Waynesburg’s Bumgarner flips over winning PIAA title
Waynesburg Central's Ben Bumgarner wins the gold medal in the Boy's Class AA 3200 meter run at the PIAA track and field individual championships at Shippensburg University on Saturday, May 27, 2017.
Waynesburg Central’s Ben Bumgarner won the gold medal in the boy’s Class AA 3200- meter run at the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
SHIPPENSBURG – Ben Bumgarner and Zach Skolnekovich went into this race with a secret agreement.
In order to increase the pace and attack the state record, Bumgarner, a senior from Waynesburg High School, and Skolnekovich, a senior from Quaker Valley, would flip-flop holding the lead in the 3,200-meter run in the PIAA Class AA Track & Field Championships Saturday in Seth Grove Stadium at Shippensburg University.
For the final half of this eight-lap race, all bets were off. The faster, most strategic runner would win.
And that was where Bumgarner turned it on and breezed to a 17-second victory for the gold medal in the event on an overcast, rainy day.
Bumgarner became the first PIAA track champion from Waynesburg since Carlos Gibbs won the 3,200 run in 1990.
“Coming into this meet, I was thinking I would like to break (Gibbs’) school record,” said Bumgarner. “I wanted to put my name up there and win another state gold medal.”
Mission accomplished as Bumgarner turned in a 9:10.58, besting Gibbs’ 9:15.5.
Bumgarner, who won the PIAA Class AA Cross Country title last fall in Hershey, trailed early, then flipped with Skolnekovich over the next three laps before breaking free.
“After WPIALs, I was jogging with Zach and he brought up the idea of trading the lead early to keep up the pace for a state record,” said Bumgarner. “I felt really confident that I was up for that. We did that for part of it but didn’t have enough for the state record.”
Bumgarner was about six seconds off the PIAA Double-A record of 9:04.06, set by Chris Dugan of Southmoreland in 1997.
This was the fourth time Bumgarner ran against Skolnekovich this season – once at the Baldwin Invitational and twice in last week’s WPIAL Championships before yesterday. The two have split the meetings with Skolnekovich beating him for the WPIAL title in the 3,200. Skolnekovich finished third, one spot behind Bumgarner in the 1,600 run.
Bumgarner got the best prize with this win.
“I think (the flip-flopping) helped me,”Bumgarner said. “It kept the pace honest and it tested us to the best of our abilities. It made the race more exciting.”
Bumgarner said he feared the devastating kick Skolnekovich has but the Quaker Valley runner didn’t have a good enough one to catch Bumgarner.
“Over the last couple of laps, I was thinking, ‘Don’t let him catch me,'” Bumgarner said. “I know how deadly his kick is. He made up six seconds in the last 400 (meters) on me in the mile at the Baldwin Invitation. So, I knew I had to get away from him.”
Bumgarner defeated Skolnekovich Saturday by 12 seconds over the 3.1-mile course.