SHIPPENSBURG — Cyniel Hinton arrived at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium hoping to earn a medal.

He brought home much more than that.

The Summit Academy senior took first place in the Class AA boys 110-meter hurdles Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships. In doing so, he earned for the school its first state title, team or individual.

There was no immediate celebration following the race. Hinton and Bible Baptist's Josh Nesmith had crossed the finish line right next to each other.

“They didn't know who won at first,” said Knights' coach Rich Monti. “They had to look at the photo. It was literally a photo finish.”

What the photo revealed was that Hinton's effort of 14.99 seconds was one one-hundredth of a second faster than Nesmith (15.00).

“On the way out to the meet, I think he was just hoping to medal,” said Monti of Hinton, who could not be reached for comment. “But we told him that he had a chance to win it. I don't think he believed it at first.”

Then came Friday's preliminary race, in which Nesmith (14.88) was the only hurdler faster than Hinton (15.04).

“He had a lot of confidence after that,” said Monti. “His goal turned to winning the gold.”

Hinton ran a 15.11 in Saturday's semifinal heat before winning the state title.

“He showed a lot of maturity,” Monti said. “He was one of the hardest workers on the team and I'm happy for him.”

n In Class AA girls action, Treesdale resident and Sewickley Academy junior Caitlin Bungo finished third in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:02.94.

Class AAA

Seneca Valley sent five boys to the championships and each returned with a medal.

The Raiders' 4x400 relay team of Oliver Philogene, Andrew Schroeder, George DeAugustino and Hunter Williams broke the school record for the fourth time in less than three weeks with a third-place time of 3:18.36.

Only Cardinal O'Hara (3:17.61) and Abington (3:17.96) were faster.

Individually, Williams was seventh in the 400 run at 49.61 and Dylan Bilka placed third in the pole vault with a height of 14 feet, six inches.

“The 4x400 team's only loss of the season was Saturday at the state championships,” said SV coach Ray Peaco. “The kids deserve so much of the credit, but (assistant coach) Gar Bercury did a great job with them. He put in endless hours, making sure the guys were where they needed to be if they wanted a shot at doing something special.

“We had high expectations for all five guys at states,” added Peaco. “We came home with six medals. What a weekend!”

n Also in Class AAA boys, Grove City senior Jacob Kildoo earned a medal by placing third in the 3,200 run at 9:11.53.