SV's Turici wins javelin at Baldwin Invite; Butler boys 3rd

By SAM TALLARICO Eagle Staff Writer

May 07, 2005 Last Updated: May 07, 2005 03:31 PM High School

BALDWIN - Ashley Turici knew she had another good throw in her. After all, it was in the bag.

On Friday, Turici was in fourth place entering her third and final throw in the girls' javelin at the 32nd annual Baldwin Track and Field Invitational.

The top three medalists in each event were also given a stylish duffel bag by the event's sponsor.

Turici's final throw of 122 feet, 7 inches was more than enough to give her the victory in the event by nearly four feet over Kiski Area's Lea Ulizio (118-8).

"I knew I had to throw better for one of those bags," said Turici, who has already thrown a 132-10 earlier this year.

"I've been trying to get up there, but it hasn't been working well. I'm just hoping to keep things going."

Turici had throws of 105-5 and 110-10 before unleashing her eventual-winning throw. She hopes the win will carry over into the upcoming qualifier and beyond.

"There were a lot of schools here," said Turici. "There's still a lot I could do. I can still get that (mark), but I still have to practice some more."

Another highlight to the meet was the Butler boys squad placing third behind runner-up West Allegheny and champion West Mifflin (51 points).

That place was buoyed by the performances of John Strutt, Josh Wachter and Junior Dunn.

Strutt placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute, 58.65 seconds. Ken King of Connellsville won the event (1:57.05).

It was the first time Strutt has cracked the two-minute barrier this season.

"The weather was great and the competition was phenomenal. I'm glad to be here," said Strutt.

"I got this feeling earlier in the day and I said, 'Today's the day to do it and get it done.' (King) is phenomenal. In my mind, this was a race for second place," he added.

Butler boys coach Rick Schontz knew Strutt could run his best race today.

"He's definitely taken the right time to peak," said Schontz. "John said to me Thursday, 'Now I know how to run this race.'"

Strutt ran a 2:01 at Wednesday's Class AAA team playoff meet at Latrobe and showed he still can get better.

"That's not too bad, finishing second to a kid who's the state champion," said Schontz. "He's bound and determined that's the last time he loses to Kenny."

Said Strutt, "I can only see myself getting better with the right training and the right mentality."

Wachter placed third in the discus (155-9) and Dunn third in the javelin (173-0).

"That was my (personal record) by over 16 feet," said Wachter. "I was extremely happy. This gives me the confidence. Even though this is my first year, I can make states."

Wachter's 155-9 came on his first attempt. He fouled the second time and had a 146-6 the third time.

"Josh had two throws over the state standard," said Schontz.

"As soon as it left my hand, I could feel it and I watched it float," said Wachter. "It was awesome."

For Dunn, his best throw came right off the bat and followed it up with a 170-0 - two very solid throws.

"That was a big meet for him. He's been a little off and he's been throwing so much lately so we'll ease up a little," said Schontz. "If that helps, we're hoping for 185-190 on Wednesday (at the WPIAL Track Qualifiers at Butler)."

The boys' 3,200 relay team of Strutt, James Rogerson, Chris Henry and Josh Cable also placed third (8:11.8) behind Erie McDowell (8:07.9) and Peters Township (8:10.1).

Brian McCandless also contributed to the Tornado's third-place finish by grabbing fifth place in the high jump (6-2).

Two other big performers were Butler's Tara Maxwell, who placed fourth in the girls shot put (a personal-best 40-8¼) and discus (119-9), and Karns City's Mark Ferguson, who was sixth in the 110 hurdles (15.8) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (40.72).

Maxwell set a personal record in the shot put just two days removed from another best of just over 38 feet.

Baldwin's Jordon Veney won both events Friday with throws of 43-5¾ and 149-5, respectively.

"I've been in a rut for a long time," said Maxwell. "I felt like I wasn't getting any better. I started working on my spinning (earlier in the week) and it's been awesome. It's been a big improvement.

"It's nice to know I just started and I have a PR. I'm still working on it, but once I get the technique down … I'm just excited about it."

"She's really been coming along with it," said Butler girls coach Rod Harris. "She's really, really doing well with those throws."

Maxwell's newest goal will be trying to break to school record of 42-1, set by Allison Sams in 1994.

"If I do, that'll make my season," she added.

Ferguson held his own against some of the bigger schools in the area.

"I was just glad to get to the finals," said Ferguson following his 110 hurdles final. "I thought I could have run better.

"This helps give me an idea at what I can expect at states. I hope I make it. This meet helps a lot with great competition and a lot of quad-A schools," Ferguson added.

In the girls' pole vault, Butler's Emily Chiappini was third and Kendall Butch fifth as both cleared 11-0 and Seneca Valley's Da'Lynn Mills finished fourth in the girls' high jump (5-4).

The Seneca Valley's girls 400 relay team (50.06) placed fifth while Dan Dickey was seventh in the boys' 300 hurdles and Justin Nock was eighth in the boys' high jump.

Placing eighth in the meet was the Seneca Valley girls' 1,600 relay, Butler's Kate DeGeorge in the girls' 400 (a personal best 1:00.8) and Slippery Rock's Abby Basta in the girls' 100 hurdles (17.0).

Notes:

The Boys MVP went to West Allegheny's Cardel Johnson, who won the 200 and was fourth in the 100; the Girls MVP honor went to Erie McDowell's Nicole Smith, who won the high jump and triple jump … Aliquippa won the boys' Class AA title with 36 points, Penn Hills the Class AAA girls' title with 56 points and Shady Side Academy the Class AA girls title with 25 points.

The following are area placewinners at the 32nd annual Baldwin Track and Field Invitational Friday.

Boys

Track Events

3,200-meter relay:

3-Butler (John Strutt, James Rogerson, Chris Henry, Josh Cable) 8:11.8

110-meter high hurdles:

6-Mark Ferguson (KC) 15.8

300-meter intermediate hurdles:

4-Mark Ferguson (KC) 40.72; 6-Dan Dickey (SV) 40.95

800-meter run:

2-John Strutt (B) 1:58.65

Field Events