Speeding Bullet Adam Petersen’s first is a first for his school
Track and Field coverage sponsored by ATT Sports., Inc.
By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
Bragging rights for fastest boy in Berks County was up for grabs Saturday afternoon.
The field was wide open with no clear favorite.
A boy with barely a track team seized the gold medal.
Brandywine Heights senior Adam Petersen bolted to a victory in the 100 meters to earn the first county track title in school history on the final day of the 80th William H. Firing Memorial Victory Meet.
Petersen flew across the finish line and turned over his left shoulder to catch his coach’s reaction.
He did indeed earn the narrow victory, edging Twin Valley’s Harrison Cronan by five hundredths of a second with his 10.96.
“I’m really excited,” Petersen said. “Being the first county champion from Brandywine Heights is really special.”
The Twin Valley boys enjoyed an especially dominant two days at Shillington. The Raiders scored a whopping 140 points to grab the team title and beat runner-up Wyomissing by more than 60 points.
While Vincent Acinapura won the 200 and Ben Grundy the 400 for individual wins, Twin Valley dominated the county championship with its depth and relay sweep.
Berks Catholic shot putter Brady Mider and Gov. Mifflin distance runner Zack Zerbe were the meet’s double winners.
Mider improved on his career best that ranks first in Pennsylvania. He threw a 59-4.
Zerbe added a 1600 win to Thursday’s 3200 title. He earned the Jack Hemmig trophy awarded to the individual high points scorer.
Petersen burst onto the District 3 scene in 2022 when he won Class 2A gold in the 100. He was an unlikely champion at that time. It was his first year running track and only the second year the Bullets had their own team. They competed previously as part of a co-op with Kutztown.
While Petersen’s district gold was a surprising breakthrough, his county title had its own special feel.
“Districts is special because there are a lot more teams,” Petersen said. “At counties, you are against the big schools and it feels extra good. It’s your home territory and you get recognized more.”
Petersen carried the top seed into Saturday’s final with his career-best 10.92 from Thursday’s prelims.
Zerbe pulled away from the field late in the 1600 as he did in Thursday night’s longer race. This time Zerbe was chasing Twin Valley’s Anthony Engle, the season-long favorite heading into the county championship.
Zerbe capitalized on his signature speed by overtaking Engle with 300 meters remaining.
“I saw him pumping his arms really hard and I was still in good runner form,” Zerbe said. “It gave me confidence. If the fastest guy in this field is feeling this then I can definitely pull this off.”
Zerbe finished in a career-best 4:18.94 that ranks among the top 25 fastest times in Pennsylvania.
Wilson senior Spencer Hahn capitalized on his fresh legs to beat a competitive field in the 800. His aggressive strategy beat the likes of Engle and Zerbe and three other Raiders who eclipsed the two-minute mark.
Hahn bolted to a huge lead and wasn’t challenged until the final 100 meters. He finished in a career-best 1:56.54.
“I knew if there was any chance I was going to win that I would need to go out fast,” Hahn said. “By me creating that gap it made it hard for them to catch me since they had tired legs.”
Bulldogs distance coach Josh Falk talked to Hahn about finding space after he had gotten boxed in during a recent race.
Hahn certainly heeded his coach’s advice. He was in a different zip code until the final stretch.
“For some guys, it was their second or third race of the day,” Falk said. “For Spence, this was the race we were getting after. He got out and got after it and it paid off for him today.”
