The WPIAL Class AA track and field championships were held at Baldwin High School on May 14. For Shady Side Academy's Louis Berry, it was deja vu as he repeated as the 100-meter dash champion.
He finished in 10.87 seconds to set a new school record.
“Louis is a back-to-back champion for a reason,” SSA coach Adam Janosko said. “He is fastidious in warm-ups and truly focuses on the technicality of the event. In practicing starts this week, we looked at his stride out of the blocks and noticed a few things that may make him a bit faster. We're crossing our fingers for the state meet this year.”
Last year, Berry placed third in the 100 at the PIAA meet, which will be held Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University.
SSA had a couple of near misses as far as qualifying for states. Peter Wyeth was sixth in the pole vault at 12 feet, and Gannon Leech failed to place but finished the 1,600-meter run in 4:36, a personal best.
In the girls track championships, Shady Side Academy's Lindsey Gruen finished in third place in the high jump after clearing the bar at 5 feet and qualified for the PIAA championship meet. Teammate Alia Yossef placed eighth in the pole vault but did not qualify for states.
Marty Stewart is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at 412-782-2123 or mstewart@tribweb.com.
