SHIPPENSBURG - With each worse-than-expected jump, with each misstep, Calvin Littlejohn began to realize it just wasn't his day.

The Butler senior was beginning the first leg of his three-event quest at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Friday in the triple jump. It didn't take him long to figure out the state meet is a different animal.

Littlejohn jumped just 44 feet, 9¼ inches - well below his previous best effort - for an eighth-place finish in Class AAA.

"It was very disappointing," Littlejohn said. "When you come here and you don't get your personal best - not even close to it - it's disappointing. I can't even put into words what I am feeling right now.

"I'm going to try to make up for it (Saturday)."

Littlejohn said he felt good, but once things started going awry, it snowballed.

He had trouble with his steps and his timing seemed off.

"Coach was telling me some of the things I was doing wrong, but it just all started falling apart," he said.

This is Littlejohn's first season competing in the triple jump, but he wasn't in the mood to think about what an accomplishment it was to place at the state meet in an event he had only begun competing in three months earlier.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll think that way," Littlejohn said. "But not until tomorrow."

Things went much better for Seneca Valley sophomore Ashley Turici in the javelin.

Fighting her nerves, Turici placed seventh in Class AAA with a throw of 132-8.

Last season, Turici didn't even sniff the state meet with a best throw of 99 feet. Even at the beginning of this season, she was hovering around 100 feet.

But in mid-season, Turici began to see some progress. She hit 112 feet at Seneca Valley's invitational and then hit 119 feet a few meets later.

"It's pretty surprising," Turici said. "I don't really know how I did it. I'm not really sure."

Turici's first throw Friday was 118 feet as she battled raging nerves. She settled down and threw her best throw in her second attempt.

"I wasn't really sure how I was going to do," Turici said. "I was hoping for a top eight, but I had no idea. I just tried not to think about it and do my best.

"I'm excited about next year and the year after that."

Tara Maxwell was excited about this season. It just took her half of it to get there.

It took the Butler junior half the season to get back into form after suffering a badly sprained ankle tumbling in gymnastics in the winter.

Healed and ready to go, Maxwell placed eighth in the shot put in Class AAA with a personal-best throw of 38-1¾. Maxwell's previous best was 37-10.

"I was thrilled," Maxwell said. "I just wanted to get my (personal record), and I did. I'm happy."

Maxwell came into the competition ranked 17th in the event. Winning a medal wasn't even on her mind.

"I didn't think I would place," Maxwell said. "I was just hoping to finish 10th. That's all I really wanted."

She got much more, namely a medal around her neck. That only bodes well for next year if she makes it back to Shippensburg in the event. She will compete in the discus Saturday afternoon.

In the track events Friday, it was all about survival, and, in some cases, chasing history. Alyssa Deal was chasing school history - and her aunt.

Deal, a sophomore at Moniteau, placed third in her heat of the Class AA, 1,600-meter preliminaries with a time of 5 minutes, 8.05 seconds to advance to the finals Saturday.

Deal is trying to become just the third Moniteau girls track athlete to place at the state meet. Stacey Stockham, Deal's aunt, and Brandi Nagy are the other two.

"Just go get a medal," Deal said, winded from her run. "That's all I want to do.

"All I have really wanted to do since the seventh grade was come here and place. Only two other people have done it, and one is my aunt."

Deal's best event all year had been the 800-meter run, but she ran a then-personal best time of 5:8.32 seconds in the 1,600 to win the District 9 title.

That changed her focus drastically.

"I was going to go for the 800," Deal said. "(The 1,600) has been my second-best race all year."

Another goal was to dethrone Erica Coffman of Elk County, which she was able to do at the district meet.

"I just wanted to beat her," Deal said. "Was it nice to do it? It sure was."

Slippery Rock's Erin Cranmer-Hart also survived in Class AAA of the 1,600 - barely.

Running fifth in her heat for the entire race, Cranmer-Hart sprinted past Andrea Florida of Muhlenberg in the final 100 meters to qualify for the finals.

Her time of 5:04.45 would have been good enough to qualify anyway, but the senior wanted to be sure.

"I wanted to secure a spot," Cranmer-Hart said. "I found that extra reserve every runner has."

Cranmer-Hart didn't make it to the state meet last season, but made it this year in both the 1,600 and as a member of the Rockets' 3,200-meter relay.

Cranmer-Hart was amazed by how fast the pace was in the 1,600.

"Oh, heck yeah," she said. "That was one fast race, let me just say that right now. But it was exciting. It was nice to have people right with you the whole way. The race (Saturday) is going to be faster.

"It's my last one of the season, so I want to go out as fast as I can."

Cranmer-Hart was disappointed the relay team didn't qualify. But her sadness was tempered by the way the team got to states.

The team of Cranmer-Hart, Casey McCaffrey, Robin Craig and Janelle Hartzell cut more than 20 seconds off their time during the final month of the season, culminating with a 9:31.38 at the District 10 meet. The team ran a 9:49.41 Friday.

"It was disappointing, but when you look back at just what we did to make it here, it's OK," Cranmer-Hart said. "I think we surprised even ourselves and all three of them are back. They are going to rock and roll here next year."

Notes:

There was also some disappointment for Brittany Zaborowski of Mars, who failed to qualify for the finals in the 800-meter run. The sophomore and WPIAL champion ran four seconds slower than her seed time. ... Freeport's Brent Ferko placed eighth in the Class AA triple jump (43-2) and Yellowjackets junior Lacey Cochran easily qualified for the finals in the 200 (26.15) and 400, recording a best overall time of 57.19. ... Seneca Valley saw both ends of the spectrum as its 400 relay team was disqualified but was able to get 300-meter hurdler Kim Chapman through to the finals (43.36).