History Made at District Meet for Hornet Duo
By: Ed Weaver | NTL Sports | May 20, 2013
Seniors Bobby Hill and Jordan Jackson had a chance to put themselves in elite company Saturday at the District IV Championship Meet at Susquehanna University by qualifying for states in three different sports in the same school year. The two close friends came through.
"It feels amazing to do this with my teammate," said Hill, a sentiment shared by both of them. Hill, seeded second in a mile field so good that not all the competitors who reached the state qualifying time will advance due to a PIAA rule stating that only eight competitors can go in one event, didn't get the start he wanted to.
"I started off the race and I got pushed around a little bit. It wasn't my best my race but i made it to states and thats all that matters."
Hill placed 7th with an unofficial time of 4:27.03.
Jackson, a veteran of two state meets, was an underdog to qualify for states in the 400m run.
"At the beginning of the race I was going to do it as a warm up, but I looked over and saw the kid in lane six dying, so I realized I had a chance to get to states and I went for it."
The race of the day might have been the 800m run featuring Jackson and two standouts from Northeast Bradford, Curt Jewitt and Colton Snyder. The pace was blistering to start the race, and came down to a sprint the final 100 meters and Jewitt edged Jackson at the line in a time of 1:57.64. Jackson finished in 2nd place with a time of 1:57.89.
When asked if his goal was to win a state championship in the 800 meter dash next weekend, the two time bronze medalist at states responding with a simple "yes."
Both competitors gave credit to head coach Dave Sanford, an esteemed distance runner in his own right, for helping them achieve this historical landmark.
"He specialized in the mile and 800 in college and he was a great runner, he gave us little tricks he knew to help our running," said Jackson. "I feel like him helping us made a huge impact on my running, it helped that he was closer to our age so he knew how we feel."
Coach Sanford was impressed by his two state qualifiers.
"In all honesty I have to give most of the credit to the boys, I came in kind of late in their career, but it's a wonderful feeling to work with two talented athletes who are also so willing to follow the program and the advice we give them."
Sanford also has high expectations for the two at states next week.
"I think both of them have a very good shot at medaling," Sanford stated.
The Hornets had many other standout performances on the boys side with the 1600m relay team just missing the state meet in a time of 3:30.65, just one second off of the state standard. Sophomore Jack Chambers finished 7th in the 300m hurdles with a time of 42.56, Junior Dan Brooks followed his NTL championship with a 6th place finish in the 100m run in a time of 11.58, and Sophomore Nick Marple bested his previous best by over 10 feet to finish 5th in the javelin with a throw of 170' 11".
Ed Weaver is the owner of Circle W Sports in Wellsboro, PA, is the Sports Director for The Home Page Network and the creator of WellsboroAthletics.com and WellsboroFootball.com. You can follow him on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
