill Valley, 1:57.36; 6. Stewart, South Park, 1:57.53; 7. McConville, Waynesburg, 1:58.34; 8. Deremer, Pen Argyl, 1:59.08.

200: 1. Paschall, North Catholic, 21.86; 2. Wisloski, Southern, 22.16; 3. Montgomery, Scranton Prep, 22.21; 4. Rossman, Deer Lakes, 22.32; 5. Moore, Southern Huntingdon, 22.33; 6. Jackson, West Catholic, 22.52.; 7. Haynesworth, Conwell-Egan, 22.65; 8. Krug, Brookville, 22.83.

400 relay: 1. Riverside (Wetzel, Barton, Fluharty, Belczyk), 3:26.37; 2. Southern (Davis, Rose, Wisloski, Garcia), 3:27.83; 3. Loyalsock (Jennings, Singh, Ali, Dowell), 3:28.42; 4. Kane (Bell, Buhl, Greville, Smith), 3:29.64; 5. Burrell (Wurzer, Guerrini, Smola, Callahan), 3:30.45; 6. Wyomissing (Gartner, Vargo, McIntyre, Thompson), 3:30.74; 7. Grove City (Reznor, Harris, Dreves, Locktosh), 3:31.07; 8. Palisades (Smigo, Smeland, Guthier, Yearwood), 3:31.35.

Long jump: 1. Shoats, Holy Redeemer, 22-9 1/2; 2. Reed, Riverside, 21-9 3/4; 3. Ali, Loyalsock, 21-9 1/2; 4. Smith, Kane, 21-7; 5. Bertolasio, Hickory, 21-5 1/2; 6. Cameron, Wyalusing, 21-4 1/4; 7. Whyte, Burgettstown, 21-0 1/2; 8. Marinak, Penn Cambria, 21-0.

Shot put: 1. Vass-Gal, Wilmington, 62-6 1/4; 2. Ayers, Coudersport, 55-8 1/2; 3. Williams, Wyomissing, 54-7 1/2; 4. Faber, Reynolds, 54-0; 5. Mider, Berks Catholic, 52-5; 6. Miles, Laurel, 51-1 1/2; 7. Waltman, Karns City, 48-1 1/2; 8. Kelley, Mount Carmel, 47-8 1/4.

Javelin: 1. Cook, Bedford, 192-5; 2. Dickinson, Scranton Prep, 190-1; 3. Puleo, Harrisburg Christian, 184-6; 4. Higgins, Ligonier Valley, 183-6; 5. Mruk, Wyoming, 178-2; 6. Morro, Pen Argyl, 174-5; 7. Holbay, Westmont Hilltop, 170-2; 8. Stamm, Montieau, 168-5.

High jump: 1. Pfister, Chestnut Ridge, 6-7; 2. Hogg, Youngsville, 6-6; t-3. Elliot, Littlestown, 6-5; t-3. Dreves, Grove City, 6-5; 5. Bronkeman, Delco Christian, 6-4; 6. Bleam, Salisbury Township, 6-2; 8. Gunderson, Annville-Cleona, 6-2.

Pole vault: 1. Lightcap, Lakeview, 15-0; 2. Myers, Camp Hill, 14-6; 3. Lynett, Scranton Prep, 14-0; 4. Lechleitner, Central Cambria, 13-0; t-5. McKibben, Montoursville, 13-0; t-5. Greville, Kane, 13-0; 7. Schaeffer, Schuylkill Valley, 12-6; t-8. McHale, Riverside, 12-6; t-8. Kuffer, Ellwood City, 12-6.

Triple jump: 1. Ali, Loyalsock, 45-2 1/4; 2. Hogg, Youngsville, 44-11; 3. Russell, Cranberry, 44-3 1/4; 4. Elliot, Littelstown, 44-2 3/4; 5. Burritt, Smethport, 43-3 1/2; 6. Miller, Portage, 43-0 1/2; 7. Williams, Reynolds, 42-11 3/4; 8. Shiloh, Greater Nanticoke, 42-4 1/4.

Discus: 1. Williams, Wyomissing, 169-7; 2. Vass-Gal, Wilmington, 158-9; 3. Sharp, Homer Center, 158-6; 4. Wagner, Redbank Valley, 155-9; 5. Stuck, Shenango, 152-5; 6. Morro, Pen Argyl, 151-10; 7. Jackson, New Brighton, 150-2; 8. Kauffman, Greenwood, 149-6.

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