Lakeview High track standout Fawn Miller placed 19th out of 37 throwers on Friday at the IAAF World Youth Games in Brixen, Italy.
Fawn, the 2-time defending PIAA javelin champion, reached 146 feet, 7 inches. The winning throw was 169-7. She did not make the finals.
“Fawn’s parents said she threw OK considering she was facing international competition,” said Lakeview girls track coach Greg Slatcoff. “It being her first time dealing with that and that’s pretty difficult for a 17-year old kid.”
A welcome home get-together for Miller is planned for 2 p.m. July 19 at Lakeview High’s cafeteria.
According to Slatcoff, Miller will receive her Gatorade Athlete of the Yeear award at the July 19 event, as well as her first-team All-State certificate and several other awards. He also hopes Fawn will give some comments about competing in Italy.
The event is free to the public. For info, call Slatcoff at 814-425-7351.
ä The Ragin’ Raisins Wrestling Club, a non-profit organization based in North East, Pa., won its 4th straight National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) wrestling title recently in Virginia Beach, Va.
The 13th annual U.S. Open Wrestling Championships presented by the U.S. Navy Special Warfare and Special Operations Units, was held July 2-4 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
Elementary, middle school, high school and an open division is how the tourney was broken down and matmen from 23 states competed. The top 8 placewinners are recognized as All-Americans with the NHSCA.
Local tournament champions included 3 in the high school division: Johnny Pas at 119 (Grove City), Coty Burnett at 130 (Greenville) and Steve Ceremuga at 189 (Commodore Perry).
Commodore Perry’s Brian Hooks was 2nd at 215 and Nate Dias placed 2nd at 119 pounds. Greenville’s Dillon Sarcinella took 7th at 285.
ä A new resolution went into effect on July 1 concerning the PIAA’s releasing of wrestling brackets for the state championships in Hershey.
For the past several years, the brackets had been released even before the postseason began. Now, they won’t be released on the PIAA’s website until after the region tournaments.
This year, the brackets will be posted on March 7, the Sunday before the 3-day tourney starts.
The new decision, which the PIAA board of directors approved on a 26-3 vote in May, is an attempt to do away with gamesmanship that some teams used to advance wrestlers out of regions and into states. Some even defaulted region matches to gain an easier path through the state tourney.
ä Westminster College football coach Jeff Hand released the team’s 2009 recruiting class list recently.
West Middlesex’s Kyle Allen will play for the Titans after rushing for 1,533 yards last season and 22 TDs for the Big Reds.
Allen, at 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, was 3rd team All-State and the Region 1 Player of the Year in 2008.
The only other local was Slippery Rock wide receiver Derrick Orloski (5-11, 167), who was an honorable mention All-Stater last year.
ä Westminster men’s and women’s soccer coach Girish Thakar also released his recruiting list.
Wilmington’s Branden Huff, a forward, will compete for the Titans. Huff lettered for the ’Hounds under coach Christian Davoli and was named the team’s offensive MVP.
ä Local archer Glen Thomas, a sophomore at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, has spent the past few days competing in the 25th World University Games in Belgrade Serbia.
On Thursday, Thomas was eliminated from the men’s recurve individual competition with a 1-point loss to Elias Cobo Cuesta of Spain, 99-98, in the round of 32.
Thomas had qualified 38th in a field of 70 with a score of 572 in the ranking round and then faced Cuesta.
Rob Malsom is a sports writer for The Herald
