Skyla Wilson
Skyla Wilson’s first trip to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Track and Field Championships contained some surprises.
“There were a lot more people that I expected,” the Susquehanna sophomore said after making her first visit to Shippensburg University where her mother and coach, Teresa Covert, was more of a fixture than any Susquehanna County athlete ever.
Wilson performed well in front of what is annually one of the largest crowds in Pennsylvania high school sports. She excelled in her first chance to compete at the site where Covert won four state championships and came within one point of producing a state team championship by herself as a senior.
After qualifying in two states events at the District 2 Championships, Wilson matched the best performance by a county athlete at this year’s state meet with a third-place finish in the Class AA girls 100-meter hurdles.
For her efforts, Wilson is the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for May.
Wilson earned the fourth seed in the state meet in the 300 hurdles after winning the district title in that event. It was in the 100, however, that she did best on the state level.
“I thought I’d have a better chance in the 300,” Wilson said. “But, I think I was more excited for the 100.”
Skyla Wilson in action
Early in the first of two days of state competition, Wilson finished the 100 hurdles in 15.13 for the third-best time among 29 entrants. The next day she held her third spot with similar efforts, running 15.17 for third out of 16 semifinalists and 15.12 for third out of eight finalists.
Wilson also was 12th in the state in the 300 hurdles falling a little short in qualifying for eight state final berths.
During the district championships, Wilson won the 300 hurdles in 45.31 and finished second in the 100.
Wilson also competed in the triple jump, ran on 400 and 1600 relay teams and ran the 200-meter dash at various times during the season.
Wilson also ran cross country as a freshman and was on the junior varsity basketball team in the winter of her freshman and sophomore years.
Skyla lives in Susquehanna and is the daughter of Shawn Wilson and Teresa Covert.
TRUEX DOMINATES THE COKE 600
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Martin Truex set an all-time NASCAR record by leading 588 miles, on the way to victory in Sunday night's 600-mile Coca Cola 600.
Martin Truex
No other driver could even come close to catching or passing him.
He started on the pole and led all but eight laps of the 400-lap race. At one point he was leading the second-place driver by over 9-seconds. When he took the checkered flag, he was 2.61-seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick.
“This means a lot now, but I'm sure it will mean even more when it sinks in,” said Truex in Victory Lane. “We've come so close in the past, but fell short. This is the type race you dream about.
“But we're only here because the team just refused to give up.”
Harvick did not lead any laps, but was able to get by Jimmie Johnson for second.
“Our car got better later on, but we had a lot of handling issues at the start,” said Harvick. “I thought we might be able to drive around him, but he just had too much.”
Jimmie Johnson led five laps, and ran up front for most of the race, but slipped to third near the finish.
“We had a fast car, but Martin just had a real fast car,” said Johnson.
Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Ryan Newman were the remaining top-10 finishers.
Officials issued several pit road penalties.
About midway of the race, one of Joey Logano's crewmembers crossed the wall too early during a pit stop and Logano, who was running second wound up back in 22nd place after the penalty.
Carl Edwards was caught speeding during a stop on lap 297 and had to serve a drive-through penalty. He finished one-lap down in the 18th position.
Kyle Busch was never a threat. He had a couple of handling problems, and with eight laps to go, a tire went down, causing him to slap the outside wall. He brought his car behind pit road and parked it. He was credited with finishing 33rd..
The race was run almost wreck free, as there were no major incidents involving two or more drivers.
The only other drivers to lead a lap when Truex was in the pits were: Johnson (5), Logano (1), and Paul Menard (3).
Truex's win assured him a spot in this year's Chase.
Top-10 leaders after 13 of 36: 1. Harvick-457, 2. Kurt Busch-421, 3. Johnson-409, 4. Kyle Busch-405, 5. Edwards-404, 6. Keselowski-404, 7. Truex-381, 8. Elliott-374, 9. Logano-373, 10. Kenseth-347.
HAMLIN COMES FROM BEHIND FOR XFINITY WIN
Joey Logano and Kyle Larson battled each other near the end of the Charlotte Xfinity race, but after a caution came out with two laps to go it went into overtime, allowing Danny Hamlin to finish as the winner.
Hamlin pitted for four fresh tires under the caution flag. When the race restarted, he was sixth. With the newer tires, he was able to work his way through the field for his 15th career Xfinity victory.
“It was a collaborative call,” Hamlin said, “He (Chris Gayle, crew chief) leaned towards staying out, but I thought that I could get around those guys in just two laps even though we were way faster on that last run.
“I thought tires were the thing. I knew if I could start on the outside that I wanted new tires and it just worked out on pit road where I came out on the outside. It all worked out and it was very exciting in that last corner, a little more exciting than what I expected.”
