Miller, Guers, LaPoint to square off in boys’ 200 meters

ORWIGSBURG — It’s the race local track and field fans have waited all season to see.

Three of the state’s fastest sprinters going head-to-head.

And it will occur today on the Schuylkill League’s biggest stage.

The Schuylkill League Track and Field Championships will take place today at Blue Mountain High School’s Eagles Nest.

Condensed from two days to one due to impending weather Wednesday, the 13-school competition will begin with field events at 2:30 p.m. The track events will start at 3 p.m.

Tickets will cost $10 for adults and $5 for students. There will not be a senior citizen discount.

All 13 Schuylkill League schools will participate. The track events will follow the same order as in a regular dual meet, with the 4×800 relay followed by the 100/110 high hurdles, 100-meter dash, 1600, 4×100 relay, 400, 300 hurdles, 800, 200, 3200 and 4×400 relay.

The top six seeds in each event, both boys and girls, are listed at the bottom of this story. You can get live updates (providing the Internet works at the Eagles’ Nest) from today’s meet on the T102 Sports Now Facebook page.

Here’s a look at some of the top storylines heading into today’s league meet:

Star Sprinters

Somewhere around 6:45 p.m. three of the state’s fastest sprinters — North Schuylkill’s Luke Miller, Blue Mountain’s Chase Guers and Minersville’s Paiten LaPoint — will square off in the boys’ 200 meters.

Miller enters as the top seed in the event, posting a time of 21.40 seconds April 8 against Pine Grove. Guers follows at 21.71, with Lapoint third at 22.43.

In today’s race, which will be the third and final heat of the event, Miller is in Lane 4, Guers in Lane 5 and Lapoint in Lane 3.

Lapoint, the defending PIAA Class AA champion in the event, missed most of the season due to a hamstring injury. He only returned to full action last week.

The senior won’t compete in the 100 meters, an event he garnered a silver medal in at states last year, instead running in the 400.

Miller and Guers will also do battle in the 100, with Miller seeded No. 1 at 10.63 and Guers second at 10.71. The 100 is one of the day’s early events, going off around 4 p.m.

Guers is also seeded No. 1 in the triple jump at 43 feet, 6 inches.

Can Giuffre win 4 golds?

Pottsville senior Alexa Giuffre has dominated the opposition in every dual meet and invitational she’s competed in this season. A PIAA Class 3A state medalist in the long jump last season, she enters today’s competition seeded No. 1 in four events — 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump.

Can she win all four? It’s a good possibility.

Giuffre, who will continue her track career at Duquesne University, is a heavy favorite in both hurdle events. Her time of 15.20 in the 100 hurdles is 1.19 seconds ahead of second-place Breilly Lazur of Blue Mountain. In the 300 hurdles, she’s 2.49 seconds faster than Katelynn Fredericks of Tamaqua.

Giuffre’s main threat on the way to four golds will be Minersville’s Maggie Hoffman-Long.

A threat to win four gold medals herself, Hoffman-Long is seeded second behind Giuffre in both the long jump and triple jump. Of all the field events, the girls’ long jump and triple jump are must-see theater today as it will be the last time Giuffre and Hoffman-Long go head-to-head this season.

In addition to being seeded second in both the long jump and triple jump, Hoffman is seeded second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters.

Field favorites

Today’s Schuylkill League meet will be a senior showcase of sorts in the field, especially in the throwing events.

Schuylkill Haven’s Ethan Kline is seeded No. 1 in both the shot put and discus, while Blue Mountain’s William Shaner has dominated the javelin all season long.

They are heavily favored in their respective events today.

Another senior, Dane Hannevig, has balanced playing shortstop for the Pine Grove baseball team and competing in the long jump all spring. Today he’ll look to win a league title in the boys’ long jump, entering as the No. 1 seed after leaping 21-10.5 at the Blue Mountain Invitational on April 24.

Another interesting field event will be the boys’ pole vault, where Blue Mountain teammates Dalton Minnick and Noah Lechleitner have battled each other all season long. Minnick enters as the top seed at 13 feet, while Lechleitner is second at 12-6.

On the girls’ side, expect some battles for top honors in the shot put, discus and javelin.

Minersville’s Avery Miller is in the mix for all three events. She’s seeded second behind teammate Arianna John in the shot put, second behind Blue Mountain’s Sophia Woll in the discus and is the top seed in the javelin.

Daily Doubles

There are several athletes seeded No. 1 in more than one event.

