Shriver shares third; Cole, Stafford embrace 4th-place finishes
SHIPPENSBURG – It has been one record after another this season for Taylor Shriver.
The Waynesburg High School sophomore pole vaulter first broke the school record at the Mountaineer Classic earlier in the year. A month ago, Shriver cleared 11-8 to crack the record book at the Washington-Greene County Coaches’ Track Meet. Then last week, she vaulted 12-7 to then be the top height ever in Class 2A at the WPIAL championships.
Some thought another record – South Williamsport’s Katie Jones’ PIAA record vault of 13-4 – could be threatened if Shriver had a great day.
Unfortunately for Shriver, that day wasn’t Saturday.
Failing to get over 12-6, Shriver had to settle for a tie for third place with Clarion’s Laken Lewis with a height of 12 feet at the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
Shriver was one of multiple local medal winners on the second day of the event, including fourth-place finishes for McGuffey triple jumper C.J. Cole and California’s Jelani Stafford in the shot put.
“I have hit 12-6 multiple times, probably four or five times during meets and every time at practice. I’ve gotten over 13 (feet) at practice,” Shriver said. “My plan was off during the beginning. I wasn’t being as aggressive as I usually am. I wasn’t staying close to the pole. It just wasn’t my day. It was tough.”
Shriver skipped the early vaults, entering once the bar height reached 11 feet. Her best vault as a freshman was 11-4 and she finished last year’s state title tied with six others for 12th place at 10-0.
“I wanted 13 feet for sure and wanted to win,” she said. “More importantly, I wanted to have a better year than last year, which was a lot worse. I still, obviously, have a lot of goals for the future that I want to set. It makes me want to work harder. I’m really looking forward to the next two years.”
Cole clinched fourth place in Class 2A with a jump of 44-0 1/4.
“If I would have never jumped as well at the WPIAL championships, this would have beaten my personal record by a foot-and-a-half,” Cole said. “I’m pretty happy. If you told me at the beginning of the season that I would have placed fourth at states, I would have told you you’re lying.”
Cole was the second seed after winning the district title by clearing his previously best jump by two feet. The final jump last week at Slippery Rock University sent him to his first state championship appearance.
“You usually don’t see the stands filled like this unless it’s for a football game,” he said. “I think the better competition really helped. You raise your game when you go against the best.”
Stafford, in his first year competing in track, again broke his own personal record and made history in the process.
With his throw of 55-10 1/4, four-and-a-half feet further than his WPIAL championship winning throw of 51-4 1/4, he became the first male athlete from California to medal at the state meet.
“Honestly, it came from just mentally beating myself up,” Stafford said. “The kind of person I am, I can put myself into this zone. I can go from zero to 100. I look up at the sky, hold the shot put in the sky and am locked in.”
Stafford said he thought he could finish in the top five after reading the performance list of his competitors.
“I was looking at the list and saw all the guys from third to eighth place were inches apart,” he said. “I was thinking that if I could pull off a throw of 53 feet, then I could make it. But this is insane. It’s just awesome.”