SV's Williams wins 400 meters, anchors record-setting relay
WHITEHALL — Hunter Williams always makes sure he leaves everything he has out on the track.
He figures his teammates do the same for him.
At Thursday's WPIAL Class AAA Track and Field Championships at Baldwin High School, Seneca Valley's Williams captured gold in the 400-meter run with a personal-best time of 49.25 seconds.
He wrapped up his evening by running the anchor leg for the 1,600 relay team, which broke the school record again, this time clocked at 3:20.17.
“We wanted this real bad,” said Williams about the 1,600 relay. “I couldn't let the team down. I've got them and they're behind me 100 percent.
Williams teamed up with Andrew Schroeder, Oliver Philogene and George DeAugustino for the win.
“I couldn't do it without those three,” Williams said. “They run their heart out for me. I can do it for them.”
Williams picked up his 400 title while being pushed by Philogene, who finished third with a personal-best 49.70.
“I knew if the weather, without the wind and rain, was good, it could happen,” Williams noted on breaking the 50-second mark. “I knew in that heat, there would be a solid line across the finish.”
“That was the goal all season, to go under 50 seconds and they did it,” said Raiders coach Ray Peaco. “They were 1 and 3. They were hoping for 1 and 2. They've worked their tails off since September... That was no fluke.”
With 150 meters to go, Williams stayed close to Belle Vernon's Tyler Pirilla, who would finish second at 49.34.
“I just wanted to focus on catching up,” said Williams. “I just let it go. We do workouts specifically to finish strong.”
“I just figured I'd pace off Tyler,” said Philogene. “I definitely felt better down the straightaway. I was waiting for my kick and it never came, so I settled for third.”
Teammate Dylan Bilka finished second in the pole vault although his school-record 15-3 was the same as winner Jacob Hensh of Laurel Highlands.Hensh cleared his height on an earlier attempt.“I felt great and got a new pole,” said Bilka, who broke Mitch Codd's mark from last year's WPIAL Championship. “I hid it away and hoped I could come out of nowhere.“It came down to who's form was more consistent. Jake was able to,” added Bilka, whose personal best was 14-6 entering the finals.Butler's Evan Gomez also had a strong showing in the 800 with a time of 1:54.84, but just fell short against West Allegheny's Brandon Krszal (1;53.65).On the girls side, there were no first-place medals, but there were some first-rate performances.The Butler girls relay team of Lexis Frost, Paige Allen, Katelyn Wetzel and Jasmine Bailey placed second with a time of 49.49 and Ava Bonetti was second in the discus with a personal-best throw of 116-7.The top four are guaranteed state berths and Butler's Danica Snyder took a pair of fifth places in the 1,600 and 3,200, but her times of 5:12.19 and 11:09.72, respectively, met the state qualifying standards.Her plan in the 3,200 was to stay with the North Hills' sisters of Margo and Shannon Malone, who went 1-2.“They'll put up a good time,” Snyder said. “Hearing 11:09 was reassuring ... I didn't feel I was as strong as I should have been.”Still, her 3,200 time bettered her school record and leaves her with an interesting choice for the state meet.“The mile or the 2-mile? I don't know,” Snyder said. “I do like the mile more, but I have a feeling the coaches will want me to do the two mile.”Teammate Paige Rittelmann tied for third in the high jump (5-3) while Knoch's 1,600 relay team of Jamie Mahan, Tess Haverstick, Jessica Wise and Samantha Logan placed third with a time of 4:04.90.Seneca Valley's Jamie Rutkowski set a personal best in the javelin with a toss of 132-2, which was good for third place.Two other state qualifiers are Frost in the 100 hurdles (fourth, 15.81) and Seneca Valley's Shelby Resch in the 800 (fourth, 2:18.99).