In addition to Giuffre, Miller and Kline, Blue Mountain’s Sophia Spolski (100, 200), North Schuylkill’s Genevieve Dando (1600, 3200) and Pottsville’s Donovann Durham (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles) are also the top seed in multiple events.

The boys’ hurdles races will be a showdown between Durham and Blue Mountain’s Rafael Liranzo. Those could be fun races to watch.

Other top seeds not already mentioned include North Schuylkill’s Cameron Kacilowicz (400), Pottsville’s Colin McGinley (800), Nativity’s Shane Meyer (1600), Marian’s Wade Eroh (3200) and North Schuylkill’s Xavier McNally (high jump) on the boys’ side and Schuylkill Haven’s Audrey Hutchinson (400), Tamaqua’s Shaylee Gormley (800), Blue Mountain’s Evangelina Fisher (high jump) and Minersville’s Alyssa Cook (pole vault) on the girls’ side.

Here’s a look at the top six seeds in each event for today’s Schuylkill League Track and Field Championships:

Schuylkill League Track and Field Championships

Tuesday at Blue Mountain

Participating Teams: Blue Mountain (BM), Mahanoy Area (Mah), Marian (Mar), Minersville (Min), Nativity (Nat), North Schuylkill (NS), Panther Valley (PV), Pine Grove (PG), Pottsville (Potts), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Shenandoah Valley (SV), Tamaqua (Tam), Weatherly (Wea)

Top 6 Seeds

BOYS

100 — 1. Luke Miller (NS) 10.63, 2. Chase Guers (BM) 10.71, 3. Daniel Brake (NS) 11.24, 4. Shay Strencosky (Potts) 11.28, 5. Cameron Kacilowicz (NS) 11.30, 6. Niko Carestia (SH) 11.30

200 — 1. Luke Miller (NS) 21.40, 2. Chase Guers (BM) 21.71, 3. Paiten Lapoint (Min) 22.43, 4. Daniel Brake (NS) 22.45, 5. Cameron Kacilowicz (NS) 22.45, 6. Connor Felty (Nat) 22.80

400 — 1. Cameron Kacilowicz (NS) 50.84, 2. Kyle McCormick (Nat) 51.12, 3. Robert McDonald (Nat) 51.82, 4. Francesco Carr (BM) 52.20, 5. Paiten Lapoint (Min) 52.53, 6. Yaviel Vega (Mah) 52.66

800 — 1. Colin McGinley (Potts) 2:02.28, 2. Brody Moyer (BM) 2:02.69, 3. Shane Meyer (Nat) 2:03.68, 4. Tyler Buchman (BM) 2:04.44, 5. Aidan Elston (Tam) 2:05.30, 6. Grady McGovern (Min) 2:05.52

1600 — 1. Shane Meyer (Nat) 4:36.80, 2. Nash Stehr (Nat) 4:44.04, 3. Aidan Elston (Tam) 4:44.81, 4. Parker Steencken (Tam) 4:47.87, 5. Johnny Burgess (Min) 4:48.00, 6. Grayson Meck (BM) 4:49.57

3200 — 1. Wade Eroh (Mar) 10:16.40, 2. Parker Steencken (Tam) 10:20.13, 3. Shane Meyer (Nat) 10:24.54, 4. Memphis Kline (Tam) 10:26.70, 5. Grayson Meck (BM) 10:39.18, 6. Johnny Burgess (Min) 10:39.21

110 hurdles — 1. Donovann Durham (Potts) 14.42, 2. Rafael Liranzo (BM) 15.16, 3. Brody Walchak (SH) 15.70, 4. Gio Rivera-Poke (Tam) 15.82, 5. Makai Kollie (Potts) 16.13, 6. Malachi Kollie (Potts) 16.19

300 hurdles — 1. Donovann Durham (Potts) 38.90, 2. Rafael Liranzo (BM) 39.62, 3. Chase Zimerofsky (Min) 41.92, 3. Sonny Seritti (Mah) 42.42, 5. Brody Walchak (SH) 43.29, 6. Luis Tejada (Tam) 43.68

4×100 relay — 1. North Schuylkill 42.73, 2. Pottsville 44.01, 3. Minersville 44.43, 4. Blue Mountain 44.46, 5. Schuylkill Haven 44.58, 6. Nativity 44.92

4×400 relay — 1. Pottsville 3:30.85, 2. Blue Mountain 3:31.53, 3. Nativity 3:33.04, 4. North Schuylkill 3:37.27, 5. Mahanoy Area 3:38.05, 6. Minersville 3:39.84

