PIAA Track Championships: Stanley breaks national record
(Photo: Bill Stanley of South Park broke the national prep record in the javelin by more than 2 feet Saturday. Matt Freed /Post-Gazette.)
"SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- The last line on the javelin field at the PIAA championships is at 220 feet. About 40 feet behind the last line is woods.
Bill Stanley nearly put his javelin into the wilderness Saturday, but don't blame the PIAA for a short javelin area. Stanley threw where no high school athlete has before.
Stanley, a senior at South Park, didn't just win the PIAA Class AAA title, he set a national record when he threw the javelin 246 feet, 9 inches at Shippensburg University.
The old National Federation of High Schools record was 244-2, set in 2010 by Sam Crouser of Gresham High School in Oregon (NFHS records can only be set at state championship meets or NFHS-sanctioned meets).
Stanley had the second-best throw in the country this season at 234-9. Then, on his first throw of the Class AAA final, he drew oohs and ahhs from the fans watching and had PIAA judges clamoring. After measuring the record throw once, the PIAA brought out the metal tape just to make sure it would be recognized by the NFHS. It was a throw for the ages by the compact 5-foot-10, 190-pound Stanley. Crouser had broken a record that stood since 1988."
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