Fast times and dizzying heights: Here are the events to watch at the YAIAA meet

Wednesday’s YAIAA track and field championships will give York-Adams athletes another chance to qualify for the District 3 meet.

It will also be a great time to settle some scores and earn bragging rights.

In some races and field events, there is a big gap between the favorite and the rest of the field. Others aren’t so clear cut.

Construction at Dallastown forced the meet to be moved to Central York this year. It begins at 2 p.m. on May 10.

Here’s a look at some of the events you won’t want to miss.

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Boys

100 meters: Fastest in football

The top eight seeds in the boys’ race are football players. From Red Lion’s LaDainian Strausbaugh, who has the fastest seed time at 10.80, to York High’s Jayronn Hunt’s 11.14, the group is separated by just .34. Football players Nico Wright-Phillips of West York, Kenny Johnson and Michael Scott of Dallastown and Ajani Walker,  Saxton Suchanic and Juelz Goff of Central York join Strausbaugh and Hunt in that top group. That group aren’t the only football players in the race. In fact, the next five seeded runners played on the gridiron.

800 meters: Sprint or distance?

There is no doubt the mile is considered to be a distance race. An argument could be made for each when labeling the 800. Susquehannock’s Matt O’Brien is the reigning District 3 Class 2A cross country champion, which is a 5k, but he’s also the top seed for the league’s 800 (1:56.48) and 1,600 (4:14.49). Dallastown’s Jakob Rager and Jackson Gutekunst are second and third in each race. Rager comes in with a 1:57.28 in the 800 and 4:23.64 in the 1,600. Gutekunst is just behind at 1:57.51 in the 800 and 4:25.34 in the mile.

4x100 relay: Fulfilling a goal

West York’s relay team circled the league meet long before the season started. With all four sprinters back from last year’s third-place finish, and the fastest seed time at 42.94, the Bulldogs are looking for a bit of redemption. They have been looking forward to this shot at Dallastown all season. The Wildcats return three sprinters from last year’s league championship relay, and come in with the second-fastest seed time, just .10 behind the Bulldogs. Central York, with three sprinters in the top eight 100-meter runners, comes in as the third seed at 43.80.

Pole vault: New champion

Gabe Pecaitis won last year’s event by clearing 13-6. But now Mid-Penn Conference vaulters have to deal with the Gettysburg junior. Gettysburg’s departure from the YAIAA, combined with graduation, opens the door for this year’s crop of vaulters. York County Tech’s Colton Baldwin comes in with the highest vault at 13-1, but it’s just one inch higher than South Western’s Sam Dickmyer. Their best jumps are nearly a foot better than New Oxford’s Luke Aiello, who comes in at 12-3.

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Girls

100 and 200: Catch her if you can

Spring Grove junior Laila Campbell is the two-time defending district and state champion in the shortest sprints. Her seed time in the 100 is nearly .10 faster than the top times by Dallastown’s Natalie Cottrell and Spring Grove’s Aryssa Wilson and she is the only YAIAA runner to break 12 seconds this season. With Campbell, it’s not just watching her win a race, it’s seeing how low she can go. Last year, she shaved .5 off her seed time to run a blistering 11.24, which was the best in the state. She’s even more dominant in the 200, where her 24.24 is more than 2 seconds faster than the top times by York Suburban’s Gabby delPielago and Damari Moye.

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400 meters: Gap and a step

South Western’s Jessica Bentzel has the fastest seed time at 58.54. After a gap of just under 2 seconds, the next three seeds are a tight bunch. Just .13 separates York Suburban’s Gabby delPielago (1:00.18), Fairfield’s Ava Deming (1:00.25) and Northeastern’s Amani Brown (1:00.31). Last year’s race was won by Laila Campbell, who isn’t entered in the event this year. DelPielago was second in 58.76 and Bentzel was fourth in 1:00.11.

Pole vault: Up and over

Top seed Lily Carlson of Bermudian Springs finished fourth last year as a freshman. The top three finishers graduated. Her vault of 10-0 last year set her up for a district title and third-place finish at states. This year she brings a 12-3 vault into the meet, which is among the best in the state so far. West York’s Taelyn Thomas and York Suburban’s Pearl Butz have the next best vaults at 10-6.

Triple and long jump: Familiar foes

Last year, juniors Alison Watts (Bermudian Springs) and Maslyn Soisson (Central York) finished second and third, respectively, in the triple jump behind Gettysburg’s Anne Bair. In the long jump, Soisson won and Watts finished fourth. Watts then won the District 3 Class 2A triple jump title and finished fourth at states. This year, Soisson has the best triple jump at 36-11.25 and Watts is second at 36-6.25. Susquehannock’s Ryleigh Marks has the best long jump at 17-10, and Soisson is close behind at 17-8.

Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA through the York Daily Record. Connect with her by email, mstallsmith@ydr.com, or on Twitter: @ShelStallsmith.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: YAIAA track and field: Races, matchups you don't want to miss