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Longtime Selinsgrove coach George Hummel honored at Don Wilhour track and field invitational

By Evan Wheaton 7 min read

SELINSGROVE -- Brian Catherman stood in front of the crowd by the throwing pits. With George Hummel's Penn State hat on his head, Catherman brought forward Hummel's family to unveil the Selinsgrove campus' newest addition.

Atop two wooden totems, the tarp was removed, the rain picking up, to reveal a red plaque dedicated to Hummel. The words "Honoring a coach, teacher, and father" are displayed in white lettering under Hummel's name at the newly dedicated throwing pits.

Hummel, who spent 42 years coaching at Selinsgrove with a focus on throwing, died of a heart attack this past winter. He was 75.

At the first Don Wilhour track and field invitational since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meet was dedicated to Hummel's legacy ahead of the first event.

"I wish he was here," Catherman said after the meet. "Tough day. But a good thing to present something like that for him and his family."

Quite possibly the biggest highlight of the invitational was the beginning of the 3,200-meter dash, which had its heats broken up from the beginning to the end of the meet. Hughesville's Wyatt Gavitt and Meadowbrook Christian's Jude Sterling went toe-to-to -- literally -- to the finish.

With the results withheld until the heats were completed at the end of the day, it was anyone's guess as to who broke the plane first. Gavitt finished at 11:13.30 -- just .03 ahead of Sterling.

Hughesville had another first-place finish from Hunter Foust in the boys 800-meter run. And as a team, the Hughesville boys won the 3,200-relay with an 8:23.45 team finish.

The Milton girls team had a solid showing with three events won. Morgan Reiner won the javelin (118-8) and Janae Bergey won both the 100-meter (12.98) and the 200-meter (27.15) dashes. Ryan Bickhart won the boys 1,600-meter run at 4:30.29.

Catherman recalled a conference meet at Susquehanna in the 90s. Hummel's shot putters went 1-2-3, followed by his discus throwers at the same meet.

"That's tough to do in a big conference, and that was when we were still in the Susquehanna Valley League," Catherman said. "He was a staple always in the throws, never had to worry. He was always here."

On the day where the throwing guru was honored, Williamsport's Luseane Maafu won the girls discus at 94-10.

"His definite forte was the throws. He put the time in all those years ... it's amazing how many state medalists, district champions he's had over the years," Catherman said on Hummel. "He was the bread and butter when it came to local throwing coaches."

The Millionaires also had a first-place finish in Cameron Sims, who finished the 200-meter in 22.25. As a team, Williamsport won the boys 400-relay aat 43.60.

Montoursville won two events. Brayden McKibben won the boys pole vault with a 13-foot finish. Lily Saul took the 400-meter dash at 1:00.03.

Catherman started the day with a prayer. He was close with Hummel. They went to Penn State games together. Catherman coached Hummel's son.

"He could've gotten out of coaching a long time ago," Catherman said. "He retired in his 50s and was still coaching in his 70s. He didn't do it just because liked it, but he loved the kids. I think that's the bottom line."

At the first Don Wilhour invitational hosted by Selinsgrove in three years, that much was evident.

