If you’ll recall, Hempfield won the May 8 WPIAL Class AAA Team Track and Field Championship.
The Spartans got their championship on the backs of athletes like Jasmine Jones, who won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes.
Here’s a clip of Jones’ 100-meter dash win (12.50 seconds) from team championships:
“The 300 is a pretty brutal race but I love it,” said Hempfield sophomore Maddie Holmberg about the 300-meter hurdle race. At last week’s Class AAA WPIAL track and field individual championships, she won it (43.97 seconds).
Holmberg also won the 100-meter hurdles (14.98 seconds). She contrasted the 100- and 300-meter hurdles by noting the hurdle-height and stamina differences. She explained that since the hurdle-height in the 300 is significantly lower than that of the hurdle-height in the 100, stamina is the operative training focus in the 300.
“At practice – we haven’t done a 400 with hurdles, but we do a lot of 400s and a lot of 300s,” Holmberg said. As to the hurdle-height in the 300-meter race, Holmberg said: “We just have to step over them.”
As an interesting side note, Holmberg is the daughter of former NFL linebacker Rob Holmberg. During his pro-football career, Rob played for the Raiders, the Vikings, the Patriots, the Jets, and the Green Bay Packers.
But Maddie is the Holmberg currently striving for state championships. In addition to training, she attributed her successes to her team.
“When we’re running, we’re like, ‘Guys - we can do this,’” Holmberg said. “Me and Jasmine Jones are pretty close. We push each other. We motivate each other to give all we have to the finish.”
The first-round of the WPIAL playoffs saw close games throughout all four classifications. There were three extra-inning games in Class A alone and six total among all classifications in the WPIAL on Tuesday and Thursday. Many of the games that did not go extra innings were also close.
The Hempfield Spartans did not fit into the mold of competitive first-round games. No. 4 Hempfield (16-5) dominated No. 13 Gateway (7-10), 14-0 in a five-inning game. It was the largest margin of victory in the first round throughout the WPIAL.
Many recall that last week’s girls’ Class AAA WPIAL track team championships were won by Hempfield. Reports noted that Hempfield individuals or relays won nine events, and that Jasmine Jones won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes.
So, what were the other girls’ events won?
Head coach Ron Colland helped out.
“Maddie Holmberg won the high hurdles,” he said. “Holmberg won the intermediate hurdles, and Holmberg won the long jump. Bridget Guy won the pole vault.”
Colland noted that Guy went 12 feet.
This total gives seven individual events won by three Hempfield athletes, and it leaves a couple of relays to make nine.
The Spartans took a couple of days off but got back to work with tough workouts on Monday and Tuesday. The team is preparing conservatively today, in order to stay fresh-but-prepped for tomorrow’s finals.
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