York-Adams League track stars shine at PanRam Invitational

As the York-Adams League track and field season continues to ramp up, some of the area’s best are proving themselves against top competition from around the region.

The league’s 10 competing schools tallied nine event wins at the New Balance Pan-Ram Invitational on Saturday at Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg. Six local athletes and a relay team contributed to that total, with a pair of girls’ stars winning twice each.

Spring Grove junior Laila Campbell, the reigning PIAA champion in the 100 and 200 meters, breezed past her competitors to win both events and was named the meet’s girls’ track MVP. Campbell’s 11.74-second 100-meter dash was nearly as far from second place (12.30) as the runner-up was from last place (12.91) in the eight-runner final. And Campbell’s 24.68 in the 200 was nearly a second clear of Jim Thorpe Area’s Kaila O’Connor (25.55). O’Connor finished second in both events.

Susquehannock’s Ryleigh Marks added victories in the 100-meter hurdles and long jump. In the hurdles, the senior posted a brilliant 14.55-second hurdle preliminary time and followed with a 14.65 in the final. The Shippensburg pledge also led the field with a long jump of 17 feet, 3 inches. Marks also finished fifth in the 200 meters.

Spring Grove freshman Ella Bahn joined Marks on the short list of three-event standouts Saturday. She finished second in the 800m, second in the 300m hurdles and third in the 100m hurdles. Bahn and Campbell gave the Rockets two of the meet’s best individual showings.

Women's lacrosse:Former York Catholic teammates Doyle, Mentzer reunite in college clash

Golf:Jon Rahm rallies to win the Masters as Spanish stars align

Susquehannock’s boys also had a pair of event victories, as Matthew O’Brien captured first in the 1,600 meters (4:14.49) and the Warriors earned a team victory in the 4x800 relay (8:27.86). O’Brien also placed third in the 800 meters, while a slew of teammates posted top-10 results in various events.

West York’s Perry Addey notched the victory in the 300-meter hurdles (39.72) and placed fourth in the 110 hurdles. The Bulldogs also excelled in the boys’ relays, finishing second in both the 4x100 and 4x400 and third in the 4x800. Individually, Nico Wright-Phillips added third-place showings in the 100 and 200, with Red Lion’s LaDainian Strausbaugh finishing fourth in both races.

York Tech’s Matthew Arnold took home the title in the boys’ discus with a throw of 151 feet, 1 inch. The Spartans also received a fourth-place finish in the pole vault from Colton Baldwin.

The local contingent had a grand total of nine runner-up finishes in addition to its nine wins. York Suburban’s girls saw Gabby delPielago finish second in the 400, while Abigail Butera was second in the 3,200 in addition to fourth in the 1,600. Dover’s girls placed second in the 4x400 relay, and York High’s James McBride was the runner-up in the boys’ long jump.

Seven of the 10 York-Adams League schools who competed at the event had at least one top-two event finish. Red Lion had two fourth-place showings from Strausbaugh and another from Trista Webster in the girls’ 3,200. Kennard-Dale’s Dominic Smith took seventh in the boys’ high jump and Dylan Cunningham was eighth in the boys’ 3,200. Littlestown’s only competitor was Peyton Small, who placed seventh in the boys’ 1,600 and 14th in the 3,200.

The meet also featured four “novice” runs, two of which were won by local freshmen. Susquehannock’s Jackson Elliot took the boys’ 1,600 meters, while Red Lion’s Matthew Yost claimed the boys’ 3,200. Another York County native, Red Land freshman Charlotte Sadler, won the novice girls’ 1,600.

Central York and Dallastown were among the YAIAA programs who did not compete at the PanRam Invitational after taking part in last week’s Herb Schmidt Relays at York Suburban. And from South Western to New Oxford, Bermudian Springs and more, there’s plenty more track and field talent to be showcased throughout the spring season.

MORE:Dallastown sisters Sophia, Victoria Rodriguez running down records on track

Local dual meets resume this week, starting with a Tuesday afternoon matchup between reigning Division III champion Bermudian Springs and Delone Catholic. Most of the league is back in action Thursday as the standings continue to take shape.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Division baseball and softball games also resume later than normal this week. Dallastown looks like the early league baseball favorite, but the Wildcats have tough D-I tests against Central York and at Red Lion on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. South Western softball, another unbeaten, has four games on its weekly ledger starting Monday. Littlestown is the league’s other perfect softball squad thus far.

York Catholic boys’ volleyball, still undefeated in its first official YAIAA season, visits York Suburban at 7 p.m. Tuesday in its toughest test of the spring thus far. The Irish are 5-0 in the league, with Northeastern and Red Lion 4-0. Suburban is 4-1, while Central York and Dallastown are 2-1 early on.

League lacrosse action Tuesday and Thursday will be highlighted by two girls’ bouts involving reigning champion York Catholic. The Irish will battle Red Lion and South Western, two of the top four squads in the standings. On the boys’ side, county tournament champ Central York has key matchups with New Oxford and Red Lion as all of those teams chase Susquehannock and Dallastown.

There’s a little less drama in boys’ tennis division races at the moment, as Dallastown has dominated D-I while Biglerville and Hanover remain unbeaten in D-II with a matchup looming April 19. This week’s slate is relatively spread out, with Wednesday having the most action in store.