PHOTO GALLERY | Bedford girls earn team title, Richland's Mavridis shines in West Central Coaches Meet
· Yahoo Sports
WINDBER, Pa. – Bedford High School earned the girls team title, and Richland’s Natalia Mavridis was a triple winner on the track during the 77th West Central Coaches Association Meet Friday at Windber Stadium.
“Our girls team had a bunch of different winners,” said Bedford coach Brian Creps, whose Bisons had two individual champs and two relay wins.
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“We had a lot of girls who ran really well, jumped really well and threw well.
“It’s the beginning of that season – that time of year.”
PHOTO GALLERY | West Central Coaches Track & Field
The Bisons finished with 109 team points, six more than runner-up Conemaugh Township. Portage and Richland tied for third with 77 points.
United was fifth at 71.5, and Windber took sixth at 66.5.
Bedford placed first in both the 400- and 1600-meter relay races. The Bisons’ Keira Koontz placed first in the 100 hurdles (16.79) and won on both winning relay squads with Grace Brallier, Kacey Martz and Katie McDevitt.
“Keira had a good day,” Creps said.
“She’s been really practicing hard and going hard at practice. She’s really starting to come on. She’s usually a late-bloomer into the end of the season.
“She’s just getting into her part of the season right now.”
Pole vaulter Sophia Genditzki cleared 10 feet, 7 inches to break the girls meet record and set the standard at the new Windber Stadium.
“I was worried because the other girls were getting 10s and 10-1s,” Genditzki said. “My goal was to break my school record, which is 10-9½.”
She hit the meet’s winning vault on her second attempt at 10-7.
“I’ve pole vaulted since seventh grade and been to summer camps and clubs,” Genditzki said. “I’ve tried a lot to get better.”
Richland’s Mavridis’ afternoon included a trifecta in the 400 (59.76), 800 (2:23.43) and 1600 (5:27.99).
“I was just going into the meet hoping I would do decent because at the beginning of the season, I wasn’t getting the times I was hoping for,” Mavridis said.
“My first event, the 4-by-800, kind of got me clicking in my head, ‘Oh, I can do it.’ I switched my mindset for today, which made me happy.”
She nearly set a program mark in the 800.
“I normally like the mile, but in the 800, I was really trying to break our record,” Mavridis said. “I broke it (during her leg) in the 4-by-800, but it didn’t count. Then I didn’t get it in the 800. I was .4 away.”
Richland’s Olivia Taylor won the discus (120-8).
Reigning state champion high jumper Baylee Sleek of Conemaugh Township placed first with a 5-6 leap.
United’s Lilly McGinnis won the 300 hurdles (49.10), and Olivia Henning placed first in the 3200 (12:25.75).
Northern Cambria’s Emilee Depetro won the 200 (26.96), and Berlin Brothersvalley’s Paige Weaver won the 100 (13.51).
Windber placed first in the 3200-meter relay (10:31.79), with Rachel Russo, Mayson Oyler, Sophia Weyant and Autumn Walz running legs.
Portage’s Kendall Bednarski placed first in the long jump (16-1½) and triple jump (33-3¾). She was second in the 200 (27.08).
“KB won the long jump, the triple jump and she just PR’d and got leaned out in the 200,” Portage coach Lance Hudak said of Bednarski. “KB is just a great athlete, a multi-sport athlete. She is just a kid who puts in the work and is coachable.”
