Darby’s Davies sends a message
SHIPPENSBURG >> Remember the name Thelma Davies. The freshman from Girard College by way of Darby made quite a splash in her first PIAA Track & Field Championships.
All Davies did was break the Class AA meet record in the girls 100-meter dash and tie the AA mark in the 200. The previous holder of those marks, Rochester’s Lauryn Williams, went on to win a silver medal in the 100 at the 2004 Olympics and a gold in the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 2012 Olympics.
Davies won the 100 in 11.58 seconds and the 200 in 23.85 seconds.
“Coming in, all I wanted to do was break my PR in both events,” said Davies, who attended Walnut Street Elementary School before transferring to Girard College in the seventh grade. “That was my only goal.”
Davies, the only member of the girls track team at Girard College, did that and more.
“When I broke the record in the 100 I was so surprised and so happy,” Davies said. “I was even happier after the 200. I did not know I was going to run that fast.”
Once Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy decided to take the lead, which was early, the race in the girls Class AA 3,200-meter run was for second place. There was no catching the three-time PIAA Class AA cross country champion and two-time winner in the AA 3,200.
At that point Sacred Heart’s Emma Seifried, settled in behind Wyomissing’s Cassidy Kuhn and Lauren Gronbeck of Eden Catholic and waited for the right moment to pounce.
That point came with a little over 200 meters to go and once Seifried made her move, there was no catching her, either. Seifried sprinted past Kuhn and Gronbeck to finish second for the second year in a row with a career best time of 10:59.95.
“I didn’t want to kill myself,” Seifried said. “My method has been to stay behind and use a strong kick at the end. I saw (Abdalah) getting far away and I kind of wanted to push more, but you have to be careful with that, too.”
Seifried wanted to save some energy for the 1,600 a little more than three hours later. She was running to medal and did. She was sixth in 5:08.16, a personal best.
“My legs are tired, but overall I feel good,” Seifried said.
Seifried nearly didn’t come home with a second medal and second personal record. She did not hear the first call for the 1,600 and made it to the check-in tent just in time.
“I said, ‘I’m here. I’m here,” Seifreid said.
And she was able to pick up her second medal of the day.
“I’m happy,” Seifried said.
Strath Haven’s Maddie Forbes was running at of gas in the final 100 meters of the girls Class AAA 4 x 800 when she could feel Great Valley’s Amy Willig gaining on her.
Not again, Forbes thought. Not this time.
A week ago, Willig passed Forbes down the stretch to edge Strath Haven for third place.
“I didn’t want that to happen again,” Maddi Forbes said.
Forbes found the strength to hold off Willig and make sure the Panthers came home with a bronze medal.
“I knew I had to push through it,” Maddie Forbes said.
Forbes younger sister, Grace, set the tone for the Panthers with a strong leadoff leg. She was in second place when she handed the baton to Grace Haase.
“That first leg was too fast,” Grace Forbes said. “We went out in something like 67 seconds. I started to die a little bit at the end of the second leg, but I knew I couldn’t give up.”
Haase and Cardi did their part, too. They got the baton to Maddie Forbes in a position to bring the bronze medal home.
“It’s such a great feeling because we’ve been working so hard together,” Cardi said. “We just put it on the line.”
After failing to medal in the Class AAA shot put Friday, Garnet Valley All-Delco Nina Gambacorta knew her mental approach was key to having success in the discus Saturday.
“I knew I had to put it behind me if I wanted to perform today,” Gambacorta said. “I didn’t want one event hurt the event. I knew what I had to do and I’m happy I got through it.”
Gambacorta survived that disappointment, and missing her senior prom, to finish fifth with a throw of 123-11.
“They have a post-prom every year and they decorate the school and the theme this year was a movie theme,” Gambacorta said. “All my friends were sending me snapchats and pictures, telling me, “Wish you were here,’ but (missing the prom to win a state medal) was worth it.”
The third time was the charm for Strath Haven All-Delco Rachel Vresilovic. After failing to medal in the discus as a freshman and sophomore, she picked up an eighth-place medal as a senior (118-5).
“My goal was to medal so I’m happy with that,” said Vresilovic, who will play volleyball and compete on the track team at Swarthmore College. “I didn’t throw well my first two years here. I should have thrown better. But being able to feel good about myself at the end, that’s all I really wanted so this is great.”
Carly Peters needed a spark. The senior All-Delco from Archbishop Carroll was on the border of medal contention in the girls Class AAA javelin and knew she had to come up with a better throw than the 132-feet plus she unleased on her second attempt to make the finals.
As she waited for her third try, she watched Tyrone’s Kayla Smith unleash a throw of 135-11.
“That was (nearly) four feet farther than I threw,” Peters said. “There were still 10 girls behind me in another flight and I was afraid that I wasn’t going to make the finals and get that other shot. When I her she got 135, I knew I had to go all out.”
On her third attempt, Peters let loose with a throw of 139-8 to earn a fourth-place medal.
“I really wanted to PR in my last meet,” said Peters, who set the county record (145-10 ½) in the first Catholic League meet of the season. That was my goal, but fourth place, 139-8, that’s good enough for me.”
It was a good weekend for Neumann-Goretti’s Sydni Townsend (Collingdale), Janese Lynch (Sharon Hill) and Kamil Jihad (Chester).
Townsend anchored the Saints to gold in the girls Class AA 4 x 400-meter relay. She also was second in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the 400-meter dash. Lynch, the 2015 Daily Times girls Athlete of the Year while at Academy Park, was second in both the Class AA shot put and discus. Jihad was second in the boys Class AA 800 (1:52.23).
