Bethel Park Track Team dashes into WPIAL Championships

Mariah Penascino, Staff Writer

May 15, 2013

The Track and Field Wpial Championships will be held at Baldwin High School on Thursday, May 16th.

All running events and field events begin at 1:00 PM.

Prior to this big event was an enormous invitational known as the “Baldwin Invitational” on Saturday, May 4th. Eighty schools were in attendance at this event. Bethel Park competed in the Invitational and ran, jumped, and threw rather well.

All athletes that medaled at the Baldwin Invitational included Dani Konopelski for Girls Discus, Amanda Ruschel in the Girls 800 Meter Dash, Tatiana Ruzzini in the Girls 100 Meter Hurdles, and Maddie Gregg in the Girls Pole Vault. Congratulations to all those who medaled.

For Bethel Park, all Boys and Girls Relay Teams made it to the WPIAL Championships, which include the 4×100 Meter Relay, the 4×400 Meter Relay, and the 4×800 Meter Relay.

Participants for the Girls 4×100 Meter Relay include Jensine Murphy, Gina Speranza, A.J. Baroffio, and Tatiana Ruzzini. Competing in the Girls 4×400 Meter Relay are Magell Boucher, Courtney Conway, Amanda Ruschel, and A.J. Baroffio. In the Girls 4×800 Meter Relay, Karissa Coffield, Amy Bogan, Katelyn Hancock, and Julianna Rosa represent Bethel Park.

Participants in the Boys 4×100 Meter Relay include Jeff Denson, T.J. Gallagher, Alex Minton and Chiante Pryor, with Chad Vomer and Donovan Staten as alternates. Running in the Boys 4×400 Meter Relay are Ryan Lee, Alex Minton, Chiante Pryor, and Nick Salice, with two alternates Donovan Staten and Justin Nath. In the Boys 4X800 Meter Relay, Tyler Boxheimer, Andrew Dougher, David Erzen, and Logan Kochka-Puskar represent Bethel Park, with two alternates Ryan Lee and Eric Kaminski.

The Relay Teams were not the only ones who made it to the Championships. There are a ton of individuals competing on Thursday at Baldwin as well.

Competing on the track for the girls on Thursday includes Gina Speranza in the 100 Meter Dash, Amanda Ruschel and Steffi Cobb in the 800 Meter Dash, and Tatiana Ruzzini in the 100 Meter Hurdles. Also, Maddie Gregg and Laura Stefanyak will be competing in Girls Pole Vault and Paige Kochka-Puskar and Jessica Hanson in Girls High Jump. On the field, Lexi Stevenson will be competing in Girls Shot Put and Discus and Alyssa Debski in Girls Javelin.

Competing individually for the boys on Thursday are Ryan Lee in the Boys 800 Meter Dash, Isaiah Bell in Boys High Jump, Billy Ruschel in Boys Triple Jump, Danny Emma in Boys Pole Vault, Tom Ernst in Boys Shot Put, and Micheal Grimm in Boys Discus.

Congratulations and good luck to everyone who qualified and made it to WPIAL Championships.

About the Contributor

Mariah Penascino, Staff Writer

As you walk down the hallways of BPHS, there are smiles all around you. However, a certain senior catches your eye. Her eyes twinkling, the smile on her face puts one on your's too. Mariah Penascino's birthday could not have fallen on a more appropriate date, October 7, World Smile Day. Everywhere she goes, Mariah always seems to cheer people up. When she's not in school, this athlete is running or practicing basketball, as well as sleeping and listening to music. Her favorite music is R&B and anything she can get up and dance to. Another sport she enjoys is swimming, especially since she is a lifeguard in the summer. She also used to be a gymnist before she gave it up to follow her passion in basketball. Her ultimate goal in life is to be in the WNBA, so a lot of her free time is invested in both basketball and academics. As well as basketball, she also spends a lot of time practicing and perfecting her journalism skills for Hawk Eye. She chose to write for the online newspaper to become a better writer and also to spread her love of sports to the people. So, if you ever miss a game, find Mariah. She can fill you in on any sport, any time, any where. Written by: Julia Angotti, Staff Writer