BROOKVILLE — Manny Diaz made his presence felt at the PIAA District 9 Class AAA boys track and field championships at Brookville Friday.
The junior was a triple-winner, sweeping the distance events en route to 30 individual points and the James Manners Award winner for the meet’s most valuable athlete. Diaz used three different strategies to pick up three individual victories and one relay.
Beginning with the 1600, Diaz hammered the pace early on, not planning to relinquish the lead and ultimately winning by nine seconds. Diaz later doubled back in the 800 and won by a narrow .15 second margin before cruising to a 14-second victory in 3200 by controlling the pace and winning with a gentle increase in pace over the final laps.
“That was four miles of racing for one meet,” Bradford coach Tom Tessena said of Diaz’s effort. “Manny will not run the 800 meters at states next Saturday, but will run the other three races. It was an incredible day for this young man, and he was rewarded with the James Manners award.”
Amidst his individual success, Diaz also made time for the 3200 relay that featured Ian Pilon, Jerid Wilmoth and Leo Paterniti. Diaz ran the leadoff leg and ultimately guided the Owls to victory.
“Last year, we lost to DuBois in a controversial finish that really stayed with three of our guys,” Tessena said. “They had been counting the days until this year’s rematch and they were not going to be denied.”
The top finisher in each event qualified for the state meet, sending Diaz and his relay team to Shippensburg University next Friday and Saturday.
Diaz set the tone for the Owls, who placed athletes at the top of the leaderboard in numerous events en route to a 2nd-place finish in the team race. Andrew Kane placed in the top two in three events and a relay.
“In addition to the great relay leg in the last event of the day, (Kane) was faced with three events that all were happening at the same time,” Tessena said. “The long jump, 100 meters, and pole vault were all bunched together and he had to go back and forth. Three completely different things made it more difficult.”
Kane took 2nd in the pole vault and the 100 while additionally taking 1st in the long jump and running the anchor for the winning 1,600 relay.
“Both of these relays were not the top seed and I think they had something to prove,” Tessena said. “This group of three guys — Ian, Leo, and Jerid — ran many races, with Manny and Andrew being the fourth man in each team. Most of the time, they also ran in four events per meet, so they were always busy. These relays were special for them.”
Kane was the team’s top scorer this season, totaling 161 points.
“(Kane) was our top sprinter and he ran well all year in the 100 and 200,” Tessena said. “He was a team-first guy and did whatever event we asked him to do.”
Troy Adkins kept the pressure on for the Owls, contending in the hurdles. Adkins placed 5th in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
In the throws, Bradford’s Parker Shipman unleashed two massive performances, placing 1st in the shot put and 2nd in the discus. The Owls’ Patrick French placed 3rd in the discus, while Chris Rodriguez was 5th in shot put.
Despite Diaz’s top-athlete performance, DuBois took home the team title, anchored by sprinter Jaedon Yarus. Yarus took 3rd in the 100 — which was won by his teammate Derraick Burkett — 1st in the 200 and 400 and was also on the winning 400 relay team.
DuBois’ 113 points topped Bradford’s 69 points, while Clearfield finished with 65. Clearfield also had a multi-event winner in Karson Kline, who won the 110 and 300 hurdles.
“I would like to thank throwing coach Dave Cercone, distance coach Mark Kelley, sprint coach Bob Schleicher, girls coaches Larry Stillman and Natalie Marasco, jumping coaches and athletic director Mike Erickson in the pole vault for all their help,” Tessena said. “They really did a good job this season. We had seven 1st places and 27 medals at districts, and we have seven people going to states. We are going to focus on getting some personal bests down there.”
100: Derraick Burkett (DuBois) :11.38, 200: Jaedon Yarus (DuBois) :23.37, 400: Jaedon Yarus (DuBois) :54.15, 800: Manny Diaz (Bradford) 2:02.48, 1,600: Manny Diaz (Bradford) 4:33.05, 3,200: Manny Diaz (Bradford) 10:10.10, 400 relay: DuBois (Yarus, Sturrock, Burkett, Benjamin) :44.55, 1,600 relay: Bradford (Pilon, Wilmoth, Paterniti, Kane) 3:34.57, 3,200 relay: Bradford (Diaz, Pilon, Wilmoth, Paterniti) 8:18.38, 110 hurdles: Karson Kline (Clearfield) :15.99, 300 hurdles: Karson Kline (Clearfield) :40.60, long jump: Andrew Kane (Bradford) 20-10 1/2, triple jump: Andrew Shaffer-Doan (DuBois) 38-9, high jump: Andrew Shaffer-Doan (DuBois) 5-10, shot put: Parker Shipman (Bradford) 40-5, discus: Carson Dombroski (DuBois) 111-03, pole vault: Edward Burkett (DuBois) 10-0, javelin: Isaac Samsel (Clearfield) 145-11.
