Erie High's Schneider, Slippery Rock's Prementine claim PIAA track and field titles

SHIPPENSBURG ― Bradon Schneider sought to clear 16 feet during Friday's Class 3A boys pole vault competition at the PIAA track and field meet.

It would have been an unprecedented height for the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy student and Erie High athlete, whose personal best was 15 feet 7 inches.

Get your ticket: The NWPA High School Sports Awards show is June 23

Although the senior missed on three attempts, Schneider made school history before thousands of sun-drenched fans at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium. Sensing he would still be a state champion more than compensated for not reaching a personal best.

Schneider and Palmyra junior Mason Bucks were the only vaulters in the original field of 23 who successfully cleared the bar at 15-6. The PIAA officials gave each three chances to do the same at an even 16.

The rulebook was consulted when neither did.

Schneider was declared the winner thanks to a tiebreaker. By clearing 15-6 on his first attempt to Bucks' second, the Slippery Rock recruit became the Royals' first track and field gold medalist since the program was created with the Erie School District's 2017 high school consolidation.

"I'm so proud of this for me, and my coaches," Schneider said. "It's been a long four years, (especially) with COVID-19 and trying to get practices in with the limited jumping opportunities. My team has been so supportive of me."

None more so than Jason Lombardo, a veteran pole vault coach on Erie High's staff.

The PIAA prohibits coaches from being on the stadium's football field during the meet. That meant Lombardo had to watch Schneider compete from the fence between the stands and the track.

That's also why it took some agonizing minutes for Lombardo to get permission to enter the field.

When he did, that's when the celebratory hugs between athlete and coach began.

"He is the greatest jumper I've seen in my life," Lombardo said. "His dad (Rich Schneider) brought him to me six years ago, and every year it was back to the drawing board with him. 'What can we do better? What do we need to improve?'"

"The boy does not like to lose."

Schneider also became the state's first track and field gold medalist from an Erie public school since 1989, when Tech Memorial speedster Dietrich Jells won the Class 3A final in the 100.

Jells was recruited as a wide receiver by the University of Pittsburgh and then played a four-year NFL career with New England and Philadelphia.

Rockets soar to second place

Schneider received one of three PIAA gold medals presented to a District 10 athlete during the meet.Slippery Rock's Levi Prementine earned the other two. The junior lived up to his status as the top seed in the Class 2A boys long jump and 300-meter hurdles.

Prementine was the district's long jump champion at 22 feet, 10¼ inches. He comfortably surpassed that distance at 23-1¼ on his sixth and final state attempt.

That was Friday.

A day later, Prementine prevailed for first place in a dramatic 300 hurdles final that saw .14 of a second separate the top three finishers.

Prementine and Freeport's Isaac Wetzel each tumbled to the track as they crossed the finish line. Prementine's time was 38.19 to Wetzel's 38.25.

Eli Anderson, Prementine's Slippery Rock teammate, was third at 38.35. Anderson helped each runner up while they awaited their official times.

"I came out (Saturday) a little sluggish," Prementine said. "But I knew everyone here was going to run their best, and I knew I had to compete with them."

Prementine was tired at that point because he also qualified for the 2A boys 110 hurdles final earlier Saturday. He placed sixth overall at 14.74.

Not done there, Prementine also closed the meet's track portion as the third leg of the Rockets' 1,600 relay. He joined Anderson, Sam Schwartz and anchor Tyler Arblaster for a silver medal time of 3:24.72.

Prementine's four medals were a major reason Slippery Rock took home the PIAA's runner-up team trophy. The Rockets compiled 40 points, topped only by Danville's 45.

"This is surreal," Slippery Rock coach Tom Meling said. "It's something we dreamed about at the start of the year, but you never know what's going to happen. That 300 (hurdles) race was really exciting. I'm their hurdles coach, and at the halfway point of that race I wasn't feeling excited at all. But then they (Prementine and Anderson) just kicked it in, and it was fantastic."

Krahe concludes Harbor Creek career

Memorial Day weekend marked the end of Nick Krahe's high school sports career and the start of his collegiate one.

