Apr 22, 2017 4 min read

CANONSBURG – After training together for most of the offseason at West Virginia University, Waynesburg High School’s Daniel Layton and Peters Township’s Anthony Wells were in a familiar spot of vying for the top spot on the podium for pole vault Saturday at the Washington-Greene County Coaches Track Meet.

Wells and Layton each cleared (12-7) on their best vault. However, Wells finished in first place because of fewer misses.

“I felt good in warmups, but as the meet went on I think I just took too many jumps,” Wells admitted after failing to set a personal record when he missed at 13-3.

“It’s interesting and a lot more fun competing against people who I know. It’s never about having enemies out here. It’s more about pushing one another to setting their own personal records.”

Layton was able set a personal record by easily soaring over the bar at 12-7.

“It’s always good to get a personal record but with a bigger meet it’s even better,” Layton said.

Rick Layton, Daniel’s father and the coach at Waynesburg, said the success could have originated from devastation earlier in the morning portion of the meet.

“He was disqualified in the 110-meter-hurdle finals,” Rick Layton said, after his son put up the best time in the preliminary round. “I think he was really devastated by that but changed anger into motivation. It pushed him to do more in the 300-meter hurdles and the pole vault. He wants to excel.”

Layton also had a second-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles in 42.81.

“This whole thing is a lot more fun because I know Anthony,” Daniel Layton said. “It’s definitely a friendly competition.”

When Ashon Burgess arrived in the early morning he knew there was an opportunity to have some success.

“I knew this was one of the invitationals I could do well in, so I made sure to come and try to do exactly that,” the Trinity hurdler said.

Burgess ran away with bot the 110-and 300-meter hurdle races with times of 15.92 and 42.51 seconds, respectively.

“I didn’t set any personal records but was able to get those two wins,” Burgess said. “That’s what I wanted to do coming in.”

While her classmates at Fort Cherry head off to school each day, Jadyn Hartnet pulls up a chair … next to her home computer.

Hartnet is home-schooled in this, her freshman year, and she enjoys it almost as much as track and field.

“I started when I was in eighth grade,” said Hartnet. “I do a lot of the work by myself, but my mom helps me out sometimes.”

Hartner also is getting passing grades in track. She was second in the long jump (16-02), took third in the high jump (4-1) and was sixth in the triple jump (32-02 1/2) to share the Field MVP with Trinity’s Mayli Bennett. The high jump height was a personal-best.

“It’s fun to have a lot of competition,” said Hartner. “I didn’t look at other distances because I think that would just make me nervous.”

Hartner said she benefited from a few tips from Koryn Jozwiakowski, a state champion in the triple jump last year who is in her first year at New Hampshire.

“I met her and she taught me how to bound a little bit,” said Hartner.

One way to assure a medal in this meet is to do what Mayli Bennett did in her field events.

The Trinity sophomore hit personal bests in her three throwing events to share the field MVP with Jadyn Hartner of Fort Cherry.

Bennett won the discus (107-05) and finished third in the shot put (33-11) and eighth in the javelin (92-02). It quite an improvement from last year, when she did not place in any of the throwing events.

“Everything felt like it came together today,” said Bennett. “Everything was fluent and not choppy. I wasn’t too good last year. I didn’t have the technique I have this year. I was just not (good) enough.”

Bennett was within three inches of second place in the shot put and 3-03 of seventh place in the javelin.