PHOTO PROVIDED Central Mountain senior Sam Wible poses with his 200 and 400 medals following his run at the District 6 Track and Field Championships on Thursday, May 15,2025, at Altoona's Mansion Park. Wible qualified for states in the 400.

ALTOONA – Heading into the closing 50 meters of the 400-meter run, the look on Central Mountain senior Sam Wible’s face displayed the tiredness he felt after a hard-run race. His legs, however, told a different story.

With his motor nearing zero, Wible managed to keep pace with frontrunner Colin Etters long enough to cap off the best race of his long high school career. Both runners set PRs, crediting the other for pushing them to reach new heights. And more notably, both did enough to extend their seasons another round.

Needing a 50.09 to clinch his first state bid, Wible surpassed that mark by more than half a second, running a 49.42.

It was a tough race, one that had him short of breath minutes later while coming off the podium. But it was worth it. When that time popped up on Mansion Park’s scoreboard, multiple Wildcats, Wible included, jumped up and down in celebration.

“I felt like I was fading down the straight away. When I was coming across the line there, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I’m going to make it. I might not get first.’ But then I saw the clock and knew I was making it to states,” said Wible on the moment. “Just a really good moment for me. I’m extremely happy. I wanted to get to states and did what I had to do.”

His effort there and in the 200-meter dash, which saw him claim bronze with a 22.71, headlined a strong Day 2 of the District 6 Track and Field Championships for the Wildcat boys. While he’ll be the lone Central Mountain boy competing at Shippensburg next weekend, plenty of Wildcats medalled and PR’d through Thursday.

Senior Cooper Bottorf and junior Billy Newman made it three silver medals for the team alongside Wible’s in the 400, with Bottorf hitting the second best throw of his career in discus on a 150-4 and Newman headlining a strong overall event for Central Mountain in jumps, taking second in the high jump (5-9). There was disappointment that came with falling just short of states, with Bottorf notably missing out by under three feet, but there was also plenty of pride.

“I had a good time. My first couple throws were great,” said Bottorf, who is set to continue his track and field career at Susquehanna next year alongside teammate Jonathan Hughes. “Obviously, didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but I’m still happy with second place.”

Hughes took fourth in the javelin with a mark of 159-10, Isaiah Brinker and Newman secured their second District 6 Class AAA medals in the long jump, placing seventh and eighth respectively, and Owen Wunder rounded out an excellent day for Central Mountain in the field, placing in sixth in the high jump with a PR of 5-7. And on the track, all three relays placed, led by the 3,200 relay team’s fifth-place showing.

Throughout the two days, the Central Mountain boys accumulated 20 PRs, signifying a strong overall outing for the team. For Wible, the going isn’t quite over, as he heads into states looking to build off a great closing effort at districts.

BITTERSWEET RELIEF

Following a strong opening day, Bellefonte senior Zane Hummel was confident that he’d be able to secure his second state qualification in the long jump on Thursday, expecting little issue with how many times he’d hit the state standard (22-3) this season. But as his attempts went by without success, nerves began to take form.

However, on his second-to-last attempt, everything clicked. His approach was sound, his takeoff was emphatic and by the time he landed, it was clear he’d put together a state caliber jump, both in terms of distance and the ensuing reaction. The jump was called soon after – a 22-10 1/4 – officially giving him a shot at two Shippensburg podium visits for the second straight season.

“I was definitely stressing, doubting myself and didn’t know what was going wrong. Felt amazing during warmups,” said Hummel on the attempts leading up to his state-qualifying one. “I just trusted myself, my coach. Put it out there.”

There was a bittersweet aspect to the jump, as it ultimately fell short of gold by centimeters, with Altoona’s Xavier Midder hitting a 22-10 1/2. But Hummel was more happy about getting another shot next weekend than he was disappointed about falling just short of a title.

“Not the happiest about taking second by one-fourth of an inch, but I’ll get my get-back at states,” said Hummel.

Soon after, Hummel and his 400 relay squad – featuring Jaeden Gabrovsek, Aden Howell and Kaven Smith-Kirk – would break the program record with a 43.42, taking fourth with the effort. The hope was to clinch a state bid, which is fell just over half a second short of, but they were still proud of the performance.

“We’re happy about that,” said Hummel on the team breaking a school record. “It’s been an amazing ride with my team.”

Smith-kirk added multiple individual placements to his relay one, taking fifth in the long jump alongside Hummel with a 21-7 and sixth in the 200-meter dash finals with a PR of 23.06. Sophomore Landyn Langille upped both his prelim finishes, taking sixth in the 300-meter hurdles (43.12) and seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a PR of 17.82. And they weren’t the only ones to see multiple podium visits, with Kaiden Williams and Jonathan Gasper setting PRs in the 3,200 to take fifth and sixth respectively.

Senior Liam Halterman took seventh in the javelin (156-3), Matrix Mokluk placed sixth in the pole vault with a PR of 11-3 and the 1,600-relay team matched the 400, taking fourth with a 3:31.38. Throughout the two-day affair, 17 PRs were met for Bellefonte.

For Bald Eagle Area, junior Beau Taylor picked up where he left off on Wednesday, taking fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a 40.92 to forefront the Eagles’ day. And the 3,200-relay team – consisting of Owen Dechow, Tristen Rice, Blake Wagner and Alec Wagner – finished in seventh with a 9:05.28.