Krahe, in his final appearance as a Harbor Creek athlete, finished fourth in Saturday's 2A boys shot put competition at 52-1.

Krahe experienced a kind of senior year as an athlete most high school students only dream about. He enjoyed success with the Huskies' football team this past fall and with their basketball team in winter.

A second state medal in the shot put was an emphatic end to his time in the Orange and Black.

"This (medal) feels really good around my neck right now," Krahe said. "It's definitely a blessing to have all of the abilities that I do. I'm really grateful."

Harbor Creek fans won't be immediately able to congratulate Krahe in person for his latest accomplishment. The West Virginia football recruit immediately left from Shippensburg for Morgantown.

Krahe was scheduled to start workouts with the Mountaineers on Monday.

Day One: Erie High's Schneider a gold medalist at Friday's PIAA track and field meet

PIAA track and field results

The overall winners and District 10 results for the PIAA track and field meet at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium. The top eight individuals and relays in each event received medals:

Class 2A girls

Team: 1. Central Columbia 39; 17. (tie including) Greenville 14; 28. (tie including) Lakeview 10; 37. (tie including) Sharon 7; 41. Mercer 6; 45. (tie including) Fairview 5; 46. Grove City 5; 66. Reynolds 2

100 meters: 1. Tatum Norris, Susquehanna Community 12.19; 22. Riley Tighe, Sharpsville 12.88; 23. Alena Urbanowicz, Fort LeBoeuf 12.91

200: 1. Viktorya Luckenbach, Pine Grove 24.72; 12. Lydia Reed, Lakeview 25.99; 17. Maya Jeckavitch, Wilmington 26.36; 20. Alena Urbanowicz, Fort LeBoeuf 26.64

400: 1. Ka'Nai Bey-English, Mastery Charter North 55.11; 6. Lydia Reed, Lakeview 58.98; 24. Lilly Newton, Warren 1:01.24

800: 1. Kate Moncavage, Southern Columbia 2:14.33; 4. Isabel Owens, Fairview 2:18.42; 6. Karis McElhaney, Greenville 2:19.14

1,600: 1. Jolena Quarzo, Brownsville 4:55.45; 5. Willow Myers, Mercer 5:05.30; 6. Karis McElhaney, Greenville 5:06.81

3,200: 1. Jolena Quarzo, Brownsville 10:21.29; 7. Willow Myers, Mercer 11:07.77; 11. Josie Jones, Grove City 11:32.14; 14. Nadalie Latchaw, Franklin 11:42.34

400 relay: 1. Philadelphia West Catholic (Ayana Wilson, Syniah White, Paris Talley, Taleea Buxton) 48.14; 17. Sharpsville (Zamika Arnold, Savannah Hassan, Tamya Hubbard, Gianna Milano) 50.46; 18. Fort LeBoeuf (Mackenzie Marsh, Ella McGowan, Emily Samluk, Alena Urbanowicz) 50.55

1,600 relay: 1. Central Columbia (Madelyn Blake, Liberty Gearinger, Hailey Bull, Kendra Stout) 3:53.71; 8. Lakeview (Kady Alexander, Laci Redfoot, Kendall Emmert, Lydia Reed) 4:10.10; 14. Greenville (Reese Risavi, Peyton Davis, Josie Lewis, Karis McElhaney) 4:10.22;

3,200 relay: 1. Central Cambria (Alaina Sheehan, Abigail Sheehan, Annaliese Niebauer, Abigail George) 9:27.90; 6. Greenville (Josie Lewis, Petyon Davis, Sarah Daly, Karis McElhaney) 9:41.98; 20. Seneca (Ashley Post, Olivia Pikiewicz, Mackenzie Nelsen, Alice Gladitz) 10:13.94

100 hurdles: 1. Taleea Buxton, Philadelphis West Catholic 13.80 (PIAA RECORD); 6. Ondrea Young, Sharon 15.63; 13. Ava Reich, Slippery Rock 16.38

300 hurdles: 1. Camryn Pyle, Midd-West 44.80; 4. Abbey Nichols, Grove City 46.38; 7. Ondrea Young, Sharon 47.30

