Track notes: Madison Ziska breaks through with Firing Meet win
Track & Field coverage presented by ATT Sports, Inc.
By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
Madison Ziska was cautious during that first dash down the runway. The memory from last year was still fresh in her mind. Three jumps. Three fouls. She didn’t even reach the finals.
Once she landed in the sand at 17-0.5, Ziska could exhale. Schuylkill Valley’s senior had her mark. She never expected it to withstand all challenges.
It did by half-an-inch.
Ziska, one of the county’s most decorated track and field athletes over the past four seasons, secured one of the few achievements that has eluded her: county gold. She won the long jump during Day 1 of the William H. Firing Meet at Shillington Thursday.
The first step was vanquishing those ghosts from 12 months ago.
“That was kind of in my head when I first started today,” Ziska said. “Thinking about fouling and everything. I came down the runway like I was scared. Then I still got a decent jump out of it, even though it wasn’t my best.”
The meet featured a loaded field with three jumpers who had surpassed 17 feet.
Ziska hit a PR at 18-1.75 two weeks earlier. Distances were down from everyone’s previous bests and it looked like Ziska’s initial jump was safe until the next-to-last attempt.
Muhlenberg’s Jessica Johnson hit 17-0. Ziska held her breath for a blink until the number was revealed. She then skipped her final turn.
“I was lucky there,” she said with a smile.
Ziska arrived on the Berks scene with a flourish. She was a two-time District 3 Class 2A champion as a freshman.
After losing her sophomore season to the COVID cancellation, she won four PIAA medals as a junior.
“I’ve always seen counties as harder than districts because I have Triple-A (competition) to worry about here,” Ziska said.
The senior broke through. She still has the 100 and 200 ahead of her, on Saturday. She has scrapped the 400, which used to be one of her top events, in favor of the shorter sprints. She has one of the best qualifying times in both of those events.
Ziska finished the Berks County invitational schedule undefeated in the long jump. She’ll likely be named All-Berks in track after earning that recognition in golf and basketball.
As the long jump competition continued, Ziska dealt with shin splints. Those kept her distances in the 16s. She felt like she was missing something. She didn’t have enough burst.
“I just kept holding onto hope,” Ziska said. “I was trying to clear my head the whole time.”
Ziska’s lasting memory from this year’s Firing Meet will be much better.
Double gold
Jven Williams inched closer to history while becoming the first athlete to pocket two gold medals Thursday. Wyomissing’s junior swept the shot put and discus by comfortable margins.
Williams reached 61-10 in the shot to establish a new PR. He was 8.25 inches behind Dane Miller’s county record. Williams reached 167-8 in the discus. He’ll be the top seed in both events in District 3 Class 2A.
Gov. Mifflin’s Annika Ermold completed the double in the girls shot put and discus. Ermold reached 40-0.5 in the shot and 127-1 in the discus.
Long distance dedication
Twin Valley’s Anthony Engle and Schuylkill Valley’s Luke Seymour went down to the wire in the 3200. Engle placed first at 9:39.73 followed by Seymour at 9:41.50. Those two could meet again in the 800 and 1600.
Caryn Rippey repeated as girls champion in the 3200. Rippey finished in 11:00.08 and was nearly nine seconds ahead of Gov. Mifflin’s Kaitlyn Highduch. Rippey’s time was a Berks best and the seventh-best in District 3 Class 3A.
The 3200 was the only track final competed Thursday. The rest of the meet will be held Saturday, starting at 10 a.m.
Back-to-back
Wyomissing’s Collin Niedrowski repeated as boys javelin champion when he hit a personal-best 164-7 on his final attempt.
The Niedrowski brothers have won this event for four consecutive years (excluding 2020 when it wasn’t held because of COVID). Hunter won in 2018, followed by Evan in 2019 and Collin the past two seasons.
