PIAA Track and Field Championships Notebook: Strath Haven’s Sydnor earns victorious payoff
SHIPPENSBURG — Strath Haven’s Teghan Sydnor looked to her left as she crossed the finish line in the girls’ Class 3A 100-meter hurdles Saturday, saw that no one was in front of her and quickly realized she was a state champion.
That’s how fast triumph can happen, especially in a short race like the 100 hurdles. Yet that moment of victory also was vindication for Sydnor. A year ago she finished ninth in the preliminary round, missing the final by one spot. A year later she made the final as the No. 3 seed and took full advantage of the opportunity. She blitzed to gold in 14.71 seconds, a personal best by .07.
“Hard work pays off,” said Sydnor, who will continue her track career at Tufts. “There was definitely a lot of hard work to get to where I am today.”
Sydnor went on to pick up an eighth-place medal in the 300 hurdles, one of three Delaware County athletes to medal in that event. Haverford’s Aubrey Leneweaver was second after taking third in the 100 hurdles earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Ridley’s Emma Winward was sixth in the 300 hurdles.
“It’s so exciting, especially to do it in my senior year,” Winward said.
Strath Haven’s Hannah Prokup, Rowe Crawford, Audrey Stevens and Nora Chen placed seventh in the 4 x 800 to help the Panthers finish in fourth place in the team standings.
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A slow start almost cost Taylor Johnson of Bonner-Prendergast a spot in the final of the Class 3A 100-meter dash, the key word being almost.
Johnson made to the championship round and improved on her No. 8 seed with a fifth-place finish in 12.31.
“I came into today thinking, ‘OK, I made it, let’s see if I could push and get a better placement because I knew that from my time at the beginning of the season, 12.19, I can run faster,'” Johnson said. “It was just some things and conditions that weren’t helping me. My legs really aren’t in the best shape so let’s see what I can do.”
Johnson said she experienced hamstring tightness as she warmed up but battled through the issue to claim her first state medal.
“I had my head on,” Johnson said. “I was focused. I didn’t talk to anybody but Virg (coach Virgil Sheppard). He was like, just go out there and give it your best, give it your all. I know you’re tired. It’s your last high school race. You have to go out and give it your all, put it down on the track and make me proud because you’ve been making me proud since your freshman year. I was just very happy to finish where I did.”
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Penncrest’s Keeley Aiken found out on the way to Shippensburg on Thursday night that she would be competing at the state championship meet.
With Julia Scholtz out with in illness, Aiken was asked to fill in on the Lions’ 4 x 800 relay team and teamed with Hannah Puckett, Kelsie Robinson and Ruby Schwelm to take home a fifth-place medal with a time of 9:30.67. Schwelm also finished 25th in the open 800 but it was Aiken who came to the rescue for the Lions.
“I was ready to go,” Aiken said. “That’s the way you have to be when you’re an alternate. You have to be ready to go at any time.”
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NOTES >> Radnor’s Lucy Henkel was ninth in the 800. … Cardinal O’Hara’s Maddie Ellis had a personal best time in the 800 (2:24.08). Teammate Samantha Sharrow was 19th in the triple jump (16-5¼). … In Class 2A, Delco Christian’s Sahdahya Addy was 22nd in the triple jump (32-6 ½), while Maya Walker of Sacred Heart was 16th in 800 (2:24.90).
