Deer Lakes, Kiski Area combine for five titles at Altoona Area Igloo Invitational

By: Michael Love
Sunday, March 31, 2019 | 5:08 PM

Athletes from Deer Lakes and Kiski Area represented the WPIAL on Saturday at the 43rd Altoona Area Igloo Invitational at Altoona’s Mansion Park stadium.

The Cavaliers crowned three champions, while the Lancers came home with a pair of first-place finishes.

Deer Lakes senior Josh Yourish, a state qualifier last year, won both the boys 800-meter run (2 minutes, 5.45 seconds) and the 1,600 run (4:32.93).

Yourish bested runner-up Angelo Pisani (2:06.86) from Kiski Area in the 800.

Kiski Area senior Kierra Shreffler made it an area sweep in the 1,600 as she crossed the finish line in first with a time of 5:36.36.

There also was an area sweep in the 800 as Payton Sullivan, a freshman for the Cavaliers, bested the field in the girls race by more than two seconds with a time of 2:26.45.

Senior Jean Starr threw the discus 115 feet, 7 inches to win the event by more than seven feet. Deer Lakes’ senior Mackenzie Spence was second overall (108-04), and Kiski senior Morgan Hepler was third (100-02).

Twenty schools, including those from Districts 5, 6, 9 and 10, took part in the early-season meet, and ribbons were presented to the top eight finishers in each event.

Deer Lakes senior Kiera Cutright, the defending WPIAL AA girls 300 hurdles champion, finished second Saturday with a time of 48.32. Somerset sophomore Haley Stickle won the event in a time of 47.12.

Spence also picked up a top-eight ribbon with a sixth in the shot put (31-4).

The Cavaliers boys and girls teams earned a total of 22 ribbons.

Contributing to the haul were Alyssa Poleski (sixth, 200 dash), Jordan Fairman (eighth, 400 dash), Josette Plazio (eighth, 1,600 run), Lizeth Sesmas (seventh, 3,200 run), Bria Giovanelli (seventh, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles), Chloe Galo (fifth, 300 hurdles), Starr (fifth, javelin and third, shot put), Violeta Kenzevich (fourth, shot put) and the girls 1,600 relay team (fourth).

Also picking up ribbons for Kiski were Andrew Mason (seventh, 100 and 200 dashes), the boys 400 relay (second), the boys 3,200 relay (fourth), Jack Collecchi (third, long jump) and CJ Hepler (seventh, discus).

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.