15 Vikings Qualify for WPIAL Track and Field Championships!!

This Wednesday May 15th, a bus load of Vikings will depart Hopewell at 7:30 in the morning and head up to Slippery Rock University for the WPIAL AA Track and Field Championships. The top 16 competitors in each of the 18 events from over the course of the season qualify for the championship meet, and 15 Vikings made the cut this year. They will compete for WPIAL titles, and also for qualifying spots to the PIAA State Championships. The top 5 boys and top 6 girls in each event on Wednesday automatically qualify for States, but as many as 8 will get to move on if they hit the state qualifying standard.

Senior Tyler Lewis returns to Slippery Rock for his second WPIAL Championship, qualifying again in the 110m hurdles and the 4x100m relay. “Doodle” competed in both events last year as well, finishing 9th in the hurdles and running the anchor leg on the 5th place 4×100 relay that also went to States. This year he enters the meet as the 5th seed in the 110m hurdles with a 15.29 second personal record, and is really hitting his stride after missing all winter with an injury. He is certainly capable of going sub-15 and challenging the favorites – Davin Gartley of QV, Austin Kurta of West Mifflin, and Nick Franitti of Ellwood City.

Senior Matthias Goth is also qualified for the 110m hurdles, and this will be his first trip to Slippery Rock, though certainly not his last as he will be attending school there next year. Goth is seeded 15th with a 16.28 PR in his first full season of hurdling. He has worked his tail off since last year, and had a great indoor season over the winter. He is running very well over the barriers right now, and gunning to run in the 15 second range.

Seniors Nico Flitcraft, Zach Landry, Trevor Neal, and sophomore Antony Flitcraft make up the 4x800m relay team that is seeded 14th at WPIAL. They have led a distance squad that has done a lot of work to help the boys team win meets this year, and they have progressively improved their time over the spring to get it to 8:56. Now that they can focus solely on the relay, they are working towards a big PR in what will be the first WPIAL appearance for all four.

Junior Zach Kovell will be running three events on Wednesday, as he is the number 2 seed in both the 200m and 400m, and running the backstretch for the 7th seeded 4x100m relay team. Kovell won the triple sprint crown at the Beaver County Championships earlier this spring, and has an excellent chance for double championships in the 200m and 400m, as he is very close to the top seeds Damarius Day of West Mifflin and Da’Karri Williams of Beaver Falls.

Sophomores Josh Brunton and Nick Adams join Kovell and Lewis on the 4×100 relay. Their best time of 44.01 is under the state qualifying standard, so they are strong contenders to move on to States. Brunton is the starter who hands off to Kovell. He had a very strong season in the sprints this spring, and just missed qualifying in the 200m as well, ranking 17th. Adams runs the anchor leg, getting the baton from Lewis. He is also competing in the triple jump on Wednesday, entering as the 16th seed.

Junior sprint queen Emma Palmieri is also among the top seeds in the 200m, 400m, and 4x100m. Emma’s PR of 25.89 has her in the 6th position for the 200m, and her 58.77 has her seeded 3rd in the 400m. She also runs the backstretch on the 7th seeded 4x100m relay team. Last year she finished second in the 400m to Tori Atkins of Laurel, who returns as the top seed. Emma has been finishing the season strong in both races and workouts and is primed to challenge for the quarter mile crown in a tightly competitive field.

Joining Emma on the 4x100m relay team are junior Nevaeh Persi-Jones, sophomore Maya Richburg, and freshman Avery Boyd. Persi-Jones runs the anchor leg, Richburg is the starter, and Boyd runs the second turn. The team’s season best time of 50.80 matches the state qualifying standard, so they have a strong chance to win medals and go on to States. Richburg just missed out on qualifying for the 100m as she was ranked 17th in the event. Her time of 13.01 would have made the AAA field though. Boyd, who also competed in the long jump, 100m hurdles, 200m, and triple jump this season, also qualified for the triple jump as the 16th seed.

Hopewell will also be bringing a pair of pole vaulters to Slippery Rock. School record holder Connor Progar enters the competition as the top seed with a season best clearance of 13’7”. He and Reece Sullivan of Riverside are expected to duel it out for the WPIAL crown as they have several times already this year. Progar came out on top at both the Beaver County and MAC Championships in April, but Sullivan now has an equal 13’7” jump in the books, so it will make for an exciting battle.

Sophomore Emily Bauknight qualified for the pole vault in just her first full season vaulting. The outstanding gymnast caught on quickly, and her 9’0” season best has her seeded 11th. She is a wild card in the field, because she is capable of putting together a jump that could surprise a lot of people.

Also making the trip Wednesday will be several alternates for the relays. Senior Jacob Brunton and sophomore Julian Baldwin will be ready for the boys 4×100, and Ella Morelli will be there for the girls. Junior Charlie Houston is the backup for the 4×800. With several of the starters competing in multiple events, these 4 are invaluable to the team, and have worked hard all year to perform well if called upon.

You can follow Hopewell’s athletes during Wednesday’s WPIAL Championships on X/Twitter @Hopewell_TnF Live results and updates will be posted all day. #LevelUp Vikings!