State mark for C.B. South

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Brianna Stratz extended her right hand and reached for the baton. She waved her other hand in a circle, urging Alexa Kwapinski on.

The Central Bucks South girls' 4x800 relay team had the state title in reach Saturday with 800 meters to go. Unbeknownst to Stratz, the Titans were nearing the Class AAA state record at the PIAA Track and Field Championships.

The baton in her grasp, Stratz broke away from the pack. The public address announcer at Shippensburg University told the crowd that the record had a chance of changing hands. Stratz did not hear him. The junior anchor said she did not know until the final 50 meters when she read the digital clock near the finish line.

By then, she was all alone. The record belonged to South. The Titans finished in 8 minutes, 51.49 seconds. That was 3.94 seconds better than West Chester Henderson's 2011 mark.

Crossing the finish line was "the best feeling ever," Stratz said.

Kwapinski, a senior, and Stratz were joined by senior Kaitlin Poiesz and Stratz's twin, Amber.

Brianna Stratz ran the final 400 meters in 1:08.27, and South finished nearly four seconds ahead of second-place Strath Haven. She was exhausted afterward and found shade in the event's medal tent. That is how you know Stratz ran fast, her sister said.

"Our main goal was just to win," Kwapinski said. "Because without winning, you don't get any records."

Two for Thomas. Two years after suffering a pair of injuries at the indoor championships, Paul Robeson's Markeeta Thomas completed her comeback with two Class AA titles and a state record.

The senior won both the 110 hurdles (14.13) and 300 hurdles (43.49). Her 110 finish bested the 2006 mark of Chester's Lindsay Dolan by .25 of a second. Thomas tied that record last year, but it did not count because the time was aided by wind.

She pulled a hamstring and broke her tailbone at the December 2012 event. It took her six months to recover.

"I really worked for this," Thomas said.

Sheva wins. Pennridge's Marissa Sheva thought she had a chance to move into the track's first lane with just less than 800 meters left in the AAA girls' 3,200. But as she made her move, first-place runner Regan Rome of Dallas closed it off. The two bumped and kept moving.

"She wasn't very happy about that," Sheva said.

The Rams junior made her move again, this time cleanly passing Rome and pulling well ahead of the front pack of runners. She won the race in 10:25.85.

Sheva ran the last 400 meters in 1:14.51. She said she started to fatigue in the 21/2-hour break between the 3,200 and 1,600 races. She finished sixth (4:55.69) in the 1,600.

"It's really exciting," Sheva said. "I won an indoor state title in the mile, but you don't get a PIAA gold medal. It's really cool to come away a PIAA state champ, not just an indoor champ."

Foot problems. West Chester Henderson's Tony Russell wrapped his left foot in tape, but it didn't alleviate the pain. The senior said he started to feel pain after the District 1 championships last weekend. He thinks he has a stress fracture.

The foot flared up down the stretch of the Class AAA boys' 3,200 Saturday morning. He said he was falling apart. Russell's large lead faded, and he finished second in 8:58.26. He pulled out of the afternoon's 1,600.

"It happens," Russell said. "You can look back at a lot of things and see them differently. But I just didn't have that great of a race."

Council Rock North's Ross Wilson won the event in a meet-record 8:56.29. Russell also surpassed the previous PIAA mark, 8:58.90, set in 1983 by Upper Perkiomen's Mike Connelly.

Keegan, Jones triumph. With 50 meters left in the AAA girls' 400, Avon Grove's McKenna Keegan could feel the pressure coming from lane four.

"That's when I knew that I had to go," she said. "Because I knew she wasn't going to give up and I wasn't going to give up either. I just went for it."

Keegan used her late charge to hold off Hempfield's Sarah Helgeson and won the race in 55.15 seconds.

Malik Jones of Ridley captured the boys' AAA 400 with a time of 47.52 seconds. The mark bested Wissahickon's Dave Stellato by .79 seconds.