YAIAA track and field: Records broken, gold-medal surprises and some redemption

Who were the big winners at the YAIAA track and field meet?

Starting off with a bang

Sarah Deal, Abby Butera, Chloe Hill and Elena Pineda had their eye on one thing ... they wanted to improve their chance of making next week’s District 3 Class 2A meet in the 4x800 relay.

By knocking 14 seconds off their seed time to win in 9:54.04, they not only secured the first medals of the meet, they also improved their district chances. They were happy with their win, but even more thrilled when each learned how much time they each knocked off their personal bests.

Hill led the way by taking more than 7 seconds off her time to run the third leg in 2:22.85. It was the fastest split of the relay, and it was the one that gave York Suburban the lead.

“I think Dallastown was about 25 meters ahead when I started," Hill said.

All four runners said the meet's atmosphere helped them get psyched for the race. And when all four runners from each relay team walked together to the starting line, they said it continued to amp them up.

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Beware falling records

At the end of the day, just two championship records fell at Dallastown.

Athletes came close in several others, but it was Bermudian Springs’ Lily Carlson and Spring Grove's Ella Bahn who set the two records. Neither one came as a surprise because both athletes had already surpassed the marks this season.

Carlson had already cleared the mark of 12-1 she set last year by a foot at an invitational in April. She hit 13-3 on her third attempt and nearly increased the record to 13-8.

Bahn set the 800-meter league record of 2:14.26 during a quad meet at the end of the regular season. Red Lion's Ruth Loyer set the mark in the 2001 league meet. Bahn added the championship record with her 2:14.33 run on Wednesday.

So now the Spring Grove sophomore owns the league and championship records with two different times.

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Golden surprise

New Oxford sophomore Brayden Billman was the top seed in the triple jump, so his victory at 43-8 wasn't really a surprise. His high jump win was more of an upset.

"The adrenaline was flowing," Billman said. "That 6-2 in the high jump was a personal best."

Billman had three shots at 6-3, but came up short on each one. His foot slipped as he made the first and third jumps, something he says happens because he drags his foot.

The sophomore's wins are more impressive because they came at the same time. When he made the finals of the high jump, he was able to step away from the triple jump until he was finished at the other end of the stadium.

Laila Campbell's last stand

The Spring Grove senior said it was starting to sink in that she had run her last YAIAA race. Like the first three years she ran in the league meet, the LSU recruit won the 100 and 200 meter races.

Unlike those other championships, she also ran a relay. And that added a layer to Campbell's experience.

"I wanted to execute for everyone," she said. "It was great to add something new. We ran our personal best and lowered our school record."

Campbell ran the first leg and turned the baton over to Bahn. A pair of freshmen finished things off, but it never hurts to have the fastest sprinter in the state start off the relay.

The 6-1 senior might be finished running in York-Adams races, but she is far from finished running for Spring Grove. She has a pair of district and state titles to defend, and a relay team with state meet aspirations.

"I'd like to get the 200 state record and do better at nationals," Campbell said. "And I'll be leaving for LSU in July."

Seven golds and counting

Bahn blew onto the YAIAA track and field scene last year by winning 100 and 300 hurdles, 800 meters and high jump titles as a freshman. This year she swapped the 4x100 relay for the 300 hurdles, and successfully defended her titles in the other events.

She didn't get much down time in the league meet. The sophomore went from securing a spot in the 100 hurdles final to the high jump area, and then went back to the track to join her teammates for the relay. And then she went back to the high jump.

"I'm used to it now," Bahn said of competing in several events at the same time. "I look at the schedule ahead of time, and then if it changes I play it by ear."

Bahn didn't have to jump at the lower heights. She opted out until the height was more in her range. That gave her time to run the hurdles prelim and relay. And hit the awards stand.

She won't be running the same schedule at districts. Bahn is going to swap the 800 and run the 300 hurdles. After all, she is the defending champ in that event.

Motivated by loss

The gold medals were bright against the white uniform worn by Red Lion senior LaDainian Strausbaugh. It was a different look from his teammates, and different from past championships.

"I like the white," he said. "But no one else wore it today."

The medals he earned Wednesday were brought about by the ones he didn't win last year. He couldn't crack the senior-heavy sprint finals in the league championship despite having the fastest prelim times. Strausbaugh finished sixth in the District 3 100 and second in the 200 before what he called "losing pretty hard" at states.

He didn't make it to the final in either sprint, and that provided the motivation he needed for this season.

"I expected to close it this way," Strausbaugh said of his final league meet. "Respect to my opponents, but I think I was due this."

Although he was hoping to run a bit faster in the 200, he said he's confident going into next week's district meet.

"It's hard to believe this is over. It hasn't hit me yet," he said."

Flying higher and higher

Lily Carlson said the it's an "indescribable feeling" when she sees the bar as she pole vaults over it. She saw it from a personal-best height on Wednesday night.

She wove competing in the 100 meters and a second-place finish in the 100 hurdles around her record-breaking pole vault. The Bermudian Springs junior is the defending PIAA Class 2A pole vault champ, but believes competing in other events helps her vaulting.

"I ran a personal best 15.31 in the hurdles and broke the school record," Carlson said. "It has crossed my mind to just stick with pole vault, but hurdles gives me a mental reboot."

Like high jump, competitors can opt out of the lower heights to conserve their strength. Carlson figured she would have to break away from pole vault around 13 feet to run the hurdle finals and she wasn't wrong.

After running hurdles and getting her medal, she returned attempt a personal best 13-3 in pole vault. She blew through her first attempt and came back with a stiffer pole for her second attempt. She nearly made that attempt, but was well clear on the third attempt.

"I have been training year round, going to VaultWorX and lifting," Carlson said. "That has all really helped. Especially the lifting. I'm more confident and I've improved a lot since last year."

2024 medalists

Girls' 4x800-meter relay

1. York Suburban (Deal, Butera, Hill, Pineda), 9:54.04; 2. Dallastown (Emenheiser, Good, Good, Shearer), 10:04.49; 3. Dover (Krug, McKinney, Gibson, Young), 10:08.30; 4. Central York (Green, Haupt, Main, Myers), 10:14,62; 5. York County Tech (Flores, Johnson, Waight-Alvarado, Driscoll), 10:16.05; 6. Susquehannock (Jordan, Hombach, Wirtz, Lund), 10:36.28; 7. Delone Catholic (Bealmear, Brown, King, Kennedy), 10:38.69; 8. Northeastern (Blaker, Weaver, Bush, Treglia), 10:40.07.

Boys' 4x800-meter relay

1. York County Tech (Bradley, Marine, Mathena, Driscoll), 8:20.83; 2. York Suburban (Tedesco, McClimans, Daugherty, Oestereich), 8:24.00; 3. Central York (Chunduru, Fives, Meegan, Marcini), 8:30.20; 4. South Western (Allen, Graham, Peltzer, Dull), 8:31.44; 5. Dallastown (Mathison, Bryson, Berg, Guerini), 8:33.58; 6. Susquehannock (Hetzer, Rosul, Hanley, Elliot), 8:43.77; 7. Kennard-Dale (Georgieff, Minor, Miller, Mathena), 8:44.88; 8. Northeastern (Galloway, Reitzel, Richard, Ridler), 8:52.98.

Girls' javelin

1. Haylee Smith, Biglerville, 113-5; 2. Megan Thompson, South Western, 110-2; 3. Taryn Gobrecht, South Western, 105-11; 4. Kassidy Hinson, Spring Grove, 105-2; 5. Laura Knobloch, Delone Catholic, 102-3; 6. Kaitlyn Schwarz, Delone Catholic, 101-3; 7. Hannah Myers, Fairfield, 100-6; 8. Campbell Chronister, Delone Catholic, 100-0.

Boys' javelin

1. Chris Drake, Dover, 159-6; 2. Cowan Ruhland, Spring Grove, 156-5; 3. Brenden Kauffman, Red Lion, 149-2; 4. Wyatt Carbaugh, South Western, 147-10; 5. Austin Rollman, South Western, 145-3; 6. Connor Bauerline, Delone Catholic, 142-10; 7. Dameon Gray, West York, 140-10; 8. Dylan Brougher, New Oxford, 139-11.

