Feeling the sting
WHITEHALL — When the announcer had given all the team scores through 15 events, the Freeport girls track team learned it had defended its WPIAL Class AA title.
But it wasn't official.
When one of the Yellowjackets coaches told senior jumper Bronte Soul to let those in the stands know, she didn't waste any time.
She quickly climbed on the single step bleacher on the sideline of the track and screamed up to the Yellowjackets faithful ‘Freeport won!'
Now, it was official.
The Yellowjackets used their strengths in the distance and field events to down Riverside 96-54, Mohawk 95-55 and Mt. Pleasant 92Z\c-572/3 to stake their claim to the WPIAL title Thursday at Baldwin High School.
Soul won both the long and triple jump and picked up a key third place in the high jump while Kayla Zboran won the 1,600 and 3,200 and Caitlin Chaffman the shot put and discus to lead the charge.
“This means so much to us and so much to me to have won this two years in a row,” said Soul, a Slippery Rock University recruit. “I know I've left a mark with the program and left a mark with these girls.
“I told them to go out and win it next year. Tradition never graduates,” Soul added.
“We're very fortunate to have kids like these,” said Freeport coach John Gaillot. “They're just amazing, this whole group.”
The Yellowjackets (14-0) opened the track portion of the meet by winning the 3,200 relay as Becca Dudek, Brittany Bianco, Nicole Miller and Rachel Kubeldis led the way with a time of 10:30.98.
And when Kayla Zboran, Kubeldis and Dudek swept the 1,600 — and all set personal bests in the process — Freeport showed its distance crew was going to be a major player on the track.
Freeport went on to sweep the 800 — Kubeldis, Dudek and Bianco, respectively — and went 1-2 in the 3,200 (Zboran and Kubeldis), the latter which all but sealed the win.
The win in the 800, that was huge,” said Gaillot, who slid Kubeldis into the race. “I always learned from Coach (Bill) Dillen to always take the time to find something and get an opportunity to use it.”“Today it seemed like we finally got recognized,” Zboran said. “I felt we were a huge help to the team.”On the track, Soul picked up a pair of wins and also cleared 4-8 in the high jump, an event she normally doesn't do.“I'm not a high jumper, but everything today was for the team,” Soul said. “The individual qualifiers and finals are for individuals. Today was about the team.“I was glad I could make them happy,” Soul added.“Bronte's just amazing,” Gaillot said. “She has a great personality and is a very hard worker. The whole attitude of these girls. They're loose, they're competitive. It's intense. They would fit in well with our football team.”Caitlin Chaffman's victories in the discus and javelin was another big boost in the field events.“It was kind of challenging for me in the discus,” said Chaffman, who didn't get her winning toss of 100-5 until her final throw.“Once it happened, so much of the pressure came off,” Chaffman added.The Yellowjackets have actually reached the WPIAL finals three consecutive years, finishing runner-up in 2010, which helped spur the run the past two years.“We went from section champions as freshmen to the WPIAL finals as a sophomore, then two championships,” Chaffman said. “This hasn't sunk in yet, but once we get (the trophy), I'll get upset. I'm just so proud to be a part of it.”Said Zboran, “I don't think we've ever had this close-knit of a team. It's just awesome to be a part of. I can't explain how excited I am. We get to add another trophy to our case.”As Gaillot sees it, he's just trying to keep the Yellowjackets program on a high level. The first-year coach took over for Dillen, who had been the coach for 18 years but stepped down although he still assists with the team.“I'm trying to continue what coach Dillen started. I've learned so much from him over the years ... Our goal is to not screw it up and keep going with what Bill Dillen created.”Aly Moore was the Yellowjackets other winner, claiming the high jump. In all, the Yellowjackets captured nine of the 18 events.Hempfield won the Class AAA boys and girls championships while Washington captured the Class AA boys crown.<B>GirlsFreeport 96, Riverside 54Freeport 95, Mohawk 55Freeport 92</B><B>.3, Mt. Pleasant 57.6Track Events3,200-meter relay: </B>1-Freeport (Becca Dudek, Brittany Bianco, Nicole Miller, Rachael Kubeldis 10:30.98<B>100 hurdles: 1-</B>Riverside 16.97; 2-Lynsey Gugino (F) 17.10; 3-Erica Jack (F) 17.16; 5-Dava Jack (F) 17:41<B>100 dash: 1-</B>Mt. Pleasant 13.28; 8t-Aly Moore (F) and Erica Jack (F) 14.06; 10-Dava Jack (F) 14.16<B>1,600 run: </B>1-Kayla Zboran (F) 5:24.47; 2-Rachel Kubeldis (F) 5:28.75; 3-Becca Dudek (F) 5:29.22<B>400 dash: </B>1-Riverside 1:00.0; 4-Megan Manke (F) 1:03.26; 8-Brittany Bianco (F) 1:05.77; 12-Alexis Foran (F) 1:10.11<B>400 relay: </B>1-Mt. Pleasant 50.52; 2-Freeport (Danielle Woitas, Bronte Soul, Erica Jack, Aly Moore 52.24<B>300 hurdles: </B>1-Riverside 49.32; 2-Lynsey Gugino (F) 50.01; 3-Grace Ward (F) 50.74; 8-Natalie Martin (F) 53.86<B>800 run: </B>1-Rachel Kubeldis (F) 2:29.48; 2-Becca Dudek (F) 2:33.24; 3-Brittany Bianco (F) 2:35.27<B>200 dash: </B>1-Riverside 26.82; 8-Danielle Woitas (F) 28.97; 10-Haley Conner (F) 30.89<B>3,200 run:</B> 1-Kayla Zboran (F) 11:59.81; 2-Rachel Kubeldis (F) 12:16.59; 5-Hayley Davis (F) 13:15.93<B>1,600 relay: 1-</B>Riverside time not available; 3-Freeport (Aly Moore, Lynsey Gugino, Megan Manke, Brittany Bianco) time not available<B>Field EventsHigh jump: </B>1-Aly Moore (F) 5-2; 3-Bronte Soul (F) 4-8; 6-Michaela Bowser (F) 4-6<B>Long jump: </B>1-Bronte Soul (F) 17-8; 5-Lynsey Gugino (F) 25-9.75; 11-Michaela Bowser (F) 14-10.75<B>Triple jump: </B>1-Bronte Soul (F) 37-0.25; 9-Michaela Bowser (GF) 29-5.25; 12-Brittany Full (F) 28-0.25<B>Shot put:</B> 1-Caitlin Chaffman (F) 33-9; 6-Macy Smolic (F) 29-0.5; Natasha Dombranski (F) 26-8<B>Discus: 1-</B>Caitlin Chaffman (F) 100-5; 2-Taylor Hochbein (F) 96-5; 7-Macy Smolic (F) 87-8<B>Javelin: </B>1-Mt. Pleasant 117-5; 3-Taylor Hochbein (F) 99-4; 5-Alicia Grabriac (F) 90-1; 8-Haley Redman 82-8<B>Pole vault:</B> 1-Mt. Pleasant 8-6; 8t-Kristen Muslow; 10-Megan Minyon
