Speed, consistency fuel Boyer to state berth

While getting faster is the ultimate goal in any race on the track, consistency is another very solid trait. Just ask Greg Boyer. The Greencastle-Antrim High School senior did both at last weekend’s District 3-AAA Championships at Shippensburg University and in the process earned a trip to states.

Boyer put his best ever foot forward in the 110 high hurdles preliminary heat, running and jumping to not only a personal best time of 15.14, well better than his 15.53 seed time that put him at 17th. Then he did it again. And then he did it again. Boyer’s 15.14 in the semifinals punched his ticket to Saturday’s final where he again put up a 15.14 for fifth in the district. That propelled him to a berth in the PIAA Championships set for Friday and Saturday at the same venue.

The fifth-place tag around Boyer’s neck wasn’t his first medal of the day. Earlier he had taken seventh in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.10.

G-A’s other medal in the championships came from fellow senior Caleb Bartlett, who was sixth in the discus with a personal best throw of 146-10. He came in as the eighth seed. Bartlett was just short of gaining a spot in the state meet.

Underclassmen Taylor Kirkpatrick and Ashton Rockwell each performed well in their district outings. Kirkpatrick was ninth in the high jump at 6-2. Rockwell posted a personal best of 16.20 in the 100 hurdles preliminary race to advance to the semifinals before being edged out of a trip to the finals.

Nakita Gearhart ended in an eight-way tie for eighth in the high jump with a 5-0, but was denied a medal on number of attempts. Gearhart was 10th in the discus.

David Spinder was 16th in the shot put with a heave of 45-7.75 and teammate Ryan Hickey was 18th in the discus. G-A’s Shelby Stouffer competed in the 1600 and finished 16th.