May 26, 2016 4 min read

When Charleroi junior Jessica Day finished fifth in the 400-meter dash at the WPIAL Track & Field Championships last Thursday, she took home a medal and qualified for the state championships.

However, that was not her only accomplishment.

With her time of 1:00.17, she also broke Makayla Neff’s 10-year old school record of 1:00.20 in the event. It also earned her a spot in the preliminary round at the PIAA Track & Field Championships in Shippensburg University, which begin today. Finals for track events begin Saturday morning.

“I was really happy because I have been trying to break a record all year either in the 100-, 200-, or 400-meter dash,” Day said. “It is an honor.”

Charleroi track coach Joe Grodz said he expects Day to break the record again.

“She has the ability to run a sub 60 (second),” he said. “And she is dedicated on doing what it takes to get better.”

Not bad for a race she was hesitant to attempt.

“She was reluctant to make the transition from being the anchor of the 4×100 to running the open 400,” he said. “But she understood that with some technical work, she could be one of the top 400 runners in the state.”

Neff was happy to see her record fall.

“It is great to see her succeed and I congratulate her,” Neff said. “When you run the 400, you have to give it everything that you have. If she keeps pushing, there will be more (records) to come in her track career.”

Grotz is happy Day’s hard work paid off.

“She is a great student and a great kid,” he said of Day who is a straight-A student. “She is receptive to critiques to help her and she is very coachable.”

There are many new faces to the PIAA championships, but three local athletes are looking to earn a medal for the second consecutive year.

Fort Cherry senior Koryn Jozwiakowski, who won her second consecutive WPIAL Class AA title in the triple jump, is looking to earn a gold medal after taking fourth in Shippensburg last year.

Jozwiakowski will compete in the triple jump finals Saturday afternoon and is the second seed behind Lindsay Bauer of Salisbury Township. Bauer finished eighth at the PIAA championships last year, but has jumped one foot, one inch further than Jozwiakowski.

Monessen’s Raymond Sitton, who also repeated as a WPIAL champion in the 110-meter hurdles, took fifth in the event a year ago and is the top seed entering this year’s meet with a time of 14.49 at last weeks’ WPIAL championships.

Bentworth sophomore Brenna Cavanaugh, who finished sixth last year, is the second seed behind Sewickley Academy’s Summer Thorpe, the WPIAL champion, and is running in the fourth heat of today’s preliminaries.

Local female athletes who will compete at the PIAA championships:

In Class AA, Washington’s Tajah Gordon (200- and 400- meter dash), Bentworth’s Brenna Cavanaugh (100-meter hurdles), Fort Cherry’s Koryn Jozwiakowski (triple jump), McGuffey’s Katie Demi (javelin).

In Class AAA, Belle Vernon’s Sierra Lynn (100-meter dash), South Fayette’s Amanda Oliver (100-meter dash), Canon-McMillan’s Chyna Beck (200-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles), South Fayette’s Rachel Helbling (400-meter run), Peters Township’s Laura Ehrenberger (800-meter run) and Chloe Grzyb (1,600-meter run), Ringgold’s Bailey Cooper (100-meter hurdles), Canon-McMillan’s 400-meter relay team, Peters Township’s Hannah Falcione (triple jump) and Trinity’s Liz Fleming (shot put).

Local male athletes who will compete at the PIAA championships:

In Class AA, Washington’s Kurt Adkins in the 100- and 200-meter dash, Wash High’s 400-meter relay team, Wash High’s 1,600-meter relay team, McGuffey’s 3,200-meter relay team, Burgettstown’s Jacob Shipley (long jump), Monessen’s Raymond Sitton (110- & 300-meter hurdles), Fort Cherry’s Devon Brown (javelin), Wash High’s Liam Wolf (javelin), McGuffey’s Marko Olivarez (shot put), McGuffey’s Cole Vaughan (400-meter run), Wash High’s Isaiah Robinson (triple jump), Wash High’s Ben Heim (800-meter run), Monessen’s Andrey Bolton (100- & 200-meter dash) and Waynesburg’s Ben Bumgarner (3,200-meter run).

In Class AAA, South Fayette’s Sam Mastro (discus), Belle Vernon’s 400-meter relay team, Belle Vernon’s Jake Powell (200-meter dash), Peters Township’s Nick Wolk (3,200-meter run) and Canon-McMillan’s Rahmiere Knight (triple jump).

Lance Lysowski contributed to this report.