CR SOUTH:Gilson just misses state medal

Council Rock South senior Brett Gilson tuning up for states.

Council Rock South senior Brett Gilson and John Cantwell made it to states this year for the Golden Hawk boys track & field team with Cantwell earning state berths in the long jump and the triple jump and Gilson competing in the pole vault.
Gilson was this year’s district runner-up in his craft with a vault of 14 feet, 6 inches. At the district meet held last month at Coatesville Area High School, Brett nearly cleared a height of 15 feet but couldn’t quite get there.
“I had enough height, just not enough penetration into the pit,” stated Gilson as he prepared for states. “I kept hitting the bar on my way down.”
Gilson, who is headed to Dartmouth in the fall, got himself a new 15-foot pole measuring before heading to states. “I’m real excited to use it,: stated Gilson. “It gives me more height coming off the top of it.”
With a 9th-place finish May 23 at the PIAA Class AAA meet at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium, Gilson just missed earning a state medal with his 14-foot vault.
Two others--Mitch Codd, of Seneca Valley, and Chris Dougherty, of St. Joe’s Prep--tied for seventh place medals just ahead of Gilson. They also had 14-foot vaults but attained the winning height with fewer misses than Gilson.
Cantwell, who is headed to Miami of Ohio, placed 11th in the triple jump with a leap of 45 feet, 2.25 inches. Muhlenberg High’s Tyrell Ellison won the event after notching 49 feet, 0.75 inches.
Cantwell earned a 12th-place finish in the long jump, reaching a mark 22 feet 1-and-1/2 inches from the start. Matt Green, of Belle Vernon High, took the top prize with his leap of 23 feet 7.5 inches.
--Sports Editor Steve Sherman