REDEMPTION TOUR: Cranberry Track and Field Star Laiyla Russell Looking to Put Past Disappointments Behind Her

SENECA, Pa. (EYT/D9) — The memory of the finish still lingers with Laiyla Russell.

The lean at the end of the 100-meter dash at the District 9 track and field championships last May. The feeling she had won.

The realization that she hadn’t.

(Pictured above, Laiyla Russell after winning one of her two medals at the PIAA Track and Field Championships last season)

Russell, then a junior at Cranberry, was edged by the narrowest of margins in that race by Union/A-C Valley senior Baylee Blauser.

Russell finished in 12.87 seconds; Blauser in 12.80.

It was a profound ache for Russell that even a sixth-place finish at the PIAA Track and Field Championships in the event the next week couldn’t salve.

But she’s back this year as a senior for the Berries, looking to exorcize those demons.

Cranberry Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.

“In the 100, I got snagged,” Russell said. “I went to the state meet and definitely had a better outcome there than I did at districts, but I feel this year I have something to prove.”

Russell’s best event, though, is the triple jump. Last year, she won a bronze at the state meet in that event after again finishing second behind Blauser at the D9 championships.

Add that to her vindication list.

Russell broke the school record in the triple jump at the state meet, leaping 37 feet, 2½ inches, which shattered the previous mark by nearly three feet.

“I didn’t even know that I did it,” Russell recalls of her record-snapping jump last year at Shippensburg, “until I saw one of my coaches jumping up and down.”

Russell wants to extend that mark and is shooting for gold this year in the triple jump at the PIAA championships.

She also has her sights set on the school record in the long jump. She’s only four inches off that mark.

Not bad considering Russell all but abandoned that event at times last year, instead focusing elsewhere.

“I’m just working on those things all the time,” Russell said. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement, especially for long jump. I did a little bit of it last year, but I didn’t really feel like I was that good at it, so I stopped doing it. I’ve been doing the long jump so it can help me better my triple jump from my third place (at state last year). I think it’s come along pretty well this year so far.”

Russell decided to leave softball behind after her sophomore year to put all of her energy into track and field.

She was growing weary of splitting time between the two sports.

“I tried to do both my 10th grade year and it was pretty hard juggling everything,” Russell said. “I would have to give half to each practice each day. I had to just give up softball. It was hard making a choice, but ultimately, to me, at the end of the day I loved track more. I really thought I could excel at it more than softball.”

So far, that’s been a good assessment.

Russell has committed completely to track and field. This winter, she latched on again with Oil City to compete with the Oilers during their indoor season.

It has proven to be invaluable for Russell.

“Indoor was definitely a different competition than what you see at districts or even a state meet,” Russell said. “We competed in Ohio, so there’s all types of different schools. The competition definitely pushed me harder to do well.”

Russell is thankful to even have the opportunity to compete in the winter.

Oil City has given her that outlet.

“I’ve been working with them for a few years — I’ve been doing indoor with them since I think I was a sophomore,” Russell said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to them for having me. Sometimes they’d even come and drive me down there.”

This spring, Russell has continued her work at Cranberry.

And sometimes it’s a bit unorthodox.

In an attempt to get faster off the blocks, Russell and the other sprinters participate in a drill where they get down on all fours and try to anticipate the gun — in the form of a whistle or a clap — and jump to their feet.

They do that six times, then they carry that over to the blocks.

“We’re been working a lot actually on responding to the sound of the gun and reaction times,” Russell said. “He will have us anticipate the clap and the whistle. I think it’s helped me a lot with running the 100.”

Russell is also mulling her future.

She has a choice between Division I Youngstown State University and Division II Shippensburg University — two places she is very familiar with.

Currently, she’s torn.

“I would have be a walk-on at YSU,” Russell said. “Shippensburg has offered me a scholarship.”

Russell hopes to settle that conundrum soon.

For now, she focused on completing her redemption tour.

“On Sundays I go to the track for like two to three hours and jump,” Russell said. “This season is all about redemption.”

Cranberry Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.