4×800 relay — 1. Blue Mountain 8:17.88, 2. Nativity 8:18.79, 3. Minersville 8:32.69, 4. Pottsville 8:42.84, 5. Tamaqua 8:50.04, 6. Mahanoy Area 9:17.71

High Jump — 1. Xavier McNally (NS) 6-3, 2. Aidan Ryan (Min) 6-0, 3. Jaxon Sweeney (NS) 5-10, 4. Tanner McGee (NS) 5-10, 5. Connor Bowman (Mah) 5-10, 6. Parker Zaharis (Min) 5-9

Long Jump — 1. Dane Hannevig (PG) 21-10.5, 2. Jacob Tom (Mar) 21-9.25, 3. Chase Zimerofsky (Min) 20-10.25, 4. Tanner McGee (NS) 20-9, 5. Logan Goad (SH) 20-9, 6. (tie) Dalton Minnick (BM) and Daniel Fanelli (SH) 20-4

Triple Jump — 1. Chase Guers (BM) 43-6, 2. Chase Zimerofsky (Min) 42-7.5, 3. Jacob Tom (Mar) 42-5.25, 4. Michael Elchisak (SV) 42-0, 5. Terrence McDowell (Tam) 39-7, 6. Xavier McNally (NS) 39-6

Shot Put — 1. Ethan Kline (SH) 55-0, 2. Kurt Krammes (BM) 45-6.5, 3. Connor Palerino (Nat) 45-2.5, 4. Gino Williams (PV) 44-3.5, 5. John Redgate (Mah) 42-7.5, 6. Marshall Dolbin (Nat) 42-6

Discus — 1. Ethan Kline (SH) 153-5, 2. Gino Williams (PV) 140-2, 3. Bryan Chagolla (SV) 137-4, 4. Caleb Baldwin (BM) 129-5, 5. William Behun (Tam) 127-8, 6. Dominick Rodino (Mar) 127-4.5

Javelin — 1. William Shaner (BM) 180-10, 2. Niko Carestia (SH) 169-0, 3. Gino Williams (PV) 152-9, 4. Peter Scharadin (Potts) 146-2, 5. Aiden Becker (Nat) 145-2, 6. Jeffrey Kline (BM) 144-1

Pole Vault — 1. Dalton Minnick (BM) 13-0, 2. Noah Lechleitner (BM) 12-6, 3. Killian Bressler (Potts) 10-10, 4. Tyler MacMillan (Tam) 9-6, 5. Billy Davis (Potts) 9-6, 6. (tie) Frank Hill (Tam) and Daniel Koury-Schultz (Min) 8-6

GIRLS

100 — 1. Sophia Spolski (BM) 12.52, 2. Maggie Hoffman-Long (Min) 12.72, 3. Jaclyn Easparro (BM) 12.77, 4. Bella Kassab (PG) 12.90, 5. Molly Frantz (NS) 12.94, 6. Ayla Allvord (Min) 13.04

200 — 1. Sophia Spolski (BM) 26.14, 2. Bella Kassab (PG) 26.29, 3. Maggie Hoffman-Long (Min) 26.53, 4. Jes Siminitus (Potts) 26.72, 5. Molly Frantz (NS) 27.27, 6. Myla Fegley (Potts) 27.35

400 — 1. Audrey Hutchinson (SH) 1:02.23, 2. Jes Siminitus (Potts) 1:02.56, 3. Shaylee Gormley (Tam) 1:03.07, 4. Ava Terefencko (SH) 1:03.25, 5. Tatiana Salefski (NS) 1:04.24, 6. Millie Black (Tam) 1:04.25

800 — 1. Shaylee Gormley (Tam) 2:26.45, 2. Gianna Chipriano (BM) 2:26.93, 3. Emma Lazarchick (BM) 2:28.73, 4. Faith Krammes (SH) 2:32.46, 5. Lucy Scheidel (BM) 2:32.81, 6. Marley Zimmerman (Min) 2:33.91

1600 — 1. Genevieve Dando (NS) 5:22.38, 2. Vanessa Frasnelli (BM) 5:32.70, 3. Victoria Frasnelli (BM) 5:36.71, 4. Marley Zimmerman (Min) 5:41.00, 5. Anna Kaplafka (BM) 5:53.45, 6. Catherine Marinchak (Nat) 5:55.80

