Gravine
SHIPPENSBURG — Rain for the last day and a half made the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Track and Field Championships difficult for many of the competitors at Shippensburg University on May 22 and 23.
Ben Gravine was prepared.
Gravine gave Wyoming Area its only state medal in the final chance of the two-day meet when he placed fifth in the Class 3A boys discus throw, part of the last set of field events to be contested the afternoon of May 23.
The season-long preparation to pursue a state medal included an adjustment in the week leading up to the final meet.
“Going into the state meet, he knew there was going to be terrible weather, so he was out there with buckets of water in the circle to get used to it,” Warriors coach Joe Pizano said. “It worked. He was focused.
“He said he was more nervous for districts, just to make it for states, because he had never been there.”
The medal was the culmination of Gravine working his way back from a torn Achilles.
“It was the first time that he was healthy (for track season) since his sophomore season,” Pizano said.
Gravine showed early on that he was ready to compete among the best in the state, including a throw of more than 174 feet in the Walter Godek Twilight Invitational at North Pocono.
“He put in a ton of time on his technical skills,” Pizano said. “He was working on his spin and his release
After a foul on his first attempt, Gravine’s throw of 166-6 on the second try wound up being his best and secured the medal.
The medal completed the cycle for Wyoming Area assistant coach Mike Fanti, who works with the throwers. Under Fanti, the Warriors have won gold in the javelin and have medaled in the state meet in the shot put, but Gravine was the first to attain that level in the discus.
“He was on a mission to compete and medal,” Pizano said. “ … There were no doubts about what he was going to do. He did phenomenal.
“It was on his radar that he was definitely going to medal. He believed it.”
Wyoming Area’s second-best state performance also came on the second day. Luke Kopetchny bounced back from a tough first day in the triple jump to take 11th, exceeding his seed, in the long jump with 21-6½.
