Published: May 07, 2008 12:00 am            

Rams run off with another conference crown

The Richland girls track and field team is used to winning the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference title, claiming five regular-season championships prior to this year.

The Rams lost to Central Cambria by four points in this season’s dual meet, but bounced back to claim the crown at the conference championships Tuesday at Johnstown High School.

“The girls just amaze me,” Richland coach Mike Sabol said. “They are so resilient. They keep coming back. They face a lot of adversity. We don’t have a lot of girls numbers-wise, but the girls that I have on the team have such an attitude to be successful. I came into this meet with no expectations, I just wanted to see how we would perform.”

The Rams finished with 1351⁄2 points with the Red Devils second with 118. Forest Hills (75), Bedford (701⁄2) and Bishop McCort (70) rounded out the top five.

“I know our girls would love to run a dual meet against Central Cambria again,” Sabol said. “But I tell them all the time, you don’t get a second chance.”

The Rams’ Calsie Boyd accounted for a pair of victories including a record-setting leap of 5-foot-4 in the high jump, topping the 2000 standard of 5-3 by Central Cambria’s Susie Bono. Boyd won the triple jump with 33-foot leap.

“Calsie Boyd has just been a rock for us the entire season in the long, triple and high jump, especially,” Sabol said. “She’s just amazing.”

Other Richland winners were Ashton Walton in the 100 hurdles (15.7) and Sam Mitchell in the 400 (59.9).

“Ashton Walton and Sam Mitchell are girls that we just continuously count on,” Sabol said.

Central Cambria’s Carly Seymour brought home a pair of individual titles with wins in the 1600 (5:07.2) and the 3200 (10:57.5).

Amber Latterner, Seymour, Emily Wright and Ashley Stump won the 3200 relay in 9:42.7, bettering Westmont Hilltop’s meet record from 2004.

The Red Devils’ Latterner, Victoria Brumbaugh, Wright and Kelsey Seymour combined for the victory in the 1600 relay with a time of 4:09.5.

Kelsey Seymour added another record in the 800, as her 2:21.3 topped the 2:21.8 turned in by Westmont’s Kaitlyn Urban in 2004.

Johnstown’s Sidnee Baxter edged out Central Cambria’s Brumbaugh in the 100 (12.6) and the 200 (26.4) dashes. Baxter also anchored the 400 relay, joining teammates Diano Larue, Natasha King and Chartise Wyatt for the winning run of 51.1.

“I was really nervous because I knew I had really good competition, the girl from Central Cambria was really fast,” Baxter said. “When I got to the end of the 100 and did my lean in, I knew I had it. I was pretty happy. In the 200, it’s tough to keep a pace for a long distance. Our 4 by 100 is coming together pretty well.”

Trojans senior Ashley Minemyer, a second-year vaulter, came into the meet with the ninth-seeded ranking of 7-6 in the pole vault during the regular season.

Minemyer, who raised her vault to 9-0 at the West Central Coaches Meet, exceeded her personal best on Tuesday with a leap of 9-6 to win the competition, 6 inches better than top-seeded freshman Brittany Kidd of Bedford.

“I just started jumping higher last week,” Minemyer said. “I just came in and did what I had to do. I just kept doing what my coach (former Westmont pole vaulting standout Pat Barron) told me to do. He jumped in college himself.”

Penn Cambria’s Jessica Delic won the javelin (109-3) while Somerset’s Bethany Buck took the discus title (96-31⁄2) and Bishop McCort’s Emily Basile claimed the shot-put championship (35-0).

Bedford’s Brandy Harris won the long jump (16-6) and Cambria Heights’ Kayla Kline prevailed in the 300 hurdles (49.2).

        

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