Winchester Thurston’s Forsythe defends PIAA title in 1,600

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, May 26, 2018 | 10:39 PM

SHIPPENSBURG — Tristan Forsythe's parents were born in England, so he jokes that he's built for the rain that falls on Pennsylvania track meets.

Saturday's stifling heat?

Not so much.

“It's a heck of a lot hotter than it was last year,” said Forsythe, a Winchester Thurston senior who defended his 1,600-meters title at the PIAA Class AA track and field championships despite hot and humid weather that caused trouble for some.

He and his family came with a plan.

“It was a lot harder to run fast today, but my parents got a hotel room in the hotel that's 100 meters from the track,” Forsythe said of the Marriott that sits next to Shippensburg's stadium. “I did all my warm-up on the treadmill. I wasn't outside today until maybe 25 minutes before my race, so we were able to minimize the effect the heat was going to have on my race.”

Forsythe won the Class AA title in 4:14.87, which was more than four seconds faster than the runner-up, and two seconds faster than Saturday's Class AAA champion.

The Georgetown recruit had a challenging senior year at times which included the disappointment of missing cross country nationals in November, he said, and also dealing with a leg injury that took time to recover.

“I can leave happy today,” Forsythe said. “Last high school race, I won, state championship, back to back. So, if you can't be happy with that, then there's probably something wrong with you.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Winchester Thurston