The 37th annual Oil Country Invitational couldn't have gotten off to a better start for Oil City on Saturday. Snow flurries? No matter. Olive Collins, Bailey Stevens and little known junior Abby Copley went 1-2-3 in the 100 hurdles and away they went.

When the dust -- errr, snow cleared -- both Oil City teams claimed titles. Rilee Matalino was a double winner as the Oilers outpointed runnerup Sharon, 114-96, in the 16-team boys event. Matalino won the open 1600 and teamed with Dylan VanWormer, Carter Thompson and Morris Woodhouse to cop the 1600 relay. At 3:31, the foursome was about two seconds away from the school record. Collins, who also won the high jump, was a double winner for the Lady Oilers, who beat Mercer, 100-80, and 11 other squads. 

Also capturing titles for Oil City were Michael Fink in the 110 hurdles and Spence Singleton in the javelin. Bailey Stevens won the 300 hurdles for the Oil City girls. 

The Cranberry girls tied Titusville for fifth place. Franklin, which won its own invitational in the rain last week, settled for eighth. 

The Cranberry boys were fifth but quite a ways from Titusville for fourth. Franklin was 10th among the 16 boys teams.

Cole Findlay (long jump, high jump) was a double winner for the Cranberry boys, and erstwhile state mat champ Dalton Wenner was clocked in under two minutes to claim the 800. Darien Wenner (400) and Beatrice Kolesar (3200) were winners for the girls.

The girls 400 relay of Lilyan Miller, Lena Laderer, Anna Rodgers and Brynlee Burger was the lone winner for Franklin. Heralded weightman Logan Knight sat out of both of his specialties, the shot and discus, but Aaron Moore Junior picked up some of the slack with his third in the shot.

Despite the weather there were a handful of personal bests by athletes from all three local schools. And, Oil City welcomed back senior distance runner Keegan Kirkwood who had been out all season with a leg injury. Kirkwood ran the 800 in 2:06.

Here's a rundown:

SECONDS

Kolesar was runnerup in 1600 and the 3200 relay with Wenner, Elena Ishman and Ava Earp. 

After winning the shot in the Pine-Richland Invitational on Friday, Madi Garland settled for second, but she placed in all three throwing events with a third in the javelin and a fourth in the discus.

Singleton took a second in the boys discus, but his throw was a meager 118 feet.

Franklin's Rodgers, normally a formidable hurdler, was upset by Copley in the 100s, but was runnerup to Stevens in the 300s -- three seconds off the pace. Copley was fourth.

In addition to running a leg on the winning 400 relay, Miller was second in the long jump for Franklin. 

Oil City's dynamic underclassmen duo of Thompson (300 hurdles) and Van Wormer (400) also took seconds. 

THIRDS

Oil City's Kaelyn Klapec was third in the 1600, just a second behind Kolesar. 

Bart Rosen was over 20 feet in the long jump, and Cranberry's Shane Clark kept up his consistent work in the javelin.

There were a couple of surprises for the Oilers: Blake Stevens in the javelin and Derrick Jones in the triple jump. Jones also picked up a fourth in the long.

Woodhouse was third in the 200 and VanWormer fifth. 

Franklin's Halle Curry edged Garland in the discus for a third in that event. She was also fourth in the shot. Navy Perry picked up a third in the girls pole vault for Cranberry.

Two Oil City relays were third, the girls 1600 and the boys 400.

ALSO OF NOTE

Franklin's Max Griffin and Cranberry's Dan McCain were 4-5 in the 3200. Oil City freshman Lily Shiley was fourth in the 800. Isabella Vorse and Payton Liederbach scored in two jumping events for Oil City. Nevin Stinson was fourth in the triple. Heath Warner tied teammate Fink in the high. (Fink ran a personal best in the hurdles). Two Franklin relays were fifth. Griffin, A.J. Rodriguez, Calan Hollis and Ryder Stevens were on the boys 3200 and Alayna Byler, Sophie Wehrle, Josephine Keller and Samantha Smith ran the girls.

Early in the meet, Karns City's Alex Wilson cleared 14-6 in the pole vault. Of course, nobody else was close, but Oil City's Skyler Myers tied for fifth.

Others scoring in the meet: (Oil City) Aaden Hibbard, Bradley Graham and Bryce Davis, (Cranberry) Caleb Sparks and Ishman and (Franklin) Cam Winger, Reagan Wike, Garrett Dick and Jackson Wilson

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