Girls' 100-meter dash

1. Laila Campbell, Spring Grove, 12.11; 2. Tristen Thomas, Dover, 12.66; 3. Azyah Kirkland, York High, 12.76; 4. Ennesty Smith, York High, 12.80; 5. Olivia Cleaver, Dallastown, 12.89; 6. Ajaya Jordan, Central York, 12.90; 7. Jontai Bailey, York High, 13.14; 8. Aubriegh Rogers, Dallastown, 13.22.

Boys' 100-meter dash

1. LaDainian Strausbaugh, Red Lion, 10.84; 2. Tyler Leitzel, Dover, 11.13; 3. J'marion Smith, Spring Grove, 11.19; 4. Michael Scott, Dallastown, 11.25; 5. David Ayeni, York County Tech, 11.33; 6. Andre Berry-Opher, Central York, 11.44; 7. Nicholas Torregrossa, Susquehannock, 11.47; 8. Sherrod Anderson, West York, 11.53.

Girls' 200 meters

1. Laila Campbell, Spring Grove, 24.48; 2. Ennesty Smith, York High, 25.96; 3. Halana Brubaker, Eastern York, 26.29; 4. Azyah Kirkland, York High, 26.43; 5. Ajaya Jordan, Central York, 26.56; 6. Tristen Thomas, Dover, 26.79; 7. Kayden Parris, York County Tech, 26.82; 8. Faith Walker, West York, 27.21.

Boys' 200 meters

1. LaDainian Strausbaugh, Red Lion, 21.96; 2. Gabe Annan, Dallastown, 22.57; 3. Andrew Gerber, Central York, 22.87; 4. J'marion Smith, Spring Grove, 22.87; 5. Bredon Smith, Spring Grove, 22.90; 6. Andre Berry-Opher, Central York, 22.92; 7. Tyler Leitzel, Dover, 23.20; 8. Zyan Herr, Littlestown, 25.18.

Girls' long jump

1. Ava Metzler, Northeastern, 17-4.25; 2. Macayla Calder, Northeastern, 16-9.25; 3. Alison Watts, Bermudian Springs, 16-8.50; 4. Amelia Myers, West York, 15-11; 5. Anya Jordan, Central York, 15-3.25; 6. Kiersten Holloway, Susquehannock, 15-2.75; 7. Carley Himes, Bermudian Springs, 15-2.75; 8. Ava Cataldi, Dover, 15-2.50.

Boys' long jump

1. Michael Scott, Dallastown, 22-6; 2. Garreth Calder, Northeastern, 21-10.75; 3. Ghage Schmelyun, South Western, 21-7.50; 4. Ethan Carlos, Central York, 20-2; 5. Elijah Quarles, York County Tech, 19-11.25; 6. Sherrod Anderson, West York, 19-11.25; 7. Clayton Nieves, New Oxford, 19-7.50; 8. Eli Steel, York County Tech, 19-7.25.

Girls' high jump

1. Ella Bahn, Spring Grove, 5-7; 2 (tie). Carley Himes, Bermudian Springs and Emma Chataginer, Central York, 5-0; 4. Nylah Davis, Northeastern, 4-10; 5 (tie). Maryn Spitzlay, Dallastown and Emily Soullaird, South Western, 4-10; 7. (tie) Sarah Williams, Red Lion and Lillian Crabbs, New Oxford, 4-10.

Boys' high jump

1. Brayden Billman, New Oxford, 6-2; 2. Markus Edwards, Red Lion, 6-1; 3. Ghage Schmelyun, South Western, 6-0; 4. NYrobi Johnson, Central York, 6-0; 5. David Smith, Kennard-Dale, 5-10; 6. Kendall Payne, Central York, 5-10; 7. (tie) Bearsun Zullinger, Biglerville; Kayleb Allen, Spring Grove; Holden Crabbs, New Oxford; Chance Keithan, Red Lion and Jackson Hersh, South Western, 5-8

Girls' triple jump

1. Alison Watts, Bermudian Springs, 36-8.75; 2. Amelia Myers, West York, 36-3; 3. Ava Metzler, Northeastern, 34-0.50; 4. Aniyah Jones, York County Tech, 33-6.50; 5. Tori Bross, Bermudian Springs, 32-6.50; 6. Aaliyah Hall, York County Tech, 32-6; 7. Marley Rudolph, Delone Catholic, 32-5.50; 8. Bella Ellard, Central York, 31-11.50.

