Grayson Riggins set a record on his way to a gold medal in one of his hurdles events at last weekend's Pioneer Athletic Conference championship meet. In the other, a stumble near the finish line may have cost him another title.

            The Upper Perkiomen sophomore breezed to a first-place finish in the 300 hurdles at Norristown High School. In the 110 hurdles, he finished second to the defending state champion. According to head coach Clayton Mowrer, the loss upset Riggins.

            "His mother told me Grayson was pretty salty," the coach said.

            Riggins took a first-place finish in the 300 hurdles. His record time of 38.08 seconds shattered the old meet record, set in 2000, by more than three-tenths of a second. The runner made an adjustment for the race, deciding to go all out over the first four hurdles instead of the initial three, according to Mowrer.

            "We're still working on figuring out the best way for him to run that race," the coach said. 

            In the 110 hurdles, Riggins ended up in second place. His time of 14.3 seconds put him less than a second behind Tyrese Washington, a senior from Pottstown, who set a new meet record (14.22). Riggins came within 0.01 of a second of tying the previous meet mark.

            "Grayson is having a phenomenal season," Mowrer said.

            Darius Reid added a pair of second-place finishes for the Tribe boys, who finished fourth overall in the team standings. He cleared six feet in the high jump and ran the 400 meter dash in 49.93 seconds.

            Theo Deskevich earned a silver medal in the pole vault. He cleared 12 feet, 6 inches.

            Five male and three female athletes have qualified for this weekend's District One Class 3A Championships at Coatesville High School. Riggins (110 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles and 200 meter dash) and Reid (high jump, 200 meter dash, 400 meter dash) have earned the right to participate in three individual events.

            Deskevich will compete in the pole vault, Zachary Schwartz will run in the 100 meter dash and Micah Keller will throw the shot put during the two-day event that begins Friday.

            For the girls, Morgan O'Hara qualified in the javelin and pole vault. Sammie Pedrick will participate in the pole vault and Abigail Rowland qualified for the 1,600 meter run.

            O'Hara will miss districts. She suffered a broken ankle, according to her father Anthony.

            Rowland and O'Hara earned two medals for the Tribe girls, who finished seventh overall in the team standings. Rowland finished second in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches) and third in the 3,200 meter run (11:43.40). O'Hara ended up in third place in the discus (96 feet, 10 inches) and the pole vault (10 feet), one place ahead of Samantha Pedrick (10 feet).

            Sallybeth McClaskey finished fourth in the 300 meter hurdles (47.86 seconds). The 3,200 meter relay – made up of Jade Traynor, Lauren Donahue, Maren Landis and Amy Rohl – finished fifth (10:24.97).