Gia Babington and Brenna Armstrong Lead Wolves at District Nine Track And Field Championships

on 23 May, 2023 at 02:23

Feature photo by Matt Lerch – Gia Babington running to a second place finish in the 800

The North Clarion Girls and Boys Track and Field Teams had a number of solid performances in the District Nine Class-AA Championships, at Brookville on Friday, May 19th. (The Top Six places medaled.)

North Clarion Girls coach Doug Jackson and Boys Coach Andy Bish shared highlights of their teams’ day.

North Clarion Girls Highlights – Coach Doug Jackson:

The North Clarion girls had an exciting day at the District 9 Track and Field Championships on Friday. Gia Babington and Brenna Armstrong led the way by earning their way to the PIAA State Meet by winning second place medals in the 800 (2:23.08) and shot put (36′-0″), respectively.

**Photo by Tara Armstrong – Brenna putting the shot**

(Note: The PIAA State Championships will be held at Shippensburg’s Seth Grove Stadium on Friday and Saturday, May 26th and 27th. Pennsylvania Cable Network [PCN – Channel 100 on cable in Clarion Borough] will do a live one hour broadcast on Friday from 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM, then live (with select prerecorded event coverage on Saturday from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. They will have a repeat airing from 4:00 PM – Midnight and then another repeat on Monday [Memorial Day] from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Broadcasts are also available on their PCN Select (paid subscription) service. To find out more about PCN Select, go to their website: pcntv.com.)

Gia joined sister Sophie, Marley Kline, and Nicole Fair on the 4×400 team (4:21.03) which came in fourth and set a season Personal Record.

**Photo by Matt Lerch – Sophie Babington in the 4×800 relay**

Senior Nicole Fair ran her way to a sixth place medal in the 400 (1:04.10).

The 4×100 team (53.20) of Taylor Sherbine, Fair, Kline, and Rhi Copenhaver also came in fourth and narrowly missed setting a new school record by .10 of a second. Taylor Sherbine also competed in the 100 m as did the 4×800 team of Anna O’Toole, Kaitlyn Guth, Sophie Babington, and Copenhaver. We are very proud of our medalists and state-qualifiers, as well as all our girls for the hard work and dedication throughout the season.

**Photo by Tara Steele – Brenna with her throwing mates who came out to cheer her on (L-R) Brooke Steinman, Addison Siegel and Rebecca Ketner, who graduated in 2022.**

North Clarion Boys Highlights – Coach Andy Bish:

Freshman Mason Burdord finished 3rd in the 110 hurdles (16.24) and 6th in the 100m (11.51).

**Photo by Matt Lerch – Mason Burford in the 110 High Hurdles**

Seniors Dawson Hotchkiss and Kaine McFarland ended their amazing track careers with district medals, with Dawson finishing 4th in the 200m (23.26) and Kaine finishing 5th in the 3200m (10:32.93). Dane Sliker and Jonas Wilshire had strong days with both running PR’s in their respective events. Dane’s PR came in the 800 while Jonas’s came in the 1600m.

**Photo by Matt Lerch – Jonas in the 1600**

Dane and Jonas also teamed up with Kaine and Jackson Nicewonger in the 4×800 relay (8:55.98) to run a season best time and finish in 5th.

**Photo by Matt Lerch – Isaac in the 4×800 Relay**

Isaac Lerch, Owen Shaffer, Dawson Hotchkiss, and Mason Burford became a part of North Clarion history breaking the school record in the 4×100 relay with a fifth place finish in a time of 44.78. The previous record was 45.0 and dated back to 1979. Members of that team were Jeff Fauzey, Bob Everett, Mike Schupp, and Dale Schmader.