DON WILHOUR SELINSGROVE CLASSIC

GIRLS RESULTS

3200 relay: 1. Shikellamy A, 10:08.5; 2. Selinsgrove A, 10:26.27; 3. Southern Columbia A, 10:27.84; 4. Elk Lake A, 10:28.87; 5. Danville A, 10:39.90; 6. Hughesville A, 10:44.58. 100 hurdles: 1. Zentner, Bloomsburg, 16.99; 2. Parise, Selinsgrove, 17.01; 3. Pyle, Midd-West, 17.13; 3. Irion, Montoursville, 17.13; 5. Weber, Mifflinburg, 17.15; 6. Gardner, Hughesville, 17.39. 100: 1. Bergey, Milton, 12.98; 2. Walker, Jersey Shore, 13.27; 2. Augment, Selinsgrove, 13.27; 4. Gearinger, Central Columbia, 13.32; 4. Haley, Wyalusing, 13.32; 6. Corson, Jersey Shore, 13.33. Pole vault: 1. Bronowicz, Shikellamy, 10-0; 2. Drogan, Bloomsburg, 9-0; 3. Snyder, Central Columbia, 8-6; 4. Davis, Montoursville, J8-6; 5. Weatherill, Central Columbia, 8-0; 6. Cieslukowski, Warrior Run, J8-0. Shot put: 1. Dowkus, Mount Carmel, 38-10; 2. Maafu, Williamsport, 36-9; 3. Bussey, Shikellamy, 34-1.5; 4. Kopitsky, Mount Carmel, 32-5; 5. Shek, Milton, 32-1; 6. Stapleton, Selinsgrove, 31-11.5. 400 relay: 1. Central Columbia A, 51.39; 2. Shikellamy A, 52.16; 3. Milton A, 52.17; 4. Jersey Shore A, 52.85; 5. Bloomsburg A, 52.93; 6. Mifflinburg A, 53.05. 1600: 1. Aikey, Bloomsburg, 5:14.41; 2. Jones, Elk Lake, 5:29.25; 3. Bronson, Athens, 5:33.09; 4. Bartholomew, Danville, 5:35.12; 5. Hale, Williamsport, 5:41.12; 6. Bronson, Athens, 5:42.33. Long jump: 1. Schlauch, Bloomsburg, 16-3; 2. Hoover, Shikellamy, 15-7; 3. Thompson, Athens, 15-5.5; 4. Gehret, Southern Columbia, 15-4.75; 5. Parise, Selinsgrove, 15-4.25; 6. Dewyer, Milton, 15-1.75. Javelin: 1. Reiner, Milton, 118-8; 2. Lopez, Milton, 113-6; 3. Badger, Montoursville, 112-09; 4. Holmes, Williamsport, 107-7; 5. Minnier, Shikellamy, 102-5; 6. Johnston, Southern Columbia, 101-9. High jump: 1. Zentner, Bloomsburg, 4-10; 2. Ely, Wyalusing, J4-10; 3. Weatherhill, Central Columbia, 4-8; 3. Michaels, Shikellamy, 4-8; 5. Beishline, Central Columbia, J4-8; 5. Rolston, Greenwood, J4-8. 400: 1. Saul, Montoursville, 1:00.03; 2. Aument, Selinsgrove, 1:01.93; 3. Ronk, Shikellamy, 1:02.24; 4. Savitski, Southern Columbia, 1:02.41; 5. Molina-Shuman, Selinsgrove, 1:03.94; 6. Mylin, Bloomsburg, 1:03.44. 300 hurdles: 1.Walker, Athens, 49.49; 2. Weber, Mifflinburg, 49.58; 3. Irion, Montoursville, 50.64; 4. Grissom, Williamsport, 50.75; 5. Rebuck, Central Columbia, 50.77; 6. Parise, Selinsgrove, 50.88. Triple jump: 1. Schlauch, Bloomsburg, 34-8; 2. Walker, Jersey Shore, 34-5; 3. Weatherill, Central Columbia, 32-9; 4. Shuck, Mifflinburg, 31-10; 5. Hoover, Shikellamy, 31-7; 6. Heckman, Midd-West, 30-10. 200: 1. Bergey, Milton, 27.15; 2. Aument, Selinsgrove, 27.38; 3. Stout, Central Columbia, 27.44; 4. Bieber, Hughesville, 27.55; 5. Haley, Wyalusing, 27.63; 6. Corson, Jersey Shore, 27.92. 800: 1. Keeley, Shikellamy, 2:24.71; 2. Moncavage, Southern Columbia, 2:25.66; 3. Fry, Selinsgrove, 2:27.90; 4. Hoover, Midd-West, 2:29.57; 5. Bronson, Athens, 2:31.34; 6. Blake, Central Columbia, 2:33.01. 3200: Aikey, Bloomsburg, 11:12.93; 2. Kruskie, Shaela, Selinsgrove; 3. Hennett, Shikellamy, 11:42.01; 4. Dunkleberger, Warrior Run, 11:44.80; 5. Bartholomew, Danville, 12:04.88; 6. Bronson, Athens, 12:40.87. Discus: 1. Maafu, Williamsport, 94-10; 2. Bussey, Shikellamy, 93-6; 3. Bartlow, Athens, 93-0; 4. Massey, Shikellamy, 91-5; 5. Donlan, Southern Columbia, 89-6; 6. Kopitsky, Mount Carmel, 89-2.