Austin Dillon recovered from an earlier accident to finish second. Joey Logano was third, followed by Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Larson, Brandon Jones, Ty Dillon, Brandon Poole, and Brendan Gaughan.
Top10- leaders after 11 of 33: 1. Suarez-376, 2. Sadler-362, 3. Allgaier-353, 4. T. Dillon-352, 5. Gaughan-336, 6. B. Jones-324, 7. E. Jones-320, 8. Poole-314, 9. Wallace Jr.-283, 10. Reed-266
NASCAR RACE FANS ARE BIG BUSINESS
Long before the roar of the engines, NASCAR racing adds a big boost to the local economy. According to television station WJZY in Charlotte, NASCAR fans come to the track ready to spend money.
Fans from all 50 states walked the grounds of Charlotte Motor Speedway over the last week.
The speedway estimates they added $250 to $275 million to the local economy.
The sea of fans entering the track, already spend hundreds of dollars even before getting to their seat.
“I would say about $300 dollars after everything is all said and done,” said one fan visiting from South Carolina.
“Just on souvenirs alone for me, probably between $300 and $500,” said Lisa Woodmore.
Lisa Woodmore and April Armstrong traveled all the way from Nashville. It was their 60th race together.
“We have been to Bristol, Charlotte, Talladega, Atlanta, Daytona,” said Woodmore.
They travel across the country, easily spending thousands of dollars every year on things like merchandise, tickets and food.
They say it’s worth every penny.
“You love the smell and the taste and the people. You just can’t get enough of it,” said Armstrong.
For other fans the pain to the pocketbook forces them to experience a shorter NASCAR season.
“I don’t go to as many races as I used to because of the travel and other expenses. You could spend a lot of money,” said Alan Green.
Ed Clark, president of Atlanta Motor Speedway said Delta Airlines conducted a survey and found that a typical race weekend is worth $500 million to Atlanta and the surrounding communities.
“Our race weekend is a win-win for everyone,” said Clark. “The fans spend money and the businesses benefit. It's good for the fan and merchant, from the largest corporations down to mom and pop operations.”
There are dozens of Waffle House restaurants in and around Atlanta, but the one in Griffin, Georgia, about 10 miles south of the track, has their busiest morning of the year on race day. They serve an estimated 700 breakfasts.
ROSSI WINS 100TH INDY 500
Alexander Rossi of Nevada City, California won Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
Rossi, who is normally a road course and street racer was competing in an oval race for only the second time in his career. Although largely unknown in America, Rossi is the second American to win the Indy race in the past three years. The two previous American winners were Hunter-Reay (2014) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2006).
Weekend Racing: The Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams will be at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway. The Trucks have an off weekend.
Sat., June 4, Nationwide Series race 12 of 33; Starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: Fox.
Sun., June 5, Sprint Cup Series race 14 of 36; Starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: Foxsports1.
Racing Trivia Question: What year did Bobby Allison win the NASCAR championship?
Last Week's Question? Who won the first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway? It was ran in 1960, and was called the World 600. Answer. Joe Lee Johnson.
You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com
MOOSIC – The late hours were not a problem for Forest City.
In the latest start – and latest finish – of the season, the Foresters wrapped up a long day of District 2 championship baseball at PNC Field with a late rally.
The Foresters scored four times in the top of the seventh inning and held on in the bottom of the inning to avenge a loss in last year’s final with a 6-5 victory over Blue Ridge.
The teams never got started until 9:20 p.m., more than two hours late, because the first two games of the day went extra innings and the third included a rain delay.
R.J. Kuruts brought the night to an end with a strikeout a half hour before midnight after Blue Ridge had scored twice and moved the tying and winning runs into scoring position.
“It’s not fun sitting around in the rain,” said Adam Kowalewski, who went 3-for-3 for Forest City after waiting out the late start.
Forest City broke through in the seventh inning against Jake Decker, who threw a shutout for Blue Ridge in last year’s 2-0 championship game victory.
Decker came on in relief early in this year’s final and took a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning but needed 87 pitches to get there. When the seventh inning was extended by an error and wound up requiring 34 more pitches, Decker could no longer hold on to the lead.
Dylan O’Dell had the only RBI hit for Forest City in the seventh inning when two of the runs came in on wild pitches.
“They knew all we had to do was get a couple guys on, tie it up and make the game go on,” Forest City coach Bill O’Dell said.
Instead, the Foresters built a three-run lead.
They needed every one of them.
Jordan Goff and Derek Stento had sacrifice flies in the bottom of the inning to drive in two runs.
Kuruts picked up the win with two innings in relief of Mitchell Blake, who struck out seven while allowing just three hits in five innings.
