May 28, 2016 6 min read

SHIPPENSBURG – Sweat dripped down Peters Township senior Nick Wolk’s face as Matt Kravitz sped past him on the eighth and final lap of the 3,200-meter run.

His fate would be determined by the final 400 meters, but Wolk quickly thought of a new plan. He’d use his stamina to hang close and would try to sprint past Kravitz in the final 150 meters.

The crowd stood on its feet and the humidity weighed heavy on the two runners churning their legs with full force in hope of capturing a state championship. Wolk moved within five feet, running at a pace he hadn’t needed all season, but Kravitz, a senior from North Pocono, held on for the gold medal.

Kravitz defeated Wolk, who won the WPIAL title in the event last week, by less than one second Saturday at the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University.

“I was right where I wanted to be going into the last lap,” Wolk, who finished in 9:10.25, said. “I wanted it to be a 400 race, but Matt Kravitz went past me really fast. I told myself I’d wait until about 150 out and try to go out and get him, but he was going too fast. My legs couldn’t hear my brain commanding him to move. I really tried.”

The 3,200-meter run rarely lends itself to a photo finish. It had two in a matter of 10 minutes. Though Lake Lehman’s Dominic Hockenberry won the Class AA boys gold medal by almost eight seconds, the race to determine the other medalists came down to the final 40 meters.

Waynesburg junior Ben Bumgarner, who was with a pack of four runners for most of the eight laps, was in sixth place until the final four meters before he sprinted past two competitors, taking fourth with a time of 9:26.04.

“I wasn’t sure how hard to go out,” Bumgarner said. “I knew I wanted to be in the top group, but I didn’t think the rest of the group would let us go easily. When the rest of the pack caught on to us top three, I felt I latched on well and got a good kick at the end. I’m happy with the way the race turned out.”

The finish capped a season in which Bumgarner became one of the WPIAL’s top distance runners. The same goes for Wolk, who did not advance to the second day of the PIAA championships last year.

Wolk, who also won the WPIAL cross country championships last fall, entered the meet as the top seed with a qualifying time almost six seconds faster than Kravitz’s.

The heat and a surprising finish cost him a gold medal, but like his friend Bumgarner, Wolk was pleased to leave Shippensburg with a medal.

“It’s a good end to the season,” Wolk said. ‘I definitely wanted to end the season undefeated, but second place is the closest thing I could get, I guess. I’ll take it.”

Washington junior Isaiah Robinson was sitting on the turf nearby as New Brighton’s Anthony Milliner covered 48-5 1/5 in his final attempt of the second flight of the Class AA triple jump.

Robinson was in disbelief. His first jump had him in first place, but he fouled on his second and had trouble getting above 44 feet thereafter. In the end, it was Robinson’s final jump of the finals, registering 46-6¾, that helped him take third place and a bronze medal.

Trinity Christian’s Tyler Carter finished second with a jump of 47-4.

“I saw everyone get higher than me and I let it get to me,” Robinson said. “It was somewhat nerves. I had my mind set on beating him and I didn’t expect (Carter) to come out of nowhere. I beat him at WPIALs, so I didn’t expect to lose to him.”

The disappointing day in which Robinson had trouble executing his first and second phases didn’t cloud his perspective. In his first year dedicating his time to the triple jump, the junior asserted himself as one of the WPIAL’s best.

Now, he’s focused on returning to Shippensburg next May.

“I’m pleased with it. There’s always room for improvement,” Robinson said. “I just have to do it next year.”

Also for Wash High, junior Ben Heim took ninth in the Class AA 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.95.

In other field events, South Fayette’s Sam Mastro was fourth in the Class AAA discus with a throw of 172-7. McGuffey’s Marko Olivarez was 16th in the Class AA shot put.

Wash High’s Kurt Adkins walked slowly from the medal stand, looking every bit like an athlete who ran three races in 90-degree weather.

He didn’t just run the events. The senior medaled in all three.

Adkins, who won the WPIAL Class AA title in the 200-meter dash last week, took sixth in the 100 with a time of 11.41 Saturday and also was sixth in the 200. He finished fifth as part of the Prexies’ 1,600-meter relay team that consisted of Leo Saldivar, Ronnie Paith and Robinson.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Adkins said. “I’m happy, but not satisified. It’s great to go home with some hardware, especially since I didn’t make it here last year.”

Monessen senior Andrey Bolton, who won the WPIAL title in the 100, finished eighth in the event in the state meet and also was eighth in the 200.

“I tried to get mentally prepared,” Bolton said. “I just wanted to do my best. It’s an accomplishment to get this far.”

Monessen senior Raymond Sitton, the two-time defending WPIAL champion in the Class AA 110-meter hurdles, did not advance to the finals of the event after running 15.98 in the semifinals – more than a second slower than his personal best.

Others who did not advance to the finals were Peters Township’s Caroline Curran, Canon-McMillan’s Chyna Beck and Ringgold’s Bailey Cooper in the Class AAA 100-meter hurdles; Beck in the Class AAA 200-meter dash; South Fayette’s Amanda Oliver in the Class AAA 100-meter dash and Wash High’s Tajah Gordon in the Class AA 200-meter dash.