PHOTO PROVIDED Central Mountain senior Sam Wible poses with his 200 and 400 medals following his run at the District 6 Track and Field Championships on Thursday, May 15,2025, at Altoona's Mansion Park. Wible qualified for states in the 400.

ALTOONA – Heading into the closing 50 meters of the 400-meter run, the look on Central Mountain senior Sam Wible’s face displayed the tiredness he felt after a hard-run race. His legs, however, told a different story.

With his motor nearing zero, Wible managed to keep pace with frontrunner Colin Etters long enough to cap off the best race of his long high school career. Both runners set PRs, crediting the other for pushing them to reach new heights. And more notably, both did enough to extend their seasons another round.

Needing a 50.09 to clinch his first state bid, Wible surpassed that mark by more than half a second, running a 49.42.

It was a tough race, one that had him short of breath minutes later while coming off the podium. But it was worth it. When that time popped up on Mansion Park’s scoreboard, multiple Wildcats, Wible included, jumped up and down in celebration.

“I felt like I was fading down the straight away. When I was coming across the line there, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m going to make it. I might not get first.’ But then I saw the clock and knew I was making it to states,” said Wible on the moment. “Just a really good moment for me. I’m extremely happy. I wanted to get to states and did what I had to do.”

His effort there and in the 200-meter dash, which saw him claim bronze with a 22.71, headlined a strong Day 2 of the District 6 Track and Field Championships for the Wildcat boys. While he’ll be the lone Central Mountain boy competing at Shippensburg next weekend, plenty of Wildcats medalled and PR’d through Thursday.

Senior Cooper Bottorf and junior Billy Newman made it three silver medals for the team alongside Wible’s in the 400, with Bottorf hitting the second best throw of his career in discus on a 150-4 and Newman headlining a strong overall event for Central Mountain in jumps, taking second in the high jump (5-9). There was disappointment that came with falling just short of states, with Bottorf notably missing out by under three feet, but there was also plenty of pride.

“I had a good time. My first couple throws were great,” said Bottorf, who is set to continue his track and field career at Susquehanna next year alongside teammate Jonathan Hughes. “Obviously, didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but I’m still happy with second place.”

Hughes took fourth in the javelin with a mark of 159-10, Isaiah Brinker and Newman secured their second District 6 Class AAA medals in the long jump, placing seventh and eighth respectively, and Owen Wunder rounded out an excellent day for Central Mountain in the field, placing in sixth in the high jump with a PR of 5-7. And on the track, all three relays placed, led by the 3,200 relay team’s fifth-place showing.

Throughout the two days, the Central Mountain boys accumulated 20 PRs, signifying a strong overall outing for the team. For Wible, the going isn’t quite over, as he heads into states looking to build off a great closing effort at districts.

DISTRICT 6 TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS (DAY TWO RESULTS)

BOYS (CLASS AAA)

