Jven Williams: First in the state . . . still second at home

Track & Field coverage presented by ATT Sports, Inc.

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

SHIPPENSBURG — Even after the gold medal stayed in the family, the playful trash talking continued between the Williams brothers. Rushard still had the bigger distance and momentary bragging rights.

Jven Williams wasn’t too concerned about the details. He was excited to claim his first PIAA title.

Wyomissing’s junior reached 167-0 and held on to capture the Class 2A discus at the PIAA Track and Field championships at Seth Grove Stadium Friday. 

It was a victory 12 months in the making.

Williams was one of the top discus throwers in the state last season before scratching out of districts. He settled for third place in the shot put and watched as Rushard claimed discus gold. That sent Jven back to the drawing board.

“It was pretty rough,” he said. “A lot of training. But I’m happy. I’m not happy with the distance but I’m happy with the result. At this point it’s really just about getting that hardware.”

Berks Catholic’s Brady Mider placed sixth at 151-11. It was the first PIAA medal in this event for the sophomore. 

Rushard was in the front row cheering for Jven as he continued the family tradition. Rushard reached 169-7 on his way to the top of the medal stand last May. Those 31 inches were a topic of conversation.

“We’re matching,” Jven said. “We’ve got the double gold. He was talking about the mark. I was talking about the medal. You never win when you’re going against your older brother.”

Williams hit his best mark on his first attempt in what was supposed to be a safety throw. Instead of just getting him into the finals, it was good enough to prevail.

Shenango’s Will Patton put a scare into Williams by reaching 164-4. The senior couldn’t quite close the gap.

“Will was really on my tail,” Williams said. “I was a little bit worried going into finals that he’d catch up. But I’m happy that I got to finish where I did.”

Williams and Patton are both Penn State football recruits. They took a picture together and sent it to coach James Franklin.

There’s one more event for Williams, who will likely forego his senior track season in order to attend Penn State early. He’s the top seed in Saturday’s shot put with Mider at No. 2.

“I just want to calm down and not let it get too much to my head,” Williams said. “Block out everyone else’s noise. Just do my thing. Stay calm, cool and collected.”

If Williams can get that second gold, he’ll finally have brotherly bragging rights.

Also in the afternoon events

Madison Ziska ended her long jump career with a bang. Schuylkill Valley’s senior hit 18-2 to extend her school record and place third in Class 2A. Ziska then ran 25.95 to qualify for the finals in the 200. She’ll finish with six PIAA medals.

Preliminaries

Wyomissing’s Cadi Hoke (400) and Tulpehocken’s Ella Ahner (200) each qualified for the finals in Class 2A. Both were district champions last week. Hoke set a PR at 58.98. Wyomissing’s boys and girls 400 relay teams also reached the finals.