May 27, 2016 6 min read

SHIPPENSBURG – Distance running can be a lonely activity.

On a track and field team, it’s the distance athletes who have a vastly different routine with a cooldown period at the end of each practice.

It’s a routine Ben Heim is used to, but the Washington High School junior was far from lonely Friday afternoon. Not with the heat wave that tired competitiors and made the seven-hour wait for his race an agonizing ordeal.

As temperatures reached the high 80s, Heim found comfort under a tent on the small hill overlooking the track at Shippensburg University. Everyone was seeking refuge from the humidity at the PIAA Track & Field Championships. Peters Township’s Hannah Falcione used an umbrella and a handheld fan between attempts in the triple jump. McGuffey’s Katie Demi spent every moment between javelin throws under a tent near the runway.

But few people had to wait to compete as long as Heim.

Heim’s race – the 800 – didn’t begin until after 4 p.m., so finding a place to stay cool and hydrated was critical. It took plenty of water and several trips to the restroom, but Heim looked calm, cool and collected when he competed in the Class AA 800-meter preliminaries.

In his second consecutive year at Shippensburg, Heim took third in the second heat, using a strong kick to propel past three runners in the final 40 meters to advance to today’s finals.

“The heat’s been bothering me all day,” Heim said. “I was covered in sweat. It was so uncomfortable. I drank four water bottles, so I’m pretty sure I’m hydrated. I’ve been in the shade watching the races from the tent. I wasn’t going to risk sitting in the bleachers.”

The confidence was in stark contrast to the uncertainty Heim felt last season when he was dealing with a stress fracture in his left foot. He still finished fourth in the 800 at the WPIAL championships, but was prevented from advancing to the finals of the event at Shippensburg because of the injury.

Not even the heat could stop him Friday. Heim attributes that to his training regimen, which included running 600 meters at a race pace followed by 400 meters. His times in both were impressive and would put him in the running for a medal.

It carried over to his latest performance in Shippensburg.

“I didn’t feel too bad in the heat during the race, so it shouldn’t’ be a problem (Saturday),” Heim said. “I didn’t feel too bad in the heat during the race, so it shouldn’t’ be a problem tomorrow. I was confident that I was going to make it. I wasn’t worried too much, so I didn’t think the heat would do much.”

Hurdlers move on

Bentworth sophomore Brenna Cavanaugh admits she wasn’t sure she’d have a chance to earn a state medal for the second consecutive year.

Cavanaugh missed a month with a sore foot and it was determined she was close to having a stress fracture. That didn’t stop her from finishing second in the WPIAL in the 100-meter hurdles to earn a trip to Shippensburg and her performance Friday ensured she’d have her shot at another medal.

Cavanaugh finished first in her heat with a time of 14.98 to qualify for today’s semifinals, which begin at 10 a.m. The finals are set for 12:15 p.m.

Unlike last season, when Cavanaugh trained tirelessly for the state championships, she was limited to simple drills and work in a swimming pool.

Her experience finishing fifth in the event at the PIAA championships last year had her ready for the bustling atmosphere and high temperatures late Friday morning.

“Last year helped me so much,” Cavanaugh said. “It’s hectic here. It was easy to ignore all that this year.”

She wasn’t the only hurdler to move on to the semifinals.

Monessen senior Raymond Sitton, who repeated as the Class AA 110-meter hurdle champion last week, took first in the third heat of the event’s preliminary round and had the second-fastest time, finishing in 14.97. He did not advance to the semifinals of the 300-meter hurdles.

In the Class AAA girls 100-meter hurdles, Ringgold’s Bailey Cooper, Peters Township’s Caroline Curran and Canon-McMillan’s Chyna Beck earned spots in the semifinals.

Moving on

Washington’s Tajah Gordon headlined the list of local female athletes to advance as she earned a spot in the semifinals of the Class AA 400- and 200- meter dashes. Others who qualified are South Fayette’s Amanda Oliver in the Class AAA 100-meter dash, South Fayette’s Rachel Helbling in the Class AAA 400-meter dash, Beck in the Class AAA 200-meter dash and Peters Township’s Laura Ehrenberger in the Class AAA 800-meter run. Among the boys, Wash High senior Kurt Adkins and Monessen senior Andrey Bolton qualified in the Class AA 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Several athletes competed Friday, but did not advance to today’s semifinals. McGuffey’s 3,200-meter relay finished seventh in the second heat of the preliminaries to miss the cut and McGuffey’s Cole Vaughan did not advance in the 400-meter dash.

Peters Township’s Chloe Grzyb finished 12th in the second heat of the 1,600-meter run to miss the cut for the semifinals.

Others who did not advance to the semifinals: Wash High’s boys 400-meter relay team, Belle Vernon’s 400-meter relay team, Belle Vernon senior Jake Powell in the Class AAA 200-meter dash, Belle Vernon junior Sierra Lynn in the 100-meter dash, Charleroi’s Jessica Day in the 400-meter dash and South Fayette’s Hannah Kenawell in the 800-meter run.

Other notes

The preliminaries of the 1,600-meter relays were cut short because of a storm that blew through Shippensburg. The race will be contested as schedule today, but will go straight to the finals. … Knoch junior Jordan Geist shattered his own record in the shot put by more than 13 feet, winning the event in Class AAA with a put of 74-3. It broke a PIAA meet record set in 2005 and the mark is currently the best in the country.