All-Delco Girls: Mansaray, Arizin raced to medal stand at states
In addition to Athlete of the Year Janese Lynch, the rest of the All-Delco girls track team includes:
Katie Arbogast, Penncrest: A two-time All-Delco who has been one of the top 400-meter runners in the county over the last few years. Won the Central League championship and finished eight at the District One championships in the 400. She also was a key member of Penncrest’s 4 x 400-meter relay that finished seventh at the PIAA Class AAA Championships. Arbogast will attend Elon University.
Briana Artis, Penncrest: he senior was a versatile performer for the Lions. She was on the 4 x 100-meter relay team that finished sixth and the 4 x 400 squad that was seventh at the PIAA Class AAA championships. Artis finished the season ranked third in the county in the 200. She is headed to Wesley.
Olivia Arizin, Cardinal O’Hara: Just a sophomore, Arizin won the Delco, Catholic League and District 12 championships in the 800, and finished third in the event at the PIAA Championships behind Agnes Mansaray of Penn Wood. Both broke the county record in the event, with Arizin running 2:09.74. Two weeks later Arizin ran 2:09.49 to take second at the John Hay Memorial Distance festival. Also ran on the 4 x 100, 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relays to help the Lions maintain their stranglehold on the Catholic League and District 12 titles.
Alicia Collier, Penncrest: The junior was among the county leaders in both the 100- (third) and 200-meter dashes (second) and a key member of Penncrest’s 4 x 100- and 4 x 400-meter relay teams. Central League and Delco champ in the 100, and Delco champ and District One medalist (sixth) in the 200, where she advanced to the semifinals at the PIAA Championships.
Marin Bloise, Agnes Irwin: Capped her career by winning the Delco and Inter-Ac League titles in the 300-intermediate hurdles. She finished third in the event at the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championships. That’s not bad for a second sport. Bloise also earned All-Delco honors in the diver on the swim team and will attend Rutgers University.
Nina Gambacorta, Garnet Valley: She and Lynch went back and forth to see which won was the top thrower in the county. Gambacorta was the Central League and District One Class AAA champ in the shot put, and took eighth in the event at the PIAA Championships. She also was third at the Delco Championships and fourth in the District One Championships in the discus.
Semaje Harper, Strath Haven: The senior blossomed into the top 100-meter hurdler in the county as a senior. Her first victory in the event at a major meet came at the Delco Championships and she repeated that feat by winning the 100 hurdles title at the Central League Championships. Harper qualified for districts and will attend Temple University.
Grace Mancini, Cardinal O’Hara: The eldest of the Mancini sisters has earned Al-Delco honors five times and she’s just a junior. This is her third selection to the All-Delco track team and she’s earned all-county honors twice in cross country. Delco and District 12 champ in the 1,600, and Catholic League and District 12 champ in the 3,200. Mancini broke the five-minute barrier (4:59.20) to finish eighth in the 1,600 at the PIAA Championships.
Agnes Mansaray, Penn Wood: The junior from Sierra Leone came on at the end of the season and finished her first high school season in the United States by edging Arizin at the wire to take second in the Class AAA 800 at the PIAA Championships in a county-record time of 2:09.70. She was second in the 800 at the District One Championships and third in the event at the Delco Championships.
Joanne Mason, Upper Darby: Mason made sure that the title of best triple jumper in Delco stayed in house at Upper Darby High School as she won the county indoor and outdoor titles in the event. She won the county outdoor crown with a league of 36 feet, 5 ½ inches and turned in her best effort (36-1 ¼) to take eighth place at the District One Championships. She is headed to East Stroudsburg.
Valerie McLaughlin, Ridley: The Widener-bound senior ranks first in the county in the 200 and long jump, and second in the 100. Joined Arizin, Mancini and Mansaray as the only county athletes to medal at the state meet (eighth in the 200). Won the Delco championship and finished second at the District One meet in the long jump.
Maia Mesyngier, Strath Haven: Continued a tradition of strong distance runners from Strath Haven by winning the 3,200 at the Delco Championships. She broke the 11-minute barrier to finish eighth at the District One championships (10:59.40). Mesyngier also is an outstanding student and a member of the speech and debate club at Strath Haven.
Carly Peters, Archbishop Carroll: The junior grew into the top javelin thrower in the county. Peters topped the 122-foot mark four times en route to winning the Catholic League and District 12 championships. She turned in the best performance of her career with a throw of 125-9 at the Delco Girls Relays. That was the fourth best effort by a county athlete in the last 15 years.
Mikayla Schneider, Notre Dame: The junior broke the 57-second mark in the 400 twice during the season. She won the 400 and 800 at the Inter-Ac League championships and capped her season with a second-place finish in the 800 at the PAISSA Championships.