Long jump: 1. Nataly Walters, Palmerton 18-5½; 14. Abbey Nichols, Grove City 16-3; 16. Ava Murko, Reynolds 16-2¾; 22. Julia Coffaro, Slippery Rock 15-10¼

Triple jump: 1. Nataly Walters, Palmerton 38-11; 7. Grace Bresnan, Reynolds 37-0; 9. Sara Genuso, Fairview 36-6¼; 18. Hailey Corritore, Fort LeBoeuf 34-7

High jump: 1. Faith Yost, Northwestern Lehigh 5-5; 14. (tie including) Erika McGowan, Lakeview 5-0; 21. Rylee Gorrell, Grove City 4-10

Shot put: 1. Sasha Garnett, Richland 45-5¾; 4. Maggie Goodlin, Greenville 37-3¼; 20. Kelsie Skinner, Fort LeBoeuf 32-3½

Discus: 1. Justley Sharp, Homer Center 148-5; 7. Delani Berkson, Sharon 114-6; 12. Tessa Bemiss, North East 108-4

Javelin: 1. Evelyn Bliss, Union-Allegheny Clarion Valley 170-2 (PIAA RECORD); 10. Delaney Prather, North East 119-0; 20. Natalie Double, Slippery Rock 110-11

Pole vault: 1. Lilyana Carlson, Bermudian Springs 12-0; 3. Erika McGowan, Lakeview 11-6; 19. Baine Snyder, Oil City 9-0

Class 2A boys

Team: 1. Danville 45; 2. Slippery Rock 40; 33. Franklin 8; 42. Harbor Creek 6; 49. North East 5; 61. (tie including) Commodore Perry 3; 71. Oil City 2; 81. Seneca 1

100 meters: 1. Ethan Black, Conemaugh Township 10.55; 13. Camden Bryant, Mercyhurst Prep 11.19; 14. Brandon Konieczki, Harbor Creek 11.20; 15. Jamari Curlett, North East 11.22; 21. Haydin McLaughlin, Reynolds 11.34

200: 1. Ethan Black, Conemaugh Township 21.07 (PIAA RECORD); 10. Lakeview 22.66; 12. (tie including) Haydin McLaughlin, Reynolds 22.74; 14. Tyler Arblaster, Slippery Rock 22.77. Note: Mercyhurst Prep's Camden Bryant didn't finish his heat.

400: 1. Josh Stolarski, Penn Cambria 49.09; 6. Tyler Arblaster, Slippery Rock 50.19. Note: Seneca's Wesley Paris didn't finish his heat.

800: 1. Amberson Bauer, Riverview 1:54.93; 8. Caleb Prettyman, Franklin 1:57.61; 20. Kameron Chadsey, North East 2:01.31

1,600: 1. Thomas Smigo, Palisades 4:13.05; 6. Caleb Prettyman, Franklin 4:19.63; 26. Logan Byerly, Harbor Creek 4:36.16

3,200: 1. Rory Lieberman, Danville 9:08.28; 5. Caleb Prettyman, Franklin 9:21.31; 14. Ben Schrumpf, Fort LeBoeuf 9:33.53

400 relay: 1. Conemaugh Township (Garrett Tunstall, Cameron Dunn, Jonathan Updyke, Ethan Black) 42.51; 21. Oil City (Isaiah Robinson, Jake Hornbeck, Devaughn Griffin, Ethen Knox) 44.54; 22. Lakeview (Blake Skiles, Austin Haines, Ethan Williams, Danick Hinkson) 44.57. Note: Mercyhurst Prep was disqualified.

