Tulpehocken’s David Bednarczyk is a shooting star on the track, too
Track and Field coverage sponsored by ATT Sports., Inc.
By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
SHIPPENSBURG – David Bednarczyk lifted his long, lean arms toward the sky after crossing the finish line.
He had reached high school track and field’s pinnacle.
“There’s really nothing better than a gold medal,” he said.
The Tulpehocken senior won the Class AA 1600 and collected four medals during the District 3 Track and Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium this weekend. He was one of four Berks boys and two relay teams who brought home titles over the two-day meet.
“Coming across that line and getting a gold medal at the district level has got to be one of the biggest accomplishments of my career,” Bednarczyk said. “Or my life.”
Bednarczyk is no stranger to special sports moments.
He reached a pinnacle in high school basketball, scoring 1,000 career points; he finished with 1,103 points.
He couldn’t say which achievement ranks higher or whether the memory of his milestone on the court or win for the Shippensburg crowd will be more special.
“There’s not much you can do better than 1,000 points individually for basketball,” he said. “Getting first at districts individually in track has got to be in the top two. But I’m not sure how the two measure up against each other.”
Bednarczyk didn’t need to place one accomplishment above the other Saturday.
He was busy relishing a win that symbolized an unconventional path to district glory.
Bednarczyk started distance running in seventh grade, running hundreds of autumn miles with the cross country team to get in shape for basketball.
Not surprisingly, he dropped the long runs to compete in the high jump when the spring track season arrived..
Basketball players jump.
They hurdle and sprint.
So Bednarczyk showcased his hops throughout junior high.
“I saw some success in the high jump,” he said. “But once I got to ninth grade my results weren’t there. At that point, my distance running was a lot better than my jumping.”
The transition to running lap after lap on the track seemed natural for Bednarczyk, even if distance racing is an unusual calling for a boy who spends his winters on the court.
Bednarczyk was one of District 3’s fastest Class A cross country runners throughout high school. He finished fourth at last fall’s district meet in leading the Trojans to a runner-up showing.
Saturday’s breakthrough win elevated Bednarczyk to higher District 3 heights.
With no runner entering the race as a clear favorite, Bednarczyk grabbed the lead midway through and opened a cushion that was never comfortable enough. He finished in 4:38.84 to win by about three seconds over Annville Cleona’s Landon Hostetter.
“We were all within one or two seconds,” Bednarczyk said of the 1600 seed times. “I knew there was a shot coming into the race. I told myself this might be the last mile you ever run, so why not give it your all. It worked out.”
But Bednarczyk’s work was far from finished.
After anchoring Tulpehocken’s 3200 relay to a fourth-place medal and winning the early afternoon mile, he took fourth in the 800. He ended the day by anchoring his 1600 relay team to a bronze medal in a school-record 3:31.95.
“He’s a driven athlete,” said Trojans distance coach Joel Jackson. “He decides to win and he gets after it and does it.”
Whether it’s on the court or the track.
