SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Richland High School senior Arison McCulty made his first jump count Friday at Shippensburg University.
McCulty hit a distance of 22 feet, 51/2 inches, a standard that stood atop the field in the boys Class 2A long jump event in the PIAA Track and Field Championship Meet.
PHOTO GALLERY | Area athletes claim silver and gold at state track & field
The gold-medal performance capped McCulty’s relatively brief, but highly distinguished track and field career with the Rams.
“I hit my big jump on the first one,” McCulty said. “After that, my second jump, I kind of tweaked my ankle a bit and went downhill from there. The first one saved me.”
McCulty needed every bit of that opening jump because Bishop Carroll Catholic senior Eli Cunningham pushed him throughout six jumps over two flights. Cunningham placed second at 22-51/4, only one-quarter of an inch behind McCulty.
“I love Arison, a great guy,” said Cunningham, who placed fourth in the District 6-2A meet won by McCulty, but advanced to the PIAA meet by attaining a state-qualifying distance.
Results from Day 1 of PIAA track and field meet
Results from Day 1 of the PIAA track and field championship meet at Shippensburg University.
“It’s really cool to see two people from District 6 in first and second,” Cunningham said. “I’m happy with it.”
Cunningham appreciated the deep and competitive field at the state meet.
He also had to adapt.
“Ultimately, I think I lost to the pole vault pit,” Cunningham said.
The pole vault pit is situated next to the start of the long jump track near midfield at Seth Grove Stadium.
“I ran out of runway. I couldn’t move back anymore,” Cunningham said.
“I just kept stretching. However, I’m happy with what I got. At the end of the day, it’s all part of God’s plan.”
McCulty began competing in track “midway through last season.”
“Everyone was recruiting me from basketball,” McCulty said after the 6-2A meet. “They could see I’m not super-tall, but I could dunk a lot.”
His first jump Friday put McCulty atop the leaderboard, but his win wasn’t a slam dunk after he tweaked his ankle while landing in the pit. Cunningham did his best to supplant his District 6 and Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference rival.
“Eli is a good friend of mine,” McCulty said. “We compete against each other a lot and usually it’s close. Earlier, we even ended up tying at one (meet). I’m glad it was him that got second behind me.”
His first trip to the state meet capped an amazing high school career in what once was considered his “second” sport.
“It means everything to me,” McCulty said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since last year when I didn’t qualify at districts. I had a chip on my shoulder. It made me mad.
“I’ve been training all through the summer, all through even basketball season, coming up to this point. It feels so good to finally win it.”
Two other area seniors competed in the 2A long jump, as Penn Cambria senior Blake Lilly (20-11/4) was 23rd, and Bedford’s Owen Schrock (20-03/4) was 24th.
Richland junior Arnold Mugerwa advanced to the finals in the 2A boys 110-meter hurdles. Mugerwa ran a 14.91 in the preliminaries to take the seventh seed in Saturday’s final. Mugerwa also advanced in the 300-meter hurdles, posting a 39.44 for the fifth-best time in the 2A preliminaries. Forest Hills senior Bryce Carroll (40.50) was 14th in the 300 hurdle preliminaries, and Meyersdale senior Branson Hersch (40.53) was 16th.
The Bishop McCort Catholic 2A boys 400-meter relay squad also advanced with the seventh-best preliminary time.
The squad of junior Marquis Gordon, senior Mark Pazniak, junior Bentley Bainey and senior Josh Spontak ran a 43.20.
United’s 1600-meter relay squad finished seventh in the preliminary heats to secure a spot in Saturday’s final. The Lions ran 3:26.42 in the final event on a rainy afternoon. The relay team consists of junior Luke Shepler and seniors Carter Payne, Logan Lichtenfels and Matthew Beaver.
The Class 2A boys 1600, Forest Hills senior Tyler Caron finished 21st (4:31.00), followed closely by Conemaugh Township sophomore Hudson Lease in 22nd (4:31.36). Central Cambria sophomore Miles Doyle placed 31st (4:42.13). Quaker Valley junior Jonah Montagnese repeated as state champion in the event in 4:11.35.
In the 400 preliminary heats, Bedford junior Sam Koontz (50.61) was 14th, and Portage junior Josh Papcun (51.25) was 22nd.
Richland senior Joe McAneny missed qualifying for the finals in the 200-meter dash.
McAneny and Overbrook senior Josiah Carter each finished their heat in 22.47. PIAA officials needed to extend the timing system to the thousandth of a second, giving Carter the eighth qualifying position, Rams coach Chris Mangus said.
In the 100-meter hurdles preliminaries, Chestnut Ridge senior Carter Wharton (10.96) was 10th and McAneny (11.00) was 11th.
Bedford’s Schrock (6-0) tied for 21th place in the 2A high jump. Bisons junior John Ingraham (140-10) finished 22nd in the discus, and Richland senior Brodie Hollis (128-8) was 26th. Penn Cambria’s Lilly (163-0) was 14th in the 2A javelin, and Bedford senior Andrew Evans (123-4) finished 22nd.
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.