Owen Proskin flashed a smile while holding a loaf of cinnamon bread and glancing down at the gold medal around his neck as he stepped off the 110-meter hurdles medals podium Thursday at the WPIAL Class 3A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University.
Fourth last year in the event, Proskin bested the field this time around. He crossed the finish line with a winning time of 14.30 seconds.
“This feels really good,” said Proskin, who took home three gold medals overall from his final WPIAL meet and celebrated a banner day for the Plum boys.
“Last year, I knew I would be in a position to win (the 110 hurdles), but coming back, if I could put it all together, it would come together for the title. It’s kind of been four years in the making. I’ve loved hurdles since I was a little kid. To be able to win a WPIAL championship is just unbelievable. I was pretty happy with my time considering the conditions. I am looking forward to being at the top of my game next week at states.”
The Alle-Kiski Valley was well represented at the top of the 110 hurdles as Kiski Area’s Braden Miller took third in a time of 14.63. Miller had a standout hurdles day overall. After his 110 finals race, he came back and took silver in the 300 hurdles with a personal-best 39.60.
Those who finished fourth or better in each Class 3A boys event and the top five finishers in Class 2A automatically qualified for the PIAA championship meet next Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University.
Also, those in the top eight who met the state qualifying standard for their event also earned spots in states.
Proskin carried the momentum from the 110 hurdles win into the long jump. Seeded third, he rose to the title with a best leap of 21 feet, 10 1/2 inches. Around that same time, Proskin finished second in the high jump with a height of 6-7.
“That (hurdles) win created the confidence that I could roll with the rest of my day,” Proskin said. “I kind of had to jump back and forth between the long jump and high jump, but it was nice to put it all together in the long jump.”
Plum senior Sloan Humphries joined in on the championship fun. Fourth at WPIALs last year in the triple jump, Humphries came from the fourth seed Thursday and took the title with a winning leap of 46-2 1/2.
“I had been saying all season that this was the goal,” said Humphries, who took 10th in the triple at states last year. “To go out and really do it, it feels great. I have to give props to coach (Matt) Prosklin and coach (Ana) Benitez for getting me into track. I am still hungry.”
Proskin, Kent Holmes, Niko Burrell and Eli Matolcsy capped the memorable day for the Plum boys with their win in the 1,600 relay (3:19.67). Holmes brought it home as the anchor.
“My teammates put me in a good position,” Holmes said. “I love hunting people down. The last 100, I felt super good and super fast. It was just a fantastic race from start to finish.”
Silver came to the Plum boys as the 400 relay of Holmes, Elijah Jackson, CJ Hart and Tyler Baleno took second in a time of 42.70. Holmes added a bronze in the 400 dash (48.85).
Kiski Area sophomore Nick Anderson, seeded fifth in the boys Class 3A shot put, bumped up one spot to fourth (49-8) and an automatic trip to states. He edged Plum’s Terrance Montue for the fourth spot by 3 inches.
Class 2A
Deer Lakes senior William Bagley had his sights set on WPIAL gold in the 300-meter hurdles after placing fourth last year.
Mission accomplished.
Bagley broke 40 seconds in his race Thursday, bettering his school-record time to 39.88 seconds. He will attempt to go even faster in his return to states next week.
“I had no idea I could (go under 40 seconds),” Bagley said. “My goal was just to finish first. I am so happy I got 39. I was unusually calm for some reason. Usually, I am super antsy.
“I am a lot more confident. I can work on my endurance and form for states, and I am so excited for what I can do next.”
Apollo-Ridge senior Jaden McCray wasn’t able to repeat as champion in the boys Class 2A javelin, but his third-place finish (168-9) gives him one more shot at states.
Two from the Alle-Kiski Valley qualified for states in the boys Class 2A discus. Riverview’s Jack Reynolds, a senior, powered his way to third with a best throw of 144-5, and Leechburg’s Nick Hilty, a junior, took fifth (138-6) in his WPIAL debut.
The Riverview boys 1,600 relay quartet of Carter Baldwin, Prince Govan, Trenton Johnson and Braden Longstreth secured their spot at states with an automatic berth. They ran to fourth overall in 3:30.64.
Their Raiders teammate, junior Ashton Saunders, will head to states in the 800 run with a fifth-place finish in a time of 1:59.96.