Joe Vedilago winning in key meets
Northern Lebanon's Joe Vedilago is having a memorable season, and his performances have kept pace with the big meets he's been running in. Two Saturdays ago, he won the 200 and 400-meter sprints at the Lebanon County Meet on his way to being named Most Valuable Male Athlete. On Wednesday, he won the 100, 200 and 400 as the Vikings beat Elco to clinch the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 title. Then this past Saturday, he again won the 100, 200 and 400 as Northern Lebanon won the team title at the White Rose Relays. Those three wins may have been the most significant to the team overall. The Vikings had 72 points, and Milton Hershey was second with 70. A slip to second in any of those events would have caused a tie for the team title, and two second places would have put the Vikings in second place overall.
Palmyra distance relayers keep setting records
Have a distance relay of some kind? Chances are four girls from Palmyra will show up to set a record in it. Which girls will depend on which distance race it is, but the Cougars set three records in three difference distance relays in an eight-day stretch. At the Lebanon County Meet, the team of Olivia Farabaugh, Mirando Salvo, Maria Tukis and Katie Dembrowski set a meet record in the 4x800 with a 9:39.6. That same day, Farabaugh, Haley Bova, Tukis and Dembrowski set another Lebanon County record in the 4x400 with a 4:09.8. But traditional relays are just the start for Palmyra. Last Saturday, the Cougars set a Blue Streak Relays record in the distance medley, an event that runs legs of 800, 400, 1200 and 1600. Dembrowski, Tukis, Farabaugh and Salvo put together a 12:26.0 to get their names on another record list.
Why run in just one direction?
Runners always run counter-clockwise on the track, right? In most meets, yes, but not at some of the relay invitationals. Both the Cedar Cliff Relays and the Blue Streak Relays featured the shuttle hurdles, in which four hurdlers all run over the same 100-meter stretch. The first runner starts from what is usually the finish line and runs clockwise to where the second runner is, who takes off in the more traditional counter-clockwise direction. Then there is another runner at the start/finish line, and one more at the opposite end. Not quite following? Check out these two videos from the Cedar Cliff Relays.
VIDEO: Cedar Cliff girls' shuttle relays, Heat 1
VIDEO: Cedar Cliff girls' shuttle relays, Heat 2
Pre-prom running > Post-prom running?
Not that the athletes have a choice in the matter, but it is an interesting question: are runners better off competing on the day after their school's prom, possibly tired from the event, or competiting the day of the prom, with nerves and preparation taking some of their attention? At the Cedar Cliff Relays, there was some evidence to support the latter. Both the Central Dauphin boys' 4x800 team and the Cedar Cliff girls' 4x400 team won their events. But the Rams, running the day after their prom, had hoped to break 8:00 and instead got an 8:06.1. Anchor runner Cody Harkins said, "After Prom night, it was a pretty decent time." Meanwhile, the Colts were aiming to break the school record of 4:00.26, and got it with a 3:58.6. But the team of Nicole Boldosser, Amanda Lawrence, Taylor Chapman and Katlin Gould did not want to be interviewed about their accomplishment very long - they had to get ready for their prom that night.
ON TWITTER: @David_Bohr
ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/DavidBohrPAMedia