Area track and field stars head to PIAA meet

By the Mon Valley Independent

A pair of WPIAL track and field champions will be among the local athletes traveling to Shippensburg University this weekend for the PIAA state championships. 

Belle Vernon Area’s Dane Anden will look to win state gold after capturing the WPIAL Class 3A title in the high jump last week at Slippery Rock University. South Allegheny’s Eric Anderson is seeking the same feat as this year’s WPIAL 2A champion in the 110-meter hurdles. 

Anden edged Hempfield’s Sam Parker with a jump of 6-feet, 3-inches to claim the WPIAL crown. The BVA senior will look to reach the 6-4 mark at the state meet. 

Anderson enters the PIAA championships after winning WPIAL gold with a time of 15.74 seconds in last week’s event. He defeated Southmoreland’s Jake VanArsdale by 1/100th of a second. 

Anderson will be joined in the 110 hurdles by teammate Donato Dimucci, who finished third at the WPIAL meet with a time of 16.15 seconds. The SA duo will compete in separate heats at Shippensburg. 

Also competing in the Class 2A meet are Clairton’s Vance Walker in the high jump and Yough’s Hunter Bakewell in the javelin. 

Walker, who finished third in the WPIAL event, enters with a seed mark of 5-feet, 11-inches. Bakewell comes in with a seed throw of 166-01. He placed second last week. 

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.