Mancini sisters, James have O’Hara off and running

Grace Mancini, her younger sister Eleanor and Sara Hayes got Cardinal O’Hara off to a good start in its quest to win a sixth straight District 12 Class AAA track and field title.

Grace Mancini placed first, Eleanor was fourth and Hayes fifth as the Lions piled up 21 points in the 3,200-meter run, the only track final during the first day of competition at the Germantown Super Site, to take a 49-28 lead over Catholic League rival Archbishop Ryan.

Grace Mancini crossed the finish line in 11 minutes, 0.44 seconds and was the only one of the three to qualify for next week’s PIAA Championships.

Alex Patrick equaled her career best (17-8½) to take third in the long jump and earn a trip to Shippensburg. The other medal winners for the Lions were Paris Banks (fifth in the high jump), Lorielle Laforrest (third in the shot put) and Angela Farglia (fifth in the javelin).

Carly Peters of Archbishop Carroll won the Class AAA javelin for the second straight year. Teammate Emily McCann took third, while Divonne Franklin was seventh in the long jump.

Taylor Barkdoll of Bonner-Prendergast was fifth in the 3,200.

On the boys side, Kevin James captured the 3,200 for the second straight year and led a 1-2 O’Hara finish. Teammate Rob Morro took the silver medal, while Ryan James placed fourth. Jeff Govannicci and Dustin Sacchetti took third and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault for the Lions.