Four track and field athletes set for this state competition
Meadville’s Megan Puleio, Nic Williams, Payton Costello and Alaina Wilson-Dixon will represent the Bulldogs at the PIAA Class 3A meet at Shippensburg University today and tomorrow.
Puleio, a sophomore, is the highest seed of the bunch. Her 800-meter run seeded time of two minutes and 13.11 seconds has her seeded 10th for Saturday’s race. Puleio’s time at last weekend’s District 10 competition set a D-10 and program record. She recovered from an injury and after a few weeks off from training, only had a few days to ramp back up before the D-10 race.
“I know her goal is to medal at states and I think with her determination she may even be higher than eighth,” Meadville head coach Amy Lynn said.
Puleio competed at last year’s state meet when she finished 11th, just outside of the top eight. The top eight finishers each earn a medal.
Wilson-Dixon and Costello are each competing at states for the first time. Wilson-Dixon, a sophomore, won the shot put last weekend with a throw of 34-feet and 4.75-inches. Her toss seeds her at 21st for the contest, which is scheduled for today at 9 a.m.
Costello, a senior, is competing in the discus. Her winning throw of 107-feet and 6-inches has her seeded at 20th. The discus is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m.
“For Alaina to see the other throws in the state as a sophomore, she can have a goal next year of improving to get back and climb that ladder of success. I think it’ll be good for her,” Lynn said. “I would guess to say that Payton really wants to improve her 107 this weekend.”
Williams will take on the state competition for the second consecutive year. The Mercyhurst University football commit finished 21st last year in the 400-meter dash (50.43).
This year, the senior is seeded 19th with a time of 49.72 seconds.
“Nic has had no competition this year in the 400 so it’ll be fun to watch to see what he can do with some competition,” Lynn said.
