Rams and Golden Panthers converge on Shippensburg

COATESVILLE - Pope John Paul II senior Tom Lang has nothing to prove when it comes to throwing the javelin. He has won three straight District One gold medals, class AA in 2009 and 2010, as well as a class AAA on Thursday with a throw of 194:04.00. That effort put Lang in the state tournament for the third consecutive year. He hopes to end his high school career with a gold medal at the state level.

“I am glad I had the one good throw,” said Lang, who is headed to Duke University in the fall. “Winning three gold medals in a row is pretty cool, especially this year jumping to AAA. I don’t know that any one has done that before. The coolest thing about this year is that I have a teammate here with me, Jacob Gribb. It has been awesome to have some one to talk to and go over things with.”

Gribb, who took home an eighth place medal at the district tournament with a throw of 167.01, spoke highly of his relationship with Lang.

“I couldn’t ask for a better mentor than Tom Lang,” said Gribb. “He is the example of what a jav thrower should be and I hope I can have near the success he has had next year as a senior. This has been a lot of fun. Getting a medal at districts is just a bonus.”

“There is no one harder on me than me,” said Lang. “Jake has really helped me stay up, even when I have a bad day like today, where I really had only one decent throw.”

Lang will be joined at Shippensburg next Friday by teammate Devon Player, who claimed a fifth place medal and state slot by recording a javelin throw of 119.04.

“I am so excited to make states,” said Player, who says his relatively small size is not a factor in his success.

“It’s not a size thing in jav. You just have to be strong and fast,” said Player.

The state qualifying throw was the furthest that Player has ever thrown in a meet, setting a new personal record.

It has been an eventful spring for the Rams claiming team championships in track and field, baseball and boys lacrosse, meanwhile claiming the Pac10 title in singles and double tennis, so the fact that several rams have a chance to win a state championship should not come as s surprise to anyone.

The Rams boys 4 x 800 relay team set a mark of 7:54.46 which was good enough to grab the silver medal at districts and seed Spring-Ford second overall in the state as they converge on Shippensburg.

Amber Muhammed continued to blaze a trail in the 400-meter run, setting a new PR in the process with a time 58.11 in the prelims, which was quicker than her finals time as it was run in a down pour, claiming eighth place overall in District One.

Known more for their exploits on the hardwood of the Spring-Ford gymnasium, Nikki Lynch and Megan Yates have thrilled Rams fans all year and will continue tom do so as the dynamic duo have qualified for states in the 800 meter run and long jump respectively.

Yates set a new PR with a jump of 17 feet 10 inches and has one goal in mind as she takes to the pit in Seth Grove Stadium, a new school record.

“I jumped well today and getting a medal at districts is pretty sweet,” said Yates. “Our school record is 18’3”, I want to do that, it’s my senior year and that would be a great way to go out and I think I can get that.”

Spring-Ford high jumpers Kristin Overton and Nicole Rocchio missed qualifying for the State Championships by one inch, but managed to claim medal, as there was a five-way tie at seventh place.

“It would have been great to make states,” said Overton who tied her personal best. “It sucks to be so close but I know what I need to work on. I have never jumped here before and I am so lucky to have girls like Megan and Nikki help me,”

“I came into this year knowing nothing and they took me under their wing,” added Overton. “It’s so cool to hear your teammates cheering you on, yelling over the fence at the end where the mat is. I love my team.”

Damien Boham will be joining Amber Huhammed in a medal quest in the 400-meter dash as he qualified with a time of 49.25. 

The PIAA Pennsylvania State Championship meet starts Friday at 9 am in Shippensburg with finals for most events on Saturday.

