Hampton, Drake qualify for states

By JEFF FISHBEIN, Sentinel sports editor, jfishbein@lewistownsentinel.com
    ALTOONA — There are parallels that can be drawn between wrestling in the winter and track and field come spring.


    Both are team sports that require substantial amounts of dedication, commitment and effort for success — and sometimes sacrifice in the name of what will help the group over the individual. But when the postseason rolls around, that reverses — the individual is the focus, because advancement is no longer on a team basis.


    In Mount Union, the two sports have something else in common this year — Dustin Drake.


    The Trojan senior marked his final year in blue and gold with not one, but two trips to a state tournament. He finished wrestling with a medal, and has the chance to do the same as a javelin thrower in the PIAA Class AA state meet.


    Drake, whose best toss coming into Tuesday’s District 6 Class AA event was a little more than 170 feet, fell just shy of 180 at Altoona’s Mansion Park, finishing third at 179-5. Even if he had missed the third spot — the last automatic qualifier — he was among five boys who were above the state qualifying standard.


    “You’ve got to do it all yourself. You can’t rely on the team,” Drake explained, describing the process of getting to this point.


    “I was throwing in the 130s at the beginning of the year. The last couple weeks I’ve been punching out 160s,” he said. “After I threw 171 I knew I could make it to states, so I started putting more pressure on myself. I knew I could make it there if I just put in a little bit more.”


    And then, he said simply, “I made it.”


    “He’s been throwing the past two weeks much, much better. He had the momentum behind him,” Mount Union coach Bob Wydock said.


    Drake will be joined in Shippensburg by Cory Hampton, who placed in all three jumping events but made it to the next level in only one, the long jump, where he took the silver with a 20-10 leap. Hampton’s formula for success is simple.


    “It’s all about my steps, consistency,” he said. “I can always push it a little further come states. It will definitely give me a lot more confidence to push myself at states.”


    Hampton, a junior who also placed in the triple jump (fifth, 40-10 1/2) and high jump (seventh, 6-0), was the top seed coming into the district meet and finished second by an inch. But he didn’t let that affect his confidence, which he said was his most important attribute as he prepares to compete at the top level.


    A year ago, he came to this meet and failed to make the finals.


    This year, the confidence, along with experience, made the difference.


    “Cory’s our top scorer, he’s been our mainstay all season long,” Wydock said. “High jump is one of his best events, and he has jumped 6-2 in the past, but he just couldn’t get it done today.”


    His triple jump number, though, was a personal best and had him at least close to qualifying in a second event.


    Jamel Fortson was the only other medalist in the boys meet, finishing seventh in the shot put. Katrina Woods was the only scorer in the girls meet, picking up fifth place in the 3,200-meter run and eighth in the 1,600.


    “Last year, she had to face difficult competition. She was fortunate enough to make it (to states) in the mile, but it’s an uphill battle,” Wydock said. “We have a number of excellent girls in District 6 in terms of long distance runners.”


    Woods’ five points was enough to keep her team from finishing last. The Trojan girls were 22nd out of 26 teams.


    Northern Cambria won the girls event. The boys finished 14th in the team standings with 22 points. Bald Eagle Area was the boys team champion.