BOYS RESULTS

3200 relay: 1. Hughesville A, 8:23.45; 2. Shikellamy A, 8:33.53; 3. Midd-West A, 8:38.83; 4. Williamsport A, 8:44.56; 5. Jersey Shore A, 8:44.83; 6. Shamokin A, 8:45.53. 110 hurdles: 1. Rose, Southern Columbia, 14.28; 2. Smink, Shamokin, 15.80; 3. Robinson, Montgomery, 15.89; 4. Harden, Williamsport, 15.91; 5. Schans, Montoursville, 16.42; 6. Burdett, Loyalsock, 16.62. 100: 1. Wisloski, Southern Columbia, 10.98; 2. Sims, Williamsport, 10.99; 3. Morgan, Shikellamy, 11.26; 4. Bruno, Shikellamy, 11.38; 5. Pombor, Williamsport, 11.44; 6. Minium, Milton, 11.48. High jump: 1. Minimum, Milton, 6-0; 2. Arnold, Southern Columbia, J-6-0; 3. Schans, Montoursville, 5-10; 4. Christman, Southern Columbia, 5-8; 4. Yoder, Mifflinburg, 5-8; 6. Cook, Milton, J5-8; 6. Stebila, Selinsgrove, J5-8. 1600: 1. Bickhart, Milton, 4:30.29; 2. Gavitt, Hughesville, 4:32.05; 3. Dreese, Mifflinburg, 4:42.12; 4. Cassell, Greenwood, 4:42.88; 5. Francis, Jersey Shore, 4:43.29. 6. Zellers, Shikellamy, 4:48.63. 400 relay: 1. Williamsport A, 43.60; 2. Shikellamy A, 44.62; 3. Mount Carmel A, 44.86; 4. Selinsgrove A, 45.54; 5. Mifflinburg A, 45.76; 6. Central Columbia A, 46.64. Long jump: 1. Rose, Southern Columbia, 22-1; 2. Macdonald, Williamsport, 21-1.5; 3. Breed, Mifflinburg, 20-4; 4. Slaughter, Williamsport, 19-10; 5. Hackenberger, Selinsgrove, 19-9; 6. Aument, Selinsgrove, 19-6. Shot put: 1. Maurer, Selinsgrove, 47-3; 2. Zular, Shamokin, 45-11; 3. Antonyuk, Mifflinburg, 45-10; 4. Geiser, Shikellamy, 45-9; 5. Kelley, Mount Carmel, 45-4; 6. Bennett, Greenwood, 45-0. 400: 1. Lynch, Shamokin, 50.90; 2. Gale, Shikellamy, 51.87; 3. Quintana, Loyalsock, 52.53; 4. Goundie, Selinsgrove, 53.36. 5. Solomon, Midd-West, 53.38; 6. Delbaugh, Shamokin, 53.49. 300 hurdles: 1. Smink, Shamokin, 42.01; 2. Bradley, Central Columbia, 42.45; 3. Wagner, Selinsgrove, 42.47; 4. Martin, Shikellamy, 43.55; 5. Schans, Montoursville, 43.57; 6. Robinson, Montgomery, 44.01.800: 1. Foust, Hughesville, 2:02.29; 2. Cassell, Greenwood, 2:03.93; 3. Carapelluci, Shamokin, 2:04.77; 4. Williams, Shikellamy, 2:04.78; 5. Lee, Selinsgrove, 2:05.26; 6. Way, Elk Lake, 2:06.85. Triple jump: 1. Heard, Bloomsburg, 41-10; 2. McCormack, Warrior Run, 41-6; 3. Kline, Williamsport, 41-3; 4. Oswald, Wyalusing, 40-2; 5. Reed, Loyalsock, 40-0; 6. Feliciano, Mount Carmel, 39-5. Pole vault: 1. McKibben, Montoursville, 13-0; 2. Packer, Shikellamy, 12-0; 3. Eberhart, Montoursville, 11-6; 4. Alleman, Shamokin, 11-0; 5. Hallman, Shikellamy, J11-0; 6. Reed, Williamsport, 10-6. 200: Sims, Williamsport, 22.25; 2. Wisloski, Southern Columbia, 22.90; 3. Minium, Milton, 23.23; 4. Aviles, Milton, 23.34; 5. Rodkey, Selinsgrove, 23.42; 6. Solomon, Midd-West, 23.73. 3200: 1. Gavitt, Hughesville, 11:13.30; 2. Sterling, Meadowbrook Christian, 11:13.33; 3. Wiley, Williamsport, 11:21.60; 4. Cummins, Greenwood, 11:21.87; 5. Dunkelberger, Shikellamy, 11:24.50; 6. Fuhrey, Wyalusing, 11:24.51. 1600 relay: 1. Shikellamy A, 3:34.95; 2. Shamokin A, 3:35.82; 3. Selinsgrove A, 3:36.65; 4. Jersey Shore A, 3:38.04; 5. Hughesville A, 3:38.99; 6. Williamsport A, 3:42.04. Javelin: 1. Shay, Selinsgrove, 165-9; 2. Arnold, Southern Columbia, 155-5; 3. Snyder, Milton, 154-2; 4. Antonyuk, Mifflinburg, 149-10; 5. Barnes, Montoursville, 149-9; 6. Macaluso, Shamokin, 148-6. Discus: 1. Maurer, Selinsgrove, 154-9; 2. Laver, Williamsport, 144-8; 3. Antonyuk, Mifflinburg, 134-9; 4. Macaluso, Shamokin, 131-3; 5. Farronato, Mount Carmel, 125-10; 6. Turber, Shikellamy, J125-10.

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