Rams note- senior Tak-Yee Ho, who battled for three years to clear nine feet, ended her season with a pole vault of 9 feet 6 inches. Congrats

Event 301  Girls 4x800 Meter Relay AAA

 Preliminaries

    24 Spring Ford                                        10:06.53                 

 Event 302  Girls 100 Meter Hurdles AAA Preliminaries

       25 Cornell, Nicole           10 Spring Ford              16.74        

Event 303  Girls 100 Meter Dash AAA  Preliminaries

   17 Chernaskey, Rachel        -- Pope John Paul           12.83        

Event 304  Girls 1600 Meter Run AAA Preliminaries

     13 McKeon, Molly             10 Pope John Paul         5:18.28                 

   -- Burger, Audrey            11 Spring Ford                DNF                 

Event 305  Girls 400 Meter Dash AAA Preliminaries

  7 Muhammad, Amber           12 Spring Ford             58.11qSQS  

Event 305  Girls 400 Meter Dash AAA  Finals

  8 Muhammad, Amber           12 Spring Ford              58.27 SQS              

Event 306  Girls 4x100 Meter Relay AAA Preliminaries

22 Spring Ford                                           50.26                   4

35 Pope John Paul II                                     51.74                   4

Event 307  Girls 300 Meter Hurdles AAA Preliminaries

11 Magolon, Deirdre          10 Spring Ford              46.65                   1

22 Nice, Brandy              11 Spring Ford              48.00                   2

Event 308  Girls 800 Meter Run AAA Preliminaries

    9 Lynch, Nikki              11 Spring Ford            2:18.19qSQS             

Event 308  Girls 800 Meter Run AAA  Finals

      9 Lynch, Nikki              11 Spring Ford            2:20.53                 

Event 309  Girls 200 Meter Dash AAA Preliminaries

18 Chernaskey, Rachel        -- Pope John Paul           26.28        -1.3  2

Event 311  Girls 4x400 Meter Relay AAA Preliminaries

    20 Spring Ford                                         4:05.63                   1

  Event 312  Girls High Jump AAA

   7 Overton, Kristen          10 Spring Ford            5-02.00                 

   10 Rocchio, Nicole           11 Spring Ford           J5-02.00                 

 Event 313  Girls Pole Vault AAA

    18 Ho, Tak Yee               12 Spring Ford           J9-06.00                 

Event 314  Girls Long Jump AAA

  6 Yates, Meagan             12 Spring Ford           17-10.00 SQS     

  12 Chernaskey, Rachel        -- Pope John Paul        16-09.00        

Event 315  Girls Triple Jump AAA

24 Yates, Meagan             12 Spring Ford           33-06.50        

Event 317  Girls Discus Throw AAA

     17 Yeakle, Jennifer          11 Spring Ford           91-00.00

   29 Okere, Akunna             10 Spring Ford           77-10.00                 

Event 318  Girls Javelin Throw AAA

  5 Player, Devon              9 Pope John Paul       119-04.00                 

   14 Lynch, Nikki              11 Spring Ford          101-02.00                 

 21 Yates, Meagan             12 Spring Ford           95-03.00                 

Event 701  Boys 4x800 Meter Relay AAA

Preliminaries

  1 Spring Ford                                         7:52.33QSQS             

Event 701  Boys 4x800 Meter Relay AAA

Finals

   2 Spring Ford                                         7:54.46 SQS             

Event 704  Boys 1600 Meter Run AAA  Preliminaries

20 Magolon, Jesse            11 Spring Ford            5:01.68                 

 Event 705  Boys 400 Meter Dash AAA  Preliminaries

    6 Boham, Damien             12 Spring Ford              49.25QSQS               3

Event 705  Boys 400 Meter Dash AAA  Finals

5 Boham, Damien             12 Spring Ford              49.25 SQS              

Event 706  Boys 4x100 Meter Relay AAA  Preliminaries

-- Spring Ford                                              FS                   2

Event 708  Boys 800 Meter Run AAA  Preliminaries

    21 O'Such, Joseph            11 Spring Ford            2:07.26                 

Event 709  Boys 200 Meter Dash AAA  Preliminaries

   13 Scanlan, Andrew           11 Spring Ford              22.62q       -2.2  2

Event 709  Boys 200 Meter Dash AAA  Semi-Finals

   11 Scanlan, Andrew           11 Spring Ford              22.94        -1.0  2

Event 717  Boys Discus Throw AAA

 9 Rizzuto, James            12 Spring Ford          133-04.00                 

Event 718  Boys Javelin Throw AAA

  1 Lang, Tom                 12 Pope John Paul       194-04.00 SQS             

  6 Scanlan, Andrew           11 Spring Ford          170-00.00                 

  8 Gribb, Jacob              11 Pope John Paul       167-01.00                 

 13 Rizzuto, James            12 Spring Ford          144-04.00