Northampton’s Zachery Liggitt and Parkland’s Julian Colon aren’t familiar with each other, but the stories they shared Friday are quite similar.
First, both are seniors at their respective high schools. Second, both gave up baseball after their sophomore year to join up with the track and field team. And third, both left the Allen Track and Field Invitational at J. Birney Crum Stadium with gold medals.
Liggitt actually won two events, the boys discus and shot put. He was one of five athletes, boys and girls included, to secure multiple gold medals at this year’s meet.
A football and baseball player, Liggitt opted to try track and field in the spring of his junior year. He acclimated to the throwing events almost immediately and finished sixth in the discus at last year’s District 11 3A championships, and ninth in the shot put.
Friday was the best day of his career, as he set personal records in the discus (49-feet, 71/2-inches) and the shot put (151-6).
“I didn’t think I’d PR [throw his personal best] because of the windy conditions,” Liggitt said. “But I’m pretty happy. It was a pretty good day. I like this meet because it’s kind of a preview for districts, even though not every school is here. You can kind of see what you’re going to be up against.”
He said the transition from sport-to-sport has been smooth, thanks to his coaches.
“I think I have the best coach in the district,” said Liggitt, a tight end on the football field. “[Throwing] coach [John] Blick really knows what he’s doing and [head] coach [Tim] Caffrey is great too. I owe a lot to them.”
Colon couldn’t get to the finish line first in two events, but he successfully edged out the field in the 100 meters.
The Trojans baseballer-turned-sprinter prevailed in 11.53 seconds, as six-hundredths of a second separated the top four spots. Colon came back to place third in the 200 in 23.48 seconds.
“I was hoping for under 11 [seconds],” he said of his goal for the 100. “I didn’t get it today but I’m very hopeful for the rest of the season. I still have some conditioning I need to do but I definitely know that I can hit the 10-second range.”
Colon’s first-place finish was one of four victories for the Parkland boys, who easily earned the team title with 110 points. Nicholas Bower won the 3,200 (9:58.55); Franco Perinotti took the pole vault (13-0); and the 4 x 800 team of Jacob Ringer, Mustapha Salau, Nate Reimer and Sam Morgan prevailed in 8:22.78.
Pottsville’s Collin Ebling, one of the state’s elite middle-distance runners, won the 400 (49.62) and 800 (1:55.98). David Krewson of Blue Mountain swept the 300 hurdles (41.75) and javelin (176-6).
Perhaps the day’s most exciting, and closely-contested, race was the girls 1,600.
Bethlehem Catholic’s Lauren Bunke bested Central Catholic’s Alyssa Deschler in a photo-finish, with Bunke clocking a 5:21.93 compared to Deschler’s 5:21.98. Bunke led for most of the race, but Deschler claimed a narrow advantage over the final 100 meters before the Golden Hawks junior fought back bravely.
“It was really awesome,” Bunke said. “The wind was strong on that last straightaway and I felt her right there so I was trying to do what I’ve practiced and finish as strong as I could. I’ve run here since I was a freshman, so to come back here and win today is pretty cool.”
Deschler’s twin sister, Emily, made certain no one would catch her in the 3,200.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 2A cross country champion eased to the finish line first in 11:25.22. Emily Deschler said her goal was clocking under 11:30.
“Especially with the cold weather and wind this spring, I feel pretty good with where I am right now,” she said. “I know I’m still going to improve a lot in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll be set for leagues and districts.”
Parkland claimed the girls team title with 92 points, thanks in part to a huge day from junior Shelby Staib.
Staib collected gold medals in the triple jump (36-1) and javelin (120-4), while earning a silver in the discus (96-6). Blue Mountain’s Kylie Kutz also won two events, the 100 (12.88) and 200 (26.29).
Michael Blouse is a freelance writer.
ALLEN TRACK AND FIELD INVITATIONAL
At J. Birney Crum Stadium
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Parkland (Par) 92, 2. Blue Mountain (BM) 82, 3. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 65, 4. Whitehall (Wh) 57, 5. Central Catholic (CC) 49, 6. Lehighton (Leh) 48, 7. Bangor (Ban) 46, 8. Northampton (Nor) 44, 9. Pocono Mountain West (PMW) 42, 10. Wilson (Wil) 35.
