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Indians dominant in wins over Tigers

Juniata boys take 80 of 87 points on track, claim 17 of 18 contests

Sentinel photo by JEFF FISHBEIN
Zeb Ames, right, hands the baton to Clay Yeager during the 4x800-meter relay.

MIFFLINTOWN — East Juniata may have its biggest contingent in years, but the Tigers had little scratch against cross-county rival Juniata in their annual Tri-Valley League track and field meet Tuesday.

Juniata’s dominance was formidable, so much so that in the early going it seemed plausible that the visitors were going to leave without a single event victory.

It wasn’t for a lack of effort. It was just pure domination by the Indians.

The Juniata boys — who took 80 of 87 points on the track and won 17 of 18 events — rolled to a 127-23 victory. The Indians were victors in the girls meet as well, 117-32.

“We just have a lot of very good competitors. To be able to run here anytime for them is exciting,” Juniata coach Kim Hart said. “Of course, when we’re going against EJ that’s our county rival. We just want to win.”

Sentinel photo by JEFF FISHBEIN
Juniata’s Hannah Leach throws the shot put at Juniata’s Tri-Valley League meet Tuesday.

That’s perhaps the spot for the exclamation point for her teams in this meeting between the two. East Juniata didn’t have a win in the books until Emily Wert pulled away late in the 1,600-meter run.

A good thing for Juniata was the number of athletes who recorded a win, or at least scored points — this was not a meet dominated by the usual suspects.

“I feel that for them to be able to achieve that here with their family and their friends and everyone watching, that’s a thrill,” Hart said. “To have a day that we really had a lot of winners is an exciting day.”

The Tigers had just one first-place finisher on the boys side, Riley Hepner in the triple jump. The girls had three; along with Wert, Kierstyn Fogle won the 400 and Thea Neimond the 800, that last one a comeback at the end and a redemption when he was trailing on the anchor leg of the 4×800 relay.

Even that, Benner noted, was a positive because the time moved the quartet into the school’s top 10.

“I think a PR by like 20 seconds, that was great,” he said. “Riley Hepner had a great triple jump, it was 39-something. So we had a lot of really good performances (that) didn’t really reflect in the score.

“If we come here we compete hard, everybody has a good time.”

The Tigers’ only other win in the meet was the girls 4×400 relay, which was uncontested.

“We had some really good performances on the track, a couple big comebacks (girls). Running Juniata brings out the best in both teams and it’s neat to see that,” he said.

Juniata had all the multiple winners — again, not a ton of them, but a group that deserves recognition. Hart said one of the strengths of her team is the ability of anyone to step into a role and excel, which was shown on the score sheet Tuesday.

Will Tyson won both of the boys hurdle races; Anna Stroup was first across in both for the girls. Garrett Meifert won the shot put and discus, while Megan Brubaker took both horizontal jumps among the girls. Tad Shellenberger won both of the sprints; for the girls, Juniata’s family duo of Nylah (100) and Ashlyn (200) Pannebaker were the sprint winners.

One of the most interesting races to watch was the 1,600-meter run, which for once was not dominated by Garrett Baublitz. In fact, Baublitz hung back to help one of his fall teammates improve — one from the other team in the spring. Baublitz was with East Juniata’s Albert Heister all four trips.

“Heister’s been trying to get under five minutes all year and Baublitz was kind of pacing him,” Benner said. “Those guys are tight because they run cross country together.”

“We have some generous athletes on our team. I’m OK with it at times,” Hart said.

Juniata (boys, 3-0; girls, 2-1) travels to Huntingdon on Thursday. East Juniata (both, 0-3) will send athletes to the Jack Roddick Invitational at Shippensburg on Saturday.

BOYS

Juniata 127, East Juniata 23

4×800 relay: Juniata (Ames, Parson, Yeager, Baublitz), 9:30.3. 110 hurdles: Will Tyson, J, 16.8; Theron Barton, J; Charlie Barton, J. 100 dash: Tad Shellenberger, J, 12.1; Carl Fowler, J; Christian Benner, E. 1,600 run: Clay Yeager, J, 4:42.6; Garrett Baublitz, J; Albert Heister, E. 400 dash: Jeremiah Parson, J, 54.7; Caleb Seeger, E; G.G. Ortiz, J. 4×100 relay: Juniata (T.Barton, Tyson, Shellenberger, Fowler), 47.4. 300 hurdles: Will Tyson, J, 43.2; Theron Barton, J; Tanner Martin, E. 800 run: Garrett Baublitz, J, 2:01; Clay Yeager, J; Zeb Ames, J. 200 dash: Tad Shellenberger, J, 25.1; Carl Fowler, J; Christian Benner, E. 3,200 run: James Hazard, J, 11:40; Isaak Fausey, J; Clay Yeager, J. 4×400 relay: Juniata (Tyson, Shelenberger, B.Wagner, Parson), 3:54. Javelin: Barrett Walters, J, 139-6; Johnathon Phillips, E; Ethan Diven, J. Long jump: Brayden Pannebaker, J, 18-9 1/2; Riley Hepner, E; Zach Hile, J. Shot put: Garrett Meifert, J, 37-7 1/2; Johnathan Phillips, E; Barrett Walters, J. High jump: Jon Elliott, J, 5-4; Brayden Pannebaker, J; Tanner Martin, E. Triple jump: Riley Hepner, E, 39-10; Scott Brosius, J; Jon Elliott, J. Discus: Garrett Meifert, J, 115-7; Barrett Walters, J; Riley Hepner, E. Pole vault: Chase Lehman J, 11-6; Tansen Miller, J; Stuart Dare, J.

GIRLS

Juniata 117, East Juniata 32

4×800 relay: Juniata (Walters, Zendt, S.Houtz, E.Houtz), 11:05.1. 100 hurdles: Anna Stroup, J, 18.1; Liseth Montoya, J; Mackenzie Bennett J, 19.5. 100 dash: Nylah Pannebaker, J, 13.87; Ashlyn Pannebaker and Zoe Burns, J. 1,600 run: Emily Wert, E, 6:22.6; Sydney Houtz, J; Carli Walters, J. 400 dash: Kierstyn Fogle, E, 1:05.3; Liseth Montoya, J; Valorie Fisher, J. 4×100 relay: Juniata (Stroup, N.Pannebaker, A.Pannebaker, Burns), 53.1. 300 hurdles: Anna Stroup, J, 55.1; Mackenzie Bennett, J; Rebecca Book, E. 800 run: Thea Neimond, E, 2:48.5; Sydney Houtz, J; Carly Beaver, E. 200 dash: Ashlyn Pannebaker, J, 29.2; Nylah Pannebaker, J; Zoe Burns, J. 3,200 run: Carli Walters, J, 15:11.6; Emily Houtz, J; Sydney Houtz, J. 4×400 relay: East Juniata (Wert, Beaver, Neimond, Fole), 4:51.6. Javelin: Clarye Guyer, E, 100-11; Olivia Clark, J; Madi Beward, J. Long jump: Megan Brubaker, J, 16-1 1/4; Madison McDonald, E; Olivia Clark, J. Shot put: Malin Kint, J, 30-10; Julie Hart, J; Madi Beward, J. High jump: Olivia Clark, J, 4-10; Megan Brubaker, J; Madison McDonald, E. Triple jump: Megan Brubaker, J, 35-1; Olivia Clark, J; Carly Beaver, E. Discus: Madi Beward, J, 94-1 1/2; Julie Hart, J; Hannah Leach, J. Pole vault: Jasmine Hockenberry, J, 7-0; Semeria Malcolm, J.

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