1,600 relay: 1. Montoursville (Quinn Winslow, Josiah Schnars, Sean Frey, Mason Winslow) 3:23.81; 2. Slippery Rock (Eli Anderson, Sam Schwartz, Levi Prementine, Tyler Arblaster) 3:24.72; 23. Lakeview (Blake Skiles, Colson Jenkins, Ethan Williams, Danick Hinkson) 3:33.73

3,200 relay: 1. Williamson (Nathaniel Welch, Duncan Kerr, Kristian Mizdall, Owen Cummings) 7:59.73; 4. North East (Aivan Vargas, Lucas Boyd, Riley Kordes, Kameron Chadsey) 8:04.31; 16. Fort LeBoeuf (Blake Glass, Bryce Byram, Jackson Bowers, Ben Schrumpf) 8:26.72

110 hurdles: 1. Antonio Votour, Our Lady of Sacred Heart 14.28; 6. Levi Prementine, Slippery Rock 14.74; 13. Eli Anderson, Slippery Rock 15.23; 19. Ryan Miller, Seneca 15.49

300 hurdles: 1. Levi Prementine, Slippery Rock 38.19; 3. Eli Anderson, Slippery Rock 38.35;14. Ryan Miller, Seneca 40.49

Long jump: 1. Levi Prementine, Slippery Rock 23-1¼; 8. Brandon Konieczki, Harbor Creek 21-2¾; 11. Lamont Samuels Jr., Farrell 20-11¼; 21. Jacob Williams, Reynolds 19-5½

Triple jump: 1. C.J. Simbiri, Delaware Country Christian 46-3½; 6. Jack Thomas, Commodore Perry 43-8; 14. Dustin Joyce, Slippery Rock 41-10¼

High jump: 1. Hayden Smith, Union-Allegheny Clarion Valley 6-8; 9. Noah Crozier, North East 6-2; 10. Boden Gushie, Harbor Creek 6-2

Shot put: 1. Gian Greggo, Pen Argyl 57-7; 4. Nick Krahe, Harbor Creek 52-1; 10. Austin Hallock, Fairview 47-4 1/2

Discus: 1. Landon Chalmers, Union-Allegheny Clarion Valley 171-5; 7. Cam Crocker, Oil City 162-11; 13. Kevin Luce, Seneca 141-1

Javelin: 1. Tyler Arnold, Southern Columbia 205-4; 13. Charlie Motter, Oil City 155-5; 20. Andrew Hatton, Iroquois 148-1

Pole vault: 1. Andrew Layton, Waynesburg Central 15-3; 8. Reed Yost, Seneca 13-3. Note: Wilmington's Solomon Glavach didn't clear a height.

PIAA track and field preview: Harbor Creek long jumper Brandon Konieczki seeded second

Class 3A girls

Team: 1. Haverford 51. Note: District 10 teams didn't record any points.

100 meters: 1. Laila Campbell, Spring Grove 11.56; 28. Josslyn Hancock, Hickory 12.88

200: 1. Laila Campbell, Spring Grove 23.54; 30. Dara Fallon, McDowell 26.62

400: 1. Kaddel Howard, Cedar Crest 53.50; 25. Megan Puleio, Meadville 1:00.91

800: 1. Olivia Cieslak, Haverford Township 2:07.45; 11. Megan Puleio, Meadville 2:13.61

1,600: 1. Olivia Cieslak, Haverford Township 4:49.01; 29. Lauren Raimy, Cathedral Prep 5:08.80

3,200: 1. Logan St. John Kletter, Mt. Lebanon 10:12.86 (PIAA RECORD); 11. Sarah Clark, Cathedral Prep 10:42.14

400 relay: 1. North Penn (Taylor Forbes, Maya Adams, Madeline Lewis, Jael Sykes) 47.12; 22. McDowell (Alexa Sargent, Joslyn Schnell, Gracyn Farr, Dara Fallon) 51.31

1,600 relay: 1. J.P. McCaskey (Kamiah Wright, Lucie De Syon, Isabella Shertzer, Kamyah Wright) 3:44.80; 25. Cathedral Prep (Kayley McCall, Cecelia Campbell, Fina Bannister, Lauren Raimy) 4:20.10

3,200 relay: 1. J.P. McCaskey (Lucie De Syon, Kamyah Wright, Milana Breuninger, Isabella Shertzer) 9:05.09; 9. Cathedral Prep (Lauren Raimy, Anne-Catherine Brown, Allison Bender, Sarah Clark) 9:22.93

