(Pictured: Colton Dean in action! Photo Credit: Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter.)
This article was written and released by Jonathan Guth of the Observer-Reporter. Please click here for the original article.)
CANONSBURG – Canon-McMillan’s Colton Dean was one tricky hurdle shy of making it four-for-four, but the sophomore will take the title of overall MVP at the Washington-Greene County Track & Field Championships.
Dean won the 300 hurdles (39.18), 200-meter dash (22.30) and long jump (22-10), but stumbled over a hurdle in the 110 high hurdles and finished third in 16.72 behind Burgettstown’s Sondre Lunde (15.42) and teammate Tyler Armstead (16.45).
“I hit the hurdles and had a bad race in the 110 hurdles, but I came back and got a PR (personal record) in my 300,” Dean said. “I also had a PR in the long jump. I didn’t PR in the 200, but I was able to come away with the win.”
Despite the bronze in the high hurdles, Dean scored 36 points and Canon-McMillan won the Class 3A team title with 180 points Saturday at AHN Field.
Peters Township was second with 108 points and California third with 66.
The Indians’ Brett Kroboth attempted to go three-for-three in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. The senior was two out of three in winning the 1,600 in 4:18.15 and the 3,200 in 9:47.03, but teammate Caleb Arabia spoiled his plans in the 800 with a winning time of 2:01.66.
Kroboth put on a hard charge in the last 100 to come in second at 2:03.25.
Kroboth didn’t have much time to cool down as he was part of Peters Township’s 1,600 relay team that placed sixth. The senior who is headed to Penn State, where he will continue to run track and cross country, finished with 28 3/4 points and was the track MVP.
“With the 3200 being my third event and just kind of running by myself, I wanted to make sure that I had negative splits on each lap,” Kroboth said. “I had over a second PR (personal record) in the 1600, even though I was kind of running by myself in that one. It was for me and my teammates to be 1-2-3 in the 800.
“We have a pretty good 4x800 relay team, so I am going to run that first at WPIALs and then go for the 1600 and 3200 and give it all I got.”
California’s Christian Ross didn’t win any events, but he scored 14 points to win field MVP honors. Ross was second in the triple jump with a leap of 39-4. Armstead won at 39-6 1/2.
Ross placed fifth in the pole vault (9-3) and seventh in the long jump (19-7 1/2). The Indians’ Jacob Smith won the pole vault at 10-9.
Despite winning field MVP honors, Ross felt he didn’t have the best day.
“I am coming off a hurt groin, so I kind of took it easy today and didn’t have my best day,” Ross said. “I am hoping to get healthy and looking forward to the postseason meets.”
Fort Cherry freshman Matt Sieg won the 100-meter dash in 11.14. The Big Macs’ Jake Egizio won the 400 in 51.26. Egizio, who also plays baseball for Canon-McMillan, teamed with fellow baseball teammate Austyn Winkleblech, Isaiah Hicks and Spencer Pierce to win the 400 relay in 43.35.
Egizio, Hicks and Pierce were joined by Nick Gasparovic in winning the 1,600 relay in 3:34.76. The Big Macs swept the relays with a win in the 3,200 as Ben Votodian, John Strohecker, Jacob Kazakewicz and Digby Bedner crossed the finish line in 8:43.47.
Burgettstown’s Zack Schrockman won the high jump at 5-10.
California’s Tanner Pierce topped the field in the shot put with a throw of 48-6. Trinity’s Mason Kraeer won the discus in 132-6 and Canon-McMillan’s Louis Liberatore threw the javelin 147-1 to win the event.