Ryann Krais wins one, falls in another at states

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Methacton relied on one of the nation's premier multi-event talents. Swenson boasted skilled sprinters and hurdlers.

It was tough to decide which was more impressive during this weekend's PIAA state track and field championships.

Methacton's Ryann Krais ran a time of 41.68 seconds to win her fourth consecutive Class AAA girls' 300-meter hurdles title yesterday at Seth Grove Stadium. That came a day after she won her third straight long-jump crown and first high-jump title.

The senior, however, showed that she wasn't superhuman in the 100 hurdles. Krais fell and was disqualified in yesterday's final.

Even with that disappointment, the 30 points she scored gave the Warriors the Class AAA team championship.

Council Rock North and Penn Hills tied for second with 28 points each.

"It feels pretty good," Krais said of clinching Methacton's first outdoor state title. "I didn't expect it to happen this way after the 100 hurdles, but I'm glad that it did."

With Shanae Bailey and Anthonia "Mouse" Ballard dominating races, Swenson's second consecutive Class AA girls' state title was never in doubt.

The Lions scored 55 points to take their classification's title. Lewisburg (42 points) was second, followed by Engineering and Science (38).

Bailey, a sophomore, successfully defended her classification's 100 (11.88 seconds) and 200 dash (24.59) titles. Ballard won the 300 hurdles (44.35) for the second straight season. The junior also won the 100 hurdles (14.28).

The duo joined sophomores Jayee Wright and Vanessa Mack on Swenson's winning 4x100 team (47.85). The quartet captured the event for the second season in a row.

"They did everything we asked them to do," coach Dean Lent said of the Lions squad. "We came up here to win. We didn't come up here to lose."

Krais had come to win four gold medals. And she would have had it not been for her spill in the 100 hurdles.

Running in Lane 4, Krais had a noticeable lead heading to the eighth hurdle. After losing her balance, the defending champion fell over that hurdle and ended up in the fifth lane, disrupting the timing of Harrisburg's Alysha Cook. Krais got up and finished last, but was disqualified for running out of her lane. Cook finished second to Moon's Layne Baggett.

Krais had stumbled in the hurdles in her freshman and sophomore years but raced without problems last year.

"When it happened, I was kind of just, like, shocked," she said. "I was like, 'Oh, no. I thought this curse was finished last year.' But I guess I got to the tent and I was talking to Alysha Cook, and from there I just felt awful."

Her disappointment was short-lived.

As expected, Krais crushed the field in the 300 hurdles.

Her 41.68 time was more than a second faster than the 43.29 posted by Strath Haven's Alix Williams, the runner-up.

However, the most impressive performance yesterday was by Easton's Chanelle Price. The senior won the Class AAA girls' 800 race in a National Federation record time of 2 minutes, 2.90 seconds. The previous record of 2:04.50 was set by Joetta Clark of Columbia (N.J.) in 1980.

Council Rock South's Ije Iheoma, Penncrest's Karen Shump and Gwynedd-Mercy Academy's 4x800 relay team also turned in impressive performances. Iheoma, a senior, captured her third Class AAA girls' 400 title (54.41). The Florida recruit also won the 200 (24.17).

Shump won the Class AAA discus (148-4) one day after the senior earned her fourth consecutive shot-put title.

The Monarchs quartet of Meredith Jones, Kelly McEldrew, Erin Ryan and Taylor Bumpas won the 4x800 in a school-record time of 9:04.35. The previous record (9:04.57) was set in 2004. The victory marked GMA's eighth 4x800 state title in nine seasons. The Monarchs won seven straight in Class AA before finishing second in Class AAA last season.

The Results

CLASS AAA

Team scoring: Methacton 30, Council Rock South 28, Penn Hills 28, Strath Haven 21, Chester 21, Conestoga 21.

100 meters:

1, Cambrya Jones, Woodland Hills, 11.97. 2, Fatima Gaston, Reading, 12.09. 3, Anyssa Barbour, Chambersburg, 12.13. 4, Emily Dresser, McCaskey, 12.19. 5, Whitney Winters, Conestoga, 12.20. 6, Rayiana Johnson, Chester, 12.34.

200:

1, Ije Iheoma, Council Rock South, 24.17. 2, Cambrya Jones, Woodland Hills, 24.25. 3, Taelor Fowler, Penn Hills, 25.03. 4, Anyssa Barbour, Chambersburg, 25.08. 5, Shakeya Ladson-Singleton, Norristown, 25.26. 6, Nicole Powell, Bayard Rustin, 25.35.

400:

1, Ije Iheoma, Council Rock South, 54.41. 2, Nicole Powell, Bayard Rustin, 57.01. 3, Katie Craven, Central York, 57.17. 4, Eryn Spangler, Dover, 57.46. 5, Shannon Abraham, Norwin, 57.69. 6, Jordan Lee, Penn Hills, 58.30.

