SUNBURY - Shamokin Area's boys 3200-meter relay team was the top seed in that event for Wednesday's District 4-AAA track and field championships, but all the members of that group thought they would be in a dogfight.
They're better runners than prognosticators.
The Indians, given a great lead leg by first leg Jon Grybos, smoked the field with a time of 8 minutes, 14.67 seconds, about 18 seconds faster than runner-up Jersey Shore.
"I thought they (Williamsport) were going to give us a battle," said Shamokin anchor runner Matt Gass, who later just missed catching defending champion Bryant McCorey of Williamsport in finishing second in the 400. "I thought someone would make a move."
That move never came, and the Indians, running relaxed all the way, won going away. Brandon Nash and Brandon Mendoza were the other runners on the team.
"Williamsport usually is able to put together a solid relay team, and we thought they would," said Grybos. "I was surprised nobody was after me."
The Indians got their battle in the 1600-meter relay, and almost pulled off a huge upset. Running against defending champion Williamsport with a patchwork lineup, the Indians held the lead until the final 150 meters, when three-
time defending 400 champion Bryant McCorey ran down freshman Sean Williams. Williamsport won with a time 3:24.72, with Shamokin second in 3:27.21, just 1.21 second off a 35-year-old school record of 3:26.0.
Also running on that relay were Grybos, Nash and Gass.
"Brandon Mendoza and Monto (Jared Montgomery) usually run in that relay too, but both of those guys had hamstring problems after their events," said Shamokin coach Mike Rogers. "So we put Grybos in there and tried to build as big a lead as we could. It almost worked, too. Shane held off McCorey for a long time."
McCorey can also thank the track gods that the 400 is not the 410, because Gass was likely going to win that event if it was 10 to 15 meters longer. McCorey looked like he was in control down the stretch, but Gass found another gear and almost caught him at the finish, with McCorey winning in 50.93 seconds to Gass' 51.08. Williamsport's Anthony Emanuel was third (51.51) and Williams was sixth (54.25).
"I knew both Emanuel and McCorey were really good," said Gass. "I just tried to go as fast as I could."
Shamokin only finished fifth in the team standings but the Indians were 53 points ahead of sixth-place Mifflinburg and 15 points behind fourth-place Jersey Shore.
Shamokin also had fourth third-place finishes. Junior Scott Bradley was third in the 1600 (4:47.63) behind seniors Vince Fadale of Selinsgrove and Ben Copenhaver of Jersey Shore. Jake Phillips was third in the discus (123-5), Montgomery third in the 200 (24.23) and the Indians 400-meter relay team of Montgomery, Josh Dunn, Jared Haddock and Nash was third.
Rogers said he took some criticism for resting some people last week against Williamsport, but said it paid off.
"A lot of people don't understand track and field," Rogers said. "Everything we do all season is geared to getting people to do their best on this night. We had PR's (personal records) all over the place, even from kids who didn't place. The same was true of the girls."
Selinsgrove outlasted Williamsport for the team championship, 177-158. Austin Rizzo (200, long jump) and Jamal Devine (both hurdles) were double winners for the Millionaires, and Tyler Kerstetter (shot put, discus) doubled for the Seals.
Other placewinners for the Shamokin boys were:
Fourth - Grybos, 300 intermediate hurdles; Phillips, shot put.
Fifth - Montgomery, 300 intermediate hurdles.
Sixth - Haddock, 100; Josh Scheuren, 3200; Chris Charowsky, pole vault.
Seventh - Dunn, 100; Phillips, javelin.
Eighth - Haddock, 200; Bradley, 3200. SUNBURY - Shamokin Area sophomore Alaina Petrovich was a little surprised to see that she was the second seed in the high jump for the District 4-AAA girls track and field championships.
She was even more surprised when she won the event Wednesday at Shikellamy, earning her a trip to next week's PIAA state
championships at Shippensburg University.
Although her winning jump of 4 feet, 8 inches didn't match her seeded jump of 4-11, she topped the field on an afternoon which was tough for jumping, with intermittent rain all during the event.
"I think the weather affected everyone," Petrovich said. "But I'm excited. I was nervous all day in school but I got it out of my system."
Petrovich is the second straight Shamokin athlete to win the event. Summer Reigle won as a junior last season but chose not to come out for the team this season.
"I do miss her a lot," Petrovich said. "She was a good partner for me last year."
Sophomore Brooke Sejuit and Molly McDevitt were second and third, respectively, in the 800. Sejuit had the lead against defending champion Kelsey Williams of Danville until about 250 meters to go when Williams made her move to win in 2:24.70. Sejuit ran 2:28.56 and McDevitt 2:32.39.
Shamokin's Renea Broscious and Samantha Zielinskie were third and fifth, respectively, in the shot put, with throws of 34-31/4 and 33-101/2, respectively. Williamsport's Rachel Fatherly successfully defended her title in that event with a throw of 42 feet.
Shamokin's 1600-meter relay team of Anna Summers, Keena Zalar, Brandi Segura and McDevitt was third with a time of 4:18.94.
Shamokin finished fifth in the team standings with 60 points. Danville ran away with the team title with 214 points, with Selinsgrove second (166).
Fatherly and Danville's Samantha Zampetti were the only double individual winners. Fatherly also won the discus, and Zampetti won the 100 and 200,
Other placewinners for the Indians were:
Fifth - Brandi Segura, 100; 400-meter relay,
Sixth - 3200-meter relay; Anna Summers, 1600.
Seventh - Segura, javelin; Broscious, discus.
Eighth - Allyson Delbaugh, 300-meter hurdles; Emily Zakrzewski, triple jump.