Harriton, Conestoga shine at Lower Merion, Henderson Invitationals
The Harriton High School girls led the way for Main Line track teams at the Lower Merion Invitational May 2, and the Conestoga High School squad had some sizable contributions at the Henderson Invitational May 1.
Main Line high school track squads performed at the Lower Merion Invitational and Henderson Invitational as follows:
Conestoga
The Pioneers had a sizable number of key contributors at the Henderson Invitational May 1.
For the Conestoga boys, senior Nate McLachlan placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.07 and third in the 300-meter hurdles. His time is 14th best in Pennsylvania.
Junior PJ Murray placed eighth in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:26.04 which qualified him for the District One championship.
Senior Kilian Nelson ran to a 1:58.55 and senior Jimmy Cooper ran a personal best 1:59.02, which qualified him for Districts.
Princeton-bound senior Andrew Diehl won the high jump (6-6) and teammate senior Martin Dorsey placed 10th in 6-0.
In the 3,200-meter run Villanova-bound senior Andrew Marston took second place with a new school record of 9:01.25. This is the No. 2 time in Pennsylvania, 31st best in the country and ranks as the 12th best time in Pennsylvania history.
Senior Jack Iffert ran to a personal best in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:43.67 which also qualified him for the district championship. Senior Nick Boccella ran to a 10:00.13 in the 3,200-meter run.
For the Conestoga girls, freshman Grace Lanoutte took second place in the 100-meter dash. Her time of 12.44 is 22nd fastest in all of Pennsylvania and also makes her the third fastest freshman in the state.
Freshman Dominique Shultz ran a new personal best in the 1,600-meter run – 5:14.19 qualified her for the district championship and made her the sixth-fastest freshman in the state.
Junior Lila Holmes qualified for Districts in the 400-meter dash with a personal best 59.82. Sophomore Kiara Sprague placed 10th in the 300 hurdles in a time of 47.82. Sophomore Mary Kate Boccella ran a big personal best in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.60. Junior Johanna Nasman qualified for Districts in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:27.57.
At the Lower Merion Invitational, Pioneer sophomore Aiden Krombolz won the javelin (157-04) and Conestoga junior Theo Roberts finished second in the 3,200-meter run (10:28.79). Martin Dorsey qualified for the district championship en-route to winning the long jump (21-00.75). Martin also was second in the high jump, going 6-0.
For the Conestoga girls at the LM Invitational, the 4×100 relay team of freshman Grace Lanoutte, sophomore Kiara Sprague, Juniors Brittant Coleman and Lila Holmes took fourth place (50.64). The 4×400 relay of Kiara Sprague, Lila Holmes, sophomore Mary Kate Boccella and junior Maddie Herman placed fifth with a district-qualifying time of 4:04.32.
Harriton
Harriton senior Laney O’Shea won the 1,600-meter run (5:27.15), said, “I wasn’t expecting to win, but I was seeded second going into the race, so I was confident I could.’
For the first 800 meters, she was in fourth place.
“After that I moved up to second place,’ said O’Shea, who trailed North Penn freshman Ariana Gardizy. For the third lap, she stayed 10 meters behind Gardizy.
Taking the lead in a close race is sometimes disadvantageous because it means setting the pace and guessing if the other runners will pass you. The leaders sometimes feel the brunt of the cold wind blowing while the competitors tuck behind the leader and avoid most of it.
“At the end of the third lap, I got up on her shoulder and by the fourth lap I was sitting on her [close behind],’ said O’Shea. “I passed her in the last 200 meters. By the fourth lap, she slowed down a lot. She looked really warn down.’
Gardizy finished second with a clocking of 5:33.42. O’Shea said that if Gardizy had not looked tired, she might have been less confident about beating her. Gardizy’s body language pretty much told the story of O’Shea in the final lap.
In the girls’ 800-meter run, Harriton senior Maura Henderson won with a 2:18.50 clocking. Finishing second was her teammate sophomore Tasha Greene (2:20.42).
For the Harriton boys, sophomore Bruce Herriott finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run with a clocking of 10:33.25.
Lower Merion
LM junior Vincent Skipper-Barnett won the 100 meter dash (11:40), which qualified him for Districts.
“I expected to win, but in the beginning I was kind of nervous,’ said Barnett. “I started out in third place, but half way through I made up a lot of ground.’
Barnett’s fifth place finish in the 200 (22.91) earned him a spot at Districts in that event.
LM sophomore Henry Dyer won the triple jump (41-8).
“It’s a new personal best,’ said Dyer. His previous best mark was 41-¾.
His new personal best is still not good enough to qualify for Districts, but as of May 4, he had another chance to qualify at the Central League Championship May 6.
“I’ll have to rest until then,’ said Dyer. “My heel was hurting [at the LM Invitational].’
LM senior Jeremy Tuttle finished fourth in the 400-meter-dash (51.86).
The LM boys’ 4×100 meter relay team finished first as sophomore Adhmad Hall, Tuttle, senior Malik Ward, and Barnett clocked 43.62 to qualify for Districts.
These Aces will be joining fellow Lower Merion athletes at Districts: senior Jon Pearlman (1,600- and 3,200-meter run), sophomore Matt D’Anguila (3,200-meter run), and sophomore Even Hassman (3,200-meter run).
For the Lower Merion girls, Ace senior Marissa Shander was fourth in the high jump (4-8).
LM junior Vanessa Pope won the shot put (32-11.5) and the discus (104-3).
“Last year I also did well at this meet [the LM Invitational],’ said Pope. “Maybe because it’s home turf.’
In addition to winning those two field events at the LM Invitational, Pope also won LM’s 50/50 drawing.
Merion Mercy Academy
Golden Bear senior Megan Baker finished fourth in the javelin (82-0). Baker finished 14th in the 800 meter run (2:40.33), which qualified her for the Catholic Academy Championships.
“That was [Baker’s] best time all season,’ said Merion Mercy track coach Tom Tarpey.
Sophomore Cammy Toody ran a personal best in the 800, where she clocked 2:31.77 for ninth place. Freshman Jordyn Young ran her personal best in the 400-meter run (1:02.95) for 16th place.
Radnor
In the High School Girls’ 4×800, the Radnor girls finished third as sophomore Aileen Manion and her three freshmen teammates, Julia Havertine, Caroline Ditrilio and Grace Wakiyama clocked 10:26.09.
“That was a very good finishing time for them,’ said Radnor girls’ track head coach Christine Anderson.
