Lebanon County athletes bring home PIAA silver in first day of track and field meet

A pair of Lebanon County athletes picked up some shiny hardware Friday in the first day of competition at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University.

Another set herself up as the favorite to win gold on Saturday.

Half of the field events were contested Friday, and preliminaries in sprints and relays.

Here is a look at how Lebanon County athletes fared, and what to look forward to on Day 2.

Mason Bucks reaches new heights

The Palmyra junior has been really strong this postseason, finishing in second at Mid-Penns (14-6) and fourth in districts (14-3). But he was on a different level on Friday.

Bucks reached 15-6, good enough for a silver medal at the PIAA championships. He matched Bradon Schneider from Erie, but Schneider just beat him out based on tiebreakers.

"It feels good. I'll be back next year and obviously I could have been better," Bucks said. "There's stuff to improve on and that makes it even better."

Schneider got the win because he hit 15-6 in is first attempt, while Bucks hit it in his second. Both failed to go over at 16-0.

"It is what it is. That's just part of the sport," Bucks said. "You gotta learn from that, clear without making misses and just keep going."

He did beat out Breckin Swope from East Pennsboro, the district champ, somebody who he's been battling with for a while. The two were the final two at Mid-Penns.

Bucks isn't focused on what everyone else is doing, but says it's to get one over on someone he has a lot of respect for.

"He's a great competitor. We train a lot together over the summer, so we're always battling each other," Bucks said. "I don't think of it too much as me vs. him, I think of it as me vs. the bar, but every once in a while it feels good to do better."

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Noah Gunderson goes out on a high note

Gunderson got that district title once again last week, his second in a row. And while he couldn't get gold in states, he got the next best thing.

The Annville-Cleona senior finished second in the 2A high jump on Friday with a high mark of 6-5. Hayden Smith from Union-Allegheny Clarion Valley defended his state title with a 6-8.

"I'm so happy that at the least I could improve from last year," Gunderson said. "It's tough to go out with a second place, but it's better than most other places. I'm upset that it's my last one, but I'm still really happy."

It's an improvement from last year, when he finished fifth with a 6-2.

It's also a bittersweet moment, as not only is it his last meet, it's his coaches too, as Sue Felty is set to retire.

"It's been unforgettable. That's the best way to put it," Gunderson said. "To be able to go out with a runner-up for my coach as she's retiring means so much to me."

Not the finish they wanted

Carissa Bender was no stranger to competing in the pole vault at the state level. Last year she made the podium by finishing seventh.

What she didn't have experience in was jumping outside at Seth Grove Stadium at the state meet. Even competing on the same jump at last week's District 3 meet was different than Friday.

"Last week we had a tailwind, and that kind of helps," the Elco senior said. "Today the head wind messed up my runs and my body just didn't want to go up."

Bender, who qualified at 12-0, passed on jumping at 10-3 and missed her three attempts at 10-9. She will get plenty of experience dealing with the Shippensburg breezes for the next four years as she competes for the Raiders.

She is going to study exercise science and focus on the pole vault, instead of adding sprints and long jump like she did during Elco's season.

Jacey Hentz, also an Elco senior, was thrilled with her first state experience, but was hoping for a better outcome.

Coming in with an 11-6 jump at districts, Hentz cleared 10-3, 10-9 and 11-3 before hitting the bar at 11-9 to finish in a tie for 12th.

But the Mount St. Mary's recruit isn't finished with her state experience. She will be competing in the Class 3A long jump on Saturday.

"I started up well," Hentz said of her final attempts, "but I just couldn't get over."

Hentz, who will study sports management in college, got her first taste of state competition over the winter in the independent state indoor meet.

"I'm just glad I get to try again tomorrow," she said.

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Advancing to finals

Tyler Burgess: The Palmyra sophomore took the last spot in the Class 3A 110-meter hurdles with a prelim time of 14.70. A pair of runners shared the top time of 14.33. ... He also qualified for the 300-meter hurdles with a 39.88 prelim time. That puts him in the sixth spot. The top time was 38.24.

Kaddel Howard: The Cedar Crest freshman showed no signs of butterflies in snaring the top time in the Class 3A 400 meters. She ran a blistering 54.64 to finish as the only runner under 55 seconds. Defending champion Jillian Sydnor of Shippensburg had the second-fastest time in 55.32.

Gabe Lewis: The Cedar Crest senior was one of three athletes to run 10.67 in a Class 3A 100-meter prelim. It was the fourth-best time and advances Lewis to the final. Parkland's Dylan Simon had the top time at 10.57.

Other competitors

Miracle Hershey: The Annville-Cleona sophomore ran the Class 2A 100 meters in 12.71 to finish 18th in the preliminaries.

Landon Hostetter: The Annville-Cleona sophomore finished 25th in the Class 2A 1600 meters in 4:34.81. The winning time was 4:13.05.

Zariyah Whigham: The Lebanon junior had one good attempt of 34-6.75 to finish 22nd in the Class 3A triple jump. The winning jump was 41-5.50.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: PIAA track and field: 2 Lebanon County jumpers claim state silver