800:

1, Chanelle Price, Easton, 2:02.90 (meet record, betters 2:05.47 by Kim Gallagher from Upper Dublin, 1980; and National Federation record of 2:04.50 by Joetta Clark of Columbia, N.J., 1980). 2, Chaniel Chambers, Chester, 2:12.18. 3, Shelby Haitz, Norwin, 2:12.95. 4, Chloe Schmidt, State College, 2:13.09. 5, Wendy Hutchinson, Dover, 2:13.33. 6, Heather Giovagnoli, Spring-Ford, 2:13.51.

1,600:

1, Neely Spence, Shippensburg, 4:44.85. 2, Natalie Bower, Latrobe, 4:55.52. 3, Lindsey Graybill, Emmaus, 4:55.56. 4, Chloe Schmidt, State College, 4:59.39. 5, Alli Ludwick, Pennsbury, 4:59.67. 6, Heather Giovagnoli, Spring-Ford, 5:00.00.

3,200:

1, Meghan Lutz, Nazareth Academy, 10:43.25. 2, Jordan Jenkins, New Oxford, 10:45.87. 3, Elizabeth Simpson, Boyertown, 10:47.51. 4, Alli Mannon, Warwick, 10:53.45. 5, Sarah Simonetti, Pennridge, 10:53.71. 6, Katie Gorman, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 10:55.83.

100 hurdles:

1, Layne Baggett, Moon, 14.51. 2, Alysha Cook, Harrisburg, 14.64. 3, Alix Williams, Strath Haven, 14.68. 4, Lindsey Wolf, Boyertown, 14.77. 5, Elizabeth Kline, Upper St. Clair, 14.88. 6, Laura Kosiorek, Erie McDowell, 14.91.

300 hurdles:

1, Ryann Krais, Methacton, 41.68. 2, Alix Williams, Strath Haven, 43.29. 3, Ali Gillen, Central Bucks East, 43.73. 4, Leah Nugent, Abington, 43.89. 5, Cody McCoy, North Allegheny, 44.72. 6, Shelley Black, Coughlin, 45.09.

4x100 relay:

1, Penn Hills, 47.52. 2, Conestoga, 48.12. 3, Plymouth Whitemarsh, 48.24. 4, Central Bucks East, 48.87. 5, Phoenixville, 48.93. 6, Bayard Rustin, 49.00.

4x400 relay:

1, Chester (Quantsha Miller, Michelle Robinson, Shaniel Chambers, Kayiana Johnson), 3:50.20. 2, Haverford High, 3:51.53. 3, Central Bucks West, 3:52.78. 4, Strath Haven, 3:53.60. 5, Norwin, 3:54.25. 6, Conestoga, 3:54.47.

4x800 relay:

1, Gwynedd-Mercy (Meredith Jones, Kelly McEldrew, Erin Ryan, Taylor Bumpas), 9:04.35. 2, Council Rock North, 9:08.35. 3, Conestoga, 9:08.49. 4, Downingtown West, 9:11.03. 5, Unionville, 9:14.65. 6, Villa Maria, 9:15.21.

Triple jump:

1, Ashley Corum, Carlisle, 39-6. 2, Kelly Monteleone, Penn Hills, 39-31/4. 3, Kristin Brandt, Central Mountain, 39-0. 4, Bethany Lender, Altoona, 38-73/4. 5, Natasha McLaren, Stroudsburg, 38-23/4. 6, Joella Neilson, Girls High, 37-93/4.

Discus:

1, Karen Shump, Penncrest, 148-4. 2, Kim Kanala, Hempfield, 139-11. 3, Kaleena Gray, Coatesville, 139-0. 4, Alyssa Girvin, Penn Manor, 133-11. 5, Ginny Thistle, North Allegheny, 130-6. 6, Alicia Dupilka, Hempfield, 127-10.

Pole vault:

1, Abby Schaffer, Easton, 13-1/2 (meet record, betters 13-0 by Lindsay Regan, Easton, 2004). 2, Tory Worthen, Council Rock South, 12-91/2. 3, Mandissa Marshall, Crestwood, 12-0. 4, Jocelyn Witmer, Penn Manor, 11-6. 5, Amanda Palenchar, Derry, 11-6. 6, Mary Lawrence, Liberty, 11-6.

CLASS AA

Team scoring: Swenson 55, Lewisburg 42, Engineering and Science 38, Quaker Valley 35, Northern Cambria 29.

100 meters:

1, Shanae Bailey, Swenson, 11.88. 2, Christa Rogers, Quaker Valley, 12.09. 3, Cierra White, Engineering and Science, 12.12. 4, Kelli Byrd, Del-Val Charter, 12.32. 5, Samantha Valiton, Chestnut Ridge, 12.37. 6, Brittne Perkins, Milton Hershey, 12.38.

