Discus

BALTIMORE - Finally, North Hagerstown's Jaci Bayer has what she's always wanted - a state championship to call her own. cont. from front page Bayer put together an effort of 121 feet, 8 inches in the discus to hold off Paint Branch's Inia King and win the Maryland Class 3A girls discus title Thursday at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Bayer, a senior, has played in the shadow of former teammate Meagan Verdeyen most of her high school career. Verdeyen won seven indoor and outdoor state championships in the discus and shot put and beat out Bayer for last year's outdoor discus title before graduating.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Roshawnda Parker of Martinsburg won the state title in the Class AAA girls discus at the West Virginia State Championships, throwing the disc 121 feet, 9 inches. Also in girls competition, Jefferson finished second in the 3,200 relay with a time of nine minutes, 51.6 seconds, three seconds behind Parkersburg. Delphia Rogers of Hedgesville was third in the high jump with a mark of 5-2. On the boys side, Hedgesville was sixth in the 3,200 relay (8:21.54) and picked up two places in the pole vault: a fourth from Arlan Sheets (12-6)

andrewm@herald-mail.com Talk about a busy spring. Chambersburg, Pa.'s Matt Peters, who's spent the last few months putting the finishing touches on his communication/journalism degree at Shippensburg University, also works full-time on the therapeutic support staff at Manito Inc. in Chambersburg and part-time as an assistant track and field coach at Greencastle-Antrim High School. "I come home pretty much to go to bed," said Peters, 23, a 1998 South Hagerstown High School graduate, "and then I'm up early every morning.

ATHENS, Greece - Vikas Gowda, a 2001 Frederick High School graduate, competed in the men's discus at the Olympic Games on Saturday. Gowda, representing India, where he was born, finished eighth in the second of two qualifying heats with a throw of 201 feet, 5 inches. Overall, Gowda was 15th out of 39 competitors and did not make Monday's final. Only the top 12 advanced. Gowda, who broke his own Indian national record with a throw of 211-1 in May, was less than two feet behind the 12th-place finisher.

After taking the lead for good in Saturday's race, Williamsport senior Evan Hardy still had one guy left to beat - Jeff Scuffins. And he got past him too. Hardy convincingly won the Class 2A boys 1,600-meter run at the Maryland State Track & Field Championships at Morgan State University in 4:17.82 to break Scuffins' long-standing Washington County record in the event. The former North Hagerstown star's mark of 4:18.94 had stood since 1980. “I wanted to beat 4:18 and I just went for it,” said Hardy, who took the lead for good at the end of the first lap and won by 4.68 seconds.

Dustin Peters has shown no signs of rust from his two seasons away from the sport of track and field. The Martinsburg senior is the Tri-State leader in the discus at 157 feet and second in the shot put at 51 feet. He turned in both of those performances Wednesday while winning both events at the Apple Valley League championships. "I haven't thrown since my freshman year," said Peters, whose father, Dana Peters, used to coach the throwing events at Hedgesville. "I got hurt my sophomore year in football (torn ACL in left knee)

PREP GOLF Lawrenceville 194, Mercersburg 203 at LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. (par 36) Mercersburg: Ben Hayes 37, Anna Navarez 39, Chris Kerry 41, Kyle Roy 41, Peter Jones 45. Notes: Hayes tied for medalist. Mercersburg is 0-2. PREP TRACK & FIELD Tim Cook Invitational CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - James Buchanan's Dion Lehman set a Trojan Stadium record in the long jump Saturday at the Tim Cook Invitational with his winning leap of 22 feet, 10 inches.

Freshman Gerome Jones Jr. is picking up where sophomore Tony Clement is leaving off - as record-setting athletes for the Hagerstown Community College track and field team. The pair will represent the Hawks this weekend at the NJCAA Division I outdoor championships in Coffeyville, Kan. Clement, a three-time track all-American, is seeded second in the 1,500-meter run with his school-record time of 3:47.38. Jones, who is seeded third in the shot put at 54 feet, 11 1/2 inches, also will compete in the discus and hammer throw.

andrewm@herald-mail.com If there were such a game as Fantasy Tri-State Track & Field and we were drafting athletes for all-time high school teams, I might want Vikas Gowda for my first-round pick. Gowda, a 2001 Frederick High graduate, won seven Maryland state titles for the Cadets and is the Tri-State's all-time prep leader in the discus and shot put. He'd be worth big fantasy points. If there were such a game as Fantasy Indian Track & Field, Gowda might go No. 1 overall.

Athlete of the Year Kylee Schuler Chambersburg, Junior, distance Area's top distance runner and first Tri-State girl to ever break 11 minutes in the 3,200. Went 10:44.71 for 3,200 to make National Federation honor roll, and ran 5:06.34 in 1,600. Placed second in District 3-AAA and fourth at states in 3,200 and sixth at Penn Relays in the 3,000. Jen Andrews Chambersburg, Junior, throws PIAA Class AAA runner-up in the shot put with an area-leading toss of 40 feet, 1 inch.

After taking the lead for good in Saturday's race, Williamsport senior Evan Hardy still had one guy left to beat - Jeff Scuffins. And he got past him too. Hardy convincingly won the Class 2A boys 1,600-meter run at the Maryland State Track & Field Championships at Morgan State University in 4:17.82 to break Scuffins' long-standing Washington County record in the event. The former North Hagerstown star's mark of 4:18.94 had stood since 1980. “I wanted to beat 4:18 and I just went for it,” said Hardy, who took the lead for good at the end of the first lap and won by 4.68 seconds.

Thursday, May 17, 2012 PREP TRACK & FIELD WESTMINSTER, Md. - Williamsport senior Evan Hardy held off Poolesville's Chase Weaverling by 1.92 seconds to win the boys 3,200-meter run in 9:33.04 during the first day of the Maryland Class 2A West championships at Winters Mill High School on Thursday. Through six events, the Williamsport boys lead the 12-team field with 29 points. Winters Mill is second with 27. The top four finishers in each event automatically qualified for next week's state meet, as did those who met certain advancement standards.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CLINTON, Iowa -- T.J. Hose did his part for the East by putting a zero in the Midwest League All-Star Game box score. Hose, a North Hagerstown graduate, faced two batters and got the last two outs of the sixth inning to help the East preserve a four-run lead on Tuesday en route to a 6-3 victory. Hose, a 36th-round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008 pitching for the South Bend Silver Hawks, came on with a runner on in the sixth and got Wisconsin's Corey Kemp to pop up and Clinton's Denny Almonte to hit a grounder, both to second base, to end the inning.

TRACK & FIELD Wright Memorial Series The second meet of the Back-on-Track Pete Wright Memorial Series was held Tuesday at North Hagerstown High School. Male winners: 100 -- Justin Bowie 11.4. 200 -- Bowie 25.1. 400 -- Bowie 53.5. 800 -- Mike Meadows 2:25.5. Mile -- Noah Wood 5:15.0. 2-mile -- Wood 11:10.7. Long jump -- Nick Berry 12-9. Shot put -- Cole Barnhart 18-8 1/2. Discus -- Barnhart 41-6. Female winners: 100 -- Ashton Rockwell 14.5. 200 -- Brittany Kershner 32.4.

BOONSBORO -- Paige Shirk has won three Maryland Class 1A state titles in her career -- two in the shot put and one in the discus. But the Clear Spring junior has never performed better than she did Saturday in the 10th edition of the Dwight Scott Track & Field Invitational at Boonsboro High School. Shirk won the shot put with a throw of 41 feet, 6 inches to equal her personal record while shattering the meet record by more than 5 feet. She also set a personal record in the discus with her second-place throw of 114-9.

BEIJING (AP) -- Usain Bolt served up a speedy reminder Monday night that despite losing one of the Beijing Games' biggest attractions, there's still plenty to look forward to in Olympic track and field. The Jamaican sprinter easily won his quarterfinal heat in the men's 200-meter race Monday night, jogging down the stretch to finish in 20.29 seconds and still topping defending gold medalist Shawn Crawford of the United States by 0.13 second. Bolt, who ran a world-record 9.69 seconds to win the 100 on Saturday, is trying to become the first man to pull off the sprint double since Carl Lewis in 1984.

Dustin Peters has shown no signs of rust from his two seasons away from the sport of track and field. The Martinsburg senior is the Tri-State leader in the discus at 157 feet and second in the shot put at 51 feet. He turned in both of those performances Wednesday while winning both events at the Apple Valley League championships. "I haven't thrown since my freshman year," said Peters, whose father, Dana Peters, used to coach the throwing events at Hedgesville. "I got hurt my sophomore year in football (torn ACL in left knee)

Freshman Gerome Jones Jr. is picking up where sophomore Tony Clement is leaving off - as record-setting athletes for the Hagerstown Community College track and field team. The pair will represent the Hawks this weekend at the NJCAA Division I outdoor championships in Coffeyville, Kan. Clement, a three-time track all-American, is seeded second in the 1,500-meter run with his school-record time of 3:47.38. Jones, who is seeded third in the shot put at 54 feet, 11 1/2 inches, also will compete in the discus and hammer throw.

ATHENS, Greece - Vikas Gowda, a 2001 Frederick High School graduate, competed in the men's discus at the Olympic Games on Saturday. Gowda, representing India, where he was born, finished eighth in the second of two qualifying heats with a throw of 201 feet, 5 inches. Overall, Gowda was 15th out of 39 competitors and did not make Monday's final. Only the top 12 advanced. Gowda, who broke his own Indian national record with a throw of 211-1 in May, was less than two feet behind the 12th-place finisher.