Kiski Area’s Alaysia Bell said her favorite class is English, adding the thing she enjoys most about it is writing essays.
Bell wrote the ending of her sophomore season Friday, and she was all smiles when talking about it afterwards.
Bell used a giant final leap to finish as the runner-up in the Class 3A triple jump at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
Jumping in cold and rainy conditions, Bell sat in ninth place after the fifth of six jumps, her best mark being 37 feet, 1 ½ inches. But Bell saved her best for last, soaring 38-7 in her final attempt.
“It’s big because, second place, that’s crazy,” Bell said. “The weather was bad, and my board was bad. I was about to give up until I just went for it. I prayed to God, and I made it.”
Bell’s final jump not only was a personal record, but it also was a school record. She already held the school mark in the long jump.
Altoona’s Hannah Owulade won the event, her top leap of 38-9 coming on her third attempt.
Bell placing so highly was a surprise considering she entered the meet as the No. 12 seed. A week earlier, Bell also was the runner-up at the WPIAL championships after jumping 37-10 ¾.
Last season, Bell finished 12th at the WPIAL championships and did not qualify for the PIAA meet.
“It was really cool because last year I was nowhere,” she said. “I just came out of nowhere and did what I did.”
Bell said closing the season strong was important to her, and she certainly did that by PR’ing at her final three meets. She took first at the Baldwin Invitational with a leap of 37-8 ¼ before upping those marks at the WPIAL and PIAA championships.
“Once my other competition was around me and I heard their jumps, I was like, ‘Shoot, am I going to make it?,’ ” Bell recalled. “But then I believed in myself. I did not want to leave without a medal.”
Bell’s next competition won’t be in track, but rather in volleyball, as she said she will be competing in a tournament this weekend. Bell also plays basketball at Kiski Area.
Hurdle qualifiers
Two area boys advanced to Saturday’s finals in the hurdles.
Kiski Area junior Braden Miller grabbed the final spot in the Class 3A 110-meter hurdle field after placing eighth in preliminaries with a time of 14.64 seconds.
Miller finished third behind Plum’s Owen Proskin and Franklin Regional’s Sean Cartwright at the WPIAL championships. Cartwright qualified for Saturday’s PIAA final as the No. 7 seed, while Proskin did not advance after finishing 11th.
Deer Lakes senior William Bagley was the only WPIAL athlete to qualify for the Class 2A 100-meter hurdles final. Bagley (39.55) ran the eighth-fastest time in preliminaries. Bagley produced a time of 39.88 to win the WPIAL title.
Freeport relay advances
The Freeport girls had the 21st-fastest time among Class 2A qualifiers in the 1,600-meter relay, but the Yellowjackets put up an outstanding time Friday to earn a spot in Saturday’s final.
The team of Pavana Bhat, Madison Sleppy, Mackenzie Magness and Paige Cene was one of eight teams to qualify for the final after placing seventh in preliminaries with a time of 4:05.99.
It was a huge improvement from WPIALs to PIAAs for the group, which finished fifth at the district meet with a time of 4:11.24.
Also Saturday, Magness will take aim at a second consecutive pole vault title. She’s the No. 2 seed behind Grove City’s Aleah Morgante.
Magness placed 19th in Friday’s long jump final.