Track & Field Game Summaries

On Saturday morning, Zach Kinne ran against the fastest twenty-five 3200m runners in the state at the PIAA State Track and Field Championships held at Shippensburg Universtiy.  Kinne led the race from start to finish with a blistering time of 9:01.94 and was crowned the Class AAA State Champion.  Teammate Daniel McGoey finished third in the same race, just seven seconds behind Kinne.  Both ran their seasonal best performances.  A few hours later, Kinne also competed in the 1600m Run and finished sixth place overall.

Two NA Lady Tigers competed in the finals at the meet.  Hannah Lindgren finished in 10^th place in the 3200-meter run while later in the afternoon, Casey Burton stood on the podium with a second place performance in the Long Jump with a leap of 19’4 ½”.

This concludes the 2019 NATF season and with three of these outstanding athletes returning next year, the future remains strong and competitive for NATF.  Congratulations to all NATF athletes on a successful season.

Casey Burton and Zach Kinne both won WPIAL gold on Thursday at the 2019 WPIAL Individual Championship Meet held at Slippery Rock University.  Burton won the Girls Long Jump event, also placed third in the 100m Dash and was a member of the third place 4x100m relay team. Burton combined with teammates Emily Naughton, Bailee Miara, and Morgan McConnell for bronze in the 4x100m relay.  All three events qualified for the PIAA State Championship Meet.

After placing second in the 1600m Run, Kinne mustered the energy and stamina to win the 3200m Run.  Following closely behind in that race was Dan McGoey with a second-place finish.  Other state meet qualifiers on the team included Donovan Rice in the High Hurdles Race (4^th), Hannah Lindgren in the 3200m Run (3^rd), Joey Porter in the 200m Dash (2^nd), and the Boys 4x800m Relay placing second overall in the event (Kinne, McGoey, Luke Turkovich, Connor Foody). Podium performances came from Keeley Misutka, finishing seventh in the 1600m Run, and the 4x400m relay team of Jacob Porter, James Huber, Brennan Donovan, and Porter finishing the meet with a sixth-place medal.

The PIAA State Championships will be held on May 24 and 25 at Shippensburg University.

The NATF boys and girls each took home medals on Monday at the WPIAL Team Championships at Peters Township. The NA Boys earned a second-place finish, narrowly following to Hempfield in the final event. The Lady Tigers captured third place.

Team scores were as follows:

Hempfield 79, NA Boys 71
NA Boys 82. Mt. Lebanon 68
NA Boys 83, Seneca Valley 67

Butler 95, NA Girls 55
Norwin 81, NA Girls 69
NA Girls 77.5, Seneca Valley 72.5

The NATF boys and girls both qualify for the PIAA championships on Friday, May 24.

The Tigers dominated their opponents in the Team Semifinal meet hosted by NA at Newman Stadium.  Both teams will advance to the WPIAL Team Championships on Monday, May 6 at Peters Township High School. 

The NA Lady Tigers battled South Fayette (87-63), Moon Area (113 ½ – 36 ½ ), and Kiski Area (112 2/3 – 37 1/3).  Outstanding performances came from sprinter Emily Naughton as she won both the 100m and 200m Dashes.  Distance runner Hannah Lindgren captured first place in the 3200m Run.  Field event specialists Abby Barton and Casey Burton both won their events in the Pole Vault and Long Jump, respectively. 

The NA Boys team won every running event on the track, including winning performances by Luke Turkovich in the 800m Run,Noah Plenter in the 300m Hurdles, and Willie Rogers in the 200m Dash.  In the field events, Connor Ditka won the Shot Put, Isaac Burt outjumped his opponents in the High Jump, and Colin Fitzgerald took first place honors in the Javelin.  NA defeated Kiski Area (111-30) and Moon Area (121-20). 

Several Tigers will next compete either at the Baldwin Invitational or the Pine-Richland Invitational, both held on Friday. 

The North Allegheny boys’ track and field team wrapped up a 2019 section crown with a sweep over Fox Chapel and Shaler on Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Tigers also swept the Foxes and Titans to finish as runners-up in section action.

The North Allegheny boys defeated Fox Chapel 108-42 and beat Shaler 120.25-29.75. The NA girls beat Fox Chapel 99.5-50.5 and triumphed over Shaler 120-30.

Both teams will advance to the WPIAL Team semifinals on Tuesday, April 30.