3,200 relay: 1. State College, 7:45.11; 2. Mifflin County, 7:56.18; 3. Altoona, 8:17.74; 4. Hollidaysburg, 8:42.57; 5. Central Mountain (Brody Rhine, Damien Winner, Xian Deems, Aden Dupert), 9:20.83; 6. Somerset, 9:32.20. 100: 1. Jesse Myers, State College, 10.75; 2. Landon Bassett, State College, 11.18; 3. Henry Lustig, State College, 11.46; 4. Salindo Durant, Greater Johnstown, 11.51; 5. Julius Reed, Greater Johnstown, 11.55; 6. Carter Dunmyer, Somerset, 11.55; 7. Carter Muth, Hollidaysburg, 11.62; 8. Anthony Destefano, Hollidaysburg, 11.63. 100 hurdles: 1. Xavier Midder, Altoona, 14.04; 2. Michael McNitt, Mifflin County, 15.59; 3. Rocco Pacifico, Altoona, 15.70; 4. Christopher Thompson, Somerset, 16.43; 5. Adin Yarnell, State College, 16.73; 6. Hunter Kling, Altoona, 17.20; 7. Landyn Langille, Bellefonte, 17.82. 200: 1. Isaac Yarnell, Hollidaysburg, 21.16; 2. Jesse Myers, State College, 21.17; 3. Sam Wible, Central Mountain, 22.71; 4. Colin Etters, Altoona, 22.78; 5. Henry Lustig, State College, 22.79; 6. Kaven Smith-Kirk, Bellefonte, 23.06; 7. Seamus Babcock, State College, 23.07; 8. Zymir Reed, Greater Johnstown, 24.36. 300 hurdles: 1. Michael McNitt, Mifflin County, 40.29; 2. Braelyn Ross, Hollidaysburg, 41.03; 3. Evan DiBuono, Somerset, 41.07; 4. Rocco Pacifico, Altoona, 41.48; 5. Hunter Kling, Altoona, 42.30; 6. Landyn Langille, Bellefonte, 43.12; 7. Jonathan Moeny, State College, 43.51; 8. Adin Yarnell, State College, 45.00. 400: 1. Colin Etters, Altoona, 49.16; 2. Sam Wible, Central Mountain, 49.42; 3. Zymir Reed, Greater Johnstown, 50.45; 4. Jahrell Baker, Altoona, 51.87; 5. Ethan Speelman, Somerset, 51.94; 6. Kyle Fritzsche, State College, 52.20; 7. Trevan Diven, MIfflin County, 53.12; 8. Spencer Neilson, State College, 53.31. 800: 1. Carter Smith, Mifflin County, 1:50.61; 2. Owen Coughlin, State College, 1:51.43; 3. Wyatt Kauffman, Mifflin County, 1:53.77; 4. Ryan Caldwell, State College, 1:54.90; 5. Stephen Fowler, State College, 1:55.97; 6. Justin Bossler, Altoona, 1:58.20; 7. Enoch Van Egdom, Altoona, 2:02.02; 8. Sebastian Diaz, Hollidaysburg, Sebastian Diaz, 2:02.24. 3,200: 1. Isaac Oppermann, State College, 9:10.23; 2. Theo Oppermann, State College, 9:19.41; 3. Griffin Selber, State College, 9:23.33; 4. Reese Cubbison, Mifflin County, 9:29.38; 5. Kaiden Williams, Bellefonte, 9:52.73; 6. Jonathan Gasper, Bellefonte, 9:53.43; 7. Reuben Manfred, Hollidaysburg, 9:56.87; 8. Koy Aurand, Mifflin County, 10:02.50. 400 relay: 1. State College, 41.99; 2. Altoona, 42.36; 3. Greater Johnstown, 43.15; 4. Bellefonte (Jaeden Gabrovsek, Zane Hummel, Aden Howell, Kaven Smith-Kirk), 43.42; 5. Hollidaysburg, 44.33; 6. Somerset, 44.87; 7. Mifflin County, 45.34; 8. Central Mountain (Owen Wunder, Ricky Rohrbach, Shayden Hill, Dylan Bechdel), 45.73. 1,600 relay: 1. State College, 3:20.46; 2. Hollidaysburg, 3:26.38; 3. Altoona, 3:27.07; 4. Bellefonte (Jaeden Gabrovsek, Landyn Langille, Zane Hummel, Aden Howell), 3:31.38; 5. Mifflin County, 3:33.30; 6. Central Mountain (Sam Wible, Wyatt Heeman, Shayden Hill, Brody Rhine), 3:38.56.

Discus: 1. Nathan Haas, State College, 167-8; 2. Cooper Bottorf, Central Mountain, 150-4; 3. Wyatt Maines, Hollidaysburg, 144-7; 4. Mark Harrington, Altoona, 136-2; 5. Andrew Pak-Blyzniuk, State College, 135-3; 6. Luke Solbakken, State College, 131-11; 7. Christian White, Hollidaysbrg, 129-0; 8. Guillermo Gaffney, Hollidaysburg, 124-4. High jump: 1. Max Bodner, State College, 5-11; 2. Billy Newman, Central Mountain, 5-9; 3. Branson Adams, Altoona, 5-9; 4. Bryce Warren, Central Mountain, 5-9; 5. Dmyah Carr, Greater Johnstown, 5-7; 6. Owen Wunder, Central Mountain, 5-7; 7. Sean Spielvogel, State College, 5-5. Javelin: 1. Nathan Haas, State College, 200-9; 2. Henry Smith, State College, 170-11; 3. Reece Bell, Mifflin County, 164-9; 4. Jonathan Hughes, Central Mountain, 159-10; 5. Guillermo Gaffney, Hollidaysburg, 158-4; 6. Mark Harrington, Altoona, 157-10; 7. Liam Halterman, Bellefonte, 156-3; 8. Markell Herr, Altoona, 153-0. Long jump: 1. Xavier Midder, Altoona, 22-10 1/2; 2. Zane Hummel, Bellefonte, 22-10 1/4; 3. Landon Basett, State College, 22-9; 4. Branson Adams, Altoona, 22-6; 5. Kaven Smith-Kirk, Bellefonte, 21-7; 6. Carter Dunmyer, Somerset, 21-0; 7. Isaiah Brinker, Central Mountain, 20-8; 8. Billy Newman, Central Mountain, 20-2 1/4. Pole vault: 1. Adam Bell, State College, 14-9; 2. Collin Lutz, Altoona, 13-9; 3. Nathaniel Wolfe, Altoona, 12-3; 4. Spencer Stevenson-Peck, State College, 11-9; 5. Jack Cousey, Altoona, 11-9; 6. Matrix Mokluk, Bellefonte, 11-3; 7. Rodney Garwood, Somerset, 10-9; 8. Xander ElBayly, Somerset, 9-9.