100 hurdles: 1. Macaela Walker, Oxford Area 13.94; 26. Marley Rodax, Meadville 17.64

300 hurdles: 1. Ella Bahn, Spring Grove 42.62; 24. Tamya Larkin, Erie High 49.16

Long jump: 1. Taylor Forbes, North Penn 18-9; 23. Joslyn Schnell, McDowell 16-0

Triple jump: 1. Ava Alexander, West Chester Rustin 41-5½; 26. Kayla Baker, Meadville 33-3

High jump: 1. Niya Jeffers, Chester 5-7; 22. (three-way tie including) Kaci Smith, General McLane 4-10

Shot put: 1. Elizabeth Tapper, Hempfield Area 45-2; 20. Jessica Miklos, Hickory 34-2½

Discus: 1. Ella Lucas, Warwick 163-9; 20. Jessica Miklos, Hickory 98-9

Javelin: 1. Rosalind Gergely, Blue Mountain 150-8; 23. Alexandra Gallagher, Meadville 103-10

Pole vault: 1. Katie Urbine, Solanco 13-9 (PIAA RECORD). Note: McDowell's Mary Stravinsky didnt record a height.

Class 3A boys

Team: 1. Chambersburg 48; 23. Erie High 10; 74. (tie including) Cathedral Prep 2; 75. Hickory 2

100 meters: 1. Lex Cyrus, Susquehanna Township 10.67; 29. Kyle Birkmire, General McLane 11.11; 30. Benny Whitaker, McDowell 11.19

200: 1. Jesse Myers, State College 21.23; 22. Kyle Birkmire, General McLane 22.22

400: 1. Luke Coleman, Abington 47.26; 21. Nicholas Williams, Meadville 50.43

800: 1. Aidan Hodge, Hempfield 1:52.16; 7. Luke Brown, Cathedral Prep 1:54.79

1,600: 1. Dale Hall, Hampton 4:08.52; 18. Luke Brown, Cathedral Prep 4:16.62

3,200: 1. Brian DiCola, Hatboro-Horsham 8:47.39 (PIAA RECORD); 11. MJ Pottinger, Grove City 9:18.09

400 relay: 1. Chambersburg (Kason Besecker, J.J. Kelly, Blake Mallast, Antonio Harrison II) 41.49; 22. General McLane (Lane Marquis, Jace Walls, Cooper Robson, Kyle Birkmire) 43.54

1,600 relay: 1. Abington (Luke Coleman, Keith Axten, Jamir McClinton, Tyler Abraham) 3:16.19; 28. Grove City (Gage Probst, Mac Messer, Isaac Dreves, Joshua Jones) 3:35.11

3,200 relay: 1. Penncrest (Ben Holst-Rightley, Brendan Heffernan, Kadin Salaria, Shane Hall) 7:45.15; 15. McDowell (Christian Mattern, Deacon Pierce, Kamden Kramer, Nicolin Pierce) 7:57.62

110 hurdles: 1. Tyrese Washington, Pottstown 14.01. Note: General McLane's Logan Anderson was disqualified for a lane violation.

300 hurdles: 1. Bernard Bell, South Western 37.28; 17. Logan Anderson, General McLane 41.50

Long jump: 1. Kyle Moore, Emmaus 24-5 ¼; 7. Luca Bertolasio, Hickory 21-9

Triple jump: 1. J.J. Kelly, Chambersburg 47-7; 23. Rayjier Jackson, McDowell 40-10½

High jump: 1. J.J. Kelly, Chambersburg 6-8. Note: District 10 had no entrant.

Shot put: 1. Brady Mider, Berks Catholic 58-9¾; 21. John Styborski, Corry 47-4¾

Discus: 1. Peyton Murray, Hempfield 185-9; 17. Ryan Visosky, McDowell 139-0

Javelin: 1. Peter Bellomo, Jersey Shore 214-3; 16. Christian Santiago, McDowell 160-11

Pole vault: 1. Bradon Schneider, Erie High 15-6

Note: General McLane and Wyoming Valley West tied for fifth place in the Unified team standings.

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PIAA track and field meet: Two District 10 athletes win three events