Goff and Decker combined to strike out 13 for Blue Ridge.
Goff struck out three while allowing just an unearned run in 1 1/3 innings. He also went 2-for-3 with a double, sacrifice fly, two runs and an RBI.
Decker gave up five runs, just two of which were earned, on five hits and four walks while striking out 10 in 5 2/3 innings.
Stento drove in three runs for the top-seeded Raiders, who advanced to the state quarterfinals last season.
The teams made the finals with home-field victories in the May 25 semifinals.
Forest City downed Old Forge, 3-0, while Blue Ridge got past Elk Lake, 3-2.
Blake threw the shutout for Forest City.
Jordan Hicks-Cook went 2-for-2 and scored twice for the Foresters.
Decker threw a four-hitter with 14 strikeouts and Evan Aldrich went 3-for-3 for Blue Ridge in its win.
STATE TRACK
Elk Lake senior Hunter Watkins, Susquehanna sophomore Skyla Wilson and Mountain View senior Joe Nally led Susquehanna County efforts at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Track and Field Championships May 27-28 at Shippensburg University.
Watkins finished third in the Class AA boys javelin while Wilson finished third in the Class AA girls 100-meter hurdles.
Nally finished tied for third in the Class AA boys pole vault.
Watkins threw the javelin 189-1. The three-time District 2 champion earned his second state medal, moving up from seventh place a year ago.
Wilson reached Shippensburg in both hurdles events. She finished third in the 100 hurdles and also placed 12th out of 31 competitors in the 300 hurdles.
Nally cleared 13-6.
Jenn Korty, a homeschooled student from the Forest City School District who runs for Carbondale as part of a cooperative sponsorship between the two districts, medaled in one of her two events.
After finishing 10th in qualifying Friday with a time of 5:15.14 to land one of 12 spots in the 1600-meter run for Saturday’s final, Korty did not go out as hard in the 800-meter run. She placed 22nd of 23 entries in 2:39.14, but left enough for Saturday’s 1600 final.
Korty claimed the last state medal in the event, finishing eighth in 5:17.85.
Montrose’s Zach Mead, who entered the weekend seeded just 23rd, also showed consistency in making the state final in the boys 1600-meter run before settling for 11th place.
Mead ran 4:30.14 in Friday’s qualifying to put him among 12 finalists shooting for eight state medals Saturday when he ran 4:30.09, but slipped one spot after qualifying 10th.
Lindsey Rupakus finished 15th in the 300-meter hurdles and also ran on both Blue Ridge relay teams.
Rupakus ran the 300 hurdles qualifying in 47.18 to take 15th out of 31 trying for eight berths in the final.
Isabella Cosmello and Amber Brecht joined Rupakus on the 1600 and 400 relays.
Karris Fazzi was also part of the 1600 relay that finished 19th of 25 teams in 4:14.36.
Kandace Smith was the other member of the 400 relay that was 20th of 26 in 51.55.
Elk Lake’s Lydia Ofalt tied for 21st out of 31 in the 400 dash in 1:00.97.
Montrose’s Owen Brewer was 24th of 25 in the 3200 run with a time of 11:25.44.
DISTRICT SOFTBALL
Montrose reached the District 2 Class AA softball semifinals before being eliminated.
The Lady Meteors received a bye as top seed after winning the Lackawanna League Division 4 championship. They defeated Holy Cross, 4-2, in the May 25 quarterfinals but lost to Mid Valley, 5-2, in the May 27 semifinals.
Theresa McNamara tripled in the winning run and winning pitcher Madelynn Guinane had three hits against Holy Cross.
The Lady Meteors overcame a 2-0 deficit in the win.
Guinane struck out nine in a three-hitter.
Katie Warner added another triple in the win.
Montrose recovered from another early 2-0 deficit, but Mid Valley moved back in front to stay with two runs in the fifth.
Elk Lake fell to defending state champion and eventual district champion Holy Redeemer, 3-2, in the quarterfinals on a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Royals scored the winning run on a rundown.
Blue Ridge and Mountain View each fell in the District 2 Class A semifinals May 26.
Lackawanna Trail downed Blue Ridge, 3-1, and Old Forge pounded Mountain View, 12-1.
Danielle Goff threw a four-hitter and Megan Sommer had two hits for Blue Ridge in the loss.
Mountain View managed just two hits against Old Forge’s Corianne Holzman.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The PIAA baseball state quarterfinals are scheduled for June 9.
If Forest City made it through the first round, which was scheduled for Monday against Millville, it will meet the Juniata Valley-Meyersdale winner Thursday.
The semifinals are scheduled for Monday, June 13.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
