For those who thought this would be a down season for the Hempfield throwers, those people forgot to tell throwing coach Dave Murray and his athletes.
Hempfield is doing just fine, and some of its throwers are putting up personal records.
Junior Maddie Tulley is the latest girl to shine. She won the girls shot put at the 51st Baldwin Invitational on Friday.
Her throw of 37 feet, 21⁄2 inches edged top seed Taylor Neese of North Allegheny by an inch (37-11⁄2).
She entered the finals in third place behind teammate, senior Katie Dolinski (36-31⁄2) and Baldwin’s Jahzara Green (34-111⁄4).
Tulley nailed her PR on the first throw of the finals and then watched the competition. Neese nailed her best throw on her sixth attempt.
“I was stressful,” Tulley said. “When I hit the big throw, I jumped up and down and then ran to my mom.”
Tulley is the third Hempfield thrower to throw the shot put more than 37 feet this season.
Dolinski ended up third, and junior Jiana Patterson was fifth with a throw of 34-21⁄4. Patterson threw her best throw of 37-5 in winning at the South Fayette Invitational on April 29.
Tulley said Baldwin was the biggest win of her career. She won the shot put at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association Championship.
“We have a lot of competition among us,” Tulley said. “We are always pushing each. This was a big confidence builder.”
She followed that win by placing second in the discus. North Allegheny’s Audrey Maxwell won with a throw of 126-3, and Tulley threw 122-1. Dolinski finished fifth.
“It was good to get back over 120 again,” Tulley said. “I’ve been in a little slump. This performance will help. When I throw my best, I could feel it.”
Tulley is the cousin of Liz Tapper, who is setting all sorts of records at Michigan. Her goal is to surpass 37-6 and qualify for states.
So how was she going to celebrate her great performance Friday night? By getting ready for Hempfield’s prom on Saturday.
“Maddie asked me if I thought she did good,” Murray said. “She had a great day. She was excited.”
Murray said any of his girls are capable of winning. He said he has seen them in practice or warm-ups throw well.
“I watched Jiana warm up and thought she might win,” Murray said. “They can all win at WPIALs. It’s a matter of who has the better day. The competition at practice can be intense.”
Freshman Sophia Stoner threw 111 in the discus at the Norwin 9-10 meet Thursday, and sophomore Mia Bailey let loose a throw of 107-10.
“I’m not surprised how much they have improved,” Murray said. “I also have some good boys that are improving.”
Sophomore Xavier Smith has shined in the discus and javelin. He transferred from Palmyra.
Others include senior Colin Tapper and sophomore Jake Wiederstein who have shown improvement in the shot put. Junior Jesse Crosby is another good shot putter.
“Xavier is like a wild horse,” Murray said. “We have to calm him down.”
Thunderstorms late in the day forced a two-hour delay.
Sophomore Mayla Brunazzi was second, and senior Allison DeMatt was third in the high jump. DeMatt placed fourth in the triple jump. Angelina Overfield took fifth in the 100 hurdles.
Hempfield boys’ 3,200-meter relay placed second.
Junior Matthew Rohosky placed sixth in the 110 hurdles. Sophomore Jacob Halsted was sixth, and junior Ryan Ewing was eighth in the 1,600.
Good Knights
Despite the delay, the Norwin girls put on a show.
A trio of sophomores shined in the 1,600. Anna Dansak took first, Addison Farrah was second and Jillian Ryba was sixth.
Senior Anna Rakvic placed fourth in the 3,200.
Junior Alexandra Oestreich was sixth in the triple jump. Senior Alexis Heller was second in the javelin.
Freshman Benjamin McBride won the 1,600 in a time of 4 minutes, 28.68 seconds. Freshman Alexander Barrett was fourth.
Sophomore Alexander Irwin placed second in the pole vault.
The extra mile
Penn-Trafford senior Jake McGhee won the mile run, finishing with a time of 4:15.71. Norwin’s Luke Simpson took third in 4:18.85.