For Youngsville senior Jake Hogg, that doesn’t necessarily mean his third District 10 title in high jump in three years, which he accomplished Saturday at Slippery Rock University.

“He’s about the state title,” said Youngsville coach John Victor.

After his sophomore year, in which he finished one inch off the state championship height in the high jump, Hogg — like all other PIAA spring athletes — had to skip a season due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“It came down to three kids on their final jump during his sophomore year,” said Victor of the PIAA championships two seasons ago. “If they hadn’t made their final jump, he’s the state champ.”

Times Observer photos by Brian Ferry Youngsville senior Jake Hogg clears the bar on the way to a first-place finish in the high jump Saturday at the District 10 AA Track and Field Championships at Slippery Rock University.

All three competitors made their final jump at 6-foot-6, and 6-foot-7 ended up being the winning height, an inch higher than Hogg’s.

Since then, Hogg has broken the school record with a huge 6-foot-10 jump.

On Saturday, he was the D10 2A champion at 6-5 — for his third trip to states, and also won gold in the triple jump at 43 feet, 10-1/4 inches.

“When he got to 6-5, he was tired,” said Victor.

With prelims and finals in events, Hogg was running back and forth between javelin — in which he medaled in fourth place — triple jump, and high jump.

Times Observer Photo by Brian Ferry Warren senior Kyleigh Wilson closes the gap on the competition in the 4x100 meter relay as the Red Dragons finished tied for first in the preliminary in a dead heat with Mercyhurst Prep with a time of 53.29.

Victor said Hogg told him his hip was a little tight prior to his first high jump.

“‘I’ll be alright. It’s just a little tight,'” Victor said Hogg told him. Then, in his own way, Hogg added, “‘I hope I can make 5-11.'”

Victor knew then that he was OK, and he was.

Once Victor knew Hogg had the triple jump gold medal, he passed on Hogg’s final triple jump, so he won gold with a jump an inch from breaking another school record — 44-11, set by Ed Benedict in 1974.

Hogg missed on his 6-7 high jump attempts, but he also had that won at that point.

Times Observer Photo by Brian Ferry Eisenhower senior Caleb Robinault sprints to the finish of the 4x100 meter relay.

“This being his third trip to states, he’s learned a lot,” said Victor. “He knows where to come out to talk to me (coaches can’t be on the infield with athletes at states), he knows when to take a nibble on a snack, he knows when to take water.”

Ironically, on the results sheet from Saturday’s meet, another Warren County athlete, Matt Benson, set the D10 2A high jump record in 1991 at 7-0.

Benson also holds the PIAA meet record at 7-1.

Hogg will join Sheffield High School senior Emily Leichtenberger (discus) and freshman Emily Foster (high jump) at the PIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships Friday at Shippensburg University. Events are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

“I know I could have done better (at districts). I just have to fix some things for Friday,” said Hogg. “The goal is to win in both high and triple, probably 7 feet for high jump; also, it (helps) because I know how to prepare and what I need to win. I just try not to worry or get cocky, but keep the mindset of doing my best.”

Other county highlights at the D10 meet:

Eisenhower’s Alex Hummel took fifth in each of the 400 and 800 in Class 2A; Kyleigh Wilson (with Warren’s girls in Class 2A) took third in the long jump, and fourth in both the 100 and 200.

In 3A, Warren’s boys 4×800 relay of John Seyler, Corban Reinard, Grant Heeter and Graham Carr took third, as well as Alex Ferry in the high jump; teammate Ben White was fifth in the 100 and 200, and Parker Shene was fifth in long jump.

“Our kids had a great weekend! We brought 25 kids to districts and well over half of them came home with medals,” said Warren coach Kevin Dustin. “The nice thing is that a lot of the kids we brought were young and gained some valuable experience, which will be great for them moving forward. Our veterans did just what they were expected to and performed at a high level. We are proud of everyone who competed and congrats to all the great performances.”

DISTRICT 9 CHAMPIONSHIPS

FOSTER, LEICHTENBERGER

HEADED TO STATES

Sheffield took nine athletes to complete in the PIAA District 9 Class 2A Track & Field Championships and came home with two state qualifiers, as Emily Foster and Emily Leichtenberger will be going on to compete this Friday at Shippensburg University.

Leichtenberger’s first event was the javelin, an event that Sheffield head coach Jason Snell noted was very personal for her as she has worked the hardest and longest on it. The lone Wolverine senior would fall 18 inches shy of silver, throwing 116 feet, 5 inches. Leichtenberger recovered strongly, going on to break her own school record in discus by just over a foot, launching a 105-6 throw and taking second place in her last event of the day.

“It was something her and her dad worked very hard at,” said Snell of Leichtenberger competing in the javelin. “We were confident that she was going to qualify in that and a lower seed came out and threw a 120-foot throw and she missed going to states by 18 inches in the javelin. This was her first event of the day, and a lot of other athletes that probably would have shut them down for the day and emotionally wrecked them and they wouldn’t have done much in the other events, but the kind of athlete Emily Leichtenberger is, she pushed on, and with discus, from second to sixth seed, everybody was within a couple feet of each other. She went out and earned it. She got that second-place nod by five feet. It was the last event of the day, so it was a perfect ending.”

Freshman Emily Foster was able to clear 5-2 and take home gold in the high jump. Foster went on to attempt to tie the Sheffield school record of 5-4, but came up just short. Snell was confident that his gold medal winner has her sights set on more gold and breaking that record in the years to come.

“(She) went to tie the school record at 5-4 and once she got off the podium as a district champion, I told her she could smile now and she was disappointed she didn’t tie the school record now. That’s the kind of competitor she is,” said Snell. “She doesn’t back down. She’s a seek and destroy. She evaluates what’s there and she goes after it. That’s something you can’t coach everybody. That’s just her and who she is.”

The team of “Em and Em,” as Snell refers to them, will head to Shippensburg on Friday to compete in their respective events, but the first-year head coach sees this combination as more than just two athletes competing at a high level.

“Emily Leichtenberger has been a role model since she was younger, someone all the kids can look up to,” said Snell. “She’s there on the weekends. She’s been in working with the younger kids. She doesn’t take days off. She practices all week long. She’s been a leader through and through. Emily Foster, being young, I think those two going down to states together on that long car ride there and back, there’s going to be some conversations that definitely pass the torch. Foster is already a leader, but if there’s anybody to give her advice she’d (Leichtenberger) be the one. Competing at the state level is going be something amazing for the future of Emily Foster, but not just her, the program. These other kids that look up to them and see what they did, they’re going to want to do it, too.”

The Wolverines 400-meter relay team made strides at districts as well. Despite not placing in the top three, Snell was confident that with the leadership of assistant coach Dave Fitch and the experience from being at a high-level competition, the team will come back next season ready to make noise.

“We’re going to be one of the top eight teams in the district because we have everybody coming back,” said Snell. “We were eighth place, and they went in seeded 12th. Dave told them the bottom line is to run the fastest race with no holding back and break the 47-second barrier.”

Other Wolverine competitors included sophomore Lucas McNeal, who was a member of 400-meter team as well as placing seventh in the high jump; sophomore Lexi Goldthwaite, who came in 10th in triple jump, and in the high jump with Foster was freshman Kassidy Orinko.