200:

1, Shanae Bailey, Swenson, 24.59. 2, Cierra White, Engineering and Science, 25.28. 3, Christa Rogers, Quaker Valley, 25.34. 4, Vanessa Mack, Swenson, 25.46. 5, Brittne Perkins, Milton Hershey, 25.88. 6, Kaitlyn Diffenderfer, Lancaster Catholic, 26.00.

400:

1, Alexa Sarsfield, Springdale, 57.48. 2, Shannon Geddes, Villa Joseph Marie, 57.54. 3, Devan Coon, Schuylkill Valley, 58.34. 4, Acoya Goines, Engineering and Science, 58.50. 5, Skyler Ganoe, Clarion, 58.69. 6, Courtney Whitmoyer, Schuylkill Valley, 59.00.

800:

1, Kalyn Fisher, Lewisburg, 2:12.35. 2, Kara Millhouse, Boiling Springs, 2:14.17. 3, Stephanie Miller, Towanda, 2:15.33. 4, Benita Taylor, Engineering and Science, 2:15.51. 5, Kelsey Seymour, Central Cambria, 2:16.58. 6, Hana Casalnova, Grove City, 2:16.99.

1,600:

1, Stephanie Fulmer, St. Pius X, 5:02.87. 2, Kayleigh Perry, ELCO, 5:03.26. 3, Casey Miller, Lewisburg, 5:04.68. 4, Dani Kocjancic, Kane, 5:06.56. 5, Leah Anne Wirfel, Forest Hills, 5:06.95. 6, Sarah Strayer, Forest Hills, 5:06.95.

3,200:

1, Carly Seymour, Central Cambria, 10:31.85 (meet record, betters 10:33.61 by Donna McLain, Eastern York, 1980). 2, Kacey Gibson, Neshannock, 10:41.76. 3, Lauren Zarger, Harbor Creek, 10:41.90. 4, Caitlin Cavanaugh, Danville, 10:52.99. 5, Sophia Ziemian, Lewisburg, 11:04.33. 6, Emily Giannotti, Coudersport, 11:07.21.

100 hurdles:

1, Anthonia Ballard, Swenson, 14.28. 2, Taylor Funk, Mount Pleasant, 14.51. 3, Christa Rogers, Quaker Valley, 14.69. 4, Hillary Monger, Holy Name, 14.72. 5, Breanna Kochinsky, Northern Cambria, 15.02. 6, Lyndsay Barna, Western Wayne, 15.03.

300 hurdles:

1, Anthonia Ballard, Swenson, 44.35. 2, Hillary Monger, Holy Name, 44.82. 3, Taylor Funk, Mount Pleasant, 45.78. 4, Sarah Snyder, Windber, 45.82. 5, Tesa McKibben, Montoursville, 46.06. 6, Hannah Jones, Lewisburg, 46.76.

4x100 relay:

1, Swenson (Jayee Wright, Anthonia Ballard, Vanessa Mack, Shanae Bailey), 47.85. 2, Quaker Valley, 48.61. 3, Milton Hershey, 49.20. 4, Holy Name, 49.54. 5, Engineering and Science, 49.61. 6, Trinity, 49.90.

4x400 relay:

1, Engineering and Science (Acoya Goines, Kasia Taylor, Jona'e McAllister, Banita Taylor), 3:55.71. 2, Lewisburg, 3:57.25. 3, Springdale, 3:58.78. 4, Boiling Springs, 3:58.99. 5, Paul Robeson, 4:00.27. 6, Fairview, 4:01.64.

4x800 relay:

1, Lewisburg, 9:17.66. 2, Central Cambria, 9:19.51. 3, St. Basil, 9:20.27. 4, Paul Robeson, 9:20.72. 5, Boiling Springs, 9:31.09. 6, Union City, 9:31.63.

Triple jump:

1, Tanaya Lloyd, Girard College, 38-5. 2, Taylor Crawford, Northern Bedford, 38-1/2. 3, Tabitha Bemis, Quaker Valley, 37-91/2. 4, Krystal Baker, Bermudian Springs, 37-23/4. 5, Casey Ord, Palmerton, 37-21/4. 6, Caitlin Vanek, Wilson Area, 36-91/4.

Shot put:

1, Kristy Woods, Grove City, 44-11. 2, Ashley Adams, Freedom, 41-91/2. 3, Nellie Henigin, Saltsburg, 40-101/4. 4, Shari Bugonowicz, Hanover Area, 39-11. 5, Kara Dorsey, East Allegheny, 39-103/4. 6, Amanda Young, Lancaster Catholic, 39-43/4.

Javelin:

1, Fawn Miller, Lakeview, 167-2 (meet record, betters 162-4 by Karlee McQuillen, Westmont-Hilltop, 2006). 2, Casey Wagner, Tamaqua, 146-3. 3, Jessica Rocco, Northern Cambria, 139-3. 4, Allison Updike, Tamaqua, 136-2. 5, Meghan Morton, St. Pius X, 129-8. 6, Mary Beth Rocco, Northern Cambria, 127-7.