Boys' triple jump

1. Brayden Billman, New Oxford, 43-8; 2. Eli Steel, York County Tech, 41-8.25; 3. Will Ifill, Dover, 41-.75; 4. Ethan Carlos, Central York, 40-8.25; 5. Aldo Cruz-Alfaro, Dallastown, 4-5; 6. Carson Widener, New Oxford, 40-2.5; 7. Zander Spillan, Littlestown, 40-0; 8. Elijah Quarles, York County Tech, 39-11.25.

Girls' 100-meter hurdles

1. Ella Bahn, Spring Grove, 14.47; 2. Lilyana Carlson, Bermudian Springs, 15.19; 3. Esther Fernandes, South Western, 15.74; 4. Aliza Staub, Bermudian Springs, 16.71; 5. Aniyah Jones, York County Tech, 16.93; 6. Julia Smith, South Western, 16.99; 7. Genna Reiner, Dallastown, 17.06; 8. Emma Bunty, Delone Catholic, 17.25.

Boys' 110-meter hurdles

1. Jackson Hersh, South Western, 15.24; 2. Brody Eller, Kennard-Dale, 15.38; 3. Robert Salazar Rosell, York High, 15.38; 4. Brooklyn Gore, Dallastown, 15.54; 5. Jaleel Clement, South Western, 15.86; 6. Adam Herbst, Spring Grove, 15.93; 7. Holden Crabbs, New Oxford, 19.67.

Girls' 300-meter hurdles

1. Eva Mvula, Dover, 49.16; 2. Audrey Chesko, Fairfield, 49.79; 3. Emma Bunty, Delone Catholic, 49.81; 4. Aniyah Jones, York County Tech, 50.41; 5. Esther Fernandes, South Western, 50.55; 6. Julia Smith, South Western, 50.61; 7. Amiya Hogue, York High, 50.91; 8. Ciara Bradshaw, Red Lion, 51.37.

Boys' 300-meter hurdles

1. Robert Salazar Rosell, York High, 40.21; 2. Brody Eller, Kennard-Dale, 40.93; 3. Colton Kehr, Bermudian Springs, 41.49; 4. David Smith, Kennard-Dale, 42.15; 5. Quincy Quaye, York Suburban, 42.34; 6. Adam Herbst, Spring Grove, 42.36; 7. Brooklyn Gore, Dallastown, 42.50; 8. Markus Edwards, Red Lion, 42.62.

Girls' 1,600 meters

1. Neila Granger, Dallastown, 5:10.73; 2. Kaydence Strange, Eastern York, 5:18.33; 3. Abby Butera, York Suburban, 5:20.47; 4. Morgan Good, Dallastown, 5:22.02; 5. Sophia Treglia, Northeastern, 5:25.40; 6. Cali Cook, South Western, 5:32.91; 7. Natalie Young, Dover, 5:33.32; 8. Sarah Deal, York Suburban, 5:40.53.

Boys' 1,600 meters

1. Daniel Naylor, Red Lion, 4:20.88; 2. Caleb Hogan, Dover, 4:29.67; 3. Maxwell Marcini, Central York, 4:31.94; 4. Nathan Tedesco, York Suburban, 4:39.72; 5. Cian Wisniewski, Red Lion, 4:39.72; 6. Jack Driscoll, York County Tech, 4:39.86; 7. Griffen Ridler, Northeastern, 4:39.89; 8. Jacob Roskovensky, Dallastown, 4:42.91.

Girls' shot put

1. Melanie Thoman, Dover, 34-3; 2. DaSani Flowers, Dallastown, 33-10; 3. Makalya Palmer, Dallastown, 33-5; 4. Zada Marine, York High, 33-0.5; 5. Nicole Kline, Red Lion, 32-10; 6. My'Angel Salisbury, West York, 32-8; 7. Jaedyn Brown, York County Tech, 32-7; 8. Nysya Holland, York County Tech, 32-1.

