KANE — As a result of their accomplishments at the District 9 Track and Field Championship on Wednesday at Kane High School, Clearfield qualified three individuals and one relay team for the PIAA State Championships, which will be held May 27 and 28 at Shippensburg University.
Bison head coach John Jacob told of his qualifiers this way, “Matt Collins was the first individual to qualify by hitting the PIAA state qualifying standard in the discus. Matt was up against a state medal winner (Tom Bojalad of  St. Marys) from last year and was able to come with in just a few feet of the first place throw. His mark will definitely be in contention for a podium finish if he can repeat his performance next week. Matt was also able to pick up a third place finish in the shot put to round out his day.
“Next up was Dave McKenzie who claimed his second district title in the Boys High Jump. Dave out jumped his competition by clearing 5 feet 11 inches. This is a goal Dave has been working on all year and it was great to see his efforts pay off with another victory. His ultimate goal is to work his way up with the state competition.
“Kyle Biancuzzo was the first qualifier on the track as he ran away from his competition by winning the 3200 meter run by over 20 seconds. Kyle has been working towards this since the end of the season last year. He ran all winter preparing for the season and it was great to see his hard work pay off with his first District 9 Championship and a trip to the state meet.
The girls relay team of Rachel Glenny, Macy Forrest, Katrina Spencer and Madison Jones ran one of the most exciting races of the night that had the stands on their feet for the entire race. Madison had a great opening leg to get the girl’s team their lead.  Katrina Spencer kept the lead with a great second leg and Macy Forrest was able to fend off a late surge to keep the lead going into the last lap. Rachel Glenny had her hands full trying to keep up with the last DuBois runner and ended up being out kicked at the finish, but a disqualification by DuBois gave girls the District Championship. They ran almost seven seconds faster than their previous best time and all four girls poured their heart into that race.
“We had many other place winners and personal records that our team can be proud of tonight. Our coaching staff was pleased with the effort of the entire team and are looking forward to our athlete’s performances at the state championships next week.
“It wasn’t the outcome we were looking for in the overall team standings, but by moving people around we were able to have quite a bit of success in the relays.”
The Clearfield boys finished in a tie for third place, while the girls team finished in fifth.
Click here for the complete boys results.
Click here for the complete girls results.
