Raiders’ Layton, Fowler soar to WPIAL gold
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Andrew Layton soars over the bar on his way to winning the Class AA pole vault in Wednesday鈥檚 WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University. (Photo by Jim Downey)
Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Dawson Fowler won the gold medal in the Class AA triple jump in Wednesday鈥檚 WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University. Fowler鈥檚 winning jump was 42-4戮. (Photo by Jim Downey)
SLIPPERY ROCK 鈥� Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Andrew Layton waited awhile before he competed, but it wasn鈥檛 a bother because he out-vaulted the Class AA competition last Wednesday afternoon in WPIAL Class AAA/AA Individual Track & Field Championships at Slippery Rock University.
Teammate Dawson Fowler passed on a possible second medal, but the sacrifice was worth it because it led to a gold medal in the triple jump.
Layton cleared 14-6 to keep the pole vault gold medal in the family.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing. I鈥檓 on equal footing with my brother,鈥� said Layton, adding with a smile, 鈥淚鈥檒l get (his brother鈥檚 mark) next year.鈥�
Layton opened at a conservative height.
鈥淚 came in at 12 feet, really low. I was pretty clean,鈥� said Layton. 鈥淚 nearly got 15 feet. I blew right through it.鈥�
Fowler was competing in the javelin and triple jump at the same time. He qualified for the javelin in ninth place, but opted out of the finals to focus on the triple jump.
鈥淚 passed on the javelin finals. I was seeded No. 1 in the triple jump. I just wanted to get in the top five in the javelin.鈥�
Fowler hit his gold medal-winning jump on his sixth and final attempt, clearing 42-4戮. He tied with Washington鈥檚 Davoun Fuse, so the second-best jump broke the tie with Fowler鈥檚 effort of 41-11.
鈥淲e were tied so they went off the second-best jump,鈥� explained Fowler.
Fowler paid the price for running between events.
鈥淚t was crazy. My legs were worn out,鈥� said Fowler.
West Greene鈥檚 Colin Brady placed fourth in the Class AA 100 with a time of 11.42 seconds for a berth into the state meet.