Ralph Wilson / Sun-Gazette Correspondent Kylee Temple of Hughesville competes in the women's 300 meters at the Lock Haven Invitational Track and Field Meet on Friday, April 26, 2024, at Hubert H. Jack Stadium in Lock Haven. Participate in hurdles.
Until Friday, Hughesville sophomore Kylie Temple had spent nearly a year trying to improve her personal best in the 300 hurdles to no avail. After scoring a 46.35 at last year's Lock Haven High School Classic, she made no progress in 16 attempts, but she never stopped trying to improve her.
Fast forward to this year's Classic and that record no longer exists. On Friday afternoon, the sophomore improved his previous PR by 0.02 seconds with a time of 46.33 seconds, winning the meet title in the process.
“It was really nice to come here and finally hit my PR from last year and be able to beat it.” said the temple. “I love this track and always feel so good when I run here. It was kind of hard to break 300 seconds.”
The title wasn't a sure thing, as Altoona's Alana Irwin closed in on Temple in the closing stages, but the Spartans had a strong performance that clinched the victory.
“I hate losing.” Temple laughed. “That's why I told myself, “Don't lose.'' I can't afford to lose. We were able to reach within two hurdles.
She won the silver medal in her second PR in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.54 seconds, and is hoping to continue her strong performance overall and continue her progress toward the postseason.
She currently ranks third in the District 4 Class AA 200 meters and fourth in the 300 hurdles. She put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and lowered her 300-second time to the 45-second range, hoping to build on her performance at state last year, where she placed sixth in the event. There is.
“I just want to do as well as I can in these events and hopefully our four-by-four can make it to state.” Temple mentioned the team that won the title Friday with a time of 4:11.02. “Thanks to all the hard work I put in over the summer, I’m feeling much better, but now I just need to improve my stamina to complete the remaining 100 races.”
“Her best days are yet to come.” Hughesville girls coach Fredrick Glenwright said of Kylie. “She has good talent. She works hard. She still wants to improve and I'm sure she will.”
Like Kylie, her younger sister Caitlin also enrolled as a freshman and immediately began making an impact. At the Lock Haven Classic, Temple finished in the top six in three events, placing third in the 100-meter dash (13.24 seconds), fourth in the 400-meter dash (1:01.31), and sixth in the 200-meter dash (27 seconds). 05) and recorded personal PRs in all three events. in the process.
Her efforts in the individual events earned the team 14 team points. Together with Kiley's 18 points, the two of them scored 32 of Hughesville's 66 points during the game, playing an important role in the team's rise to fourth place.
“She's off to a good start.” Glenn Wright said of Caitlin, who ranks in the top 10 in the district in all three events. “She's a good girl and has been with us since the winter. She did indoor track, so I think that helped.”
“They're both very tough kids. They're very competitive and push each other hard, which helps a lot.” he added of his sisters.
Outside of Temple, senior Haley Myers made an impact in the jumps, winning bronze in the long jump (16-5) and fourth in the triple jump (33-11.2). The Spartans also had great success in the relays, with the 1,600 relay team taking first place with a time of 4:11.02 and the 400 relay team taking second place with a time of 51.58.
“Overall I’m very happy with the kids’ performance.” Glenn Wright said of his team's fourth-place finish. “We didn't give it our all. A few kids got sick, a few girls got hurt. But I'm pretty happy with the way the game turned out.”
On the boys side, junior Shea McCusker led the way for Hughesville, finishing second in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:00.20. It was a day off for the long-distance star, who fell behind in the low 1600s and finished in 10th place, but he is looking forward to making a comeback.
“Today was definitely not what we wanted, but it happens.” said McCusker, who placed first in the district in the 800 and 1,600 meters. “Next time I had to run within myself and felt really tight and rushed the whole race. Just run my race, run smooth, run good and prepare better.”
Jarrett Easton, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, placed fourth in the high jump, and Tyce Scheiner placed fifth in the 3,200 meters, falling just short of sub-10:00 with a season best of 10:03.29. Keegan Smith and Connor Knight placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the pole vault, giving the Hughesville boys team 10th place out of 20 teams in the competition.
