Mackenzie Magness took home four loaves of Jenny Lee Swirl cinnamon bread from Thursday’s WPIAL Class 2A track and field championships at Slippery Rock University.
The McKees Rocks-based bakery sponsored the meet and gave a loaf to each medalist, and Magness again found herself on the medals podium multiple times.
The Yellowjackets junior led the way with her third WPIAL title in the girls pole vault. She went after the WPIAL record – 12 feet, 7 inches – but had to settle for 12-0 in winning gold.
Magness now will go for her second PIAA title in as many years next weekend at Shippensburg University.
“It was a little chilly, but that’s not really an excuse,” said Magness, who vaulted in temperatures that struggled to get out of the 40s.
“But I still did what I needed to do to get the win. I’ve been consistently over 12, so I am happy with that. I was running low on energy with running back and forth between the long jump and the 4×1 (relay). We did go to 12-8, and I was happy with my attempts there.”
Magness also joined Paige Cene, Maggie Conger and Madison Sleppy on the runner-up 400 relay team. The Yellowjackets quartet rose up from the sixth seed and also improved on its seed time to 50.25 seconds. Shenango won the title with a 49.57.
Magness picked up her third medal in the long jump with a fifth-place finish in a time of 17-1.5.
The Freeport 1,600 relay of Magness, Sleppy, Cene and Pavana Bhat closed out the meet with a fifth-place finish and a trip to states in a time of 4:11.24.
“I was just so happy when we finished fifth in the 4×400,” Magness said. “We made it to states again. I started crying. It was so emotional. I think it was a relief after being stressed about this meet for a long time. It is so great that we’re going in two relays and being able to help get those girls out there.”
Those who finished fourth or better in each Class 3A event and fifth or better in Class 2A automatically qualified for states. Also, those in the top eight who met the state qualifying standard also punched tickets to the PIAA meet.
Burrell sophomore Lily Liotta made big strides in her return to WPIALs. Eleventh last year in the triple jump, Liotta improved by 3 feet and nine places to second overall.
While not a school record – she achieved that (37-5) at the WPIAL team finals – her distance of 36-0.25 Thursday has her heading to states.
Liotta also placed eighth in the long jump (16-8.50).
Her Bucs teammate, junior Riley Quinn, earned an automatic berth to states with a fifth in the discus (113-3).
Freeport sophomore Cecelia Schlegel finished sixth in the finals of the girls 100 hurdles, but her time of 15.96 was better than the state qualifying standard.
In Class 3A, Kiski Area sophomore Alaysia Bell came in as the top seed in the girls triple jump.
She improved her seed by 1 1/2 inches, but North Allegheny’s Avery Ruffus, with a top leap of 38-6, edged her for the title.
Bell took second with a distance of 37-10.75.
Last year, in her WPIAL debut, she took 12th.
“This was cool because last year, as a freshman, I scratched two times and got just 34-11 for my other jump,” Bell said.
“It was crazy because I PR’s and got second. I was hoping for first, but I qualified for states, and I am really excited.”
Bell finished her day with a fifth in the long jump (17-3.5), 3 inches away from fourth and an automatic berth to states.
Fox Chapel senior Claire Conti set a program record by becoming the first girls thrower to qualify for states all four years of her varsity career. She hoped to repeat as WPIAL champion in the Class 3A girls discus, but she ended up in third with a best throw of 119-4.
North Allegheny’s Audrey Maxwell claimed gold with winning distance of 129-10
“I felt like I threw pretty good considering the cold conditions,” Conti said. “I had issues with feeling my extremities. I had a tough first throw, and I had flashbacks to fouling the first two throws last year. But I was able to come back with a throw I needed to get to states. I am so happy to make Fox Chapel history.”
The Fox Chapel girls 3,200 relay of Claire Loiudice, Ella Shevchuk, Sydney Kimmons and Bridget Hemingray ran to the Alle-Kiski Valley’s first medal of the day with a second-place finish in a time of 9:32.67. The quartet earned the automatic bid to states after coming in as the second seed.