All-Delco girls track: O’Hara’s Arizin proves she’s simply the best

In addition to Athlete of the Year Agnes Mansaray of Penn Wood, the rest of the All-Delco girls track team includes:

Olivia Arizin, Cardinal O’Hara: Arizin is, quite simply, the finest high school 800-meter runner in county history. The junior established the county record in the event four times, the latest when she won the PIAA Class AAA championship in 2 minutes, 6.80 seconds. Arizin is the three-time defending Catholic League and District 12 Class AAA champ in the 800. However, she is not a one-event specialist. The two-time All-Delco has run every event from the 400 to the 5,000 meters in cross country.

Nierra Berry, Chichester: A versatile athlete, Berry won gold, silver and bronze at the Delco Championships. The junior was the county champ in the 100-meter dash, took second in the 300-meter hurdles and third in the 200. She also won the 100 and 300 hurdles at the New Balance Invitational at Cardinal O’Hara and at the Springfield Invitational. She just missed earning a spot in the Class AAA 300 hurdles at the District One Championships with a ninth-place finish in the preliminary round.

Alicia Collier, Penncrest: The senior earned first-team All-Delco honors for the third consecutive year. Collier was the Central League champ in the 200 and only her senior prom prevented her from making a run at winning the event three straight years at the Delco Championships. She ran the anchor leg as Penncrest won the Central League 4 x 400-meter relay at the Penn Relays for the second straight year and the third time in four years. She was the anchor on all three of those winning relays.

Maddie Forbes, Strath Haven: A talented middle distance and distance runner, Forbes was the anchor of Strath Haven’s 4 x 800-meter team that finished third at the PIAA Class AAA Championships and fourth at the District One Class AAA Championships. That relay included her younger sister, Grace Forbes, Grace Haase and Isabel Cardi. Forbes won the Central League title in the 1,600 and was third at Delco’s in the 800 to lead the Panthers to the team title for the seventh consecutive year.

Nina Gambacorta, Garnet Valley: The two-time All-Delco bounced back from a disappointing 19th-place finish in the Class AAA shot put at the PIAA Championships to earn a fifth-pace medal in the discus. She won her share of gold in both events. Gambacorta was the Delco, Central League, Unionville Invitational, Twin Valley Invitational and Upper Darby Relays champ in the shot put, and was the Districe One, Central League, Unionville, Twin Valley and Upper Darby winner in the discus. She is headed to South Carolina on a track scholarship.

Sugar Henry, Uppr Darby: No one was better in the triple jump in Delaware County than Henry. She was the leader in the event from start to finish. A junior, Henry earned three gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals in invitational competition. She earned an eighth-place medal at the District One Championships and won the Delco, Central League and Upper Darby Relays title in her first year in the event. She also took third at Delco’s in the long jump.

Elizabeth Mancini, Cardinal O’Hara: Mancini has been one of the top distance runners in the county for the last two seasons, and she still has two seasons of eligibility remaining. The highlight of her sophomore year came in early May when she won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter titles at the Delco Championships with the best times of her career. She was second in the 1,600 at the District 12 Championships to earn a trip to Shippensburg, where she was 19th in the event in the preliminary round.

Elicia Moore, Penn Wood: Moore is going to have a hard time topping her freshman season. All she did was help the Patriots set one state and three county records during the course of the season. That’s a mighty impressive debut. She teamed with Agnes Mansaray, Terri Turner and Janae Pitt to win gold and set the state Class AAA meet record and the county mark in the 4 x 400-meter relay at the PIAA Championships. That quartet also set the county record in the 4 x 200 and sprint medley relays. She also held her own as an individual. She was second in the 200 and fourth in the 400 at the Delco Champs.

Margaux Paolino, Episcopal Academy: Although she is headed to Duke to play field hockey, Paolino proved to be pretty adept in track and field, too. Where she shined was in the long jump. The senior saved her best for last when she won the Inter-Ac League title with a career-best leap of 17 feet, 6 inches and followed that up with a jump of 17-4 ½ to win the PAISAA crown and help EA to the team title. Paolino also had the top full-automatic time in the county in the 100-meter dash (12.51 seconds).

Carly Peters, Archbishop Carroll: Peters has been the county’s top javelin thrower for the last two seasons and put her name atop the county record book with a throw of 145-10 ½ inches in her first meet of the season. That was the first of two throws that measured at least 145 feet. She capped off her campaign with a fourth-place finish at the PIAA Championships. In between, the two-time All-Delco won the javelin at the Delco, Catholic League and District 12 championships. She also was sixth in the event at the Penn Relays.

Janae Pitt, Penn Wood: Pitt was the top hurdler in Delaware County. The junior won both hurdles events at the Delco Championships and was second at the District One Championships and eighth at the PIAA Championships in the Class AAA 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Pitt also was a key member of Penn Wood’s county record-setting 4 x 200, 4 x 400 and sprint medley relay teams, along with Mansaray, Terri Turner and Elicia Moore. That quartet shattered the state championship meet record while winning the 4 x 400-meter relay.

Emma Seifried, Sacred Heart: Seifried’s resume is pretty impressive. She has two silver medals in track and two in cross country, and she’s just a sophomore. The two-time All-Delco earned her second silver medal in the Class AA 3,200 at the PIAA Championships. She followed that up with a sixth-place medal in the 1,600. Not a bad way to cap the season. Before that, Seifried, the 2014 Daily Times female Runner of the Year in cross country, won both events at the Catholic Academies and District One Class AA championships for the second straight year.

Mikayla Schneider, Notre Dame: Schneider, who will attend Penn, was one of the more versatile athletes in the county. She is ranked in the top four in the county in three events. She had the top time in the county in the 400 (55.72), the second-best time in the 200 (25.27) and the fourth-best clocking in the 800 (2:10.11). Schneider set the meet record to win the 800-meter title at the Delco Championships. The two-time All-Delco also was the Inter-Ac League and PAISAA champ in the 800, and was first in the 400 and second in the 200 at the Inter-Ac Championships.

Terri Turner, Penn Wood: Turner was one of the most versatile athletes in Delco in 2016. The junior ranked in the top 10 in the county in the 200 (fourth), 400 (second), 800 (third) and 1,600 (eighth), and met the state qualifying standard in each of those events at least once. She was the Delco champ in the 200 and 400, and was seventh in the PIAA Championships in the Class AAA 400. In addition to being a key member of Penn Wood’s record-setting relay teams, Turner also won the 800 at the Pennsylvania Track Classic and the 1,600 at the Panther Classic.

Rachel Vresilovic, Strath Haven: Vresilovic is no stranger to the All-Delco team. This is the third time in four years that she has been named to the first team. She also earned All-Delco honors as a freshman and sophomore. However, she had to wait until her senior year to win her first state medal in the discus when she took eighth in the Class AAA competition at the PIAA Championships. She finished second in the discus at the District One Championships for the third time in her career. And she won the Delco title with a career-best throw of 130-1.