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Track notebook: Several local boys golden at WPIAL Championships

6 min read
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Track stock image
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C.J. Cole

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Darnell Howell

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Jelani Stafford

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Scott Benco

SLIPPERY ROCK – California’s Jelani Stafford had never picked up a shot put until this year.

Monessen’s Darnel Howell thought the high jumped looked fun only one day before the Greyhounds’ first meet of the season.

Both seniors, who are in their first year participating in track, took home gold medals in their events Thursday afternoon.

Stafford, who leaves for Youngstown State’s football program in mid-June, threw a personal- and school-record 51-4 1/4 to win first place in the shot put.

“Who would have thought?” Stafford said with a laugh. “I’ve never been a WPIAL champion before. We came close in football. I just remember a few months ago watching the first track scrimmage. I thought, maybe I should give it a try.”

Stafford has improved his PR in every meet except one this season. He set the school record three weeks into the year with a throw of 43-9 1/2.

“It’s just been about listening to coach Pete Harris and watching YouTube videos,” Stafford said of his improvement. “I would look up certain Olympians, like David Storl and Tom Majewski, and take what they did on the screen and try it in real life.”

Howell, who also set a school record of 6-8 in the high jump earlier this season, took first Thursday by clearing 6-3.

“Whenever I started this year, I didn’t expect to set the school record or win WPIALs,” Howell said. “I originally planned on running the 200 and 400. I saw my friend practicing high jump and wanted to give it a try. I jumped 6-2 at a meet the very next day.”

Howell also played football, basketball and was on the Greyhounds’ baseball team, which lost in the first round of the Class A playoffs Wednesday.

“I tried to split practices as best as I could,” Howell said. “I didn’t think I would like high jumping as much as I do. Every meet I just kept getting better and better.”

Benco finishes 1st, stays motivated

The biggest motivation for Waynesburg javelin thrower Scott Benco didn’t come from finishing second in last year’s district championship.

He wants to do better than his 16th-place finish at the PIAA meet last year, but that isn’t what keeps him going.

“A college coach asked me last fall what my goal was for this year,” Benco recalled. “I told him that I wanted to throw 200 (feet). He almost laughed in my face. I feel like that has been my biggest driving motivation.”

Benco didn’t eclipse that mark Thursday, but a throw of 173-7 was more than five feet better than the rest of his competitors as he won gold in Class AA.

“It’s awesome to be here and win it, but I didn’t exactly hit the distance I wanted to,” he said. “I am looking forward to the state meet. I am looking past this right now.”

Cole shatters

PR for win

Before his final attempt in the triple jump, McGuffey’s C.J. Cole needed a personal record to make it to states.

Cole did much more than that.

With a jump of 45-31/4, Cole cleared his previous best by more than two feet to take home the Class AA triple jump title, along with qualifying for the state meet for the first time.

His previous best was 42-101/4.

“I was ranked fifth and they take the top five,” Cole said. “That was my main goal today, making it to states. I needed to break my PR by two inches. Instead, I broke it by two feet. I kind of like the pressure. The adrenaline was going a little bit more.”

Raising the Barr

Clara Barr is one-for-one.

The freshman from McGuffey has now competed in one WPIAL championship and has won one silver medal. Her leap of 16-11, a PR, secured second place in the Class AA event. Her previous best jump was 16-9 3/4 at a regular-season dual meet.

“This is my first year jumping,” said Barr, who has chosen softball over track in previous years. “I had the option of volleyball or track. My volleyball team told me I would be really be good at it so I took their advice and I’m glad I did.”

Barr hit the PR on an extra jump that was given her when one of her attempts was mistakenly not measured because officials thought she fouled.

“So they said take another jump,” she said. “I was upset. I used that anger on the next jump.”

Trinity’s Clutter doubles down

After qualifying for the WPIAL Championships in both the shot put and javelin, Trinity’s Brent Clutter recognized his strength and went with it.

Only competing in the javelin, Clutter set a personal-record distance of 171 feet to finish second in Class AAA and qualified for the state meet for the first time as a junior.

“Honestly, no,” Clutter said of expecting a silver medal. “This past week at practice hasn’t been great. I was trying to double down for the javelin because that was my best chance to make states.”

His previous PR was 167-0.

“I just tried to focus on my technique and keeping momentum throughout the whole throw,” Clutter said. “I have no idea what states is going to be like but making is great. It’s really nice to see things fall into place after a year of really working on it.”

A consistent thrower

In her final three throws in the discus, Miranda Schramm was a model of consistently. She hit 121-1, 121-2 and 121-2.

“This is by far one of the most favorite places to throw,” said Schramm, a sophomore from Burgettstown.

Schramm was third from the end of the throwing order and finished third in the event.

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