Temple sisters led Hughesville at LHU HS Classic

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Hughesville’s Kylie Temple competes in the girl’s 300 meter hurdles during the Lock Haven Invitational track meet at Hubert H Jack Stadium in Lock Haven on Friday, April 26, 2024.

Prior to Friday, Hughesville sophomore Kylie Temple had spent almost a year trying in vain to set a new personal best in the 300 hurdles. Sixteen attempts following her 46.35 at last year’s Lock Haven High School Classic came and went without progress, but she never stopped trying to improve.

Cut to the present day following this year’s classic and that streak no longer stands. On Friday afternoon, the sophomore shaved .02 seconds off her previous PR, running a 46.33 and earning a meet title in the process.

“It felt really good to come out here and finally get to my PR from last year and go below it,” said Temple. “I love this track and I always feel so much better running here and it’s been kind of hard to get my 300 time down.”

It wasn’t a surefire title, with Altoona’s Alannah Irwin closing in on Temple down the stretch, but the Spartan finished strong to seal the win.

“I don’t like losing,” laughed Temple. “So, I was just telling myself, ‘Just don’t lose.’ I can’t do losing. I hate it so much, just staring at the back of someone bothers me. I just pushed all I could at the very end and managed to get it within the last two hurdles.”

Paired with a second PR in the 200 dash, where she ran a 26.54 to claim silver, she put forth a strong overall day and hopes to continue progressing heading into the postseason.

As it stands, she ranks No. 3 in District 4 Class AA in the 200 and No. 4 in the 300 hurdles. She put a lot of work in over the offseason and hopes to get her 300 time down into the 45-second range and build upon her state performance from last year, which saw her place sixth in the event.

“I just want to get as good as I can in these events and hopefully our 4-by-4 makes it to states as well,” said Temple, referring to her squad that earned a title on Friday with a time of 4:11.02. “My form is doing pretty decent since all the work I put in over the summer but it’s just a matter of getting my endurance better for finishing that last hundred of the race.”

“Her best days are still ahead of her,” said Hughesville girls coach Fredrick Glenwright on Kylie. “She has good talent. She works hard. She still wants to improve, and I think she will.”

Similar to Kylie, her sister, Katelyn, has come in as a freshman and immediately started making an impact. At the Lock Haven Classic, Temple placed top-six in three events, taking third in the 100 (13.24), fourth in the 400 (1:01.31) and sixth in the 200-meter dash (27.05) and setting PRs in all three in the process.

Her efforts in her individual events earned her team 14 team points. With Kylie’s 18, the pair combined for 32 of Hughesville’s 66 team points through the outing, playing a vital role in the team’s fourth place showing.

“She’s had a good start,” said Glenwright on Katelyn, who ranks top-ten in the district in all three of her events. “She’s a good kid and has been around since winter. She did indoor track and I think that helped.”

“They’re both pretty tough kids. They’re very competitive and they push each other really hard, which helps a lot,” he added on the sisters.

Outside of the Temples, senior Hailey Myers made an impact in the jumps, claiming bronze in the long jump (16-5) and fourth in the triple jump (33-11 1/2). The Spartans also had a ton of success in relays with its 1,600 relay team taking first with a time of 4:11.02 and their 400 team taking second with a 51.58.

“We’re pretty happy with the kids’ performances overall,” said Glenwright on his team’s fourth place showing. “We’re not up to full strength. A few kids are ill and a couple girls are nicked up with injuries. But we’re pretty happy with the way the meet went for us.”

On the boys side, junior Shea McCusker led the way for Hughesville, posting a second place showing in the 800-meter dash with a 2:00.20. It was an off day for the distance star, which saw him fall behind late in the 1600 to take tenth, but he looks forward to bouncing back moving forward.

“Definitely not what we wanted today but that happens,” said McCusker, who ranks No. 1 in the district in the 800 and 1,600. “Next time, I need to run within myself, felt really tight and rushed that whole race. Just need to run my race, run smooth, run nice and just prepare better.”

Jarrett Easton placed fourth in the high jump with a heigvht of 5 feet, 10 inches, Tyce Shaner took fifth in the 3,200, falling just short of a sub-10:00 run with a season best of 10:03.29, and Keagan Smith and Conor Knight placed sixth and seventh in the pole vault respectively, as the Hughesville boys placed tenth out of 20 teams at the event.