McDowell, General McLane compete in Unified state meet By Mike Copper

SHIPPENSBURG - McDowell and General McLane comprised one-third of the meet's first six-team Unified League competition at the PIAA championships.

The Unified League, which allows students with physical or mental disabilities to compete in track and field, was arranged through an agreement between the PIAA and Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

Last weekend's state meet marked the fourth year in a row those students performed before thousands of fans at Shippensburg.

Athletes from both Erie County teams received medals for their performance. McDowell placed third (60) and McLane fifth (51).

Philadelphia's Martin Luther King High School was this year's Unified victor with 76 team points.

Also participating were students from Red Lion, Souderton and Brashear.

? It wasn't exactly what Ryann Brundage had in mind as her highlight for this past weekend's appearance in the PIAA track and field meet.

Thousands of fans in and around Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium saw Brundage even before the Corry senior recorded her first attempt in Saturday afternoon's Class 3A girls javelin competition. The Penn State University recruit qualified for it as District 10's champion.

The reason they saw Brundage well ahead of time is that a photo of her throwing in the 2017 state meet was chosen as the cover shot for this season's meet program.

That photo, taken by an Action Shots Photography of Erie employee, showed Brundage in full stride down the runway. She would up seventh as a junior, and sought to surpass that medal result in her last varsity appearance. However, a season-long shoulder injury, one that she said recently will require surgery in the coming few weeks, finally caught up to Brundage on Saturday.

Her best throw of 120 feet, 4 inches left her in a tie for 14th place with Neshaminy senior Shelby Kishel.

Corry coach Andrew Potocki offered plenty of praise for Brundage earlier in the two-day event.

"Ryann is just one of those natural talents who can do anything," Potocki said. "Last year, she qualified for districts in nine different events."

Mike Copper can be reached at 870-1614. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNcopper.