PIAA TRACK AND FIELD: Dunmore's Yannone, Elk Lake's Jones, Mid Valley's Thomas earn silver medals in morning session

SHIPPENSBURG - Weston Yannone received a text of good luck from her cousin and past state medal winner, Skyla Wilson.

The hurdles events are very important in their family, with a legacy started by Wilson's mom and Yannone's aunt, Teresa Covert, a multi-time champion.

Motivated and with his training peaking at the right time of the year, Yannone more than held up their collective tradition of excellence.

With cool temperatures and a steady rain falling, Yannone powered through the barriers in 14.30 seconds. He earned a silver medal, with Corry Area senior Blake Cook holding him off in 14.08.

His effort was one of the many highlights in the boys Class 2A competition at the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday morning at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium.

"It feels great," Yannone said. "Obviously, I would have liked to come home with the gold, but now I will grind and focus on next year. This was a great race, and I am extremely happy."

In addition to Yannone's silver medal, Elk Lake senior Kendel Jones won a silver medal in the 3,200 and later anchored the 3,200 relay team to a fourth-place medal, giving him three medals in two days. He won a fourth-place medal Friday in the 1,600.

"This means a lot, it being the last two-mile race that I will ever run," Jones said. "Coming into the race, Coach (Will) Squire told us that this is not great weather, but you have to adapt. That was a helpful mindset to have. We had a really competitive group at states, and that helped a lot with keeping the pace."

Holy Cross senior Kevin Vincent won his second career medal when he finished seventh in the Class 2A triple jump with a distance of 43 feet, 11 inches. Shady Side's Javon Johnson won gold at 45-9.

"To end my career with three district championships and two state medals is pretty awesome," said Vincent, who is headed to Bucknell University. "Maybe today wasn't exactly what I wanted, but to achieve this is just a blessing."

Mid Valley freshman Olivia Thomas won her second career state silver medal. She finished second in the Class 2A 100 hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.32. Lakeland's Kaylyn Davis won an eighth-place medal in 15.61.

West Catholic junior Amarah Crabbe won gold in 14.23 seconds.

"I am very happy and proud of all the work that I have put in," Thomas said. "The weather didn't bother me at all. I actually enjoyed it."

During her high school career at Susquehanna, Covert won several gold medals in the Class 2A 100 hurdles. Wilson followed and collected state medals before going on to a rewarding collegiate career while also competing in the Olympic Trials.

Yannone, who transferred from Susquehanna after his family moved to Dunmore, could not compete in the postseason last year. In his first season with the Bucks, he shattered the school record in several events and excelled in the 110 hurdles.

He ran his official fastest fully automatic time at 14.30. His hand-held converted school record time is 14.24.

"Today, waking up and seeing that text from Skyla, who said she was proud of me and told me to rise to the competition," Yannone said. "That's what I tried to do. I am very grateful for the genetics that I have, and it was a really great year."

On his final day of competitive running before turning to work on his family farm full-time, Jones put himself in a good position early and then made a move in the second mile. He increased his turnover and chased champion Jonah Montagnese, who finished in 9:11.23.

In the final 800, Jones took over second place by himself, pulling away from the field and finishing in 9:17.54, a huge improvement from his 9:25.34 that won the District 2 Class 2A gold medal, which seeded him fourth for the race.

"Jonah is a really great runner," Jones said. "I knew in my second mile I was kind of waiting for him to make his move, and I would go with him the best I could. This shows the hard work that I have put in and that Elk Lake is a really great running school."

Jones' silver medal is the best won by a member of his family. His brother, Luke, won a fourth-place medal in 2013 and an eighth-place medal in 2012 in the 3,200. His sister, Krista, won a sixth-place medal in 2022 in the 1,600.

When asked if he will brag when he gets home, Jones said, "Maybe just a little."

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