A healthy start, heartbreak and history
Kaila O’Connor was not thrilled recently with her ability to get out of the starting blocks.
“Before the meet that’s all I was working on in the grass,” the Jim Thorpe sophomore said, “to get that good push out of the blocks. “And I got that today.” O’Connor led Wednesday’s Class 3A girls 100-meter dash final from the start and held off other District 11 standouts Madison Trout of Southern Lehigh and Naeema Salau of Parkland to take the gold medal in a school-record time of 12.23.
The Olympians sprinter did the same in the 200, running a school-record 25.03 to nudge Trout and Salau again for first place.
“It definitely pushes me,” O’Connor said. “Our times are extremely close, so you never know who is going to win. You can’t come in cocky. You really have to work on it, think of yourself and run your own race.”
O’Connor, who also finished second in the 300 hurdles with a school-record time of 45.73, will be shooting to qualify for the PIAA finals next weekend at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium after not getting out of the state preliminaries in the 100 or 200 last year as a freshman.
A good start would go a long way in making that a reality — much like it did at districts.
“I knew I definitely needed to nail my 100 start,” she said. “That’s the difference between first and second.”
Bittersweet performance
Jacob Fenstermaker had his moment atop the podium, a gold medal around his neck and pictures taken, but the climax of his accomplishment — winning the Class 2A boys 100 — came the moment after he got off the podium and finished his media interviews.
The Marian Catholic senior shared a hard embrace with close friend Michael Fellin, a returning state runner-up and top seed in the event.
Fellin suffered a hamstring injury prior to districts. He gave it a go in the Tuesday’s preliminaries, but it wasn’t to be.
That left Fenstermaker to run for himself and his teammate.
“This victory was pretty bittersweet to say the least,” he said. “I’m super excited to be here, but without my buddy Mike Fellin up here with me it’s a little unnerving.”
Fenstermaker also ran a personal-best 23.30 in the 200, but lost by .01 to Northern Lehigh’s Trevor Amorim for the lone state qualifying berth.
But the Colts standout will carry the torch in the 100 to states.
“Coming into districts, I knew I had come in pretty low,” Fenstermaker said. “There were some pretty strong horses who wanted it just as badly as I did.
“In the blocks, I was shaking. There was a lot going through my head. But I relaxed the shoulders, took a deep breath and went out.”
Historic moment
The smiles were brighter. The celebration and photos lasted longer after Northampton’s foursome of Victor Hunt, Shaun Apsley, Logan Henry and Ben Henry trimmed more than three seconds off its season-best time to win the Class 3A boys 1,600-meter relay in 3:24.95.
They became the first Konkrete Kids sprint relay team to qualify for states in coach Tim Caffrey’s 43-year career.
Once Logan Henry took the lead during his lap, it became evident that only a dropped baton could prevent history from being made because there was no one going
to catch brother Ben Henry in the final 400 meters.
Run for the ages
Wilson’s Damon Simpson not only established a District 11 and school record by finishing the 3A boys 100 in 10.64, he also set a pace that led to five personal-best times and two others tying their PRs among the nine finalists.
The top six finishes qualified for the state meet — a huge accomplishment usually reserved for District 1, which has a tremendous history in the sprints.
Brother Damian Simpson plus Northampton’s Ben Henry, Whitehall’s Jaiden Lee, Liberty’s Josh Farrell and Parkland’s Nakhi Bullock also qualified for the PIAA meet. Two others missed only by .04 and .07, respectively.
O’Connor set a similar standard in the 3A girls 200. She, Trout, Salau, Stroudsburg’s Kiana Young and Wilson’s Jocelyn Smith all qualified for the state event.
State scratches
The following athletes scratched from next weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships:
North Schuylkill’s Ryley Schwalm (2A girls 800). Palisades’ Amelia Smith is now in the state meet.
O’Connor (3A girls 300 hurdles). Easton’s 3A girls 3,200 relay team. Southern Lehigh is in.
Stroudsburg’s Anthony Liguori (3A discus). Stroudsburg’s Aiden Raub is in.
Wilson’s Jocelyn Smith (3A girls 200).
Wilson’s Damon Simpson (3A boys 200).
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com