Every track and field athlete dreams of making it to the large stage that is the state championships.
But to get there, you first have to prove yourself.
Athletes from the Local.News1.org coverage area will have their first big opportunity of the spring to showcase their abilities when they travel to Chambersburg on Saturday for the Tim Cook Invitational.
This year’s Cook Invite features 33 teams, including host Chambersburg, as well as Greencastle-Antrim and Waynesboro. We’ve selected this event as our Invitational of the Week.
Team scores aren’t kept at this invite, but the Trojans are expected to put on a show with a strong group of athletes. Don’t count out Greencastle-Antrim, led by jumper Jaylynn Schmuck and Bailey Hurley, and Waynesboro, a team highlighted by the skills of thrower Ben Williams.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting multiple teams and sports with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming games or meets we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
TIM COOK INVITATIONAL
Start time: Saturday, 9 a.m. at Edwin H. Sponseller Track & Field Complex
Meet the Trojans: If you blink, you just might miss senior sprinter Antonio Harrison II. Harrison is the defending Cook Invite champion in the 100 (11.13) and is the centerpiece for Chambersburg’s 4×100 relay squad, which also topped last year’s invite in 43.42 … Two other Trojan relays — the girls 4×100 (50.45) and boys 4×800 (8:24.87) — will be aiming to repeat as invitational champions this weekend … Jumper Jaxin Frazer was all over the girls podium last year in long jump (2nd in 16-3.5) and triple jump (3rd in 33-4), and will be shooting for gold this year … Also contending for Chambersburg’s girls in the jumps is Sienna Scott, who leapt to a runner-up finish with a 4-10 at the Cook Invite last year … A pair of javelin throwers, Cameron Bender (girls) and Jude Grillo (boys), each took third last year and should be in contention once again this weekend … Overall, expect a large medal haul from the Trojans, who have several athletes who rank No. 1 on our Local.News1 leaderboard, including Kason Besecker (boys 100), Blake Mallast (boys 200), Daniel Casagrande (boys 400), Aiden Alleman (boys 800 and 1,600), Liam Kirkpatrick (boys 3,200), Jon Dawe (boys 110 and 300 hurdles), Trever Luther (boys long jump), Grillo (boys shot put), Mason Mowen (boys javelin), Luke Mertz (boys pole vault), Julianna Small (girls high jump), and Yanaiah Smith (shot put).
Meet the Blue Devils: Noah Parks will be among the favorites to capture the 800. He took second in 2:07.95 at the Cook Invite last year, and ranks No. 2 this season on the Local.News1 leaderboards with a time of 2:03 … Jaylynn Schmuck is off to a fast start this season in the jumps, and currently leads her area peers in the long jump (16-5) and triple jump (34-3.5). This weekend she will be angling for a higher finish in the triple jump after placing fourth last season with a 32-9.5 … Bailey Hurley, who took third in the girls discus (103-9) at last spring’s Cook Invite, has already hit 120-11 this spring and will be a contender for gold … Junior Adam Seylar, the Local.News1 leader in the triple jump (38-3), will be competing for a Top 8 finish … Keep an eye on sprinters Spencer Long and Nolan Carr and throwers Reece Plum and Brady Pappa, as well as hurdler Kadence Abbott, all of whom rank among the Top 3 on our leaderboards.
Meet the Tribe: Senior Ben Williams should be a contender in all the throwing events, most notably the javelin. He took eighth at the Cook Invite with a 138-9 last year, and leveled up during the season on his way to a seventh-place throw of 171-7 … Two competitors in the pole vault, Nathan Nolan and Camryn Bonner, will be aiming for return trips to the podium this weekend. Nolan took second in the boys PV last year, while Bonner finished third in the girls PV … The Waynesboro girls will be looking to climb the ladder in the 4×400 relay after finishing second in 4:24.50 at last year’s Cook Invite.