Boys' shot put

1. Pearce Allyene, York County Tech, 49-4.50; 2. Aaron Weigle, Bermudian Springs, 48-6.50; 3. Matthew Muniz, Dallastown, 44-6; 4. Cameron Stambaugh, Dallastown, 44-1.75; 5. Emery McCombs, Eastern York, 42-3.25; 6. Austin Snyder, Fairfield, 42-2.75; 7. Joseph Bryant, Red Lion, 41-7.50; 8. Brayden Pacheco, Hanover, 41-7.

Girls' 4x100 relay

1. York High (Bailey, Smith, Rodriguez, Kirkland), 48.42; 2. Central York (Jordan, Soisson, Smyser, Jordan), 49.03; 3. Spring Grove (Campbell, Bahn, Myers, Potts), 49.07; 4. South Western (Ballou, Collins, Fernandes, Shulski), 50.33); 5. Dallastown (Flowers, Cleaver, Rogers, Dowell), 50.56; 6. York County Tech (Newman-Scott, Parris, Jones, Hall), 50.81; 7. Susquehannock (Fowler, Murdock, Vickers, Fisher), 51.15; 8. West York (Fowler, Murdock, Vickers, Fisher), 51.15.

Boys' 4x100 relay

1. Dallastown (Annan, Scott, Rodriguez, Cromartie), 42.75; 2. Spring Grove (Smith, Allen, Herbst, Smith), 43.38; 3. Dover (Miller, Ford, Leitzel, Dickens), 43.45; 4. New Oxford (Vargas, Nieves, Arigo, Holmes), 44.10; 5. Central York (Berry-Opher, Gerber, Jarrett, Suchanic), 44.15; 6. South Western (Baker, Kasper, Putman, Freeland), 44.29; 7. York County Tech (McGill, Griffiths, Scarborough, Ayeni), 44.33; 8. West York (Madden, Romba, Strine, Gray), 44.74.

Girls' 400 meters

1. Halana Brubaker, Eastern York, 59.31; 2. Emma Smyser, Central York, 1:00.02; 3. Scarlett Arnold, South Western, 1:00.36; 4. Tasiyah Johnson, York County Tech, 1:00.56; 5. Olivia Craig, Dallastown, 1:01.17; 6. Minh Nguyen, West York, 1:01.43; 7. Dallas Fowler, Susquehannock, 1:02.19; 8. Jade Gibson, Dover, 1:02.49.

Boys' 400 meters

1. Brennan Holmes, New Oxford, 48.90; 2. Elijah Holly, South Western, 51.74; 3. Michael Fox, Susquehannock, 51.95; 4. Zyan Herr, Littlestown, 51.92; 5. Bryce Harner, Bermudian Springs, 52.16; 6. John Gorkoyah, Northeastern, 52.17; 7. Liam Carney, Dallastown, 52.29; 8. Lin-Val Griffiths, York County Tech, 52.53.

Girls' pole vault

1. Lilyana Carlson, Bermudian Springs, 13-3; 2. Alita Paragon, West York, 11-3; 3. Emma Smyser, Central York, 10-6; 4. Alison Watts, Bermudian Springs, 10-0; 5. Dominque Baker, Dallastown, 10-0; 6. Madilyn Wherley, New Oxford, 9-0; 7. Meredith Doores, York County Tech, 9-0; 8. Annalise Renner, Kennard-Dale, 9-0.

Boys' pole vault

1. Jonah Arnold, Central York, 13-10; 2. Brennan Pringle, Central York, 13-0; 3. Colwyn Carrolus, Bermudian Springs, 12-6; 4. Tie, Colton Baldwin, York County Tech and Luke Aiello, New Oxford, 12-0; 6. Tie, Alex Guillaume, Eastern York and Ian Polizzotto, Dover, 11-0; 8. Tie, Connor Perry, Northeastern, and Jarod Bradford, West York, 10-6.

Girls' discus

1. Makayla Palmer, Dallastown, 122-3; 2. Elaine Cook, Bermudian Springs, 112-1; 3. My'Angel Salisbury, West York, 108-9; 4. Maddie Marks, Susquehannock, 104-11; 5. Kassidy Hinson, Spring Grove, 101-0; 6. Emily Keckler, Bermudian Springs, 100-11; 7. Jaedyn Brown, York County Tech, 100-2; 8. Davina Crump, South Western, 98-1.

