Wildcats Boys 4×100 Takes Gold At States As All Three Boys Relays Medal; Mason Burford and Brenna Armstrong Medal In Individual Events

on 28 May, 2025 at 12:10

Above photo by Allie Lambert Wildcats 2025 State Gold Medal winning Boys 4×100 Relay (L-R) Ben Lambert, Ferguson, Brody Beggs and Mason Burford

The Central Clarion Wildcats competed at the PIAA State Track and Field Championships, held at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania’s Seth Grove Stadium, on Friday and Saturday May 23rd and 24th.

The Biggest winners for the Wildcats were the Boys 4×100 relay, consisting of Mason Burford, Ben Lambert, Jase Ferguson and Brody Beggs, who captured the Gold Medal, with a time of 42.48.

**Photo courtesy of Allie Lambert – Coach Quinn with Wildcats 4×100 Relay Team**

The 4×400 relay, run by Wyatt Boyden, Jonas Wilshire, Brady Guth and Mason Gourley finished in sixth place, being clocked at 3:28.46, and the 4×800 relay, with Burford, Gourley, Guth and Boyden took eighth place at 8:09.00.

Burford also finished eighth in the 110 hurdles, with a time of 19.47 seconds. Making the finals he had to just finish for a medal. He tripped and fell over the last hurdle, but gutted it out, got up and made it across the finish line.

Wyatt Boyden ran the 400, posting a 51.08 in the preliminaries.

Guth also ran the 110 hurdles.

Brenna Armstrong took home a seventh place in the shot put for the Wildcat Girls. Her medal winning toss was 37′-8.75″. Brenna also competed in the discus.

**Photo submitted by Tara Steele – Brenna with her seventh place medal in the shot put**

Eliza Datko ran the 1600 in 5:28.88 and the 3200 in 11:34.76.

**Photo courtesy of Rich Rhoades (Jeffersonian Democrat) – Eliza running the 1600**

Wildcats Boys Coach Jess Quinn shared:

As a staff we have been blessed with the caliber of athletes all season long. We had all three relays competing at states, but truly it’s only 8 boys. We have athletes who are fast enough to be on the 4x100m relay but have the strength to also run a leg of the 4x400m relay. Mason Burford and Brody Beggs are those who do both the 4×1 and 4×4. Others who have the speed and stride to run a leg of the 4×4 and the endurance to run a leg of the 4x800m relay are Mason Gourley and Wyatt Boyden. Every young man who traveled to Shippensburg came home with at least one medal.

The 4x100m relay was simply trying to uphold the tradition set by guys like Kyle Cathcart, Taylor Sessions, Mike Corbett and Dan Patton. In 2001 they ran a 42.59 and won the state championship. These boys, Ben Lambert, Jase Ferguson, Brody Beggs, and Mason Burford, were trying to raise their game to the level set by those boys 24 years ago. They not only met that standard, but surpassed it. On Friday in the prelims we ran a 42.33 and were seeded 6th for the finals. They told me their handoffs were not good, “terrible” is how they described them. They all said, “Coach, we’ll fix it tomorrow. We got this.” How blessed am I as a coach to have athletes who have the maturity to know what they needed to do and then went and did it! 42.48 was incredibly fast and our best time this season. It’s always a good thing when your last attempt to do something is your best effort!

The 4x400m came into states with the 11th but time overall and finished 6th! Mason Burfod, Mason Gourley, Brody Beggs and Wyatt Boyden ran a fantastic time coming away with a 6th place medal. Mason Gourley was running for Nathan Frederick who had a family commitment and could not run at the state meet.

The 4x800m team of Jonas Wilshire, Brady Guth, Mason Gourley and Wyatt Boyden finished 8th overall. If you asked them, they would say each ran the best they could. Brady Guth had a hamstring injury that he suffered during the district meet the previous week. He took the baton and within a few steps reactivated that injury. He did not quit, however. Brady pushed through and finished his leg of the relay. I am incredibly proud of his effort and willingness to push through so not to let his teammates down. Job well done by all three relays!

Mason Burford and Wyatt Boyden also participated in individual events. Mason in the 110 high hurdles and finished 8th and Wyatt ran, but didn’t make the finals. Congrats to both boys on their individual efforts.

Mason Burford came home with three medals, Mason Gourley, Brody Beggs, and Wyatt Boyden came home with two and Ben Lambert, jase Ferguson, Jonas Wilshire and Brady Guth all came home with one medal each.

We are incredibly proud and pleased with how our boys performed this past weekend in Shippensburg.

It goes without saying that a special thank you goes out to everyone who helped these boys get to this level. Coach Chandra Scheftic, DJ Bevevino, Ben Bevevino and Tom Wise were instrumental in the success of the team this year and I can’t thank them enough.

Central Clarion Girls Coach Chandra Scheftic commented:

Eliza Datko and Brenna Armstrong had standout performances at the state meet this past week in Shippensburg, showcasing their dedication, talent and perseverance every step of the way. Their season has been a testament to their hard work and passion, leaving us excited for Eliza’s continued success with the Wildcats and for Brenna’s collegiate career at Robert Morris University.

**Photo courtesy of Christie Datko – Eliza with Coach Scheftic**

Eliza ran a strong 1600 on Friday, being the first heat of the first race of the meet, shaking off nerves, a lingering cold, and a shift to the early morning performance.. Saturday she pulled off yet another PR capping off her season with a remarkable 11:34.76 in the 3200.

**Photo courtesy of Darrell Datko – Eliza with her mom, Christie**

She has seen her times drop consistently all season after starting off strong with personal best times at the very first meet, highlighting her commitment to her training and her pursuit of making it to the state championships. Eliza has seen success from hard work all year with a trip to state championships for cross country in the fall and strong indoor performances which parlayed right into this outdoor season.

Eliza will no doubt continue to be a leader with her work ethic, drive, and consistent smile on our distance squad into her junior and senior years, and I am certain we’ll be seeing her at states again!

Brenna saw her third performance at states this year as a senior and capped it off with a 7th place medal throwing 37 feet 8 3/4 inches in the shot put.

**Photo submitted by Tara Steele – Brenna and mom, Tara with a big hug after seventh place medal win**

Her discus performance on Friday was stunted by the cold rain and remnants of bronchitis that had kept her from practice most of the week prior and hindered her districts throws a bit. Even though she had been sick in the weeks leading up, she does what she has done best all season and dug deep when she needed it most!

Doug Knepp has been her throws coach this season and has been an instrumental, encouraging base of expertise and support for Brenna and all the throwers this year and deserves all of the accolades for their guidance and coaching.

We cannot wait to watch Brenna succeed as an athlete and student this year at RMU.

She has put in the work throughout her entire high school career, making a name for herself in the KSCAC and D9 as not only a strong thrower but also a genuinely kind, positive, and encouraging young lady!

Training on and off season with a smile on her face she will certainly continue to improve her throws in college and we will miss her on the team!

I couldn’t have been more humbled or proud of these two girls and the entire track and field team this inaugural Central Clarion season – the Wildcat name is now known on the State stage and will continue to be a force to reckon with in the years to come!

(Congratulations to the Wildcat Boys 4×100 relay team on your Gold Medals, and to the rest of the Wildcat Boys and Girls with a fine State Meet!!!! Thanks to Tiffany Jackson, Tara Steele, Darrell Datko and Rich Rhoades for contributing photos for this article and to PCN for permission to use their broadcast for notes!!)