Baylee Blauser

SHIPPENSBURG — Baylee Blauser took a deep breath and sprinted down the runway in the Class AA girls long jump at the PIAA Track and Field Championships.

The A-C Valley freshman landed in a spray of sand and listened for her distance.

It came: 17 feet, 1 inch.

Blauser could hardly believe it — especially with the adversity she was facing on a sun-drenched Friday afternoon at Shippensburg University.

The jump not only snagged her an eighth-place finish and a state medal, but it also tied the school record.

Blauser didn't have very long to enjoy it.

Blauser is also the starting pitcher for the A-C Valley softball team. Her fastest sprint Friday wasn't on her long jump approach, but the one she made toward the car to make the trip back to Clarion for a 6 p.m. first-pitch between the Falcons and the Bobcats in the District 9 Class A softball playoffs.

That game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but bad weather postponed it to Friday evening.

Instead of fretting over her busy day, she focused on the task at hand.

“During the competition, all I was focusing on was what my coaches were telling me – drive the knee up,” Blauser said. “I wasn't even thinking about softball.”

Nor was she thinking about the fact she was a freshman competing in the biggest meet of the year. Blauser didn't let the enormity of the state championships gobble her up.

“I kind of thought of it today like I'm not a freshman,” Blauser said. “To be honest, a lot of freshmen don't even make it to states, so it was amazing just to be here. It was an eye-opener just to make it to states, so anything else was just icing on the cake.”

Her jump also put her name in the school record book alongside Shanna Klinger.

Now Klinger-Tharan, she is the jumping coach at A-C Valley.

“It means a lot to tie her record,” Blauser said. “It's really cool. She's helped me a lot.”

While she didn't think about her pending softball game and the time crunch to get back to Clarion during the long jump event, it hit her shortly after.

“As soon as I got up on the podium to get my medal, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, I have a softball game,'” Blauser said, chuckling. “It was very challenging to split time between softball and track this year, but all the coaches were understanding and happy. It just shows all the hard work really pays off.”