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PIAA track and field championships: Local distance runners Riley Rooney and Ian Johnson aim for titles

The action begins Friday at Shippensburg University. Rooney runs for the Central Bucks South girls, Johnson for the Perkiomen Valley boys.

Girls run in the high school 4x400 during the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field on April 25.
Girls run in the high school 4x400 during the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field on April 25.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

District 1 champions Riley Rooney of Central Bucks South and Ian Johnson of Perkiomen Valley will be among the local runners seeking titles as the PIAA track and field championships get underway Friday at Shippensburg University.

The running events will begin at 9 a.m. with the 1,600-meter finals, which feature Rooney, a junior, in the Class 3A girls’ competition and Johnson, a senior, in the boys’ race.

Rooney set the school’s 1,600-meter record in 4 minutes, 55.98 seconds at the Pennridge Helman/Hosier Invitational on May 2, becoming the first Titan to record a sub-5-minute time. Johnson, who has signed to attend Georgia Tech, won the 1,600 and 3,200 at the District 1 meet.

Friday’s events will conclude with the 4x400-meter relay at 3:30 p.m. In most events, the top eight times in preliminaries will advance to Saturday’s finals, which will begin at 9 a.m.

The West Catholic girls headline the Class 2A group, having several qualifiers in the 4x400-meter relay, 400-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, and 4x100-meter relay.

West Catholic’s Amirah Crabbe has become recognized as one of the top freshmen in the state this year. She was named first-team All Catholic in the 4x100 relay. At states, she’ll compete in the 100-meter hurdles, the 200, and the long jump.

» READ MORE: Imhotep’s Jayden Horton-Mims, the top-ranked sprinter in the state, found his sanctuary on the track

Imhotep Charter is well represented among the Class 3A boys. Junior Jayden Horton-Mims is the top seed in the 400 and 200.

The Panthers also are the No. 1 seed in the boys’ 4x100 and will compete against other top seeds in Coatesville, Cardinal O’Hara, Roman Catholic, and Spring-Ford.