NEW CASTLE —
Wilmington High track and field standout Jon Yohman broke through on Saturday.
Two times.
Yohman, who has finished second to Hickory’s Matt Bell four times this season, made sure that didn’t happen this time. Yohman, a junior, won two gold medals for the Greyhounds at the District 10, Class AA Track and Field Championships at Hickory High School.
The top two finishers in each event earned an automatic spot in the PIAA Championships at Shippensburg University later this week. Also, any competitor who reached the state qualifying standard will compete for a state title as well.
Yohman claimed gold in the shot put (60-33⁄4) and the discus (171-11). Bell was second in both events.
Bell won all four head-to-battles (Hickory Invitational, Baldwin Invitational, Mercer County Athletic Conference, District 10 Championships) against Yohman prior to Saturday.
“For Jon to win the shot and discus titles, it’s really outstanding; it’s really extra special,” Wilmington coach J.R. McFarland said. “Matt Bell is an outstanding thrower. Jon has been battling him all season.
“Jon’s been inching up on him each meet. It’s going to be quite a throwing competition down at the state meet.”
Yohman’s toss of 171-11 in the discus is a school record, breaking his old mark of 167-9.
“It comes down to technique, speed and quickness,” McFarland said of the discus competition. “He’s agile and he moves well across the circle.”
Tyler Donati registered a gold medal for the Greyhounds in the javelin event, notching a toss of 167-7.
“He’s done a great job in the javelin all year,” McFarland said. “He’s overcome a couple of injuries earlier in the school year and he works hard at the event.
“Tyler got a personal best out there and we’re happy for him. He continues to work on his technique and we hope he throws it even further at the state meet.”
Donati topped General McLane’s Quin Thompson, who hurled the javelin 166-10.
Wilmington’s Bryn Kaufman placed sixth in the shot put at 51-21⁄4. Kaufman advanced to the state meet because he met the qualifying standard of 50-3.
“The exciting thing about him is this is only his second season of throwing,” McFarland said of Kaufman. “He’s done a great job in the shot as well as the discus.
“He seems to have really taken off in the shot put. It’s a very strong field in the shot put coming out of District 10.”
On the girls side, Alexis King (long jump) and Mariah Burns (triple jump) both won district championships for the Lady Greyhounds.
Burns recorded a leap of 37-0 in the triple jump to capture the gold. She was second in the long jump at 17-10.
“Mariah has done a great job all year in the triple jump,” McFarland said. “Her 37-foot jump was actually just a half-inch from breaking the District 10 record.
“For her to jump what she did in the long jump sends a message that she can medal in both events at state.”
King captured a gold medal in the long jump with a leap of 18-1⁄2, narrowly besting Burns. King’s effort broke her old school mark of 17-101⁄2, set last year at the state meet.
“Alexis has done very well in that event this year,” McFarland said. “She had outstanding jumps earlier in the season, but we rested her a lot last week.
“She’s been very close to 18 feet each time. To hit that magical 18 feet is a landmark for her. I’m very happy for her. She’s looking at the state meet and hoping to go over 18 feet and get an even higher mark.”
The Lady Greyhounds’ 400-meter relay team of King, Burns, Ally Miller and Tessa Sikora also qualified for the state meet. The team placed second in the event with a time of 50.65. Greenville grabbed gold in 50.23.
“The 4x1, it all comes down to the handing off of the baton,” McFarland said. “The girls have done a great job all season.
“We kind of stubbed our toe at the MCAC meet. The girls were really focused on doing a great job on Saturday. They hit their handoffs well. That’s what it’s going to take, that type of a time, or even better, to medal at state.”
The 3200 relay team of Rikki Brumbaugh, Kate Robb, Allison Baldwin and Hannah Drake didn’t reach the state meet, but they still had reason to celebrate. The foursome posted a fourth-place time of 9:59.48, setting a school record. The old mark of 10:07.4 was set in 1997.
The qualifying standard in the 3200 relay was 9:50.40.
Wilmington’s girls team placed second at the meet in the team standings with 58 points. Hickory won the title with 147 markers.
“Hickory has an outstanding team; they are very strong,” McFarland said. “I they have a very good shot at winning a state title.
“I’m very pleased with the performance of our girls.”
Wilmington
Related Photos
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Jon Yohman, a junior, won two gold medals for Wilmington at the District 10, Class AA Track and Field Championships at Hickory High School. Jason Kapusta
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