SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- After crossing the finish line in the PIAA Class AA 100-meter hurdles final, the winner turned around and hugged the second-place finisher.
 |
 |
|
Mycah Clemons, left, finishes second to her sister, Mycaiah, in the 100-meter hurdles final. (John Beale, Post-Gazette) |
This wasn't a simple goodwill gesture between athletes. This was a sister act.
Valley freshman Mycaiah Clemons won the event with a time of 14.62 seconds. Mycah Clemons, a junior and Mycaiah's older sister, was second in 14.73.
Mycaiah came into the race believing she would win.
"I just wanted to go 1-2 with my sister," she said. "But I was worried she wouldn't put it together."
Mycah said, "I'm satisfied, as long as I get second behind [Mycaiah]."
Mycah didn't come home without a gold medal, though, as she won the long jump Friday.
Mycaiah also won a silver medal in the 300 hurdles with a time of 44.45.
The Clemons have a friendly rivalry. Off the track, they often take verbal jabs at each other. That was evident when they were interviewed together yesterday by a group of reporters. Here are a couple of examples:
Mycaiah on her college future: "I'm going somewhere in the South, where it's warm. Mycah won't go in the South or the North. She'll go somewhere in between, where all the cows are."
Mycah on how her sister doesn't interview well with reporters: "She's anti-social. She's evil. Really. Go back to New Kensington and everyone will tell you that. You can put that in the paper, too."
Madia wins again
North Allegheny's Stephanie Madia put herself in some elite company when she won the Class AAA 1,600 for the second year in a row.
She is only the third girl to win the event two years in a row in the largest classification. The others were Camp Hill's Mary Rawe (1975-76) and Baldwin's Carole Zajac (1989-90).
"This year was actually a little easier because I truly believed I was a contender," Madia said. "Last year, my coaches had to convince me that I could win it."
A year ago, Madia used a big kick in the final 100 meters to come from behind and win. This time, she didn't need a big kick. She started pulling away from the pack early in the final lap.
"The race went pretty much as I planned," Madia said. "The last lap was just all on guts."
Mueller wins 100
Mars' Brad Mueller finished second in the Class AA 100 last year to Mercyhurst Prep's Levonne Rowan. This year, the two changed positions.
Mueller edged Rowan at the finish line and won in 10.65 seconds. Rowan was second in 10.68.
"It makes you hungrier when you finish second," Mueller said. "I look at second place as the first loser. That's the way I felt last year."
Mueller became only the second Mars athlete to win a running event. The other was Bill Crummy in 1974-75. But Rowan got revenge later in the day when he edged Mueller to win the 200 in 21.86. Mueller ran 21.89.
Sales job
The track and field coaches at St. Francis (Pa.) University might want to call Peabody High School Monday to start recruiting Maurice Sales.
Sales, a senior, will attend St. Francis to play football. But he's one of the fastest runners in the state as he won the Class AAA 200 in 21.82 seconds and finished second in the 100 in 10.85.
"I plan on being done with track now," said Sales, a receiver in football. "I'd rather just play football. If the track coaches come after me, I might listen, but I'm not going to seek them out."
Sales is the first City League athlete to win the 100 or 200 since Allderdice's Brian Irvin in 1988.
Going the distance
Ever since the PIAA had boys' and girls' championships in 1974, the WPIAL has never done as well in distance events as it did this year. For the first time, athletes from the WPIAL won three of the four championships in the 3,200 runs.
Peters Township's Jessica Perry won Class AAA girls with a time of 10:39.57, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart's Katie Purcell won Class AA girls in 10:48.66 and Baldwin's Dan Mazzocco won Class AAA boys in 9:07.68.
Perry picked a good time to run the best race of her career. She bettered her previous personal best by 11 seconds.
"It's always nice to finish first," Perry said. "Then, when you turn around and see your personal record, it becomes sweeter."
And what made this title even sweeter for Perry is she did not qualify for the PIAA meet last year. As a sophomore, she was fifth in the 3,200 and ninth in the 1,600. She was second in the 1,600 yesterday with a 4:58.85.
"Last year, I tried to take on too much at the end of school, both athletically and scholastically. It took its toll on me," said Perry.
For Mazzocco, it was his second championship in three years. He won the 1,600 as a sophomore. Last year, he ran the 1,600 and finished 10th.
"But to be honest, that was probably the best thing that could happen to me," Mazzocco said. "I saw the ups and downs that can come with running and how you have to learn to keep pushing."
The WPIAL also had a champion in a middle-distance event as Hempfield's Matt Evans won the Class AAA 800 in 1:53.60.
Medal count
It was another pretty good year for Southwestern Pennsylvania as athletes from the WPIAL and City League won gold medals in 12 individual events. In the past four years, the leagues have won 62 gold medals. The high point was 1999, when they combined to win 19 events.
The WPIAL and City League were on a downward trend in the mid-1990s. From 1994-98, the leagues combined for only 34 gold medals.
Gold rush
Erie McDowell senior Sheena Gordon and Merion Mercy Academy's Tiffany Abney finished as the most decorated female athletes in PIAA history. They are the first girls to win eight individual titles.
Gordon, a senior and UCLA recruit, won the Class AAA high jump, triple jump and long jump. She set records in the high jump (5-11) and triple jump (42-10 1/4) and long-jumped 19-10 1/4. She also finished second in the 100 hurdles.
But Abney will probably pass Gordon in gold medals next year because Abney is only a junior. She won the Class AAA 400 (53.79) and 300 hurdles (42.11).
Stewart wins discus
Indiana senior Melissa Stewart won the Class AAA discus with a throw of 134-6. She placed third in the shot put Friday.
E-mail this story 
