Hempfield Vs. McCaskey - The Young Men!

Today I'm focusing on the young men of Hempfield & McCaskey!  For almost 40 years I have been lucky to see some amazing track & field when it comes to this track meet!  When I did my "student teaching" at Hempfield back in 1976, I was introduced to this rivalry - and back then, it was not much of a rivalry - McCaskey was amazing!  Hempfield had it's moments, but McCaskey was thriving!

In 1983, at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Meet, Hempfield had 5 League Champions!  But, McCaskey still ran away with the title!  But, shockwaves in 1986!  Coming down to the last event, Hempfield & McCaskey was tied!!  BUT, the 1600 relay team of Keith Shelly, Kevin Johnson, John Wade, & Jeff Fritz brought home the TITLE!!!

Then, we had a sprinter, Justin Kiscadden, finally win the 100 metes (And he did it for 3 straight years!).

Monday night, April 15th was tax day!  And it was very "taxing" for McCaskey!  What happened was amazing to watch!  And now, as a retired coach, and fan!  What a meet!  Coming in McCaskey, had a great win against Conestoga Valley!  And on paper, it looked like a nail biter!

But, the results were clear!  Tonight was Hempfield's night to shine!

Tanner Unger led the throwers!

Let's begin with the throws!  Points?  Hempfield 26 - McCaskey 1!!  Leading the charge - Tanner Unger!  Three wins!  Shot 50-6, Discus 156-0, & Javelin 167-2!  And depth!  JD Aument, Matt Bobetsky, & Anthony Delgiorno!  Coach Herr - AMAZING!!!

In the jumps, McCaskey was strong!  Guess what?  Hempfield 21 - McCaskey 15!  Issiah Bennett wins the Triple Jump - 40'-4", Dustin Peck wins pole vault 12'0"!  And more points, Issiah, 2nd in the Long Jump - 20'3", Darius Stuckey, 2nd High Jump - 6'1" & 3rd in triple jump - 38'6", Adam Karl, 3rd in high jump - 5'7", & Alexander Rogers, 2nd in pole vault - 11'!  BIG POINTS!!!

In the hurdles, Devon Santos is making a huge step, becoming on of the best hurdles Hempfield ever had! (Look out Frey, Wiederrecht, Dixon, & Meshaw!)  Hempfield 14 - McCaskey 4!  Devon wins the highs and intermediates in 14.8 & 39.2!  And Andrew Pogue, a freshman, grew up fast with a second in the 330H - 41.2 & 3rd in the 110H - 16.9!  This is exciting!!!!

Devon Santos - one of the League best hurdlers!

In the sprints, yes the sprints Tory Long, a sophomore wins the 100, 200 & anchors the 1600 relay!  Against McCaskey!!  (And without a dropped handoff, the 400 relay!) Hempfield 2013, what a difference 30 years make!!!!  And all this without our other top sprinter, Dustin Koenig!  Look out leagues!!  Hempfield 15 - McCaskey 12!

And, I thought the distance runners were in trouble!  Against Conestoga Valley, McCaskey's distance runners were tough!  But, Andrew Birk would have none of that!  Andrew wins the 800(2:05.3) & 1600(4:35)! And runs a great leg in the 1600 relay!  Big Points from Connor Lehr first - 3200(10:24.7) & 1600(4:42) - 3rd! And Justin Yurchak, 3rd in the 3200(10:37)!  Hempfield 17 - McCaskey 12!

Andrew Birk leads the Distance Runners!!

That's right!  Every category - sprints, hurdles, throws, distance, & distance outscored McCaskey!  What does that mean?  A BIG WIN!!!!  Hempfield 92 - McCaskey 58!!

DO NOT LET UP FOR CEDAR CREST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!