100: 1. Kylie Kutz (BM) 12.88, 2. Juanita Wiggins (PMW) 12.97, 3. Hali Perry (Par) 13.33, 4. Nia Mills (ESN) 13.45.
200: 1. Kylie Kutz (BM) 26.29, 2. Juanita Wiggins (PMW) 26.88, 3. Hali Perry (Par) 27.65, 4. Madison Kelly (PME) 27.90.
400: 1. Lindsay Solderitch (Wh) 1:02.09, 2. Hannah Flaven (Nor) 1:02.88, 3. Daija Harriston (Al) 1:03.05, 4. Ebony Kennedy (PMW) 1:03.28.
800: 1. Hope Brown (BC) 2:27.05, 2. Brianna Brennan (Palm) 2:27.46, 3. Alyssa Zack (NW) 2:29.69, 4. Juanita Flores (Wh) 2:31.79.
1600: 1. Lauren Bunke (BC) 5:21.93, 2. Alyssa Deschler (CC) 5:21.98, 3. Gaby Vega (Wil) 5:25.38, 4. Martina Sell (Ban) 5:29.51.
3200: 1. Emily Deschler (CC) 11:25.22, 2. Madison Zaun (Par) 11:33.74, 3. Martina Sell (Ban) 11:43.03, 4. Molly Tarvin (NW) 11:53.01.
100 hurdles: 1. Brittney Dunleavy (BM) 16.81, 2. Kiaya Jones (PMW) 17.04, 3. Almond Goodman (Wil) 17.83, 4. Caleigh O’Pake (Pot) 18.02.
300 hurdles: 1. Madelyn Mertz (Wh) 49.15, 2. Jacey Miller (BM) 49.16, 3. Selena Rivera (ESN) 49.95, 4. Brittney Dunleavy (BM) 50.30.
4 x 100 relay: 1. Whitehall (Monica Manu, Helen Davis, Kate Bonshak, Amanda Crooks) 51.20, 2. Blue Mountain 52.04, 3. Wilson 52.55, 4. Dieruff 53.00.
4 x 400 relay: 1. Whitehall (Lindsay Solderitch, Emily Wells, Kate Bonshak, Kassidy Cunningham) 4:17.12, 2. Blue Mountain 4:19.78, 3. Bethlehem Catholic 4:23.43, 4. Central Catholic 4:23.46.
4 x 800 relay: 1. Northwestern (Maddie Consuelos, Allie Costa, Molly Tarvin, Alyssa Zack) 9:53.25, 2. Central Catholic 10:06.08, 3. Parkland 10:18.09, 4. Northampton 10:25.52.
High jump: 1. Emily LaBar (Ban) 5-1, 2. Erica Holben (Sal) 5-1, 3. Grace Steurer (Par) 5-1, 4. Brooke Rockovits (Nor) 4-11.
Pole vault: 1. Alexis Barrall (Nor) 10-0, 2. Hannah Frankenfield (Ban) 10-0, 3. Sara Altonen (Wil) 9-6, 4. Emma Pfeiffer (BC) 9-0.
Long jump: 1. Kaia Slaw (Leh) 17-1, 2. Liz Lieb (BC) 16-9, 3. Juanita Wiggins (PMW) 16-7, 4. Anais Wilson (ESN) 16.4.
Triple jump: 1. Shelby Staib (Par) 36-1, 2. Kaia Slaw (Leh) 35-6, 3. Amelia O’Brien (Ban) 33-1, 4. Caroline Fogal (NW) 32-11.
Shot put: 1. Tierra Hudson (PMW) 34-23/4, 2. Kendra Rice (BM) 33-9, 3. Rhylee Sherwood (Leh) 32-21/2, 4. Kendra Yeboah (Par) 31-9.
Discus: 1. Isabelle Meckes (Leh) 107-7, 2. Shelby Staib (Par) 96-6, 3. Elsie Wanamaker (BM) 95-1, 4. Grace Baroun (CC) 91-9.
Javelin: 1. Shelby Staib (Par) 120-4, 2. Paige Terrette (Ban) 111-11, 3. Grace Lienhard (Leh) 108-0, 4. Elsie Wanamaker (BM) 106-10.
