All-Delco Boys Track: Penn Wood’s Manyeah, Glen Mills’ Lyons gave each other needed push

In addition to Athlete of the Year Sekou Kanneh, the rest of the All-Delco boys track team includes:

Niko Akranis, Marple Newtown: The senior javelin thrower had the best mark of the season and three gold medals in invitational competition. Akranis let loose with a career-best throw of 165 feet, 5 inches in a tri-meet with Upper Darby and Lower Merion. He also was the individual champion at the Rustin Invitational, the Kellerman Relays and the Springfield Invitational. He was second at the Delco Champs in the event.

Mike Arndt, Penncrest: A consistent point scorer for the Lions and the top discus thrower in the county throughout the season. He was fourth in the discus at the PIAA Class AAA championships, and claimed gold at the Delco Champs, Central Bucks Relays and Upper Darby Relays. The best throw of his career (145-9) came when Arndt finished fourth at the Nike Henderson Invitational.

Mike Chamberlin, Interboro: Chamberlin pulled off the indoor-outdoor double when he won the pole vault at the Delco Championships in early May. Two months earlier the senior won the Delco indoors title in the event. He also was first at the Upper Darby Relays and finished ninth in the Class AAA portion of the District One Championships at Coatesville.

Liam Galligan, Springfield: He capped his junior season in grand fashion with a fourth-place finish in the Class AAA 1,600-meter run at the PIAA Championships. Galligan led for much of the race but still finished with a career-best time of 4:15.03. A week earlier, he took second at the District One championships in the 1,600 and also won the event at the Central League Championships and the Springfield Invitational. He also won the 3,200-meter run at the league championship meet.

Quadir Gibson, Glen Mills: Only one county shot-putter topped the 50-foot mark this season and Gibson did it five times. That included a heave of 51-7½ to win the District One Class AAA crown and earn a trip to Shippensburg for the PIAA Championships, where he was 18th. The sophomore had his best put of the season (52-4) to win the title at the Kellerman Relays. He also won the shot at the Delco Champs, Bullin Bulldog Invitational and the New Balance Invitational at Cardinal O’Hara.

Ache Hall, Springfield: Simply put, Hall was Springfield’s Mr. Do-It-All and his versatility enabled the Cougars to win the Central League title for the first time since 1990. The junior finished the season with the top times in the county in the 110 hurdles (14.64) and 300 hurdles (38.64). He also had the best mark in the triple jump (46-8¼), which earned him an eighth-place medal at the PIAA Championshps. He qualified for the state meet in all three events by finishing third in both the 110 hurdles and the triple jump, and sixth in the 300 hurdles. He also won the long jump, triple jump and both hurdles events at the Central League championships.

Gianni Lawrence, Upper Darby: Like Hall, Lawrence’s value to the Royals was his ability to compete in multiple events. He ran everything from the 100 to the 400, and was a key part of Upper Darby’s 4 x 400-meter relay team that took home an eighth-place medal at the PIAA Championships. His specialty, though, was the 200. He won the event at the Central League Championships, placed seventh at the District One Championships, was seventh at the District One race and reached the semifinals at the PIAA Championships.

Mike Levengood, Marple Newtown: Levengood became the first Marple athlete to crack the 50-second barrier in the 400 when he won the event at the Delco Championships in a personal best time of 49.24 seconds. He rode that wave to a berth in the PIAA Championships, where he was 17th in the preliminary round. Before that, the senior earned a sixth-place medal at the District One Championships and won the 400 at the Central League Championships.

Tyrique Lyons, Glen Mills: Lyons had a back-and-forth battle with Penn Wood’s Dennis Manyeah in the high jump. Manyeah got the best of Lyons at the Delco Championships, but Lyons one-upped his rival in the Del Val qualifier with a career-best leap of 6-6 and then staked his claim as the best high jumper in the county by winning the District One Class AAA crown with a leap of 6-5. The senior finished ninth at the state meet, one place from a medal.

Dennis Manyeah, Penn Wood: Manyeah displayed flashes of his ability as a sophomore and burst onto the scene as a junior as one of the top high jumpers and 800-meter runners in the county. He had the best high jump in the county, along with Lyons, when he leaped 6-6 to win the Delco Championships and turned in the second-best time in the county in the 800 (1:53.52) at the John Hay Memorial Distance Festival last month. However, it was on the 4 x 400-meter relay where Manyeah really shined. He teamed with Sekou Kanneh, Ndiaga Seck and Jahi Smith to win the Philadelphia area 4 x 400 at the Penn Relays. Kanneh, Manyeah, Seck and Kenny Johnson capped the season with a fourth-place finish in the event at the PIAA Championships.

Rob Morro, Cardinal O’Hara: Had the top time in the county in both the mile and 3,200-meter run, but the metric two-mile was his specialty. Morro won the Delco title with a personal best time of 9:25.87 and then took second in the event to earn a second straight trip to Shippensburg for the PIAA Championships, where he placed 23rd. The senior turned in the best time of his career in the 1,600 (4:22.06) with a second-place finish at Delcos.

Keon Rantin, Glen Mills: The junior sprinter was the driving force behind Glen Mills’ run to the county title at the Delco Championships. He could run anything from 100 to 400 meters and run it well. He was the Delco champ in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and was third at the state meet and fourth at the District One Championships in the 200. Rantin also anchored the Bulls to a sixth-place medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay at the PIAA Championships.

Ndiaga Seck, Penn Wood: Seck came on late to become the best 400-meter runner in the county, as well as a key member of Penn Wood’s 4 x 400-meter relay team. After finishing second in the 400 at the Delco Championships the senior continued to improve and took third in the event at the District One Championships. That earned him a trip to Shippensburg, where he was 10th in the preliminary round at the state meet. He did not come home empty handed. Seck, Kanneh, Manyeah and Johnson teamed up to take fourth in the 4 x 400-meter relay.

David Whitfield, Bonner & Prendergast: Whitfield staked his claim as the top 800-meter runner in the county when he won the event at the Delco Championships and ended the argument with a near-perfect run at the District 12 Championships. The junior won gold with a blistering time of 1:53.38, the best in the county this season. That performance earned Whitfield a ticket to the PIAA Championships where he was 18th in the preliminary round.

Evan Wildermuth, Penncrest: Wildermuth was Mr. Everything in the field events for the Lions. He competed in every field event except the shot put and discus. Wildermuth was a 21-foot long jumper, a 40-foot triple jumper, a 6-1 high jumper and even competed in the javelin and pole vault once during his junior season. His best event, though, was the long jump. He was first at the Delco Championships and second at the Central League Championships in the event.