Cedar Crest leads Lebanon County athletes on PIAA track and field podium
There's going to be some celebrating at Cedar Crest for the last week-plus of the school year.
The Falcons have some pretty impressive PIAA track and field medals to show off.
It started Saturday with the 4x100 boys' relay, which finished in third place behind District 3 foes Chambersburg and Susquehanna Township.
A short time later freshman Kaddel Howard claimed the first of what could be many state gold medals when she cruised to the Class 3A 400-meter title.
Seniors Kyle Rauchut and Nick Garman locked down the middle of the relay, with Leo Tirado and Gabe Lewis putting the starting and finishing touches on the bronze medal.
"I'm not surprised with the finish," Rauchut said. "We've worked hard for this."
Cedar Crest came into the meet with the second-fastest seed time at 41.92 behind Susquehanna Township's 41.79. Chambersburg was right behind at 41.96.
Aware that handoffs were missed and batons fell during the state meet, the team spent extra time talking about the handoffs to avoid letdowns. That extra preparation stopped as soon as the horn sounded to start the race.
"We finished second at districts, so we knew we belonged here," Garman said. "Once we started running we just let our training take over."
With their medals around their necks, Garman and Rauchut stood with other members of the Cedar Crest track team to cheer on their stunning freshman.
Howard didn't disappoint.
She took the lead early and built on it to finish in 53.50, 1.38 ahead of West Chester Rustin's Ava Alexander. They were the only runners to finish in under 55 seconds.
With a substantial lead, Howard could have cruised into the title, but she didn't.
"I heard them behind me, so I kept running," she said.
Howard said her first PIAA championship experience was just what she expected.
"Everyone is all around and the competition is so good," Howard said. "Only the best make it this far, so winning this feels great."
Howard, who also ran the 200 at districts, said she would like to give the 100 a try more often next year.
First, she is going to celebrate her gold medal by taking some time off. She spent the winter running indoor, and claimed a title in the independent state meet, which gave her a taste of competing in front of big crowds before she hit Seth Grove Stadium this weekend.
Tyler Burgess doubles up
The Palmyra sophomore was busy on Saturday, as he placed sixth in the 300m hurdles and 7th in the 110m hurdles.
He finished the 300 with a 38.95, a new personal best.
"I was pretty confident," Burgess said. "Nice day out, no wind. I was just feeling really good."
Burgess has had a very strong postseason, winning the 110 and 300 at Mid-Penns, and earning fourth and third in those respective races at districts.
He now adds two state medals to his run, with still two years of his career left.
"It gives me a good amount of confidence," Burgess said. "I feel like I can improve a lot in the next two years, and hopefully bring home some gold."
Other medalists
Gabe Lewis: The Cedar Crest senior ran 10.84 to finish sixth in the Class 3A 100 meters.
Samantha Nelson: The Elco senior hit 118-4 feet to finish eighth in the Class 2A discus. She followed that up with a fourth-place medal in the afternoon javelin session. She hit 132-8 on her first throw.
Other competitors
Olivia Appleby: The Palmyra senior hit her best javelin throw on her first attempt, throwing 108-9 to finish 19th overall.
Landon Hostetter: The Annville-Cleona sophomore ran 9:49.17 to finish 25th in the Class 2A 3200 meters.
Eliana Schneider: The Cedar Crest freshman cleared 5-2 to finish 11th in the Class 3A high jump.
Mackenzie Stellmach: The Annville-Cleona freshman ran 12:11.78 to finish 17th in the Class 2A 3200 meters.
Lydia Stoner: The Palmyra senior cleared 5-0 to finish 20th in the Class 3A high jump.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: PIAA track and field: Cedar Crest paves the way for Lebanon County
