SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - There could not have been a better start to Day Two of the PIAA Track & Field Championships than Zach Brehm’s finish.
Brehm, of Carlisle, kicked his way to a PIAA meet record Saturday in the boys’ 3200-meter run with a time of 8 minutes and 55.6 seconds at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
The senior runner bested Easton Area’s Colin Abert by 0.4 seconds, the last of three passes Brehm made during his final lap of the day’s opening event. Abert also broke the previous meet mark, set one year ago by Ross Wilson of Council Rock North High School.
“I came here today to run against one of the best classes of athletes that we’ve seen in a long time and just do whatever I could,” Brehm said. “I ran what I thought was going to be the smartest race, and it ended up that I was in the right place going into that last lap.”
Brehm’s win added to his collection of state golds, having won both the 800 and 1,600 in previous years. By taking the 1,600 in the boys’ AA division, Domenic Perretta, of Beaver Falls, also completed a career distance events sweep Saturday.
Cheltenham swept both the male and female team competitions behind excellent showings in relays and sprint events. The Panther boys were the only team to eclipse 50 points, while the girls edged out Pennsbury, 54-50. Cheltenham senior John Lewis posted a PIAA meet all-time best in the 800, gliding to a 1:48.72 finish.
Over in the hurdles, Paul Robeson senior Markeeta Thomas broke two meet records, including her old 100-meter mark from last spring. The Clemson-bound hurdler posted a new time of 14.03 seconds in the 100 and raced the 300 hurdles in 41.74, surpassing the 43-second race run by Debbie Linton, of Catasauqua, in 1984.
“I expected it, but anything can happen at states. That was the main thing on my mind,” Thomas said of her two golds. “I’m just so happy. I left with a bang.”
Knoch sophomore Jordan Geist coupled his discus gold Friday with a first-place finish in the shot put Saturday. Geist threw 65 feet, 9 3/4 inches, while silver medalist David Lucas, of Warwick, tossed a 56-08. Geist upset Lucas for his discus win, before falling short of his ultimate goal of a 70-foot throw in the shot put.
Nevertheless, Geist was more than happy to head home with a pair of top finishes.
“It’s still a surreal feeling winning both,” Geist said. “Not many people can say that they have won both. It’s definitely a great feeling.”
Bloomsburg’s Javel Hemphill, the defending 100-meter champion in the boys AA division, kept his crown and polished off an undefeated season against Pennsylvania competition.
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