Spring-Ford boys, girls sweep Methacton, host Boyertown
GILBERTSVILLE >> She described the course as “confusing” and not what she had been used to.
But that didn’t stop Isabella Marchini from dominating the girls race in the three-way event between Spring-Ford, host Boyertown and Methacton. Crossing the line almost a half-minute ahead of the pack – seven of the next eight finishers teammates of hers – the Ram junior keyed her team’s sweep of the Pioneer Athletic Conference meet Wednesday at Boyertown Junior High-East Center.
Spring-Ford’s tight front-running pack secured wins over the Bears (15-50) and Warriors (16-47). Methacton, led by Ryan Deorio’s fifth-place effort, got a split with a 19-40 victory over Boyertown.
On the boys’ side, it was also a Spring-Ford sweep. The Rams outran the Bears (20-39) and Warriors (20-41), with Boyertown salvaging a split off a narrow 28-30 win over Methacton.
“It’s not a normal course,” Marchini said of the 3.1-mile layout Boyertown will be calling “home” this fall, due to construction at its high-school campus. “It’s confusing, hard to navigate.”
In spite of that, Marchini covered it in 20:43 to finish ahead of fellow Rams Gabriella Bamford, Emily Smith and Sydney Galster, who went 2-3-4 with times ranging between 21:12 and 21:14. Spring-Ford’s Julia and Jenna Vledder, Rachel Moyer and Abby Sykes came in fifth to ninth in a time span of 22:10 to 22:22.
“This is the first meet we actually did our best staying in a pack,” Marchini said. “It was really good.”
The only other non-Ram to crack the Top 10 was Methacton’s Abby Konkoly, whose 10th-place, 22:33 clocking put her one second ahead of 11th-place teammate Anna Price. Boyertown’s top finisher, Amanda Murray, followed in 12th place at 22:39.
“That’s something we practice, trying to keep ourselves close together,” Spring-Ford head coach Brian Sullivan said. “We want to keep the gaps down.”
Rachel Murphy and Victoria Hoffner offered the Rams additional displacement, finishing a respective 13th and 14th in times of 22:57 and 23:00. Behind them were Boyertown’s Grace DeMenno, 15th in 23:04; and Methacton’s Rebecca Sobeck (16th, 23:18), Brianna Landis (17th, 23:19) and Sarah Lebold (18th, 23:56).
The Bears’ next highest finishers were Maddy Hunsberger and Renee Schumaker, a respective 20th (24:28) and 21st (24:51.).
“We have a little work to do,” Ryan Knox, Boyertown’s first-year head coach said afterward. “But the important thing is, we have everybody healthy. That hasn’t always been the case in the past.
“Amanda (Murray) has been consistent for us,” he added. “We have a lot of tough competition, so the consistency of these girls will be important all year.”
* * *
It’s as close to home as actually being there.
That’s how Jeff Kirshenbaum felt about the course at Boyertown Junior High-East Center. The site of Wednesday’s three-way Pioneer Athletic Conference meet between the Bears, Spring-Ford and Methacton saw Kirshenbaum head the hefty field of individual runners, but the Rams dominate in terms of team standing.
While the Warrior senior literally ran away with the race, Spring-Ford rode a tight pack to 20-39 and 20-41 wins over the Bears and Warriors. Boyertown came away from the meet with a split of the day’s racing, courtesy of its 28-30 victory over Methacton.
“It’s fairly similar to what we run,” Kirshenbaum said. “With the construction at our school, we run at Heebner Park. They’re both flat, with a lot of twists and turns.”
Kirshenbaum covered the 3.1-mile East campus layout in a 16:25 clocking that claimed the distinction of being the early course record. It was well ahead of the 17:13 recorded by Boyertown pace-setter Bryton Henry, and the remainder of the 94-runner field timed at 17:31 and beyond … that despite what he cited as a less-than-satisfactory start on a day where temperatures sat in the 80-to-90 degree band.
“I got out to a poor start,” he said, “but after the first 100 yards, I was able to catch my teammates and take the lead.
“For a dual meet in this weather, I’m definitely satisfied. I’d like to run faster in the big meets.”
As was the case in the girls’ race, the Spring-Ford boys put together a tight pack of their own. They took the next six places behind Kirshenbaum and Henry, headed by John Conner’s third-place (17:31) finish and Jacob McKenna’s fourth-place (17:32) effort.
Behind them, the Rams’ team showing was bolstered by Zachary Smith (17:37), Shane Ainscoe (18:02), Patrick Power (18:04) and Kyle Reed (18:20) going 5-6-7-8.
“We practice to keep our gaps down,” SF head coach Sullivan said. “We lost a big-time hammer (Paul Power to graduation), but we have a more plentiful group.”
Though Joshua Brycki (18:21) and Nick DeFillippis (18:22) scored other Top 10 finishes for Methacton, Boyertown packed together runners between 11th and 15th places to get the edge on the Warriors.
Moore clocked an 18:30 ahead of Kenny Branford (18:40), Todd Barton (18:41), Kollin Miller (18:43) and Justin Smyth (18:44). The Warriors’ next highest finishers were Sidarth Giddu in 17th (18:56) and Tyler Shrader in 22nd (19:21), with the Bears and Rams filling the four spots in between.
“Our depth and youth are huge,” Knox said. “By the end of the season, Boyertown should be capable of running with the leaders. We have a couple seniors (Henry, Branford, Moore) at the top, and a strong group of sophomores behind them.”
