Team to beat?

By Jason Orfao Eagle Staff Writer

May 03, 2012 Last Updated: May 03, 2012 04:01 PM High School

Freeport's Lynsey Gugino runs the 100-meter hurdles during her team's victory in the WPIAL team track semifinals Wednesday. Gugino won both hurdle events to help the Yellowjaxckets reach next week's finals.

Freeport girls set records, roll into WPIAL team finals

BUFFALO TWP — The Freeport girls track and field team just keeps getting better.

And the timing couldn't be more perfect.

The Yellowjacket girls broke two school records on Wednesday en route to a pair of lopsided wins over Southmoreland and Washington at the WPIAL Class AA team semifinals at Freeport High School.

While the Freeport girls will have a chance to defend their WPIAL crown May 10, the boys were ousted after a powerful showing from Washington.

“I'm just really proud of how everybody came out, boys and girls,” said Freeport coach John Gaillot. “The girls making it to the finals is really big. They're trying to repeat like they did last year.”

“It's going to be tough,” added Gaillot. “Everybody in the playoffs is really good. They're there for a reason.”

And there's a reason the Freeport girls are in the WPIAL finals yet again.

Bronte Soul reset her school record in the triple jump with a mark of 39 feet, 7 inches. As her teammates spread word of the new record, three words seemed to echo around the track: “She is crazy.”

More like crazy good, and she's not satisfied.

“It's great to have a school record, but I want gold at states,” said Soul.

Soul was also a part of the record-setting 400-meter relay, along with Danielle Woitas, Erica Jack and Aly Moore. The quartet took second behind Washington in a time of 51.3 seconds, ironically one of just four events the Yellowjackets didn't take first.

The runner-up finish didn't taint the excitement of the accomplishment, though.

“I'm happy,” said Moore, who anchored the relay and already owned the record with a different set of girls last season. “I'm going out in my senior year with it lower, so hopefully it will stay for a while.”

Soul seemed to appreciate the relay record more than her individual mark.

“The fact that I can help them get something that they didn't have, it's so cool,” she explained. “It's just so cool that I could be a part of that.”

Lynsey Gugino had a strong performance with wins in both the 100 and 300 hurdles, while Kayla Zboran took top honors in the 1,600 and 3,200. Becca Dudek won the 800 and ran a leg of the winning 3,200 relay.

The end result was a 120-30 win over Southmoreland, while Washington fell by a 104-46 margin.

The Freeport girls were dominant, but the Washington boys were even more convincing in their march to the WPIAL finals.

The Little Prexies claimed first place in every event except for the 3,200. Washington beat Freeport 126-22 and Southmoreland by a 121Z\x-28½ score.

Southmoreland coach Bill Schrecengost was left in awe of the Prexies.“I was just so impressed with them,” Schrecengost said. “Wash High is just unbelievable with the talent they put on the track.”Washington coach Rich Barnes believes Riverside could give them a challenge for the title.“They're pretty strong like us,” said Barnes of Riverside. “On the track, our speed guys, we're pretty tough. They're pretty tough in the field. It should be good.”The Freeport boys didn't advance, but Gaillot was simply pleased with a postseason berth from his young Yellowjackets.“The boys performed really well. Nobody expected us to do too much this year,” Gaillot explained. “We shocked a lot of people by getting into the playoffs, so they have a lot to hang their hat on.“I'm just very proud of both the boys and girls teams,” he added. “They accomplished a great deal this year and the girls still have more to accomplish.”BoysWashington 126, Freeport 22Washington 121.5, Southmoreland 28.5Southmoreland 94.5, Freeport 55.53,200-meter relay: Washington, 8:38.7; 110 hurdles: Fuller (W) 15.4; 100 dash: McKenzie (W) 11.1; 1,600 run: Kelly (W) 4:56.4; 400 dash: Fuller (W) 39.5; 400 relay: Washington, 43.2; 300-meter hurdles: Fuller (W) 39.5; 800-meter run: Kelly (W) 2:14; 200-meter dash: Brower (W) 23.0; 3,200-meter run: Dei (S) 11:42.6; 1,600-meter relay: Washington, 3:41Field EventsHigh jump: Wise (W) 6-0; Long jump: Spints (W) 21-3 1/2; Triple jump: Jones (W) 43-2; Shot put: Phillips (W) 46-7 1/2; Discus: Phillips (W) 135-2 1/2; Javelin: Codwell (W) 166-9; Pole vault: Fuller (W) 13-6GirlsFreeport 120, Southmoreland 30Freeport 104, Washington 46Southmoreland 89, Washington 563,200-meter relay: Freeport (Becca Dudek, Rachael Kubeldis, Nicole Miller, Brittany Bianco) 10:38.8; 100 hurdles: Lynsey Gugino (F) 16.3; 100 dash: Wise (W) 12.3; 1,600 run: Kayla Zboran (F) 5:36; 400 dash: Megan Manke (F) 1:30.9; 400 relay: Washington, 50.4; 300 hurdles: Gugino (F) 50.2; 800 run: Dudek (F) 2:40; 200 dash: Wise (W) 26.1; 3,200 run: Zboran (F) 5:36; 1,600 relay: Freeport (Bianco, Manke, Gugino, Aly Moore) 4:45.2Field EventsHigh jump: Moore (F) 5-0; Long jump: Bronte Soul (F) 17-7; Triple jump: Soul (F) 39-7; Shot put: Shotts (S) 32-11; Discus: Caitlin Chaffman (F) 110-6; Javelin: Taylor Hochbein (F) 95-8; Pole vault: Prigg (W) 7-0