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
Results Team standings: 1, Bedford (BD) 109; 2, Conemaugh Township (CT) 103; 3, Portage Area (PA) 77; 4, Richland (R) 77; 5, United (U) 71.5; 6, Windber (WD) 66.5; 7, Berlin Brothersvalley (BB) 44; 8, Northern Cambria (NC) 41; 9, Bellwood-Antis (BA) 34; 10, Purchase Line (PL) 26; 11, Everett (EV) 22; 12, Tussey Mountain (TM) 17; 13, Chestnut Ridge (CR) 6; 14, Meyersdale Area (MA) 4; 15, Bishop McCort Catholic (BM) 2; 15, Penns Manor (PM) 2. 3200 relay: 1, Windber (Rachel Russo, Mayson Oyler, Sophia Weyant, Autumn Walz), 10:31.79; 2, Richland, 10:32.79; 3, Conemaugh Township, 10:40.66; 4, United, 10:58.53; 5, Portage Area, 11:04.69. 100 hurdles: 2, Keira Koontz, BD, 16.79; 2, Dunlap, R, 16.84; 3, Marshall, U, 16.85; 4, Sleek, CT, 16.91; 5, Glessner, BB, 17.79. 100: 1, Paige Weaver, BB, 13.51; 2, Martz, BD, 13.53; 3, Ritchey, EV, 13.74; 4, Dunlap, R, 13.79; 5, Myher, PA 13.85. 1600: 1, Natalia Mavridis, R, 5:27.99. 2, Weyant, BD, 5:46.83; 3, Henning, U, 5:50.5; 4, Wannett, PL, 5:51.27; 5, Hammond, BA, 5:58.75. 400: 1, Natalia Mavridis, R, 59.76. 2, DePetro, NC, 59.8; 3, Brallier, BD, 1:03.37; 4, McAneny, R, 1:05.16; 5, Walz, WD, 1:06.02. 400 relay: 1, Bedford (Keira Koontz, Katie McDevitt, Kacey Martz, Grace Brallier) 52.01; 2, Portage Area, 53.44; 3, Berlin Brothersvalley, 53.68; 4, Northern Cambria, 54.11; 5, Conemaugh Township, 54.42. 300 hurdles: 1, Lilly McGinnis, U, 49.1; 2, Br. Sleek, CT, 49.74; 3, White, PA, 50.02; 4, Shuster, WD, 50.35; 5, Kordell, CT, 50.46. 800: 1, Natalia Mavridis, R, 2:23.43; 2, Hunsberger, CT, 2:29.86; 3, Russo, WD, 2:34.41; 4, Kolarik, U, 2:37.16; 5, Ritchey, 2:37.75. 200: 1, Emilee Depetro, NC, 26.96; 2, Bednarski, PA, 27.08; 3, Weaver, BB, 27.4; 4, Black, CT, 28.10; 5, A.Depetro, NC, 28.14. 3200: 1, Olivia Henning, U, 12:25.75; 2, Weyant, WD, 12:43.26; 3, Yinkey, BD, 12:51.78; 4, Hunsberger, CT 12:57.70; 5, Porta, BD, 13:29.13. 1600 relay: 1, Bedford (Grace Brallier, Keira Koontz, Kacey Martz, Katie McDevitt) 4:18.72; 2, Northern Cambria, 4:22.79; 3, Conemaugh Township, 4:26.67; 4, Portage Area, 4:27.34; 5, Windber, 4:28.13. Shot put: 1, Marissa Yutzy, TM, 32-7; 2, Krone, WD, 32-2; 3, Miko, PA, 31-11; 4, McCann, CT, 31-0; 5, Boyce, BB, 30-10. Discus: 1, Olivia Taylor, R, 120-8; 2, Hall, R 101-10; 3, Yutzy, TM 97-11; 4, Vent, BD, 95-11; 5, McCann, CT, 94-6. Javelin: 1, Ava Worthing, BA, 112-3; 2, Mumau, PL, 11-9; 3, Irvin, PA, 108-5; 4, Reynolds, CT, 108-5; 5, Messina, NC, 106-4. Long jump: 1, Kendall Bednarski, PA, 16-1 ½; 2, Ritchey, EV, 15-4 ½; 3, McGinnis, U, 15-4; 4, Hughes, U, 15-3 ½; 5, Sossong, PA, 15-3. High jump: 1, Baylee Sleek, CT, 5-6; 2, Pullara, BA 5-2; 3, Brallier, BD, 5-0; 4, McDevitt, BD, 5-0; 5, Oswalt, CT, 5-0. Triple jump: 1, Kendall Bednarski, PA, 33-3 ¾; 2, Mumau, PL, 33-1 ½; 3, Hagan, CT, 32-9; 4, LaMarche, BD, 32-0; 5, McGinnis, U, 32-3 ½. Pole vault: 1, Sophia Genditzki, BD, 10-7; 2, Oyler, WD, 9-6; 3, Feathers, CT, 9-6; 4, Ressler, U 9-6; 5, Glessner, BB, 9-6. {related_content_uuid}eb0cafd5-c5c7-410f-a2d2-5664191758b8{/related_content_uuid}