Boys' discus

1. Aaron Weigle, Bermudian Springs, 159-9; 2. Pearce Allyene, York County Tech, 155-2; 3. Cameron Stambaugh, Dallastown, 141-5; 4. Joseph Bryant, Red Lion, 130-10; 5. David Clippinger, Red Lion, 129-2; 6. Wyatt Stonesifer, Littlestown, 126-2; 7. Matthew Muniz, Dallastown, 124-4; 8. Gavin Geelhaar, Spring Grove, 123-10.

Girls' 800 meters

1. Ella Bahn, Spring Grove, 2:14.33; 2. Natalie Good, Dallastown, 2:19.97; 3. Elana Pineda, York Suburban, 2:22.77; 4. Neila Granger, Dallastown, 2:25.08; 5. Rhea Flores, York County Tech, 2:25.27; 6. Minh Nguyen, West York, 2:27.05; 7. Addison Emenheiser, Dallastown, 2:27.18; 8. Camryn Thoman, New Oxford, 2:28.52.

Boys' 800 meters

1. Daniel Naylor, Red Lion, 2:00.78; 2. Jackson Elliot, Susquehannock, 2:03.66; 3. Andrew Hetzer, Susquehannock, 2:03.87; 4. Maxwell Marcini, Central York, 2:03.96; 5. Cole Stuart, Bermudian Springs, 2:04.02; 6. Mitchell Bradley, York County Tech, 2:04.27; 7. Dylan Mathena, Kennard-Dale, 2:04.45; 8. Charles Meegan, Central York, 2:06.06.

Girls' 3,200 meters

1. Kaydence Strange, Eastern York, 11:36.43; 2. Abby Butera, York Suburban, 11:48.94; 3. Trista Webster, Red Lion, 12:05.35; 4. Olivia Brenneman, Dallastown, 12:15.84; 5. Keira Reider, Dover, 12:16.82; 6. Natalie Young, Dover, 12:17.93; 7. Annette Flinchbaugh, Eastern York, 12:18.32; 8. Ava Bailor, Red Lion, 12:21.03.

Boys' 3,200 meters

1. Peyton Small, Littlestown, 9:46.41; 2. Parker Keiser, Red Lion, 9:48.03; 3. Austin Strickler, Central York, 9:55.32: 4. Neil Oestereich, York Suburban, 9:59.28; 5. Caleb Hogan, Dover, 10:07.22; 6. Aiden Granger, Dallastown, 10:13.85; 7. Nathaniel Kenien, York Suburban, 10:15.96; 8. Steven Miller, West York, 10:17.05.

Girls' 4x400-meter relay

1. Dallastown (Good, Craig, Emenheiser, Granger), 4:05.99; 2. South Western (Collins, Cook, Glover, Arnold), 4:07.09; 3. York High (Bailey, Kirkland, Kleinfeld, Smith), 4:08.36; 4. Central York (Murray, Hunter, Jordan, Smyser), 4:11.79; 5. Eastern York (Bailey, Bentley, Brennenborg, Brubaker), 4:13.55; 6. West York (Agravante, Walker, Miller, Nguyen), 4:13.88; 7. York County Tech (Flores, Parris, Waight-Alvarado, Johnson), 4:16.65; 8. York Suburban (Pineda, Stevenson, Deal, Butera), 4:19.13.

Boys' 4x400-meter relay

1. Dallastown (Scott, Carney, Rodriguez, Annan), 3:26.19; 2. Susquehannock (Fox, Hetzer, Elliot, Torregrossa), 3:29.80; 3. Bermudian Springs (Kehr, Harner, Stuart, Carrolus), 3:31.27; 4. Central York (Bahr, Dodson, Bare, Gerber), 3:32.37; 5. York County Tech (Griffiths, Marine, Gaidos, Mathena), 3:33.03; 6. South Western (Putman, Graham, Dull, Holly), 3:33.74; 7. New Oxford (Klunk, Sharrer, Holmes, Holmes), 3:34.04; 8. West York (Madden, Strine, Romba, Anderson), 3:34.27.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: YAIAA track and field: Live results as league champions are crowned