Matt Freed, Post-Gazette North Hills Ian Fitzgerald leads the pack in the 3,200 meter run Saturday during the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. Click photo for larger image.

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- Ian Fitzgerald and Andrew Johnson had several things in common as they prepared for the final in their specialties at the PIAA track and field championships yesterday at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.

Both were seniors at North Hills High School and defending PIAA champions. But once the events began, their experience could not have been more different.

Distance runner Fitzgerald successfully defended his Class AAA 3,200-meter title, blistering the field and leading much of the race en route to a personal best of 9:01.49, more than eight seconds faster than the nearest competitor and less than three seconds shy of breaking the meet's 21-year-old record.

Sprinter Andrew Johnson was passed on the right side by Knowledge Timmons of William Penn with a few steps remaining in the 100-meter dash and finished second. Timmons, a junior, ran a 10.56; Johnson's time was 10.65.

For Fitzgerald, a William & Mary recruit, the race was a tactical masterpiece, which saw him stay with the pack for three of the eight laps, before pulling ahead by as much as 55 meters.

"First and foremost, I wanted to win and make sure I ran my race," Fitzgerald said. "The record was in my mind, but it's a tough record to beat, and I wanted to go out fast enough to where I at least had a shot at it and I did, so, I'm happy.

"I'm happy with what I did today and with my effort because I put a lot into this."

While Fitzgerald ran a seemingly perfect race, Johnson's got off to a bad start.

"My start was slow, and I'm a starter and he's a finisher," said Johnson, a Miami football recruit who has a logo of the Coral Gables school tattooed on his upper left arm.

Despite the subpar start, Johnson had a chance to collect his second consecutive gold medal as he battled Timmons to the 85-yard mark before Timmons shot ahead.

"I knew how good he was, it's not like he surprised me. It might have been the first time I was nervous, the first time I was silenced, I usually talk a lot," said Johnson.

Johnson was perhaps the highest-profile athlete at the two-day event. At least, he came here with the most hype.

Friday, his likeness appeared in two photos on the cover of a newspaper sold by shouting hawkers at the stadium. One shot had him fending off a would-be Gateway tackler in the Indians' WPIAL football playoff win last season and the other showed him standing confidently in his track uniform.

An article outlining his accomplishments in both sports took up most of the remaining front page.

Word reached Shippensburg that after winning the 100 at the WPIAL championships, Johnson shouted, "You can't do it" to the defeated field.

For Timmons, who also won the200 meters, it made for wonderful motivation.

"I was like, 'My goodness, they're pumping him up like that,' " said Timmons who also plays football and has been offered scholarships by Connecticut and Eastern Michigan.

"I'm going to keep that newspaper because I have respect for him, but I went out there and wanted to beat him."