BROOKVILLE – Bradford has done it again. The Lady Owls felt
quite comfortable despite cloudy skies and cool temperatures,
bringing home their fifth straight title in the District 9 Class
AAA track and field championships with a team total of 126
points.

Punxsutawney came in second with 92 points, with DuBois (87)
third, Clearfield (48) fourth and St. Marys fifth (18).

The Lady Owls had a top-five finisher in every event, with wins
in five and second place and third place finishes in three.

“We had a great meet with many outstanding efforts,” commented
Larry Stillman, Bradford coach. “We scored in all 18 events, which
is very difficult to do. I think that shows what a total team
effort we had today.

“We came back from being down almost 20 points early in the meet
and were able to pull away to our fifth straight district victory.
We had to work hard for this one all year.”

The Lady Owls’ 1600 relay team, consisting of Paige Ambrose,
Lindsay Sherman, Tricia Copeland and Alexa Wilton, had the
highlight performance of the meet, as they set a new district and
school record of 4:05.52, eclipsing the previous district record of
4:05.82 set by DuBois in 2006. The finish was a nailbiter, as
DuBois came in a shade behind Bradford with a time of 4:05.70.

“The race of the day was the 4×400 relay, the last event,” noted
Stillman. “Our team of Paige Ambrose, Lindsay Sherman, Tricia
Copeland and Alexa Wilton came from 15 meters back to nip DuBois at
the line and set a new district and school record of 4:05.52. What
a great race!”

Wilton was also the recipient of the Jim Manners award. In
addition to her part in the 1600 relay, Wilton won the 100 hurdles
and 300 hurdles and recorded a second place in the triple jump,
bringing her point contribution to 24.

“Alexa took home the Jim Manners award as the meet’s outstanding
performer, which is a great feat for a freshman,” observed
Stillman.

While Bradford made their mark in the 1600, another
long-standing record in the throws set by a Lady Owl was bested.
Kim Hanslovan of DuBois had a first place throw of 148’7″ in the
javelin, which beat the previous district record (140’2″) set in
1988 by Bradford’s Brandi Karhoff.

The well-rounded Lady Owls team had strong finishes and personal
best performances across the board for the evening.

“We set three school records tonight and one district record.
Our sprinters burned up the track as they have all year,” said
Stillman. “Tricia and Lindsay had very good races. They took second
and third in both the 100 and 200 and helped lead us to two relay
victories. They were supported by Ellie Hawkins and Chloe Nickel in
the 4×100 relay in setting a new school record of 50.55, breaking
their own record of 50.87.

“We also got a strong 400 run from Steph Austin, who placed
fifth in that event.

“Our hurdlers -Alexa Wilton and Chloe Nickel – looked strong.
Alexa won the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles with Chloe taking second
in the 300s.”

“Our distance runners also had a a good night,” remarked
Stillman. “Our 4×800 relay took second and we got second and third
in the 1600 from Liz Keller and Katie White. Paige took second in
the 800 and freshman Marissa Buchheit took second in the 3200. They
all ran well, with Katie having her best 1600 of the season by over
20 seconds when we really needed it.”

The jumpers, pole vaulters and throwers also claimed their share
of the spotlight.

“The jumpers played a big part,” continued Stillman. “Erica
Pascarella won the high jump at 5’2”. She has dominated the area
high jump this spring and she had to dig deep to win tonight. She
is only a sophomore and we hope to see her continue to progress.
She had strong support from Katie Slavinski, who placed third in
the high jump with a solid night.

“In the long jump, freshman Britani Wiseman took third and
freshman Megan Race made the finals. Alexa took second in the
triple jump. We have a nice group of young jumpers.

“We are very happy for our pole vaulters as well. Freshman
Nicole Irons had a personal best of 8′ to finish third, and senior
Rachel Garges placed fourth at 7’6”. These points really helped.
Rachel also had a personal best of 6:21 in the 1600.

“The throwers finished the year with a good night. They have
worked so hard all year and it was great to see them throw so well.
Whitney Cline placed third in the javelin and broke the new rules
javelin record with a throw of 116′ 7″ – breaking the old mark of
115’8″ held by Taryn Maley. We are happy for her. Katie Vecellio
placed third in the discus and fifth in the javelin to finish her
excellent year and sophomore Brooke Milbrandt took fourth in the
shot and Nicole Capello came in sixth.”

Stillman also noted the season was successful despite the
obstacles the team faced.

“We had a number of injuries this year that would have stopped a
lesser team in its tracks but these young ladies just kept
working,” Stillman said. “The credit for the victory goes to the
girls and the willingness they showed during the season to work
hard and pay the price for success.

“Our coaching staff also had a great influence. We worked hard
with the boys’ staff to make sure all the kids received the
coaching they needed. Coach Tessena, Coach Mealy and Coach Kelley
were a great help to the girls. My assistants, Bob Macfarlane and
Bart Simpson, did a great job also. I would be lost without them. I
also want to thank our parents, as well as Mr. Walter our AD, for
their support.

“We go on to states with seven young ladies and we hope to
continue to improve.”