3200 — 1. Genevieve Dando (NS) 11:51.32, 2. Vanessa Frasnelli (BM) 11:54.16, 3. Marley Zimmerman (Min) 12:50.70, 4. Felicia Bro (Mah) 12:59.23, 5. Catherine Marinchak (Nat) 13:09.50, 6. Calista Wessner (Nat) 13:11.83

100 hurdles — 1. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 15.20, 2. Breilly Lazur (BM) 16.39, 3. Riley Davis (Potts) 16.46, 4. Kyla Rose (NS) 17.18, 5. Hailey Mroczka (Mah) 17.33, 6. Lily Baran (Nat) 17.70

300 hurdles — 1. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 45.51, 2. Katelynn Fredericks (Tam) 48.00, 3. Evangelina Fisher (BM) 49.01, 4. Olivia Greblick (NS) 49.74, 5. Riley Davis (Potts) 50.16, 6. Hailey Mroczka (Mah) 50.50

4×100 relay — 1. Blue Mountain 50.84, 2. North Schuylkill 51.53, 3. Minersville 51.86, 4. Pottsville 51.90, 5. Pine Grove 52.11, 6. Mahanoy Area 53.06

4×400 relay — 1. Pottsville 4:09.93, 2. Schuylkill Haven 4:20.08, 3. Tamaqua 4:22.36, 4. Blue Mountain 4:22.94, 5. Mahanoy Area 4:28.07, 6. North Schuylkill 4:30.52

4×800 relay — 1. Blue Mountain 9:57.43, 2. Schuylkill Haven 10:26.06, 3. Minersville 10:26.97, 4. Tamaqua 10:29.25, 5. Pottsville 10:53.81, 6. Nativity 10:57.50

High Jump — 1. Evangelina Fisher (BM) 5-2, 2. Lauren Powis (NS) 4-11, 3. Myla Fegley (Potts) 4-11, 4. Abby Smith (NS) 4-9, 5. Morgan Orsulak (PV) 4-9, 6. 5 girls tied at 4-8

Long Jump — 1. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 18-9, 2. Maggie Hoffman-Long (Min) 18-4, 3. Mia McDonald (NS) 16-8, 4. Morgan Orsulak (PV) 16-4.5, 5. Bella Murphy (SH) 16-1.5, 6. Rhyan Brennan (Potts) 15-10

Triple Jump — 1. Alexa Giuffre (Potts) 38-10.75, 2. Maggie Hoffman-Long (Min) 37-9.5, 3. Emmy Pearce (NS) 34-2.5, 4. Rhyan Brennan (Potts) 33-7, 5. Evangelina Fisher (BM) 32-11.5, 6. Bella Murphy (SH) 32-10

Shot Put — 1. Arianna John (Min) 35-6, 2. Avery Miller (Min) 35-2, 3. Haley Banonis (BM) 33-9, 4. Rieleigh Purcell (PG) 33-0.75, 5. Ceanna Gormley (Tam) 33-0, 6. Aniera Perry (BM) 31-11

Discus — 1. Sophia Woll (BM) 105-2, 2. Avery Miller (Min) 104-4, 3. Emmalee Pinkey (Nat) 92-3, 4. Leah Black (Tam) 88-4, 5. Madelyn Zilker (NS) 87-7, 6. Autumn Fermaintt (Potts) 87-2

Javelin — 1. Avery Miller (Min) 122-0, 2. Kelly Reiner (Wea) 108-8, 3. Kendall Koch (BM) 106-0, 4. Emmalee Pinkey (Nat) 95-1, 5. Ella Gonzalez (BM) 91-2, 6. Samantha Price (Mah) 88-10

Pole Vault — 1. Alyssa Cook (Min) 10-0, 2. Hannah Wildermuth (BM) 8-10, 3. Madeleine Dalkner (BM) 7-10, 4. Karalyn Mady (BM) 7-10, 5. Jaana Tamagini (Tam) 7-6, 6. 3 girls tied at 7-0

People-Tag: Alexa Giuffre, Allyssa Cook, Arianna John, Audrey Hutchinson, Avery Miller, Cameron Kacilowicz, Chase Guers, Colin McGinley, Dalton Minnick, Dane Hannevig, Donovann Durham, Ethan Kline, Evangelina Fisher, Genevieve Dando, Luke Miller, Maggie Hoffman-Long, Noah Lechleitner, Paiten LaPoint, Rafael Liranzo, Shane Meyer, Shaylee Gormley, Sophia Spolski, Sophia Woll, Wade Eroh, William Shaner, Xavier McNally