Blauser, Smith snare state titles

May 28, 2022 Last Updated: May 27, 2022 11:13 PM High School

Union/A-C Valley earned two state championships at the Class 2A meet Friday at Shippensburg University. Sophomore Hayden Smith (left) won the boys high jump crown while Baylee Blauser took the girls long jump. 05/2022Derek Pyda/Butler Eagle

Union/ACV athletes win 2A long jump, high jump

SHIPPENSBURG — The track and field co-op between Union and A-C Valley produced two state champions at Friday's PIAA Class 2A championships at Shippensburg University.

Baylee Blauser earned a gold medal in the girls long jump, matching her own school record with a distance of 18 feet, 6¾ inches.

In the boys meet, Hayden Smith went 6-5 in the high jump to top the field.

Evie Bliss placed second in the girls javelin and the Falcon Knights are in first place for a girls team championship entering the second and final day of competition Saturday.

"I thought all three had a chance at gold today," Union/A-C Valley coach Shanna Tharan said of Blauser, Bliss and Smith. She has seen the team's athletes thrive in the first year of the co-op.

"It's like they've been friends for years," she said.

Smith, a sophomore from Union who won a District 9 title last week in the high jump, was not bothered by the event being moved indoors Friday due to heavy rain. But he did have to find new footware.

With his track shoes no longer an option, he went in search of a pair of tennis shoes.

Evie Bliss' father loaned him his, though they are an inch smaller than his size of 11½. Despite that, Smith accomplished his goal.

"I just kept calm and there were no nerves," Smith said. "There were some good guys (jumping) today and I never underestimate anybody.

"Jumping indoors, I didn't have to make any adjustments. I felt great today."

Blauser, a senior from A-C Valley, aimed to break her school record.

"I wish I would have, but I'm still glad I tied it," she said.

The long jump was postponed 90 minutes because of the inclement weather.

"I went into the fieldhouse and talked with my friends during the break," said Blauser, who, along with Minersville's Devin Hubler, is seeded first in the state for Saturday's triple jump. "I knew if I started thinking about jumping, I would get too nervous."

Class 3A

In just about any other year, CJ Singleton’s effort would have earned him a state championship.

But Gary Martin was just too good.

Butler’s Singleton finished the 1,600-meter run in four minutes, 7.47 seconds to open the Class 3A boys meet.

He settled for second place as Martin, a senior from Archbishop Wood, ran a 4:01.56, shattering the previous state standard of 4:07.32, set by Upper Moreland’s Drew Magaha in 2011.

Singleton, a senior, entered the event ranked first in the state after winning the WPIAL with a time of 4:09.95 last week. Martin captured the District 12 title with a 4:10.28.

“I knew it was going to be me and Gary racing for first and everybody else going for third,” said Singleton, who was shoulder-to-shoulder with Martin after 400 meters, both of them covering that distance in 59 seconds.

After the second lap, Singleton was in second place by just a fourth of a second, but Martin widened the gap afterward.

The two runners are no strangers to each other. They both competed here in the 1,600 and 3,200 last year, with Martin winning both events.

“I’ve tried a number of things against Gary and nothing’s worked,” Singleton said. “He likes to get out to a lead and take control early. I tried to get him out of his comfort zone, make him earn the lead instead of just taking it.

"If I'm going to lose, it might as well come against one of the best high school runners of all time."

Butler coach Mike Seybert put into perspective how strong the 1,600 field was.

"This was the fastest 1,600 in the history of the state meet. They've already verified that,“ Seybert said. ”(Butler senior) Sage Vavro ran a 4:15 today and placed tenth. There have been years in the past when that time would have been good enough to win."

Singleton's runner-up finish, coupled with Tristan McGarrah's third-place showing (15 feet) in the pole vault, gives Butler 14 points in the team standings entering Saturday's competition. District 1's Haverford Township is in second place with 11 points.

Butler's 4x400 relay team of Brayden Young, Lucas Slear, Ryder Kriley and Guinness Brown broke the school record with a time of 3:18.39 in a preliminary race and will run again in Saturday's final.

Following are results from the PIAA Track and Field Championships, which began Friday at Shippensburg University. The top eight in each event earned a medal.

Class 3A

Boys

1,600 run: 2-CJ Singleton (B) 4:07.47; 9-Luke Simpson (SV) 4:15.17; 10-Sage Vavro (B) 4:15.61

Shot put: 16-Alex Cotton (K) 46-11.75

Triple jump: 8-Jonathon Price (SV) 45-6.25

Pole vault: 3-Tristan McGarrah (B) 15-0

Girls

Shot put: 16-Madison Hunt (K) 34-7.25

Triple jump: 5-Megan Baggetta (B) 38-10

Class 2A

Boys

Javelin: 10-Luke Cramer (KC) 151-6