PENNSYLVANIA Sharon's Papay again excels

Wilmington's two-time state medalist, Sunny Daugherty, returns in two events.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- One year ago, Sharon High's Auston Papay had to settle for being second best.
One of the premier discus throwers and shot putters in Pennsylvania, Papay finished behind Union City's Justin Clickett at both the district and state meets.
Clickett has graduated and the 2004 season has been Papay's opportunity to stand out. The senior is making the most of the opportunity.
At Saturday's District 10 Class AA championships, Papay set a district record in winning the shot put, and added gold medals in the discus and javelin. His distances were 64 feet, 11 inches in the shot put, 190-6 in the javelin and 181-11 in the discus.
"Last year I did all right, but now it is my turn," said Papay. "This year I am a lot more consistent than I was last year and I have been practicing a lot harder.
"In the shot, it is a lot harder for me to get myself psyched, but in the discus, It isn't that difficult for me to get it going," he said. "I don't really know why, but I seem to enjoy the discus a lot more. I guess I just like to watch it fly."
Teammate rivalry
Papay's closest competitor was his teammate, Dylan Page. They enjoy having each other there for a number of reasons.
"It means a lot to me," said Papay. "It makes it a lot more fun than if you have to do it by yourself. Every day we push each other and I am real glad to have him on my team."
Page agreed.
"I am so fortunate to have someone like him on my team. He just does so well in everything he does and he critiques me on everything I do. He helps me when I am doing something wrong so I guess it is like having another coach working with me."
Page also qualified for the state meet by finishing second in both the shot put and discus events with qualifying distances.
His best effort in the shot was 56-61/4 and his best toss in the discus was 147-1.
So how has the personal duel between Papay and Page turned out?
"I think on one of those days when he didn't have his best day, I might have beat him once," said Page with a smile. "Maybe it was because he didn't show up. But, really, he is just so consistent and when that is the case, it is just so difficult to beat someone like that."
Papay will attend the University of Akron, Page hopes to play football at Mount Union.
Papay's goals are simple for the state meet.
Girls
In the girls division, two-time state medalist Sunny Daugherty of Wilmington will return to the state meet to try and improve her positions of one year ago. In 2003, Daugherty placed sixth in both the 100-meter hurdles and triple jump.
Saturday, her winning time in the hurdles was 15.63 seconds, while her winning leap in the triple jump was 36-91/4. Daugherty trailed Sharpsville's Brittany Brown entering the finals of the triple jump.