Photo by Curt Werner

Northern's Chris Barrett took the gold medal throwing the javelin 203' 1"

Barrett wins javelin title; Starliper, Engle medal

Joe Guty

Chris Barrett had all the motivation he needed. A runner up finish at Districts was all it took as the Nothern H.S. senior unleashed a 203-01 first throw to win the 2019 PIAA State Track and Field Championships Boys' Class AAA Javelin Throw last Saturday.

Collin Burkhart, a sophomore from Nazareth Area H.S., placed second with a 199-06, while the onlly freshman in the 28-competitor field, Mat Prebola from Tunkhannock, launched a 199-01 for third place. The PIAA District III, Class AAA Champion, Mark Suminski from Hershey, placed fifth (194-02). Barrett's subsequent throws were in the 190's but his top effort out of the gates held up for the Boys' Class AAA title and a gold medal at the season finale meet held on the campus of Shippensburg University.

"Last week was really disappointing, so this week we went back, looked at some things that I did wrong [at Districts]," said Barrett. "And we got things down to three points and worked on that all of last week. We had a plan and focused on that. That's been our motto all year, trust the plan."

Twenty years ago, back in 1999 -- and also on his first throw -- Northern's Ben Thuma captured the state discus title with a school record mark of 173-9. Throws coach Bill Witt is one of the most unheralded and knowledgeable throws coaches in Pennsylvania who has, year after year, helped many Polar Bear athletes improve and excel at the highest levvel. As with Thuma, he knows what Barrett was capable of achieving. Coach and athlete did not waste this final week of preparation leading up to states.

DASC's U12 Avalanche finish second at Memorial Day Cup

Andy Sandrik

While most Dillsburg Area Soccer Club teams were off for the Memorial Day weekend, there were a handful of squads that took the field to further sharpen their skills.

DASC's U12 Avalanche, a team tha is undefeated in Central Pennsylvania Youth Soccer League's Premier Division, came away with a runner-up finish at last weekend's Hershey Memorial Day Challenge Cup.

Dillsburg won three group stage matches against teams from Maryland and New York to advance to the title game against the Rochester Junior Rhinos. The Rhinos won the Cup after defeating the Avalanche 4-3 in a penalty shootout.