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Parkland (Par) 110, 2. Bangor (Ban) 77, 3. Northampton (Nor) 64, 4. Pottsville (Pot) 51.5, 5. Wilson (Wil) 51.5, 6. Blue Mountain (BM) 49, 7. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 45, 8. Pocono Mountain West (PMW) 44, 9. Lehighton (Leh) 35, 10. Palmerton (Palm) 35.
100: 1. Julian Colon (Par) 11.53, 2. Khalili Edwards (PMW) 11.56, 3. Tahmir Spencer (Leh) 11.57, 4. Joe Kurtz (BC) 11.59.
200: 1. Tahmir Spencer (Leh) 23.28, 2. Khalili Edwards (PMW) 23.35, 3. Julian Colon (Par) 23.48, 4. Joe Kurtz (BC) 23.59.
400: 1. Collin Ebling (Pot) 49.62, 2. Quadir Collier (Wil) 51.65, 3. Jared Jackson (Nor) 51.79, 4. Joseph Petit-Clair (Leh) 52.57.
800: 1. Collin Ebling (Pot) 1:55.98, 2. Sam Morgan (Par) 1:59.19, 3. Jacob Ringer (Par) 2:00.23, 4. Jake Martinez (Palm) 2:00.85.
1600: 1. Aaron Shoemaker (CC) 4:43.43, 2. Shane Houghton (Wil) 4:43.67, 3. Marino Bubba (Ban) 4:44.83, 4. Pagette Sympson (ESN) 4:46.13.
3200: 1. Nicholas Bower (Par) 9:58.55, 2. Morgan O’Brien (Ban) 10:06.06, 3. Marino Bubba (Ban) 10:14.32, 4. Nick Deschler (CC) 10:18.46.
110 hurdles: 1. Jordan Nelson (Palm) 15.05, 2. Esiah Rosario (BC) 15.63, 3. David Krewson (BM) 15.85, 4. Terrance Jones (Al) 15.89.
300 hurdles: 1. David Krewson (BM) 41.75, 2. Daishawn Bronson (Wil) 41.96, 3. Esiah Rosario (BC) 42.32, 4. Terrance Jones (Al) 42.47.
4 x 100 relay: 1. Pocono Mountain West (Kenson Thompson, Khalili Edwards, Kaleb Monaco, Maurice Whittle) 43.58, 2. Parkland 44.51, 3. Whitehall 44.52, 4. Souderton 44.84.
4 x 400 relay: 1. Pottsville 3:33.06, 2. Parkland 3:34.92, 3. Whitehall 3:36.47, 4. Allen 3:38.98.
4 x 800 relay: 1. Parkland (Jacob Ringer, Mustapha Salau, Nate Reimer, Sam Morgan) 8:22.78, 2. Bangor 8:34.05, 3. Allen 8:34.94, 4. Lehighton 8:41.10.
High jump: 1. Tony Jones (Ban) 6-7, 2. Bobby Kulp (BC) 6-5, 3. Benjamin Bunnick (BM) 6-1, 4. Kiaeem Comegys (Par) 6-1.
Pole vault: 1. Franco Perinotti (Par) 13-0, 2. Henry Pavis (BC) 13-0, 3. Derek Lasher (Ban) 11-6, 4. Jack Maurer (Sou) 11-6.
Long jump: 1. Jose’Santiago Rodriguez (Al) 22-2, 2. Jared Jackson (Nor) 20-9, 3. Tony Jones (Ban) 20-6, 4. Maurice Whittle (PMW) 20-1.
Triple jump: 1. Maurice Whittle (PMW) 42-8, 2. Michael Gombos (Par) 41-5, 3. Michael Eckhart (Palm) 41-0, 4. Cory Mabry (BM) 40-3.
Shot put: 1. Zachery Liggitt (Nor) 49-71/2, 2. Kyle Jia (Sou) 45-10, 3. Jared Sebesta (Nor) 42-10, 4. Dakota Martin (PME) 42-7.
Discus: 1. Zachery Liggitt (Nor) 151-6, 2. Cameron Pozar (Wil) 126-0, 3. Seth Diorio (Ban) 126-0, 4. Jeremy Sell (Par) 123-8.
Javelin: 1. David Krewson (BM) 176-6, 2. Eric Lyon (Ban) 172-11, 3. Chris Stoudt (Pot) 166-0, 4. Luke Hess (Wil) 164-9.
Michael Blouse is a freelance writer
