Strong showing
BUTLER TWP — Logan Renwick could relate to the quick pace at the Butler Track and Field Invitational Friday.
The meet, which took only four hours, had many athletes on the go, but none could match what the Butler sophomore was able accomplished.
Renwick won the long jump with an effort of 21 feet, 7Z\x inches and the triple jump (44-5Z\x) to capture the field MVP honors. He also finished runner-up in the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.1 seconds, but Renwick did set a school record in the semifinal with a time of 14.6.
"It was a huge day for him," said Butler coach Rick Schontz. "He had no fear in his eyes."
Joining Renwick by turning in championship performances were Seneca Valley's Conor Barrett (high jump, 6-7), Knoch's Brian Tackett (800, 2:00.2) and the Seneca Valley 3,200-relay team of Matt Davis, Cam Stauffer, Matt Marchese and John Kurlak.
Their winning time of 8:12.5 edged out runner-up Butler's foursome of Ben Porter, J.T. Fleming, Lance Dugger and Nathan Neff (8:14.6).
Renwick finished ahead of Alex Schmude of Erie McDowell in the long jump (21-5) and Cory Gunter of Baldwin in the triple jump (43-8Z\v).
"I always try and hit a big jump early so I can take the pressure off early," said Renwick.
As a freshman last year, Renwick triple jumped 44-10Z\x and already has cleared 45 feet twice in a meet against Seneca Valley, including a leap of 45-9.
"I totally shocked myself last year," said Renwick. "It's been a total surprise this year."
Despite his success in the jumps, hurdles have always had a certain appeal.
"I've always loved hurdles. I started hurdling before triple jumping," said Renwick.
And winning the field MVP was just icing on the cake.
"It's a great compliment. It's great to do it at your home track. I'm glad I was able to step up for the team," said Renwick, whose squad finished second to Erie McDowell in the team standings.
Barrett, a senior, had gone out for track only last season while playing volleyball and was the WPIALClass AAA champion.
On Friday, he was trying to break his own school record of 6-8 and almost did. He easily won the event by five inches but took a shot at the school record."I'm pretty happy with it, but I really wanted 6-9. I wanted to max out,"Barrett said.Tackett had a busy day as well, winning the 800 by holding off Penn Hills' Charles Anderson (2:02.0), placing fourth in the 1,600 in a personal-best time of 4:29.0 and sixth as a member of the 1,600 relay."After the first lap (in the 800), I took the lead and I could hear (Anderson) on my shoulder," said Tackett. "I kept him on the outside. As soon as I came out with (the last 100), I didn't hear any steps.""(Tackett) ran very consistent in the 1,600, but I'm sure he's not happy about that," said Knoch coach Wess Brahler. "But he went out and raced. That kid's a hard worker and not afraid of training."Other top performances included Tackett's teammate C.J. Wise, who picked up a pair of medals. Wise was third in the triple jump behind Renwick and fourth in the high jump (6-0) behind Barrett."C.J. had a great day," said Brahler. "His high jump tied his best and his triple jump is a personal record."Butler's Matt Cooper was second in the shot put (49-1Z\x), but McDowell's Dan Kwiatkowski threw an eye- popping 61-11 to win the event."The past couple of meets, I've been throwing over 50 feet," said Cooper. "Today, I was having a little trouble keeping my elbow up."The Tornado's Erik Braun was runner-up in the pole vault (12-6) while Seneca Valley's Chris Cipro was second in the 3,200 (9:45.3). Third-place finishers for the Raiders were Frank Campisino was third in the 200 (22.73, Zach Francis in the high jump (6-0) and Stauffer in the 1,600 (4:28.6).Karns City's Chris Harmon was fourth in the 800 to lead the Gremlins.The Butler Girls track and Field Invitational was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.
