FC triple jumper, SF sprinter defend titles at WPIAL finals
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac Fort Cherry's Koryn Jozwiakowsk wins the triple jump at the WPIAL track individual championships at Baldwin High School.
Koryn Jozwiakowski reaches skyward as she takes a leap during the triple competition at the WPIAL AA girls' championships. The Fort Cherry won the event with a leap of 37 feet, 7 inches.
BALDWIN – Koryn Jozwiakowski and Rachel Helbling have little in common.
They compete in different events and in different classifications.
One thing they can share after Thursday, however, is the satisfying feeling of being two-time WPIAL track champions.
Jozwiakowski, a senior at Fort Cherry High School, hit a 37-7 to win the triple jump and Helbling, a sophomore from South Fayette, defended her title in the 400-meter dash Thursday at Baldwin High School.
The two were part of a strong showing by area girls in this event.
Katie Demi, a senior at McGuffey, won the Class AA javelin with a throw of 133-0.
The trio joined 13 other girls who qualified in 16 events for the PIAA Championship at Shippensburg University Memorial Day weekend.
Jozwiakowski, headed to the University of New Hampshire in the fall, won the triple jump with her second try in the finals. Her first attempt of 35-5, pedestrian by her standards, gave her competitors some hope.
It didn’t last long.
“I wasn’t very happy with my marks today,” said Jozwiakowski.
“I’m happy I won. Winning the first title felt better because I hit my PR. I didn’t hit my PR today so I was kind of upset.”
Jozwiakowski reset her PR with a 38-6 against Pine Richland two weeks ago. She hit 38-4 at the Washington-Greene County Coaches Track Meet at Peters Township.
Helbling got out fast and led for most of the 400, winning with a time of 56.54, 1.1 seconds faster than Alexis Leech of Butler.
“The start is important and I’ve been working hard on it because it hasn’t been the best for me last year,” said Helbling.
Helbling finished 12th in the PIAA Champions last year and hopes to improve on that. She is thinking about running under 56 seconds, something that would take a superb effort.
“I try to get out stronger and work the back straightaway and the curves,” she said. “I want to maintain my speed and have a strong kick at the end.”
Demi made up for her first loss of the season in last week’s Southern Qualifier at South Side Beaver with a splendid effort of 133-0, five inches below her PR and 11-4 past the second-place throw of Alena Blazczak of Frazier. It was sweet revenge as Blazczak beat Demi last week.
“I hit that on my second throw,” said Demi, headed to West Virginia Wesleyan in the fall. “It felt really good. I knew that was going to be a good sign. My first throw was 125 and that was past the qualifying mark and getting that out of the way was great, especially from what happen the past two years.”
Demi missed qualifying for states by one spot in both those seasons.
Bentworth sophomore Brenna Cavanaugh finished second in the 100 hurdles. Cavanaugh, who returned last week after missing a month with a left foot injury, turned in a 14.93, .4 seconds behind winner Summer Thorpe of Sewickley Academy.
“I ran against her sister last year, but not her,” said Cavanaugh, who was sixth in the state tournament last year. “I couldn’t hold her off.”
Cavanaugh led up to the 60-meter mark before Thorpe passed her. Cavanaugh’s second-place finish was one better than last season.
“I definitely thought I had it but she came up,” Cavanaugh said. “I could see her a little bit (over my shoulder) but I think she had a burst.”
In other notable state-qualifying finishes:
• Washington’s Tajah Gordon of Washington finished third in the 400 and fifth in the 100.
• Chyna Beck of Canon-McMillan made it with a fourth in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 200.
• Hannah Falcione of Peters Township was third in the triple jump.
• The 400 relay teams from Washington and Canon-McMillan each took third.