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Jan 02, 2024

CC’s Wess hurdles way to silver

May 29, 2023 Mirror photo by Michael BoytimCentral Cambria’s Jon Wess (right)

May 29, 2023

Mirror photo by Michael BoytimCentral Cambria's Jon Wess (right) races his way to a second-place finish in the Class 2A 110-meter hurdles on Saturday in Shippensburg.

SHIPPENSBURG — Central Cambria's Jon Wess walked out of Seth Grove Stadium last year upset about missing the finals in the 110-meter hurdles after entering the race as a high seed.

Saturday, the culmination of a year of work to right that failure paid off as Wess surged in the final stretch to earn a silver medal in 14.44.

"It's unbelievable. Right now, it doesn't even feel real," Wess said. "Since I started in seventh grade, this is where you want to be. My sisters (Paige and Emma) both came here and won gold and silver medals. I never thought I would get here. Last year, I came up short and was super sad. This year, my coach and I, (Matt) Grata, we had our eye on this day, training for states specifically and just trying to peak at this race at this time, and it's just unreal."

Wess was in the middle of the pack midway through the race but passed everyone except state champion Antonio Votour of Our Lady of Sacred Heart.

"My starts aren't always the best, but I have always had the endurance to carry me through the 110 and really kick at the end," Wess said. "That's usually the better part of my race. I felt like I was there with everybody, and then those last three or four hurdles, I felt myself gaining. As soon as that gun goes off, you don't even know what's happening. It's just muscle memory and running through the motions. The fact I was able to run that race today against that competition is unbelievable."

Wess continued his dream day with a fifth-place medal in the 400-meter relay in 43.45 alongside Nolan Wyrwas, Shay Adams and Ojha Ojha.

"We have always tried to break 44 here, but finally we did yesterday," Wyrwas said. "To be in the finals was just amazing. I’m proud to cap my career this way."

It was also the second medal of the day for Wyrwas, who placed seventh in the 2A 100-meter dash in 11.25 behind two-time state champion Ethan Black of Conemaugh Township.

"It's amazing doing this in front of so many fans here watching us perform," Wyrwas said. "It was my goal to make it in the 100 and medal, and here I am with a medal on my neck. It feels amazing."

Another group of Central Cambria boys joined Wess in winning silver medals.

The 3200-meter relay team of Dom Kuntz, Jake Wilson, Cody Roberts and Aiden Lechleitner were the runners-up in 8:01.93 after Roberts and Lechleitner helped the team rally from behind.

"We had a real good strategy going into it," Roberts said. "We knew we were going to be little behind after the first two guys. We put our faster guys third and fourth to make sure we could close the gap and get up there. For the third leg, we were pretty far behind. I wasn't thinking about it and just ran as hard as I could. I knew I had to finish hard and get good placement for (Lechleitner)."

Roberts put Central Cambria in position to win a medal after getting the baton in 13th, and Lechleitner briefly gave the Red Devils the lead down the stretch.

"I came off the line in a full sprint and was like, ‘uh oh,'" Lechleitner said. "I knew I went out really quick. It felt really good with about 400 left. I got the second-place guy, and he was all out. The first-place guy with about 200 left came flying around me, and my legs were just dead. They were jello coming into the end."

The silver medal was impressive considering Central Cambria's previous PR in the event would have placed it as the fifth seed, and it was seeded 12th based off its time at the District 6 meet.

Bishop Carroll Catholic's Jacob Harker also made a big jump from his seeding position to a bronze medal in the 2A shot put.

Harker threw 52 feet, 1.25 inches on his second throw of the day. Pen Argyl's Gian Greggo won the state title with a distance of 57 feet, 7 inches.

"My first throw was a good warm-up, but I knew I had to throw well today to get into the finals, especially coming from the first flight," Harker said. "I saw it go past the 50-foot mark, and I knew that was pretty good. It's a great experience. I’m happy to be able to throw that today. It feels great coming from the 14th seed up to third."

PIAA boys notes

n In addition to his 100- and 200-meter state titles, Conemaugh Township's Ethan Black anchored the Indians to a state title in the 400-meter relay in 42.51. He also broke the state record in his 200-meter victory in 21.07.

n Hollidaysburg's Caden DeLattre finished 11th place and did not qualify for finals with a top jump of 21 feet, 5 inches in the 3A long jump.

n Penn Cambria's Carter McDermott finished 16th in the 2A triple jump with a distance of 41 feet, 6.75 inches.

n Hollidaysburg's Nathan Grabill tied for 14th in the 3A high jump by clearing 6 feet, 2 inches on his second attempt at that height.

n Central Cambria's Roberts finished 15th in 1:59.38 in the 2A 800-meter run, and Lechleitner was 24th in 2:03.44.

n Huntingdon's Tyler Radar won a seventh-place medal in the 2A 3200-meter race in 9:21.75.

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