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Slim margins make huge difference for local relay teams

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SHIPPENSBURG – It comes down to a matter of seconds.

The relay teams from Fort Cherry and Burgettstown high schools realized just how minimal the difference from despair and elation can be Friday afternoon at the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University.

Entering the state meet with the second-fastest time in the Class 2A field, the Rangers’ 1,600-meter girls relay team slipped one spot out of the top-eight qualifying spots for Saturday’s finals by finishing in 4:08.45 to end their season.

A last-ditch effort from anchor Mara Whalen to pull Fort Cherry back into contention for what would have been its first ever finals appearance in a relay fell less than a second-and-a-half short.

“I don’t know. They knew they had to win to get in,” said Fort Cherry coach Ben Maxin. “They ran hard but maybe hitting that (personal record) last week and that was the top point.”

Whalen took the baton and trimmed what looked to be a fourth-place finish into challenging for first and a spot in the finals. Saint Joseph’s edged the Rangers to win the third of four heats in 4:07.08.

“I thought we had a chance if we had 10 or 15 more meters,” Maxin said. “I thought we might have won it. It stings a little bit more when you are one (spot) away. Those girls have won all year. They are WPIAL champions. Nobody can get that taken away from them.”

Fort Cherry also failed to qualify in the 3,200-meter girls relay.

The Burgettstown boys 400-meter relay made history by the slimmest of margins.

With a time of 44.07 seconds, the Blue Devils sealed up the last qualifying spot in Saturday’s Class 2A finals. It is the first time the school has had a relay team advance to the second day at the state championships. The first team out, North Catholic, finished in 44.08.

“The handoffs were very good. That’s probably the best they’ve been,” said Burgettstown track coach Kelly Ward. “That’s been their downfall all year. They would drop (the baton) or bobble it. Every time they had good handoffs, they ended up having pretty good times. It looked smooth today.”

Burgettstown’s relay team, which is made up of Seth Phillis, who also advanced in the 100-meter dash, James Choff, Gage Monette and Cyle Conley, will race for a state title Saturday afternoon.

“What are they going to do?” Ward asked. “Well, they are guaranteed a medal. The competition hasn’t been real high since last week (at the WPIAL championships). You are running against some good ones now. We will see.”

Schramm gets surprise: After competing, Burgettstown sophomore thrower Miranda Schramm was told she just missed the medal stand.

She then got the surprise of the day when told to report for her medal. In her first appearance at states, Schramm finished eighth in the discus with a distance of 122-11.

“I had my standards set pretty high because track is my everything,” Schramm said. “My goal was to finish around sixth place. I shot really high. Any day on the podium is a good day, especially for me just being a sophomore.”

Schramm qualified for the WPIAL championships last year as a freshman but didn’t qualify for states.

“She was beaming,” Ward said. “She wore her medal all day.”

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