Time was running out in Jacob Puhalla’s bid for a repeat title in the Baldwin Invitational’s showcase event Friday.
Puhalla, a senior at Moon and a Louisville recruit, wasn’t about to look to see what that time was, though.
“I didn’t really watch the clock that much,” Puhalla said. “It was mostly trying to stay with the pack until the final lap, and if I had something, then go for it.”
That’s exactly what Puhalla did. And after sitting in fifth place headed into the final lap of the McKinney Mile, Puhalla stormed from behind to capture a title in the event for the second consecutive season.
In a field that included numerous Division I-bound runners, Puhalla topped the field with a winning time of 4 minutes, 15.64 seconds, or four seconds faster than a season ago when he finished in 4:19.72 to win.
“It feels pretty good considering it’s such a big thing,” said Puhalla. “They just make it a really big event, and that builds up the hype. Winning meets like that definitely means more.”
Unlike the 1,600-meter run, the McKinney Mile is a true mile. It’s named after Chuck McKinney, who began the Baldwin Invitational nearly a half-century ago. (This year’s meet was the 49th annual.)
Puhalla’s repeat quest was in jeopardy with just one lap to go. At that point, Cathedral Prep’s Luke Brown, a George Mason recruit, was in first place. Directly behind him were Blackhawk’s Ethan Papa and Peters Township’s Brett Kroboth. Puhalla trailed in fifth place.
“People started to kind of box me in the second and third laps,” Puhalla said. “At the end of the third lap, I knew that I had to get out of it, and I did. And that’s when I made my move.”
Puhalla moved into first place with about 200 meters left and held on to win. Brown finished second (4:16.34), Kroboth third (4:16.40), Papa fourth (4:17.36) and Eden Christian’s Sean Aiken fifth (4:18.94). South Fayette’s Jake Borgesi placed 13th (4:29.82). Kroboth and Borgesi are Penn State recruits, and Aiken is a Liberty recruit.
“Every year all the best milers come here,” said Puhalla. “Pretty much everyone on this side of Pennsylvania who can run under 4:20 is here.”
Kiski Area’s Eliza Miller won the girls McKinney Mile in 5:00.57. She edged out Cathedral Prep’s Sarah Clark, the runner-up at 5:02.41.
Kuchera shines
One of the biggest stars of the meet was Canon-McMillan’s Rose Kuchera, the only athlete to win three individual titles. Kuchera, a junior, took top honors in the triple jump, long jump and 100 hurdles.
“I’m going to give it an A-minus because it wasn’t my PRs, but it still felt like a solid day,” said Kuchera, who owns WPIAL all-time top-five marks in the triple jump and long jump.
Kuchera outdueled Butler’s Megan Baggetta in the triple jump with a winning leap of 39 feet, 2 inches to Baggetta’s 38-9. In the long jump, Kuchera (18-3½) edged out Canon-McMillan teammate Bennett Pidro (17-6¾). Kuchera breezed to a win in the 100 hurdles, with her time of 14.91 nearly a full second faster than the runner-up.
Despite the individual success, Kuchera said she was most proud of her team’s showing in the 400 relay, an event in which she ran the second leg. The Big Macs (48.79) were narrowly edged out by Upper St. Clair (48.77).
Hempfield throwers
You can’t spell Hempfield without “field,” and the Spartans once again use the strength of their two star field athletes to rack up the hardware.
Hempfield hit a pair of doubles at the meet, with senior Liz Tapper and junior Peyton Murray both doubling in the discus and shot put. Tapper, a Michigan recruit, is the defending PIAA Class 3A champion in both events, while Murray is the reigning WPIAL champion in the discus.
Particularly impressive was Murray’s effort in the discus, where he unleashed a mammoth throw of 180-8. It was a personal record and the longest throw by a Pennsylvania athlete this season, according to PA MileSplit. Murray won the shot put with a mark of 52-4¼. Meanwhile, Tapper easily topped the field in the discus (149-8) and shot put (45-7). A day earlier, Tapper produced season bests of 159-9 and 48-7 in those events at the WPIAL team semifinals.
“It’s really awesome,” Tapper said of her and Murray sharing in the success. “I remember when me and Peyton used to talk about these kinds of days, where we’d be taking first in both events and both be doing well. So it’s nice to finally get there.”
Prunzik runs to titles
The heavy favorite to win WPIAL Class 3A girls sprint titles in two weeks ran to some more victories Friday. Upper St. Clair senior Dani Prunzik swept the 100 and 200 while running the anchor leg on the Panthers’ winning 400 relay team. Prunzik, a Penn State recruit, ran an 11.99 in the 100 and a 25.15 in the 200.
“I’m glad my 100 was able to get back into the 11s and my 200 was all right. I was definitely very tired from everything, but proud that I pulled through,” said Prunzik, who captured her second straight title in the 100 at the Baldwin Invitational. She won with a time of 12.21 a season earlier.
Allderdice senior Will Coleman claimed the title in the boys 100 with a time of 10.92, while Canon-McMillan sophomore Colton Dean won the 200 in 21.93.
Multi-sport stars
Daemar Kelly and Xxavier Thomas are best known for their talents in other sports, but the two both put forth golden performances on the field Friday.
Kelly, a senior at Penn Hills and a Quinnipiac basketball recruit, won the high jump with a top leap of 6-3. Kelly, who led Penn Hills to a WPIAL basketball championship last season, decided to come out for track for the first time this season.
“I’m somewhat decent. I don’t think I’m good. Not yet. I’ll get better, though,” he said.
Thomas is considered one of the top football prospects in the WPIAL’s sophomore class. But just as he did in football, Thomas began track and field when he was 6 years old and has put a lot of work into it over the years. Friday, Thomas had a winning triple jump of 43-10½.
Narrow win
No event was more tightly contested than the boys 800, which saw first and second place separated by just one one-hundredths of a second. Ringgold junior Ryan Pajak slipped past Central Catholic senior JP Byrnes in a photo finish. Pajak’s time was 1:54.52 and Byrnes’ was 1:54.53. Both times rank among the top 10 in the state this season.
“I said, ‘All of the workouts and the work I’ve done leads up to this last kick. Do I have it or do I not have it?’” Pajak recalled. “The last two or three steps I was like, ‘I’ve got this.’”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.