When the District 3 Track and Field Championships take place this Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University, most of the spectators will have one or two specific athletes they want to watch.
A relative, or friend, or teammate who qualified in one or more events will catch their attention.
But there is also a lot of down time for most of the people at Seth Grove Stadium. Here are some of the best things to do while waiting for your favorite athlete's events.
1. Appreciate some of the best jumpers before they are gone.
Last year, Milton Hershey's Ibn Short, Trinity's Danny Jackson and Chambersburg's Marshay Ryan all won District and PIAA gold at Seth Grove Stadium. All three are back, but all three will also be graduating in the coming month. So make sure to catch them as they defend their titles.
In the case of Ryan, it is two titles that she will be defending. Ryan competes in the AAA girls' long jump at 2 p.m. Friday and the AAA girls' triple jump at 1 p.m. Friday. Jackson will be in the AA boys' long jump at noon Friday, and Short will be in the AAA boys' high jump at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Click here for the entire District 3 Track and Field Championship schedule
2. Remember the weather
Sure, pay attention to the weather report. But no matter what it says, make sure to bring sun block and an umbrella. This is especially true for spectators who are also planning on attending the two days of the PIAA Meet next weekend. Most years, at least one of the four days of postseason meets at Shippensburg University is a scalder, and at least one has a rainstorm.
3. See if you can tell who crossed the finish line first
Sprints almost always appear close to the naked eye, but based on the seedings, there could be some down-to-the-wire finishes in middle distance and distance races this weekend. For instance, in the AA boys' 3200-meter run, Jared Nissley of Lancaster Mennonite enters with a seed time of 9:49.05. That has him as the No. 1 seed, but just 0.1 seconds ahead of Boiling Springs' Sean Manning. In the AA girls' 4x800 relay, Camp Hill is the No. 1 seed with a 9:44.40, but that doesn't give the Lions much breathing room against Wyomissing, which has a 9:44.62 to its credit.
Click here for the AA girls' top seeds
Cumberland Valley's Alec Kunzweiler is the No. 1 seed in two events, the 800 (1:54.11) and the 1600 (4:17.04). But Zach Brehm of Carlisle has a 1:54.64 in the 800, and Vinny Todaro of Big Spring has a 4:17.80 in the 1600, so Kunzweiler probably won't be able to take anything easy in either race.
Click here for the AAA boys' top seeds
4. Say "Thank You"
Unlike baseball or basketball, the officials at a track meet are rarely noticed. But many officials are dedicating about 20 hours of their weekend to the District 3 Meet, and several others will do it again during the PIAA Meet next weekend. Also, some of the concession stand and t-shirt stand workers are looking at long hours as well. They've earned a few words of appreciation.
5. Make sure you're free during the sprint and hurdle finals
The shorter, quicker races are usually filled with excitement, brief though they may be. But there is more to it than that this year. A disproportionately high number of sprinters and hurdlers enter the District 3 Meet with times that are better than the state qualifying time. In AAA girls, 20 of the 100 runners have already clocked a time better than the 12.67 needed to move on to the PIAA meet. They are led by Berks Catholic's Gina Lytz (12.34), Hempfield's Sarah Helgeson (12.34), South Western's Lynne Mooradian (12.35) and Susquehannock's Alesha Herman (12.35).
Click here for the AAA girls' top seeds
In AAA boys, 17 of the runners in the 100 have already bested the state-qualifying 11.10 at least once. Tops on that list are Cumberland Valley's Ethan Schmalhofer (10.82), Daniel Boone's Xavier Smith (10.83), Garden Spot's CeVaughn Caldwell (10.83) and Northern Lebanon's Joe Vedilago (10.84). Other events with more than 10 athletes with a state-qualifying time already to their credit include AAA girls' 100 hurdles (11 athletes), AAA boys' 200 (12 athletes) and AAA boys' 1600 (11 athletes).
Click here for the AA boys' top seeds
Unfortunately for those competitors, those times in other meet do nothing to help them qualify for states. The top two in AA and the top five in AAA in each event automatically move on, and then any of the top eight can move on if they make the state-qualifying standard during the District 3 Meet. If an athlete finishes ninth, even with a state-qualifying time or distance, he or she does not advance.
6. Get your photo taken on the Shippensburg University campus
There is no reason that every spectator has to spend every minute at Seth Grove Stadium. One popular place to have a picture taken is next to a rock that has "Shippensburg University" chiseled into it. Another is the Creative Tools sculpture (pictured above).
7. Watch the girls' pole vault, and gain a new appreciation for gymnastics
Not that the boys' pole vault won't be good (Palmyra's Tim Moses just set a Mid-Penn record with a 16-0 last week, earning him the No. 1 seed and top mark in the state this year), but the competition in both AA and AAA girls' should be impressive. In AA, Trinity's Madison Depner and Schuylkill Valley's Bre Manzolillo are tied for the top seed with marks of 11-6, while Annville-Cleona's Samantha Becker is just behind as the No. 3 seed at 11-4. In AAA, Northern's Kennedy Shank is the favorite with a seed height of 11-10, but Lebanon's Erin Winters and Hempfield's Danielle Poletti are both in the mix with 11-6 1/4 and 11-6, respectively.
But when these athletes clear the bar, it should be remembered that some were helped along by the effort put forth in a different sport. Both Becker, who set the Lebanon County Meet record in April with an 11-0, and Shank, who tied the Mid-Penn Meet record with an 11-6 last weekend, credit part of their pole vaulting success to their involvement in gymnastics as children.
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